Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief(142)

My editor at Knopf, Ann Close, has been through five books with me—a marvelous relationship that has now spanned a quarter of a century. For this book, the Knopf team labored under a stressful deadline, and I would like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of Anke Steinecke, legal counsel; Katherine Hourigan, the managing editor; Paul Bogaards, the director of publicity; Kim Thornton, the publicist for this book; Kevin Bourke, the production editor; Claire Bradley Ong, the production manager; and Cassandra Pappas, the designer. I also thank my agent, Andrew Wylie, for his sage counsel.

When I began writing the book, I hired two young and talented fact-checkers, Axel Gerdau and Lauren Wolf. They were both interested in long-form journalism, and I thought I might be able to teach them something about that; so, one evening a week, I held a class for them, in which the text was the unwritten book we were working on. Axel and Lauren were immediately plunged into the recondite world of Scientology, but they adroitly managed to negotiate the language and the thinking. After Axel went on to other pursuits, Lauren remained as my research assistant. The book has gained immeasurably from her curiosity and doggedness, as well as her natural human sympathy—qualities that will certainly ensure her future career and reward those who have the good fortune to enjoy her company.

As usual, I owe special thanks to my wife, Roberta, who has once again set aside many anxieties to support my work.




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Notes


INTRODUCTION


1 8 million members: Interview with Tommy Davis, the former chief spokesperson for the Church of Scientology International. He explains the difficulty in getting exact numbers: “There’s no process of conversion, there is no baptism.” Becoming a Scientologist is a simple decision: “Either you are or you aren’t.”

2 welcomes 4.4 million: “What Is Scientology?” YouTube video, posted by Church of Scientology, January 2, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcb_4L8T8gg.

3 about 30,000 members: Interview with Mike Rinder. Rinder is the former head of Scientology’s Office of Special Affairs and functioned as the church’s chief spokesperson from 1991 through 2007.

4 $1 billion in liquid assets: Interview with Mark “Marty” Rathbun. Rathbun is the former Inspector General for Ethics for the church. Tony Ortega, “Scientology in Turmoil: Debbie Cook’s E-mail, Annotated,” Runnin’ Scared (blog), The Village Voice, Jan. 6, 2012. According to the distinguished religious historian R. Scott Appleby at the University of Notre Dame, even the Roman Catholic Church is unlikely to have $1 billion in cash on hand. R. Scott Appleby, personal communication.

5 12 million square feet of property: Church of Scientology International, “Scientology: Unparalleled Growth Since 2004,” www.scientologynews.org/stats.html.

6 The most recent addition: Kevin Roderick, “Scientology Reveals Plans for Sunset Boulevard Studio,” LA Observed, July 12, 2012.

7 apartment buildings, hotels: Pinellas County Property Appraiser, 2012 tax roll.

8 5,000, 6,000, or 10,000 members: Church of Scientology International, What Is Scientology?, p. 324; interview with Tommy Davis; personal communication from Karin Pouw.

9 between 3,000 and 5,000: Claire Headley and Mike Rinder, personal communication. Rinder, who offers the higher number, places about 2,000 Sea Org members at Flag, 1,500 in LA, 500 at Gold Base and Int Base, 200 in the UK, 300 in Denmark, 150 in Australia, 200 on the Freewinds, and the rest scattered around Africa, Italy, Canada, and Mexico.





1. THE CONVERT


1 “You have a mind”: Interview with Jim Logan.

2 “What is true”: According to Haggis, the passage came from the Hubbard Qualified Scientologist course. It was later published in Hubbard’s book The Way to Happiness. Hubbard, The Way to Happiness, p. 48.

3 “find the ruin”: Peter F. Gillham, Tell It Like It Is: A Course in Scientology Dissemination (Los Angeles: Red Baron Publishing, 1972), p. 37.

4 “Once the person”: Hubbard, “Dissemination Drill,” Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter, Oct. 23, 1965.

5 “Speed City”: Interview with Herman Goodden.

6 “You walked in one day”: Hubbard, “Clearing Congress Lectures,” Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC, July 4, 1958.

7 “A civilization without insanity”: What Is Scientology?, p. xiii.

8 “Scientology works 100 percent”: Ibid., p. 215.

9 Most of them were white: Harriet Whitehead, “Reasonably Fantastic: Some Perspectives on Scientology, Science Fiction, and Occultism,” in Zaretsky and Leone, Religious Movements in Contemporary America, p. 549.

10 “After drugs”: Interview with Jim Dincalci.

11 superhuman powers: Interview with Skip Press.

12 The device measures: Hubbard, Electropsychometric Auditing Operators Manual, 1952.

13 “It gives Man his”: What Is Scientology?, p. 175.

14 “Our most spectacular feat”: James Phelan, “Have You Ever Been a Boo-Hoo?,” Saturday Evening Post, March 21, 1964, pp. 81–85.

15 The E-Meter is presumed: Response of the Church of Scientology to queries.

16 “The needle just idles”: Hubbard, E Meter Essentials 1961—Clearing Series, vol. 1, p. 18.

17 “Be three feet back”: Hubbard, Philadelphia Doctorate Course Transcripts.

18 Free of the limitations: Ibid.