Defectors Say Church of Scientology Hides Abuses

Appearing March 7 in The New York Times on Page 1, is a news article about how Scientology abuses its followers in multiple ways. The fact of scandal is nothing new, but perhaps the media attention is. There seems to be a growing awareness of abuses, as new scandals come to light all too frequently.

There are some remarkable parallels between EnlightenNext and Scientology. Beginning with the names, both manufactured words implying, what? Something new and revolutionary, not something old and worn out. And from here the list can include:

Financial abuses: members report being pressured to give large “donations.”

Control of relationships and reproductive life: members have to accept the authority of the organization as an intimate partner in their relationships.

Physical abuses: in both organizations the leader is alleged to have slapped subordinates.

Endless toil: both groups strongly encourage members who are “serious” to give all available time to the cause.

Cut off from outside: both groups vilify the common culture, “only we know the true way”.

Both are based on an absurd proposition: EnlightenNext that Andrew Cohen is a “perfect reflection of the absolute” here to lead a “revolution among the young” while at Scientology that humans migrated here 75 million years ago when they were dumped on Earth due to overpopulating in the Galactic Confederacy where there were 178 billion inhabitants per planet.

And the list goes on….

But why the similarities?

Defectors Say Church of Scientology Hides Abuse
NYTimes
3/7/2010

and a full history of Scientology from Wikipedia