Chased by their church: When you try to leave Scientology, they try to bring you back

// added November 02, 2009 // 20 comments //
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For years, the Church of Scientology chased down and brought back staff members who tried to leave.

Ex-staffers describe being pursued by their church and detained, cut off from family and friends and subjected to months of interrogation, humiliation and manual labor.

One said he was locked in a room and guarded around the clock.

Some who did leave said the church spied on them for years.

Others said that, as a condition for leaving, the church cowed them into signing embellished affidavits that could be used to discredit them if they ever spoke out.

The St. Petersburg Times has interviewed former high-ranking Scientology officials who coordinated the intelligence gathering and supervised the retrieval of staff who left, or "blew."

They say the church, led by David Miscavige, wanted to contain the threat that those who left might reveal secrets of life inside Scientology.

Marty Rathbun, a former church official and confidant of Miscavige, said the leader especially targeted those he had edged aside during his rise to the top or anyone he feared might threaten his position or the church if left alone on the outside.

When the church founder L. Ron Hubbard was in charge, "there were no fences," Rathbun said. "If somebody blew, they blew. It wasn't until these purges started with Miscavige — where he was creating enemies and people … became a threat to him — that we went into this overdrive scenario."

Church spokesman Tommy Davis "categorically denied'' Miscavige knew about or was involved in the pursuit of runaways or spying on former members. He said Rathbun and other former staff are liars, taking their own misdeeds and blaming them on Miscavige and the religion they have forsaken. He said they are trying to undermine Miscavige's leadership even as he presides over unprecedented church growth.

Miscavige "redefines the term 'religious leader,' " Davis said, while some of the Times sources are on the "lunatic fringe'' of anti-Scientology. He said they are the real villains, who Miscavige dismissed for "suborning perjury, obstruction of justice and wasting millions of dollars of parishioner funds.''

He accused the Times of "naked bias" and engaging in tabloid journalism.

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20 comments // Chased by their church: When you try to leave Scientology, they try to bring you back

  • lj111
  • TJLIBRE
    • 0
      TJLIBRE  

    • The Jehovah Witnesses do the same thing (I’m one of them) even worse. Once you’re in, there is no dignifying way of getting out, they’ll shun you, label you as “proud”, “spiritually weak”, “faithless” and if you happen to be a smart person who disagree with some of their dogmas then they label you an “apostate”. They even have a saying “there is no life outside the organization”.

      P.S I just want to say that they are not a cult -we use that term a lot to label people that we don’t like-, they are just another religion that manifest “cult like” behavior and policies. While you are in and doing everything the “Governing Body” ask you to do in the name of GOD all goes well for you and your life is good. But once you realize that you’re living a fantasy, a lie and that you have surrendered your life and your God’s given right to have your own thoughts to the collective conscience of nine imperfect men, then,,,that’s when you get hell and fell the weight of authority on you.

    • 3 months ago
  • corndog67
    • 0
      corndog67  

    • But first you need to be either gullible enough, weak enough or stupid enough to join or hang with them.

      l need to start my own religion, you really don't have to believe in anything, but you've got to accept all the motorcycles, milling machine, lathe and welder that is in my garage. And I need the tax advantages, also. And you had better be nice to my dogs. Or we'll come after you.

    • 3 months ago
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  

    • Jehovah's Witnesses do the same thing. They don't let you go, unless they themselves throw you out.

      It is typical of most cults.

    • 3 months ago
  • TJLIBRE
    • 0
      TJLIBRE  
    • jubal:

      Hey Jubal,

      I agree with you. JW on his way out The Jehovah Witnesses do the same thing (I’m one of them) even worse. Once you’re in, there is no dignifying way of getting out, they’ll shun you, label you as “proud”, “spiritually weak”, “faithless” and if you happen to be a smart person who disagree with some of their dogmas then they label you an “apostate”. They even have a saying “there is no life outside the organization”.

      P.S I just want to say that they are not a cult -we use that term a lot to label people that we don’t like-, they are just another religion that manifest “cult like” behavior and policies. While you are in and doing everything the “Governing Body” ask you to do in the name of GOD all goes well for you and your life is good. But once you realize that you’re living a fantasy, a lie and that you have surrendered your life and your God’s given right to have your own thoughts to the collective conscience of nine imperfect men, then,,,that’s when you get hell and fell the weight of authority on you.

    • 3 months ago
  • jubal
  • div
  • Progresshiv
  • RFIDemocracy
  • Progresshiv
  • eskimoe
    • 0
      eskimoe  

    • I could belive all this. I lived in Hollywood growing up and I had a friend (13 at the time) that lived in a little room by himself across the street from the scientology building because supposably he couldn't live with his mother that lived in the Scientology building. She would bring him sandwiches once in a while but that's all I ever saw of her.

    • 3 months ago
  • hpseaton
    • 0
      hpseaton  

    • ...'reveal secrets of life inside Scientology.' The secrets of being so stupid that they believe L. Ron Hubbard actually had a coherent thought? Secrets of being in the rank and file of a group that has Tom Cruise as a spokesman?

      Scientology is a joke. It boggles my mind that anyone would actually want to join this so-called 'church'. Hell, just make up your own religion, it would probably make more sense.

    • 3 months ago
  • EdJoyProductions
    • 0
      EdJoyProductions  
    • hpseaton:

      Just because the other religions have been around longer doesn't make them any less ridiculous. :) The good news is that they seem to be trying to recruit the lost sheep. This is a sign that they need every brain washed member. This could be a good thing. This could be the beginning of the end.... or not. I would not be sorry to see this religion bite the dust.

    • 3 months ago
  • desertcat
    • 0
      desertcat  
    • hpseaton:

      hp: check out fictionology. you get to chose your own deity, make your own rules and let in whoever you want. keeps the zealots out that way. I chose Rocky and Bullwinkle two deities for the price of one.plus I am covered on land and in the air.

    • 3 months ago
  • RFIDemocracy
  • Maeveeo
    • 0
      Maeveeo  

    • Run if youcan , catch a cab if there is one , but make sure you have ah BAT or something cause they will hunt you down like the FBI or CIA or the IMF ( Tom are you getting this ? ) .

    • 3 months ago
  • KSirys
    • 0
      KSirys  

    • I know this first hand... I was invited to learn more about them, visited several times to know more and when I knew it was all crap, they tried going after me. The sad thing was, I lived in the ghetto and they were too scared... lol..

      Move to the ghetto folks!!!

    • 3 months ago
  • EdJoyProductions
  • KSirys
    • 0
      KSirys  
    • KSirys:

      No no, they don't mind them... as long as "they" (us common folks) have "potential" lol... But I was working in the city (NY) at the time and they "guessed" i was living there too (or maybe i told them I did... hummm..). How sad it was the day they found out I wasn't living near any city, but in the ghetto of NJ.... It was like taking candy from a baby... =(

    • 3 months ago
  • RFIDemocracy

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