Fear And Loathing At The Scientology Works

by Christine Hall

Since the demise of the Nixon White House, there probably hasn't been an organization on the planet as paranoid as The Church of Scientology. They literally think that everyone is out to get them. The governments of the world are intent on destroying them and wiping all vestiges of their organization off the earth. The press? According to Scientology, the only reason any reporter ever writes an article on them is to spread lies and deceit in a conspiracy to bring them to their knees. Even the average non-Scientologist person (a wog in Scientology terminology) is suspect until indoctrinated into the "truth" of Scientology.

Although the press likes to play on the organization's paranoia about outsiders as proof of the group's suspect intentions, Hubbard Incorporated actually has good reason to feel that the world is against them. Indeed, to this day, governments have gone to draconian measures to put them out of business, and there is much truth to their claim that the news media is seemingly incapable of presenting a fair and unbiased view of their organization. While the group is undoubtedly largely responsible for much of the negative attention they receive, personal experience tells me that Scientology is not much better or worse than most religious organizations.

Scientology's legal problems began in the early 1950s, almost immediately after the group came into existence as an offshoot of Dianetics, which claimed to be the definitive study of the human mind. Because Dianetics claimed that 100% of all illnesses are psychosomatic and that Dianetic counseling could cure all diseases, the group immediately evoked the ire of the AMA, who saw Dianetics as the practice of medicine without a license. It also didn't help that Hubbard saw fit to take-on the entire psychiatric community (and the CIA) for practicing mind control.

By the late 1950s, things started coming to a head. It began when a U.S. Marshall, spurred by a tip from a psychiatrist, raided Scientology's Washington, D.C. headquarters to confiscate drugs which turned-out to be a combination of vitamin B1, vitamin C, niacinamide and calcium. After that, the FDA decided to go after the church for practicing medicine without a license, and planted agent Taylor Quinn into the organization to work undercover to gather evidence. That investigation also went nowhere, as the agent was required to sign a contract that stated that he understood that Dianetics and Scientology could not cure diseases, proving that they weren't making unsubstantiated medical claims.

This wasn't enough to stop the United States government, however. On January 4, 1963, a group consisting of U.S. Marshals, deputized longshoremen and armed police again raided Scientology's Washington, DC offices. This time the feds confiscated over one hundred fifty E-Meters (basically simple and overpriced ohm meters connected to tin cans which are used in Scientology's counseling sessions), claiming them to be unlicensed medical devices. They also carted-off over 4,000 books and pamphlets.

By themselves, these actions were probably enough to establish a siege mentality within the Scientology organization. Unfortunately, the government's comedy of errors against the organization didn't stop there, and their next action would have tragic consequences.

Shortly after the D.C. raid, the FDA was contacted by Seattle resident Russell Johnson, who had a complaint against "the practices of a Dr. William Fisk who operates as the Church of Scientology." He claimed that Fisk, who was Scientology's Executive Director in Seattle, was trying to seduce his wife.

According to information gathered under the Freedom of Information Act, the FDA saw this as a golden opportunity and enlisted Johnson to infiltrate the group's Seattle offices to gather information. Evidently, after joining Scientology and subsequently reporting to his FDA bosses, Johnson was asked to return to gather more information. He did this and more. On September 10, 1963, he entered the Seattle church and shot and killed Fisk. The murder was witnessed by a roomful of Scientologists.

At the same time that Scientology was battling the FDA, they were also coming under fire from the IRS, who were denying the church tax exempt status, claiming that the organization (which charges thousands of dollars for a form of counseling called "auditing") was using religion as a legal maneuver to avoid paying taxes.

This eventually led Hubbard to make some interesting changes within the organization to convince the IRS, and the courts, to accept Scientology's religious status. Staff members became "ministers," auditing became "spiritual counseling," and fees for auditing and other services became "fixed donations."

Even though a Federal Appeals Court ruled in 1969 that Scientology was a constitutionally protected religion, the IRS didn't give-up their claim against the church until 1993, when they finally granted the organization 501(c)(3) status. It's been reported that this was part of a "secret" deal, under which The Church of Scientology dropped nearly 2,000 lawsuits against the IRS.

Scientology's problems with government regulators have not been confined to the USA. For years, authorities in England, Canada and Australia attempted to ban the religion in their countries. At present, France and Germany are attempting to curtail the organizations activities.

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