You may have read the recent post about Hubbard’s claims for cures of virtually all disease and illness through auditing. And his condescending view of the medical profession.
One would think scientology would have the conviction of the words of their Founder and Source — they are expected to abide by them without question or alteration.
Yet, everyone who participates in scientology is required to sign several releases, one of which is the Religious Services Enrollment Application, Agreement and General Release (this is the infamous document that has been used to force “Religious Arbitration” in various legal cases).
These documents are rarely read by anyone, except when scientology pulls them out in court cases — and then the only focus is on the “arbitration” section.
Given the claims Hubbard makes repeatedly throughout his writings, some of this is pretty startling.
The organization makes no claim:
“That the application of Scientology or Dianetics technology or practice will have any particular effect on me or any other person”
Really? It does not cure arthritis, poor eyesight, bursitis etc etc — in fact, it does NOTHING AT ALL?
All the statements made by the promotion and registrars that Dianetics and Scientology “can help you with that” and will “give you better communication skills, handle your phobias, relieve you of unwanted pains and emotions” etc etc etc — they are all NOT TRUE?
In fact, it’s even worse than that — those claims are NOT the claims of Hubbard or the organization, they are:
“the person opinions and belief of that staff member only, and are not claims by the Church…”
And in case, they weren’t clear in those first statements, it goes on, in complete contradiction to the words of Hubbard, that scientology services are:
“not intended and are not used for diagnosing ailments of the body or for engaging in the teaching or practice of any medical arts or sciences.”
So, the bottom line is this.
L. Ron Hubbard made numerous claims and promises about what dianetics and scientology could and would do for you.
Scientology sell these promises. Hard. They take money from people in the hope they are going to attain at least some measure of what is dangled before them by their registrars and the hype promotion that scientology presents to the world (let alone the words of Hubbard).
Before they are allowed to then receive what they PAID FOR, they sign a document that says they paid for nothing that was promised and it was all lies.
If they ever become dissatisfied, that same document requires them to go before a Committee of Evidence (“religious arbitration”) where they will be found guilty of committing a “Suppressive Act” by asking for their money back and be sent packing.
This is the self-proclaimed “most ethical organization on earth.”
It’s an admission that all scientology can possibly provide is a placebo effect.
Scientology can only “work” if one believes that it can.
This is faith…just not an exclusively “religious” one.
Great, great article, Mike. Every person of political authority in this country should be given a copy. Wow.
Here’s the problem with Dianetics. It claims to cure all ailments by releasing the engrams which are the cause of them. Yet this supposes that all physical ailments are the result of engrams and this is not always the case. Why am I nearsighted? Is it genetics? Is it changes in the shape of my eyeballs over time? Or is it because my mom knocked over my highchair with me in it when I was two while she yelled something at my dad like “You just can’t see clearly!”. The answer is that I don’t know. If I run out the engram and my eyesight gets better, then my myopia was due to an engram. All I am saying is that if people want to use Dianetics to cure their ills they are free to do so but bear in mind that your ills may not be due to engrams and so may not vanish.
YES!!!!!
I sure do wish you and Leah had made those statements early in the documentary show, “scamatology and the aftermath.”
If you ever have the opportunity to participate in any more movies or TV shows about this scam cult, I sure do hope you will include those statements.
They are some of the most powerful indictment of this sickening scam I’ve ever seen or heard.
Harper’s Magazine, used to have a column monthly, of some really nutty government internal policy or bulletin.
Scientology’s “Release” docs warrant being exposed in a publication sometime.
Maybe, Mike, when you get interviewed, ask some print publication to do a column on the above “Release” legal doc, as a sidebar showing how Scientology legally thinks of itself!
The Scientology “Release” docs are always relevant to judge what Scientology thinks of itself.
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It’s more like a quackery scam is having the susceptible new dupes sign away their rights to sue for the quackery scam not working on them.
Mike, were there any notable past era Scientology lawyers who helped particularly make changes that you can remember, in the “Release” docs? I wonder which lawyers ought to get credit for these legal docs Scientology makes their followers and staffs sign?
Someday, there ought to be a chapter written on the long era of Scientology’s lawyers, and what they contributed.
“History of Team Xenu’s Lawyers Contributions Making Modern Scientology”.
There once was a redheaded guy
Who promised us pie in the sky
When Davy took over
The bullshit got bolder
It’s hard to keep track of the lies
Good limerick
Dave, what the f*ck are you doing with your life? ✂️
LRH and DM were not productive guys. (Dammit, I’m pushing Objectivism again.)
Ain’t nuttin objectively true about scn. Even subjectively, the “gains” proved to be all illusory. The “success stories” we were forced to write, if truthful, would have been variants of “finally FINISHED that monster.”
It’s only gotten worse since the Twit™ seized power. (whatever power exists within the organization) HE got running servants, day and night, gallons of good scotch to guzzle like cheap rotgut, plenty of pricey toys and a few willing punching bags.
The registrar will do and say ANYTHING to get the persons money. I remember there was only about a half hour left in the week for the staff to get their statistics up. A veteran Flag registrar named Dave Foster still needed to make another $20,000 and there was only time to do one last sales interview. I was listening in via the hidden microphone. David promised and pitched as the minutes ticked away. The guy was close to paying but the guy said he didn’t like to go in large debt on his credit card unless he sees “some kind of sign”. As the final minutes were ticking down Dave got desperate. He reached under his desk, knocked on it and looking surprised said “What was that!?” As if there was knocking from the spiritual world giving a sign! The guy was not fooled or impressed by Dave’s BS and he got up without paying (that day).
If all else fails, fake some OT phenomenon.
Good for that public to not fall for it.
I liked David Foster, but I only saw him all cheery and friendly as a slow staffer student in the course room.
He had that Captain Kangaroo/teddy bear beingness which he could turn on and off, I guess.
Harriet used to be one of the better nicer execs, my impression, before she was busted out of management in the old Flag Bureaux. She had been a mighty “good” evaluator my impression of her back then. (But it’s all cult bureaucracy forcing Hubbard’s quackery down everyone’s throats, and finding “who” is messing up the quackery selling and delivering, that’s all that “management” of Scientology has ever been, just blaming underlings for “failing” to sell and deliver the quackery and never blame Hubbard.)
How’d Harriet end up?
25 years ago she was seriously ill. I don’t know how that played out. As a side note I heard that Harvey Jacques died last October. He was no longer the Captain FSO at the time. Apparently he was responsible for making money from the Philippines.
Why in the ding dong devil do people sign documents without reading them?
I will never figure that out. If I am going to put my signature on something I am going to read it. Period.
I guess that is just me.
Good for you. You’d never make it onto a “Basic Course” then in Scientology, to your benefit.
What is also hair raising, or was a kind of a big forewarning to me, was what it states in the book leafs of all the Hubbard modern books, stating that everything claimed to be attained by Scientologists is on them, never on Scientology, etc, etc. In other words, if Scientology doesn’t work for you, then it’s on you, not them, and even in every one of Hubbard’s books.
Imagine if any other religion made newbie followers sign legal docs up the kazoo, or even the earlier tamer legal docs that Scientology followers signed, are just irreligious, and warning signs about the scam which Scientology is.
“Imagine if any other religion made newbie followers sign legals docs up the kazoo…”
I am trying to imagine that, and I can’t! Applied to Scientology, it is what it is. Applied to any other religion, it is simply beyond the beyond, unheard of and unmitigated gall!
David Bowie did it once. This resulted his doing weirdness for the sake of weirdness stuff into the eighties. He started doing commercially viable stuff after the contract ran out.
safetyguy, I think people trusted they could sign a document from a “church” – yet another way the CofS has exploited if not abused the status it browbeat if not extorted the IRS into granting it.
Just the fact that a “church” would tell you to sign a document like that would set off all sorts of alarms for me.
One of the Grades on the chart promises one will gain the ability to spot the source of problems and make them vanish.
I actually achieved this. I found the source of problems was Scamtology and I vanished it from my life.
Ah, true freedom at last.
Hip hip hurrah.
It’s interesting that the contract specifically addresses physical and medical well-being and makes it clear that the cult victim is on their own. But what about mental and emotional well-being? THAT is the primary selling point (along with the quack representation that most diseases are psychosomatic anyhow and should take care of themselves). Plus, here the victim is NOT on their own but is specifically prohibited from seeking help outside of the cult. Should they fail to comply in this critical point, they risk that all the “help” they have received at top $$$ would cease and all their attainments (including their eternity) would be cancelled.
It seems to me that, given the nature of the contracts, it should be perfectly OK to hold the cult liable for one’s emotional and psychological well-being. Plus, what about spiritual end phenomena that are explicitly claimed by the portly prophit?
In addition to the fundamental contradiction of elron making all kinds of lavish and explicit promises that are promptly snatched away in legalese, it’s also telling that they blame their sales staff for whatever expectations one of their hard-sales victims may be entertaining. This amounts to nothing less than a sweeping license to lie. No promise is too extravagant to make the sale, and the mark explicitly acknowledges that they are OK with having been lied to.
“the person opinions and belief of that staff member only, and are not claims by the Church…”
And Xenu help the reg who doesn’t make those promises to get the sale.