Scientology and Human Rights — Oil and Water

For decades, scientologists have attempted to position themselves as credible human rights activists. Not a week goes by without a new self-congratulatory press release on their efforts to “make human rights a fact.” Front groups such as United for Human Rights, Youth for Human Rights and Foundation for a Slavery Free World extol the value of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) without the slightest hint of irony.

“They are just trying to help,” some may claim. “They may not be perfect but they do good things.” Well, okay. Mexican cartels also “do good things” such as giving food and clothing to the poor. Pablo Escobar built hospitals, stadiums and low-income housing. Heck, the KKK sponsored local community events and even adopted a highway.

The church’s human rights hypocrisy goes well beyond mere “imperfection.” Its entire ideology is incompatible, as each article of the UDHR below shows:

ARTICLE 1
All human beings are born free and equal.

• Scientologists believe that humans (and other life forms) are born into enslavement. Thetans are imprisoned on this planet, trapped in a simulation by interdimensional slavers, forced to occupy physical bodies on an endless samsaric loop.
• Those born with disabilities are considered “degraded beings” and a lost cause.
• Children and babies born to a “suppressive” mother are “potential trouble sources” and must be shunned whilst in her care.

• Scientologists are homines novi – an elevated status comparable to Nietzsche’s übermenschen.
• Non-scientologists are referred to as “wogs”, defined as “common, garden-variety humanoids.”
• Scientologists who practice their religion independently of the church are considered “squirrels” and “suppressive persons” who must be shunned, per policy.

ARTICLE 3
Everyone has the right to life, to live in freedom and safety.

• Those the church declares suppressive persons “have no rights of any kind.” Per policy, they “may be deprived of property or injured by any means by any scientologist.” They “may be tricked, sued, lied to or destroyed.”

ARTICLE 4
Everyone has the right to be free from slavery.

• Sea Org members work over 100 hour weeks for pennies an hour, prevented from leaving SO properties, often held against their will and forced to do heavy, manual labor. Those who manage to escape are tracked down and recovered per the church’s Blow Drill.

ARTICLE 5
Everyone has the right to be free from torture.

• Disaffected scientologists are required to undergo a series of intense, behavior-modifying interrogations or “security checks” – often for several hours a day, for weeks at a time, whilst being screamed at by multiple staff.
• Those who suffer a psychotic episode are locked in a room indefinitely and not spoken to, per the Introspection Rundown.
• Former Sea Org members claim to have been repeatedly assaulted, humiliated and imprisoned. Some have reported being confined to the engine room or the bilge tank on the Freewinds, forced to clean human excrement with bare hands, forced to clean bathroom floors with their tongue, or forced to run around a tree in the Californian desert – in temperatures of up to 110 degrees, for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week – for months at a time.

ARTICLE 6
Everyone has the right to be recognised before the law.

• A “suppressive person” is a nonperson, with no rights of any kind.
• Scientologists are required to sign away many of their legal rights prior to participation.

ARTICLE 7
We are all equal before the law.

• Attempts to bring scientologists before the law are considered “suppressive” and accusers are targeted accordingly. “The law can be used very easily to harass,” Hubbard stated. “Make it rough on attackers, all the way.” Accusers must be smeared, fired from their jobs and “muzzled” into silence, per policy.

ARTICLE 8
Everyone has the right to seek justice if their rights are violated.

• It is a “suppressive act” for a scientologist to seek legal recourse regarding other scientologists. All complaints, irrespective of severity, are handled internally and resulting judgements are final. This also applies to ex-scientologists seeking civil action against current members, and has been repeatedly upheld by US courts.

ARTICLE 9
Everyone has the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

• Scientologists can be detained, held against their will and forced to undergo arbitrary punishments for perceived errors.
• Those who speak publicly of institutional abuses are declared suppressive and expelled. Current members are required to sever all ties with SPs, per policy. Failure to do so results in their own expulsion.

ARTICLE 10
Everyone has the right to a fair trial.

• Those subject to the church’s “religious arbitration” (aka Committee of Evidence) – including former members under court instruction, are not permitted to have their lawyers present. Recording the proceedings is strictly prohibited, as is the submission of evidence without church approval.

ARTICLE 11
Everyone has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

• In line with church policies on criticism, administrative errors, poor performance, bad PR and customer dissatisfaction, there is always someone to blame – regardless of innocence. These individuals are forced to undergo behavior modifying interrogations until they accept fault, including victims of rape and assault.

ARTICLE 12
Everyone has the right to privacy and freedom from attacks on their reputation.

• All auditing sessions are recorded, typically without the knowledge of the participant.
• In Laura Ann DeCrescenzo v. Church of Scientology International, despite its public claims of priest-penitent confidentiality, the church admitted some 200 staff may access a scientologist’s “pc folder.”
• Within the Sea Org, all incoming and outgoing communications are monitored by security staff, including telephone calls. Personal cell phones must be surrendered.
• All Sea Org recruits must complete a “life history” questionnaire, requiring intimate details of all sexual endeavors and those involved.
• The church maintains a snitching culture where members are required to report any utterances of discontent.
• Major critics and whistleblowers are kept under constant surveillance by the church’s Office of Special Affairs. Targets have had their phones tapped, their emails hacked, their vehicles tracked and their bank records stolen.
• The church uses a number of websites and social media accounts to propagate ad hominem smears against former members and journalists. Personal information from a member’s therapy sessions and disciplinaries are routinely published.

ARTICLE 13
Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and to be free to leave and return to their own country.

• Sea Org members are required to surrender their passports upon arrival.*
• Sea Org members are prevented from leaving their bases without prior approval – and an escort.
• Those who wish to leave the Sea Org are forced to undergo lengthy “routing out” rituals that can last for months – involving extensive, invasive interrogations and hard labor.
• Those who escape are tracked down, coerced into returning and then detained for behavior modification.

*Some recent former members claim this is no longer observed.

Everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution.

• Declared suppressives have no rights of any kind. The only way an SP can be free from scientological persecution is by compromising their integrity and remaining silent.

ARTICLE 15
Everyone has the right to a nationality.

• New Sea Org members are typically recruited from outposts across Eastern Europe and South America, before being trafficked to primary locations in Florida, California and Curacao – where visas can be threatened to enforce compliance.
• Sea Org members who are involved in or have witnessed major abuses and crimes, are sent to remote locations and kept hidden – often on the other side of the world.

ARTICLE 16
Everyone has the right to marry and to have a family.

• Children are considered a distraction in the Sea Org and are forbidden, per policy. Those who fall pregnant are pressured into having an abortion. Should they resist, they are offloaded.
• Sea Org members cannot get married without prior approval.

ARTICLE 17
Everyone has the right to own property.

• Sea Org members must surrender their personal cell phones and devices on day one.
• Public scientologists are expected and pressured to do everything necessary to free up monies required for scientology services and “social betterment” projects. “Those who will pay…have the greatest value to others,” Hubbard declared. If that means selling their house, their car, sacrificing their child’s college fund, or taking out multiple credit cards and going into heavy debt, so be it.

ARTICLE 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

• Scientologists must repeatedly submit to interrogations throughout their journey within the church. Wayward thoughts, including those critical of David Miscavige (sometimes even Tom Cruise) invariably result in either costly or labour-intensive behavior modification programs.
• Scientologists who practice their religion independently of the church are considered “squirrels” and “suppressive persons” who must be shunned, per policy. They can also be subjected to campaigns of harassment and persecution (aka “Fair Game”).

ARTICLE 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

• It is a suppressive act to publicly criticize or disavow scientology, scientologists or the church.
• Criticism is considered “natter”, “entheta” and “enemy line” and is demonstrative of hidden transgressions. “Get this as a technical fact, not a hopeful idea,” Hubbard claimed. “Every time we have investigated the background of a critic of scientology, we have found crimes for which that person or group could be imprisoned under existing law. We do not find critics of scientology who do not have criminal pasts.”
• Scientologists are encouraged to snitch on those who voice critical opinions. Those reported are interrogated and subjected to punitive behavior modification. A “non-enturbulation order” (aka gag order) may also be issued. Repeat offenders are expelled, declared suppressive and shunned.

ARTICLE 20
Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

• It is a suppressive act to associate with anyone the church has declared suppressive. A scientologist who refuses to disconnect is also declared suppressive – their loved ones and associates will then face the exact same dilemma. And on and on it goes. This cycle continues until remaining ties to all suppressives on the chain are severed.
• It is also a suppressive act to publicly depart the church. Disaffected scientologists who wish to remain in contact with church members must remain silent or else face disconnection.

ARTICLE 21
Everyone has the right to take part in government and to have equal access to public service.

• The government of the church is a dictatorship. The church is run by David Miscavige – who usurped control in 1986, following the death of founder L. Ron Hubbard. There are no leadership elections. Scientologists have no say on how their church is managed. Miscavige has absolute power and dominion over the church’s operations, dogma, culture and discipline. Criticism of his leadership is met with punitive behavior modification or expulsion.

ARTICLE 22
Everyone has the right to social security.

• It is a dogma of the church that all illnesses are self-created whilst under the influence of a suppressive person or ghost.
• The church does not provide any form of pension or health insurance for its workers. Church staff and Sea Org members must rely on Medicaid and public assistance programs.
• Sea Org members are expected to work for as long as their bodies permit. Those with family may eventually be offloaded into their care; others live out their last few days, hidden from view, in a dirty church-owned apartment – with minimal care or supervision.

ARTICLE 23
Everyone has the right to work, to equal pay, and to just and favorable conditions.

• In Headley v. Church of Scientology International, the church admitted it provided unjust and unfavorable working conditions but that it was their religious right to do so.
• Sea Org members have been forced to clean human excrement with their bare hands, forced to clean bathroom floors with their tongue, and exposed to concrete dust, blue asbestos and other toxic chemicals without any protective equipment. One Sea Org member burnt her eyes whilst welding without goggles and was denied medical attention. Another made contact with an electric wire and was killed instantly.
• Many former staff and Sea Org members claim to have been assaulted, humiliated and imprisoned. Some, repeatedly.

ARTICLE 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure.

• There are no days off in the Sea Org.
• Members are given a couple of hours, each week – primarily for laundry and cleaning.
• Time off to attend marriages, funerals or family holidays are rarely approved other than to appease a potentially hostile or influential family member.
• Sleep deprivation is commonplace within a church that operates on urgency. Sea Org members often work over 120 hour weeks and are expected to keep working throughout the night when needed. Former members claim to have gone several days without sleep and several months with barely an hour or two.

ARTICLE 25
Everyone has the right to a decent standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and social services.

• Sea Org dormitories are usually cramped, with 20 to 30 people packed tightly into a small, dirty, airless room – typically with only one toilet.
• Sea Org members denied the “privilege” of meal times are forced to live off protein bars or other snacks, at their own expense.
• The church does not offer any form of pension or health insurance to its workers. Medicaid and public assistance programs are routinely exploited.
• Scientologists are forbidden from using any form of drug or medicine whilst taking courses or undergoing therapy.
• Sea Org members do not retire and are expected to work right up until the very end. Once they become a burden, they are offloaded. “We’d rather have you dead than incapable,” Hubbard wrote.
• The church is vehemently anti-psychiatry and anti-psychology. Any member suffering a mental health condition, regardless of severity, is expected to seek solutions exclusively within scientology. Anyone who suffers a psychotic episode is immediately isolated and imprisoned indefinitely – as per the church’s Introspection Rundown.

ARTICLE 26
Everyone has the right to education.

• In line with Hubbard scripture, most scientologists – especially Sea Org members – see little value in anything other than a scientology education. Due to the oft-claimed urgency of the church’s mission, members are expected and pressured to prioritize scientology above all else. As eternal, immortal beings, scientologists believe they have lived trillions of lifetimes – they have been everywhere, done everything and know all there is to know. The Marcabian between-lives memory-wiping operation, combined with accumulated trauma from ancient interstellar brainwashing, is what prevents an individual from accessing this forgotten knowledge. Thus scientology therapy and the church’s expansion are the only things that matter, this lifetime.

ARTICLE 27
Everyone has the right to enjoy culture, art and science – and the protection of their own moral and material interests.

• Sea Org members are prevented from enjoying technological advancements within the field of communications. Other than a select few, members are forbidden from owning cell phones, computers or any related devices – and are unable to access the internet.
• The church has a documented history of abusing copyright laws to silence critics and to stifle debate of its advanced scriptures.

ARTICLE 28
Everyone has the right to a social and international order where the rights in this Declaration can be fully realized.

• All scientologists are required to waiver this right prior to participation.
• A suppressive person has no rights of any kind.

ARTICLE 29
We have a duty to other people and we should protect their rights and freedoms.

• As of today, the US considers the church’s institutional religious rights to be senior to the individual rights and freedoms of its members.

ARTICLE 30
Nobody can take away these rights and freedoms.

• Except the church of scientology.