Those of you who have ever heard my rant on Scientology, I would like to apologise to you- you may ignore these next few paragraphs. Because, if there's one thing I'm less open to tolerating than extreme Christianity, it's Scientology.
For those of you who aren't so clued up on the world of Scientology- I will keep this brief: it's a scam. No, ok, I'm being impertinant (again), here are the facts...
Scientology was founded by L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as a "self-help" lifestyle system. It has now been accepted in many countries as a religion in it's own right, and is commonly referred to as "The Church of Scientology". According to Wikipedia "Scientology teaches that people are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature." Scientology looks to 'rehibilitate' their memebers through various cult-ish counselling sessions called 'auditing'- whereby members are forced to regress to traumatic times in their life in a bid to "free themselevs from their limiting effects". Sounds like psychotherapy? Actually, no, Scientology preaches that regular psychiatry is "damaging" and "abusive" and "must be abolished". But since you're not forking out for a regular counsellor- you might as well put your hard-earned cash into the hands of those self-qualified Scientologists, eh? I mean, it's not a free religious practice- the study material and counsellor's help are provided in return for specific donations, and furthermore, Scientology is legally registered as a tax-exempt religion on the United States as well as other countries. We're lucky, in the UK it currently does not have such religious status, although it does still have quite a large following?!
Scientology is also just generally RIDICULOUS. They preach belief in so-called 'Thetans', which is a similar concept to that of a soul, I guess. They believe a person's Thetan commands the body through various communication points, not that Central Nervous System rubbish that those biologists would have you believe. Did I mention that Hubbard was previously a science fiction writer?
Anyway, that's just a very small insight into the world of Scientology. It's definitely worth reading up on, and there is a whole wealth of damning YouTube videos, if you're interested in scam religions that is.
So, everyone's aware that Tom Cruise is a massive supporter, believer and ambassador for Scientology, right? And recent reports have come to light since his recent divorce proceedings from Katie Holmes, that Holmes was essentially just scripted into Cruise's life by the Church of Scientology. According to the New York Post, in their marriage pre-nup, it stated that Katie Holmes would recieve a bonus for each life milestone she made with Cruise, and that she would recieve $3 million for every year she stayed in the marriage- with more for her popping out little Scientology babies.
Apparently it was a similar story with Nicole Kidman, who's divorce from Tom Cruise was apparently a decision made by the Church of Scientology after she refused to only embrace Scientology (smart girl). Apparently, after this the Church of Scientology then went on a hunt for a future spouse for Tom, where they lured young actresses and other women of note into Hollywood's Scientology Celebrity Center and "auditioned" them to become Cruise's wife. Apparently these women included Penelope Cruz and Sofia Vergara, but neither were willing to convert. Then they found Holmes, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Coming back to the present, the five year TomKat marriage contract is now up, and in a smart move to protect Suri's future, Katie wants out and is trying to take Suri with her.
Within the Church of Scientology, Suri is now of an age where if she continues within the religion, she would be closely monitored by the Church through a series of regular interogations called "sec checking" (security checking). It's basically a practice where an "Ethics Officer" probes the member's thoughts, attitudes and behaviours thorough extensive questioning whilst the member holds the electrodes of an e-meter as they respond. This is all in an attempt to uncover any criminal intentions or sexual activity that might bring shame to the member. They specifically try to uncover any negative thoughts towards Scientology or Hubbard. It's supposedly a remedy for "unreasonable action" for "the compulsion or obsession to commit actions" blah blah blah....
For a child like Suri, questions would include such things as: What has somebody told you not to tell? Have you ever decided you didn't like some member of your family? Have you ever taken something belonging to somebody else and never given it back? Have you ever pretended to be ill? Have you ever made yourself sick ill or hurt yourself to make somebody sorry?.... Nice one, Scientology!
I must point out that apparently Hubbard did call a stop to "sec checks" in 1968, but Scientology documents still report the practice and former members verify that it still continues (Raine, 2009).
Can't say I'd want to let my six year-old daughter go through that either Katie...
So there are the rumours behind the Cruise/Holmes split, and I can confirm...
I THINK I'VE GONE MENTAL!
It's probably not at ALL the reason for their divorce, or at most its bound to be a much extrapolated conlusion of the version of events. However my hatred for Scientology has clouded my judgement. I don't want to talk about it...
L.
