A personal page from Planet Hoto

I hate Scientology.
Here's how to stay away from it.

This is my opinion, and I hold it firmly. Scientology is a pay-to-progress organization that sells “auditing” and courses in escalating tiers, pressures members to cut off family who criticize it, and has a long, well-documented record of going after former members and journalists. I want nothing to do with it, and I don't want you to get pulled in either.

The reasons below are not secrets. They come from court records, investigative books and documentaries, and the accounts of hundreds of former members, including people who spent decades inside at senior levels.

• It costs a fortune. Advancing up “The Bridge” means paying for course after course. Ex-members routinely describe spending six figures over the years.
• Disconnection. Members are pushed to cut contact with relatives and friends labeled “suppressive.” Families get split for years.
• Fair Game. Hubbard's own policy declared that enemies may be “tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed.” The organization says it was cancelled. Critics and ex-members say the behavior never stopped.
• The Sea Org. Its inner workforce signs a billion-year contract, works punishing hours for a tiny stipend, and has described forced labor and confinement in detail.
• Secrecy by price tag. The core beliefs about Xenu and body thetans are withheld until you've paid your way to OT III. A faith that hides its own doctrine behind a paywall is selling something.
• It attacks the care this site exists to explain. Through its front group CCHR, Scientology campaigns against psychiatry and psychiatric medication, and tells people in crisis that the help they need is a fraud.

Recognize the pitch

How they approach you

Recruitment almost never starts with the word “Scientology.” It starts with something free and vague. If you learn these openers, you'll spot them from across the street.

Know the names

Front groups

These organizations are run by Scientologists, promote L. Ron Hubbard's methods, and in many cases are formally licensed by Scientology entities. Some don't mention the connection anywhere on their websites. If one of them shows up at your school, clinic, workplace or town council, that's your cue.

A fast test for any unfamiliar self-help, education or “human rights” group: search its name together with the words Hubbard and Scientology. If the group is clean, that search comes up empty.

In the moment

How to refuse

You never owe a recruiter a conversation. The pitch depends on politeness, curiosity and the awkwardness of walking away. Remove all three.

• Don't take the test. Not “just for fun.” The test exists to open a sales conversation about your flaws.
• Don't give your name, number or email. No sign-in sheet, no raffle, no “we'll send you the results.” Once they have a number, calls can go on for years.
• Don't go inside the building. A “quick tour” or “free film” puts you in a room with a trained closer and no easy exit.
• Don't sign anything. Course enrollment forms contain releases and arbitration clauses that have been used against former members.
• Don't debate. Arguing about Xenu or Hubbard's biography keeps you at the table. Leaving ends it.
• Pay nothing. Not for a book, not for a “donation,” not for the sauna. The first payment is the hook.

Family and friends

If someone you know is in

The most important thing you can do for a member is stay in contact without a fight. Disconnection is Scientology's lever. Give them no reason to pull it.

• Don't attack the group head-on. Members are trained to treat criticism as proof you're “suppressive.” Arguing hands the org a reason to cut you off.
• Keep the relationship warm. Birthdays, dinners, ordinary life. People leave when they have somewhere to land.
• Ask questions instead of making statements. “How much has it cost so far?” and “What happens if you want to stop?” do more than any argument.
• Don't send money. Even a loan for rent can end up as a course payment.
• Know the exit resources. People who leave, especially from the Sea Org, often have no money, no ID, no work history and no outside friends.

Where to read more

• The Aftermath Foundation, which helps people leaving Scientology with housing, legal referrals and practical support.
• Going Clear by Lawrence Wright, and the Alex Gibney documentary of the same name.
• Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, three seasons of interviews with former members.
• The Underground Bunker, Tony Ortega's daily reporting on the organization.
• r/scientology, a forum run by critics and ex-members, not the church.
• Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill and Blown for Good by Marc Headley, first-hand accounts of growing up in and leaving the Sea Org.

Check my work

Sources

These are starting points for the claims above, not proof of every line. Some are news reports, some are reference summaries that list their own footnotes, and some come from critics of the church, so read them with that in mind. Please check anything that matters to you.

• Fair Game policy and its “cancellation”. Fair game (Scientology), reference summary
• Narconon deaths and lawsuits. Public Radio Tulsa, 2012 · News 9, investigation into deaths at the McAlester facility
• Purification program: saunas and high-dose vitamins. Tampa Bay Times, 1999
• Sea Org contracts, pay and conditions. Christian Century on Lawrence Wright's Going Clear · The Daily Beast, excerpt from Going Clear
• OT III material kept back until members reach that level. Xenu, reference summary · Steven Fishman, the court filing that made it public
• Disconnection, and the church's denial that it is a policy. Disconnection (Scientology), reference summary
• The “free personality test” (Oxford Capacity Analysis). Oxford Capacity Analysis, reference summary · Mental Floss
• CCHR and the other front groups. Citizens Commission on Human Rights, reference summary · Association for Better Living and Education, reference summary

The church disputes many of these accounts. Its own position is at scientology.org.

Pocket version

Quick checklist

• ✓Free “personality” or “stress” test on a table? Keep walking.
• ✓A book with a volcano on it? That's Dianetics. Decline it.
• ✓Unfamiliar education, rehab or “human rights” group? Search its name with “Hubbard.”
• ✓Never give your phone number or email. Never sign. Never pay.
• ✓Already being called? Block, don't argue.
• ✓Someone you love is in? Stay close, stay calm, keep the door open.