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NEWS > BUSINESS > SCIENTOLOGY SUCCESFULLY TRACKING DOWN DEFECTORS
SCIENTOLOGY SUCCESSFULLY TRACKING DOWN DEFECTORS
November 5 2009
Los Angeles, CA – There have been few religions on the modern age that have inspired the type of anger and uproar than Scientology. Protests, satire, ridicule, and even government legislation have all been a part of downgrading the church with many hoping
to push the fairly unique set of beliefs to the periphery, perhaps to even eradicate it completely. The church though has persisted, due in large part to celebrity adherents like John Travolta and Tom Cruise who not only put their considerable wealth behind the institution but also their formidable cult of personality.
Despite the growing success of the Church not everyone inside is happy. Stories of defections are common with many coming out with stories of cult-like behaviour and questionable behaviour by all members of the church. Recently thought such stories have started to decline as church officials begin cracking down of such defections, and tracking down those who have managed to get away. Much of that action comes directly from David Miscavige, the leader of the Church who has taken the religion from a small cult to a multi-million dollar operation. His actions, it seems, are having an effect as fewer and fewer escape the church and even less say anything about it.
“In the early days things were a lot different. Under Hubbard people were free to come and go whenever they wanted just like every other religion but that was a long time ago. Once Miscavige took over and he brought it out of the shadows into really a global religion the rules kinds of had to change,” said a former Scientology member who has not yet been caught. “There was a whole lot more to lose and he became very protective over what they had built. It only makes sense that splitters would come to be regarded poorly and tracked down. I knew that before I left but I had to make a decision. I no longer felt the faith and it would have been dishonest of me to stay. I know that has made me a marked man, but it’s something I had to do.”
The former member asked us not to reveal his location or actual name.
“A lot of people look on this as a kind of cultish behaviour but the Church is doing what it feels it needs to do in order to protect itself and its future. By creating intelligence agencies and internal bounty hunters they are doing them and the future of the religion a service by ensuring that the people who decide to leave, for whatever reason, can’t then turn around and harm the organization,” said Scrape TV Religion analyst Bertram Gas. “I don’t know of major religion which doesn’t engage in that kind of behaviour, it’s just a lot less obvious when you have hundreds of millions of followers.”
Scientology officials declined to be interviewed for this article, though have been following this reporter since we first asked, leading us to believe that they might have something to say.
“It’s perfectly reasonable for a religion with as much influence as Scientology does to 
have a kind of internal hit squad. It’s notoriously difficult to retain believers in this day and age when people have access to so much information and so many options when it comes to religious belief. You can’t just put your beliefs out there and hope people will show up, you have to go after them and then keep what you have,” continued Gas. “Christianity didn’t gain a billion and half followers because it was a just a compelling religion, they did it through aggressive marketing and incredible loyalty programs. They of course did it with little competition, which isn’t the situation Scientology is in. They just need to be more aggressive.”
This post has not been approved or supported by the Church of Scientology.
William Ashford, Business Correspondent
NEWS > BUSINESS > SCIENTOLOGY SUCCESFULLY TRACKING DOWN DEFECTORS
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