Inside Scientology - Janet Reitman [0]
The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion
Janet Reitman
Table of Contents
Title Page
Table of Contents
...
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Introduction
PART I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
PART II
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
PART III
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
PART IV
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Footnotes
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT | Boston | New York
2011
Copyright © 2011 by Janet Reitman
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book,
write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company,
215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.
www.hmhbooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reitman, Janet.
Inside scientology: the story of America's most secretive religion / Janet Reitman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-618-88302-8
1. Scientology—United States. 2. United States—Religion. I. Title.
BP605.S2R45 2011
299'.936—dc22 2010049837
Book design by Melissa Lotfy
Printed in the United States of America
DOC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my father, and for Lee
with love...
Contents
Introduction: The World's Fastest-Growing Religion [>]
PART I
1. The Founder [>]
2. Dianetics [>]
3. The Franchised Faith [>]
PART II
4. The Bridge to Total Freedom [>]
5. Travels with the Commodore [>]
6. Over the Rainbow [>]
7. DM [>]
8. Power Is Assumed [>]
PART III
9. Lisa [>]
10. Flag [>]
11. Seventeen Days [>]
12. The Greatest Good [>]
PART IV
13. The Celebrity Strategy [>]
14. The Seduction of Tom Cruise [>]
15. The Bubble [>]
16. Int [>]
17. Exodus [>]
Epilogue: What Is True for You [>]
Notes [>]
Selected Bibliography [>]
Acknowledgments [>]
Introduction
The World's Fastest-Growing Religion
THE LIMESTONE AND granite Church of Scientology in midtown Manhattan is located just northwest of Times Square, at 227 West 46th Street. Blending in seamlessly amid Broadway theaters, restaurants, and hotels, the place is very easy to miss, though it is seven stories tall and marked with a large metal awning proclaiming SCIENTOLOGY in gold letters. At various times during the year, clusters of attractive young men and women are posted on nearby street corners, where they offer free "stress tests" or hand out fliers. Ranging in age from the late teens to the early twenties, they are dressed as conservatively as young bank executives.
On a hot July morning several years ago, I was approached by one of these clear-eyed young men. "Hi!" he said, with a smile. "Do you have a minute?" He introduced himself as Emmett. "We're showing a film down the street," he said, casually pulling a glossy, postcard-sized flier from the stack he held in his hand. "It's about Dianetics—ever heard of it?"
I looked at the handout, which featured a large, exploding volcano, instantly familiar from the Dianetics commercials that played on local television stations when I was a teenager. The flier, which invited me to come and see the free introductory film ("Showing Now! Bring Your Friends!"), proclaimed that Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health was "the most popular book on the mind ever written" and a bestseller for over fifty years, with "over 25 million copies in circulation in 50 languages on Earth."
"Okay," I said.
"Great!" A huge grin spread across Emmett's face. He escorted me across the street.
Inside the church, two young women in long skirts stood by the reception desk. Like Emmett, they seemed to be about twenty, had blond hair, and looked freshly scrubbed, reminding me of Mormon missionaries. They led me down a set of marble steps, and we entered the main lobby, a large glossy space with lighting that bathed everything in a pinkish-golden glow. Aside from my guides and me, it was completely empty.
The room appeared to be set up as a Scientology museum. Books by Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard