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My thetan and I aren't exactly on speaking terms

Diagonalize — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:55:16 -0800

I was raised a Scientologist. Is there any way to casually mention this or should I just keep it to myself? My parents, who are lovely people, were quite active in Scientology throughout my childhood, and, by default, so was I. I attended Scientology-affiliated schools from kindergarten through high school, and I grew up largely around Scientologists. I wasn't OT or even Clear, but I'd done a few courses and had some auditing at my parents' and teachers' urging. Despite growing up with Scientology all around me, I never really felt comfortable identifying myself as a Scientologist. I started seriously questioning their beliefs and practices in high school, and once I left for college, I essentially broke ties with nearly all parts of that life. My younger siblings and parents followed suit, and the closest my family comes to Scientology these days is people on Facebook and ignoring phone calls from Flag. Scientology is no longer a part of my life, and I like it that way.

But how do I tell people that without getting into a huge discussion? Often the subject comes up when discussing high schools, since mine was very small (graduating class of 9) and very unusual. I'm not especially ashamed of my past, but it tends to be a thorny subject, given the popular attitudes towards Scientology. It's rarely been the case that I could casually mention my past without it becoming awkward or have it lead to a big discussion, and I generally worry that if I don't explain in detail, people will just write me off as crazy.

For the most part, I don't mind explaining myself, but sometimes I'm not in the mood or don't have time for a big long explanation, so I just keep my mouth shut. I don't really want to hide my past, but I feel like it can easily give someone the wrong impression about me if I'm not able to explain in detail. Is this the kind of information I should just keep to myself? I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable if they start cracking Xenu jokes and then later find out I was a Scientologist. It's not that I mind the jokes (I don't), but I don't want anyone to feel like I misrepresented myself. If someone casually said to you, “Oh, actually, I was raised a Scientologist, but I'm not one anymore,” and then didn't go into detail, would that be too weird? It's always felt like the kind of statement that required more explanation, but I've also been known to overthink a plate of beans.

Scientologist Athlete

josher71 — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 06:28:30 -0800

Who are some famous athletes who are Scientologists? There are plenty of actors who I hear about being Scientologists but rarely an athlete.

Reporting a refund of a charitable donation on your taxes?

kristi — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:47:54 -0800

Say you report a charitable donation on your taxes, and then, a few years later, you get the organization to give you your money back. How do you report the refund? Every so often I hear about a Scientologist who leaves Scientology and gets some or all of their money back. (I'm a Scientology debunker, so I hear about this stuff.) With tax time coming up, I'm curious about the tax implications of a refund of a charitable donation you wrote off in the past.

Say you donate $50,000 to Scientology in 2002, and declare it on your taxes, and then you leave Scientology, and get them to give you back that $50,000 in 2006. How do you report that? How would that work with the IRS?

If it matters, there are two kinds of Scientology donations - the kind of donations you usually think of with non-profit organizations, where you just give money toward a cause like setting up a new chapter of the group or buying a new building, and a second kind which is a payment earmarked for Scientology services you plan to take. (Yes, this violates the typical interpretation of charitable donations not being attached to any benefit received by the donor; nevertheless, that's how the IRS handles Scientology fees at this point in time.) So, if there's a difference between getting back, say, money given to support starting a new Scientology org (which would be a more standard type donation) and what's called in Scientology "money on account," I'd love to hear that, too. Example: Annie Body gives $10,000 to the International Association of Scientologists just to generally support what they do, and also pays $20,000 toward the next courses she plans to take. She reports $30,000 as a charitable donation on her taxes. Three years later, she leaves and manages to get them to give it all back. How does she report the refund?

How to find current information on the day-to-day practices of the Church of Scientology in Berlin

omnigut — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:01:52 -0800

I'm researching Scientology in Berlin. Anyone know what they're up to in this city either on a day-to-day basis, or politically? Or what sites I might search to get the relevant information? I should add that I don't speak German. I am asking this here because although I can find many articles and videos etc about the opening of a big "church" in Berlin, I can't find much about what effect it's having now, in 2008. I need to do a paper on the Berlin/New York differences with respect to Scientology, and I'm finding current information hard to come by. Thanks!

PPS, wasn't sure if this fit in the "religion and philosophy" section or the "work and money" section...

Help! My doctor's a Scientologist!

MsVader — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 08:53:28 -0800

I just started working for my chiropractor last week. In the back of the front desk area, I find a huge poster of L. Ron Hubbard's Illustrated Tone Scale in Full, including the Know to Mystery Scale. My question is - should I be freaked out about this? Here's basically what it looks like.

More details about the doc - he's also a naturopath, he's in great shape, has a good looking family, must make a lot of money (now that I see just how many people come through his office daily), and is friendly with his patients. He does a good job helping keep my headaches at bay, so I have no problems with his abilities. However, now that I'm working for him, and there's the whole power/money dynamic to consider, I just want to know if I need to be wary.

The night after I noticed the poster, I had a disturbing dream about him and his wife trying to convert me. Now, I know that's just me being silly, but I find that I can't just let it drop. I suppose it's entirely possible that he's not a Scientologist at all, and I'm just making a big deal out of nothing. I mean, he could've just seen that poster somewhere and thought it was a motivational thing that would look good hanging up in his office, right? Right? RIGHT? *sigh*

I know this shouldn't be a big deal. I don't really care what faith a person belongs to. That's never been an issue for me. But, my limited knowledge of Scientology leads me to believe that it's a completely different ballpark. For example, when I looked this up before, here's what I found. Hubbard's clearly insane!

Is there a way for me to ask the other office staff about it without seeming inappropriate? Any other advice?

L. Ron Hubbard's Al-Anon? Really?

splatta — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 12:27:36 -0800

Is Al-Anon related to Scientology in any way? I'd never heard anyone relating the two before reading this BoingBoing story. Google searches turn up a few mixed results, but nothing conclusive, if it's not true, where did the rumor start?

Where the thetans at?

Pretty_Generic — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 07:03:34 -0800

For a mysterious reason, this Russian chap has removed access to pages 6 and 15-20 of OT III (in the original handwriting). I've tried everything to get them, but the Church has had all the Wayback mirrors removed. Can anyone help? You can email me if you'd rather not reveal your source.

Is Neil Gaiman currently a scientologist?

PinkStainlessTail — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 07:03:02 -0800

Is Neil Gaiman currently a scientologist? The established facts I've been able to find are that his father was deeply involved with the CoS, but everything on Neil seems to be about fourth hand on message boards: he is, he isn't, he never was, he refuses to talk about it one way or another, etc. Anyone have a reputable source for a definitive answer?

Shrinking Scientology?

Pretty_Generic — Sun, 19 Dec 2004 05:08:36 -0800

I'm interested in how long Scientology can survive while Google produces results like this. Does anyone have experience of Scientology within their family, or has anyone seen signs that the organisation is shrinking?