Hollywood's New Cult?

The Scientology Trend in Hollywood

Some religions have been around since the beginning of time, and some have faded in and out, like many popular fashion trends. Scientology is a perfect example of a theoretical religion that has grown to be a well-known trend among American citizens today. The Church of Scientology was founded in 1954, and no religion in history has spread as fast or as far in as short a time as Scientology. Today, it is practiced in more than 30 languages, in 129 countries on every continent ("What is Scientology," 2005). Scientology materialized in the United States back in the 1950's but was rejected for a time due to its similarities to a cult practice. Americans need to beware of Scientology's destructive enrollment and stop them from spreading their dysfunctional beliefs to family and friends. Bill O'Reilly, from the O'Reilly Factor, sees that America is in the midst of a fierce culture war between those who embrace traditional values and those who want to change America into a "secular-progressive" country (O'Reilly, 2006). The "Church" of Scientology exhibits more characteristic of a cult than it does a religion, and the government must stop their aggressive recruitment now. Because Hollywood has a powerful influence on American society, the Scientology group uses the celebrities to promote their cult like as a religion.

The study of Scientology stemmed from a philosophical book, written by Ron L. Hubbard, called Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health ("Meet Ron L. Hubbard," 2006). The word Scientology literally means "the study of truth" ("What is Scientology," 2005) and in reality, the Church of Scientology is primarily about the search for money and power. Scientology's mobilization strategies are very aggressive and focus the majority of their energy on enlisting influential organizations, which helps facilitate growth at such a rapid rate. Their strategies seem to follow a pattern of increasing commitment that can be divided into three distinct stages; initial contact, practice management consulting, and direct participation in Scientology (Hall, 1998, p. 394, 3). Hollywood has a huge influence on the American society and many fans follow their beloved celebrities' fashion trends, relationships, and religious beliefs.

An individual can not even walk into a convenient store or a grocery store with out seeing tabloids about Tom Cruise's life and his strong beliefs in Scientology. Tom Cruise is only one of a number of famous people who openly embraces the ideology of Scientology; Kirstie Alley, John Travolta, and Jenna Elfman also are public followers of Scientology, just to name a few. However, Scientology wants to hide the association of another one of their biggest celebrity followers, Charles Manson; who is the convicted murderer of Sharon Tate and her friends (Scientology Recruits Hollywood). Most Americans know about the cult behavior of Charles Manson, and knowing the sect he followed makes one second guess the teachings of Scientology. Pat Lalama ("What is Scientology," 2005), a correspondent for Celebrity Justice, says, "L. Ron Hubbard, the founder, has always said that the mouthpiece can be celebrities. People look up to celebrities, they're trendsetters. They have their own broken lives and fallen dreams from the past." The Church of Scientology does not just recruit celebrities to be their mouthpiece. They also recruit them for their money, their ability to bring mass amounts of followers, and they rob them of their ability to think critically.

The rapid growth and recruitment of Church of Scientology is overwhelming, and many people are not even aware of their current financial power. Since Scientology was founded in 1952 by Ron L. Hubbard. His religion has grown to more than two thousand organizations in 60 nations (Hubbard, 2006) and the recruitment has become more aggressive in the recent years. Heber Jentzsch, president of the Church of Scientology International, wrote in the Scientology newspaper, ""We need to find out how to reach key people in the media, in government, in the control points of society, the people who rule things (Scientology Recruits Hollywood)." An important aspect to remember is that everyone has a right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion in America, and we must respect the choices of all citizens regardless of how they are recruited. However, the government also has an obligation to protect American citizens against dangerous cults with the ability to over-throw our nation through their fast growing power and resources. "Deana Hall writes about how critics may dispute Scientology's voluntary enrollment of new members, but no one would dispute Scientology's attempt to change society. Scientology's own literature talks about their member's goal of clearing the planet (Hall, 1998, p. 393, 4)."

Many people believe that Scientology is not only about growing financially but is also dangerous to our citizens and damaging to our society. Cynthia Kisser (1991), the Cult Awareness network's Chicago-based executive director says, "Scientology is quite likely the most ruthless, the most classically terroristic, the most litigious, and the most lucrative cult this country has ever seen (Bahar)." Other countries, like Russia and Germany, have used force to reject Scientology's influence on their own society, because they do not accept the Church of Scientology as a traditional religious organization. The Russian government has been accused of raiding at least two offices that are ran by the Church of Scientology in Moscow. A government police officer explained, "We're conducting a comprehensive inspection." Although, Heber C. Jentzsch, the president of Scientology International in Los Angeles, objected to the raid vehemently and the raid came about because of a controversial law limiting the activities of so-called "nontraditional" faiths ("Scientology's Problems in Russia, Europe, and America," 1999). This alleged religious organization has some very conflicting statements regarding their teaching, which makes one wonder if the spiritual references are documented for the purpose of being considered a true religion. A true religion wants to spread their beliefs far and wide; however, the fact that Scientology refuses to publish its theological documents demonstrates that Scientology is far more a secret, profit-making operation than it is a religion (Forester, 2005). America should follow their lead by refusing to allow Scientology to be considered a recognized religion. Instead, the United