ipl-logo

Overcoming Obstacles Involved In Leaving Scientology

696 Words3 Pages

To fully understand the difficulties involved in leaving Scientology, a thorough examination of the complex psychological and sociological dynamics that underpin the Church's grasp over its members must be studied. The documentary "Going Clear," which investigates Scientology's internal operations in great detail, sheds light on the difficult challenges faced by those who attempt to break free from its hold. One of the main topics covered in the documentary is the coercive aspect of Scientology's recruitment and retention strategies, which take advantage of people's weaknesses and fears in order advance the organization's objectives. With a mix of focused recruiting campaigns, individualized "auditing" sessions, and highly developed brainwashing …show more content…

Scientology imposes severe restrictions on the financial and personal independence of its devotees, including substantial dues and required donations, to keep up with ongoing pressure to acquire new members and go up the organizational ladder. The fact that Scientology is a tax-exempt religious organization, which falsely lends it some credibility and shields it from legal investigation, makes this kind of misconduct easier. The financial and psychological costs associated with achieving greater levels of spiritual enlightenment inside Scientology, as "Going Clear" demonstrates, are strong disincentives for members to quit, keeping them imprisoned in a cycle of servitude and …show more content…

As stated in the reading, the foundation of Scientology's belief system is its origins myth, which is cloaked in mystery and secrecy and offers followers a grand tale of cosmic significance and existential meaning. Scientology successfully raises its creator to the rank of prophet and enshrines his books as sacred text by portraying L. Ron Hubbard's teachings as revelations inspired by the divine and casting Hubbard as a messianic figure. This mythologized story of Hubbard's life and teachings gives Scientology's ideology an air of transcendent substance, establishing its power structure and making it difficult for followers to doubt or question their

Show More
Related
1624 Words | 7 Pages

The article goes into depth on the struggles of understanding cults. The author describes that oftentimes it is best to understand them from former members. This leads to ten warning signs given by former cult members. Manipulation and vulnerability tactics are discussed. Lastly, the author shares famous cults to share what it is like to keep someone aware of something similar but on a lower scale.

Read More
311 Words | 2 Pages

Hollywood actress Leah Remini has dared the Church of Scientology to slap her with a lawsuit over the revelations in her A&E docu-series which the organization alleges are all lies. In a “Larry King Now” episode aired on Friday, the host asked Remini for her reaction on the church’s statement about A&E docu-series “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath” being nothing but a lie and a show for a profit. She then challenged the Church of Scientology to simply sue her over the matter, Entertainment Weekly relays. “Then they should sue us.

Read More
896 Words | 4 Pages

Rhetorical Analysis Religion is something that many people put their full faith and belief in. This is what the Oscar Winning documentary going clear: Scientology and the prison of belief by Alex Gibney also portrays that how people believe in Scientology as a religion but many also see it as a cult. The documentary showcases how Scientology affects the people and make them believe that it would help them with whatever problems they had. It was started just to earn money especially when referred to as a religion as it creates a sense of belief in people, which attracted them towards the organization and is shown in the documentary through interviews, conceptual reenactments, archival and home video footage.

Read More
932 Words | 4 Pages

The Holy Ghost People by Peter Adair, was created in 1967. It exposes people of the Pentecostal religion, and their unusual rituals and ceremonies that they partake in. While watching the movie I kept on wondering why someone would want to sit through one of their services and participate in such odd rituals and behaviors. After reviewing the sociological theories we have learned in class, I concluded that Durkheim’s Social Consensus theory and Collins Interaction Ritual Chains theory both best explain the motivations for joining and staying in a religion that has such unusual rituals and extreme commitments.

Read More
1025 Words | 5 Pages

The way Scientology is laid out and explained seems like everything has been thought out, but what many don't know is the abuse involved in this process. In many cases, Scientologists working for the church face violence. Former member Jeff Hawkins wrote a book called “Counterfeit Dreams,” where he describes a time when

Read More
1290 Words | 6 Pages

4,200 religions in the world, and everyone can fall. Everyone claims that they’re ‘God’ or Gods’ will help them in the face of hard trails, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll be healed completely. People don’t always know how to stay faithful during these times because they don’t know how to lean on someone else for help. They often question, “Why would someone or some people put such weight on my shoulders, and scorch my eyes with the actions of the world?” Even more so, to a point where they all fall…

Read More
157 Words | 1 Pages

Scientology has a creed that L. Ron had created which they implemented into their church. According to the creed the church believes, “That all men of whatever race, color or creed were created with equal rights, that all men have inalienable rights to their own religious practices and their performance, that all men have inalienable rights to their own lives, that all men have inalienable rights to their sanity, that all men have inalienable rights to their own defense, that all men have inalienable rights to conceive, choose, assist or support their own organizations, churches and governments to name a few (What Is Scientology?, 2015). Another part of their creed, which I found interesting because was that the church believes, “that the laws

Read More
1571 Words | 7 Pages

Krenwinkel describes her attraction to him being memorizing and charismatic, immediately feeling entranced by his brainwashing abilities and free spirited attitude, left her home, her car and her last paycheck to start a new life with Mason in San Francisco. This is the exact odd behaviour that makes me completely intrigued by this cult’s

Read More
408 Words | 2 Pages

Scientology, Good or Bad? Scientology is a so claimed religion that claims to clear people of unhappiness, found by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1953. The name scientology derives from the Latin and Greek language, meaning knowing how to know. This “religion” has been known for doing more than just to clear people’s happiness, such as throwing people into debt as well as brainwashing methods with disconnections to the outside world, outside of their “religion” (including friends, family members and internet use outside of church official sources). The Church of Scientology has been recognized (by people that aren’t scientologists, of course) to throw many of their members into massive debts with hefty expensive books and

Read More
903 Words | 4 Pages

Scientologist are aware that their lives and their impact extends way beyond themselves. Because of this they are aware of the requirement to participate on a broader spectrum. By accepting each dynamic and their relationship then chances of survival increase on

Read More
386 Words | 2 Pages

Have you ever wondered how people seen on the news involved in a cult, ended up in one in the first place. Cults can develop from religious or social movements, often times involving; brainwashing, control, and kidnapping. In many cases social influence can leave an imprint on a person’s actions, personality, and growth. When people interact with others on a daily basis they tend to change their own behavior in order to conform with the what is relevant. Often times group thinking overrides a person’s a rational reasoning and can lead to the joining of a cult.

Read More
936 Words | 4 Pages

This author also emphasized the importance of a charismatic leader for new religious movements (page 4). Jim’s lack of charisma was another reason for the failure of the Open Mind Forum’s ability to reach the public’s eye to a stronger degree. Comparing Jim’s inability to appeal to the greater population with David’s Miscavage shows stark differences. Miscavage was able to earn people’s respect with all the hard work he had done in the organization prior to his uprising. Coupled with his reputation, Miscavage was able to manipulate how people viewed him.

Read More
762 Words | 4 Pages

As a religion people work towards a goal of bettering themselves or bettering their environment. This idea can nearly be regarded as fact for some branches of religion have been around for thousands of years and have followers in every corner of the globe claiming that their ideology and faith of religion has helped them in the past and will continue to help them in the future. For cults, this goal is often illegal or immoral after all cults are almost always shrouded in mystery and details are often withheld from the public. Cults of some form or other have been around for as long as organized religion, during the first-century people of the Roman Empire began to reject Christianity because it was something new and instead valued Judaism as this had been around a long time. It was around this time that politicians began to spread vicious rumors that Christians were beginning to take part in “group sex acts” during what was called “love fests”, it was also thought that they took part in sacrificing infants to their god.

Read More
418 Words | 2 Pages

This I Am I believe that competitive cheerleading taught me how to believe in myself. I couldn’t count how many times I have told myself that I could not do something. When I was twelve-years old I took up a love for competitive cheerleading. Every time I told myself I couldn’t do something, I wouldn’t even try.

Read More
971 Words | 4 Pages

In recent times though, the Church of Scientology has gained many new followers and has expanded in numerous countries around the world. It has recently caught people’s attention when celebrities joined the Church of Scientology, for example Tom Cruise. Though his case was somewhat controversial, it did spark people’s interest and made them curious about Scientology is. One can learn a lot about the Church of Scientology by simply visiting their website or a nearby worship center. Scientology is an alternative religion that began in the United States and has expanded all across the globe.

Read More

More about Overcoming Obstacles Involved In Leaving Scientology

Open Document