Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.

—Voltaire, Questions sur les miracles (1765)

This is a movie about grievances. In every story that's ever been written about a religion or cult, whether it be a megachurch preaching hellfire and brimstone or some sick asshole with 20 teenage wives in the middle of Utah, the most pervasive question is what's the appeal? For the people in charge, it's a racket to collect more funds and expand power while taking advantage of the perceived enlightenment of the believers. In a lot of ways, this film shares a lot of similarities to Gibney'sin that it's about a system of promised awards predicated on falsehoods and abuses of trust.

Going Clear is a film anchored around a group of people who thought they had found a path to happiness, fulfillment, Jedi powers, and making a better world, telling their stories of how they wasted their money, were made to dress up like sailors and used as slave labor. When they finally escaped it all, some lost their families to Scientology too.



The first section of the film tries to define who exactly L. Ron Hubbard was as a human being. Hubbard's past includes participation with Thelemite occultists influenced by Aleister Crowley and bragging about a record in the U.S. Navy that was anything but stellar, with a picture of the man that runs the gamut between wife beater, tax cheat, and pathetic fool. Hubbard's contributions to science fiction, most notably, eventually gave way to self-help literature.became the foundation for Scientology, and explains mental health problems as being the result of bad memories, called "engrams," split between the analytical and reactive parts of the mind. So in order to make people better, Scientology claims people need to confront and remove the engram's power. Using an E-meter, an "auditor" measures the resistance to the current from the "mass of those thoughts." As the person recounts the memory, the resistance diminishes and they become "clear."

Auditing has some similarities to Freudian psychoanalysis (although, Hubbard is seen in the film vigorously refuting the assertion), and it also explains how Scientology can seem appealing. To get people in the door, they make the sessions about the person. This is not a situation where one is being handed a book, a list of things thou shalt not do, and told to pray three times a day. It's a situation with the appearance of being scientific (and probably aided by a placebo effect), in which someone is listening to the person's problems and bad experiences, building a rapport, treating him or her as the center of attention, and seeming to care. Of course, none of Hubbard's ideas have any basis in medicine and it's all done for a small fee that steadily increases over time. Because if Scientology can fix your problems with the initial sessions, just think how much better you'll be as you climb "The Bridge" to upper stages of enlightenment, with former members claiming telepathy and telekinesis being promised.

And when you spend thousands of dollars to make it to OT III and you still can't do what Carrie did at the prom, that's when aliens come into the story.



According to Scientology's creation myth, 75 million years ago a Galactic Confederation, which from appearances resembled 1950s America, was suffering from overpopulation. The leader of the Confederation, Xenu , decided to deal with the situation by requiring huge swaths of the population to report for a tax audit. Once there, those people were frozen with ethylene glycol, boxed up, put on space planes that looked exactly like DC-8 s, and brought to a prison planet called Teegeeack (a.k.a. Earth). They were then dropped into volcanoes, nuked, their souls captured and brainwashed. Those disembodied "thetans" are still here, attached to us all, and responsible for bringing down human potential.

The story is laughable and ridiculous enough (e.g., Academy Award-winning writer-director Paul Haggis, a former Scientologist, says his reaction was to wonder if it was an insanity test where you were supposed to not believe it), but it takes on a really tragic feel when you see a woman with a pained look on her face recount how she actually believed she was infested by alien beings and spent hours upon hours trying to "clear" herself.



The contract for Scientology's paramilitary "navy" called Sea Org

The latter half ofdelineates how David Miscavige uses the above dogma to create a financial empire built on celebrity outreach, with the organization's Celebrity Centre being a major landmark, and Hubbard's directive of "fair game" (i.e., harassment and threats to enemies labeled "suppressive persons"). The result is extensive research and testimony based on the experiences of former church members, some of them former senior members, with allegations of torture, labor camps, re-education camps, human trafficking, and a non-profit religion that has at least $1.5 billion in the bank. If you or I paid someone who worked for us 40 cents an hour or forced someone to mop a bathroom with their tongue, we would probably be looking at spending some time in a courtroom. However, because Scientology has tax-exempt status as a religion, these practices are protected by the First Amendment as "self-inflicted" punishments by adherents of a religion.

That tax-exempt status was also important in saving Scientology from bankruptcy. Going Clear asserts the church was looking at a $1 billion tax bill in 1993 after fighting the IRS for decades. Not only was the tax debt forgiven, but the classification of Scientology as a religion also means sales of Dianetics and other Hubbard books are not taxed either, since they're considered "religious texts." And all of this is supposed to be given a happy face by trotting out celebrities like Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and others so they can peddle Scientology in other countries and attempt religious recognition in Europe and elsewhere. However, Cruise is shown to be the equivalent of manipulated royalty within the church. Church insiders paint a picture of him as pampered and coddled to be Scientology's ambassador to the world, with his every whim attended to, but Miscavige dictates who can be close to Cruise and is jealously protective of his own relationship with the star. And Travolta is implied to be either indifferent to the religion's abuses or a "captive" who stays in his place because of the threat of blackmail. Those who don't toe the line receive harsh punishments, including being submitted to the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF) and The Hole for an attitude adjustment.

From Lawrence Wright in The New Yorker:

Miscavige came to the Hole one evening and announced that everyone was going to play musical chairs. Only the last person standing would be allowed to stay on the base. He declared that people whose spouses “were not participants would have their marriages terminated.” The St. Petersburg Times noted that Miscavige played Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” on a boom box as the church leaders fought over the chairs, punching each other and, in one case, ripping a chair apart. Tom De Vocht, one of the participants, says that the event lasted until four in the morning: “It got more and more physical as the number of chairs went down.” Many of the participants had long been cut off from their families. They had no money, no credit cards, no telephones. According to De Vocht, many lacked a driver’s license or a passport. Few had any savings or employment prospects. As people fell out of the game, Miscavige had airplane reservations made for them. He said that buses were going to be leaving at six in the morning. The powerlessness of everyone else in the room was nakedly clear.

HBO's Lawyers Worked Overtime: Scientology has a reputation for being very litigious to any perceived slight. According to HBO Documentary Films President Sheila Nevins, the network had around 160 lawyers review the documentary before its premiere.

Scientology has a reputation for being litigious to any perceived slight. According to HBO Documentary Films President Sheila Nevins, the network had around 160 lawyers review the documentary before its premiere. Hubbard Probably Believed His Own Bullshit: The documentary presents Hubbard as a horrible husband, father, naval officer, and scientist. The scummiest act alleged to be perpetrated by Hubbard is the kidnapping of his daughter from his second wife, Sara Northrup. According to letters written by Northrup, Hubbard would periodically call claiming to have killed their daughter. However, when it came to Dianetics and Scientology, Hubbard doesn't seem to have been the type of con man who was purposely selling a lie. Wright asserts the available evidence seems to indicate Hubbard really did believe his claims. The latter parts of his life entailed mostly sitting on a Sea Org boat around the Mediterranean calling himself Commodore, dodging the IRS.

The only good thing I got from Ron was my baby.

—Sara Northrup, L. Ron Hubbard's second wife

Rolling In Dough, Low Membership: According to Gibney and Wright, the financial situation of Scientology has never been stronger, and the organization is buying up property all over the world. However, the number of active members is estimated to be fewer than 50,000.

According to Gibney and Wright, the financial situation of Scientology has never been stronger, and the organization is buying up property all over the world. However, the number of active members is estimated to be fewer than 50,000. Auditing Is Not Like Confessing To A Priest: One major assertion made by Gibney and Wright is Scientology's auditing sessions serve a double purpose. Not only are they a revenue stream, but also a source of information to be used for blackmail. Since the auditing sessions encourage people to confront bad memories and issues bothering the individual, they're full of a person's innermost thoughts. Former church officials claim the sessions are cataloged and shared. A big implication of the documentary is that John Travolta's alleged homosexuality, and the possibility of it being leaked and confirmed by the church, has been a factor in his continued participation with the church.

One major assertion made by Gibney and Wright is Scientology's auditing sessions serve a double purpose. Not only are they a revenue stream, but also a source of information to be used for blackmail. Since the auditing sessions encourage people to confront bad memories and issues bothering the individual, they're full of a person's innermost thoughts. Former church officials claim the sessions are cataloged and shared. A big implication of the documentary is that John Travolta's alleged homosexuality, and the possibility of it being leaked and confirmed by the church, has been a factor in his continued participation with the church. Scientology's Position On Homosexuality: The final straw for Paul Haggis was the treatment of his daughters. Two of Haggis's daughters are lesbians. Official Scientology doctrine teaches homosexuality is a mental disorder which L. Ron Hubbard's techniques can "cure." During the battle over California's Proposition 8, a San Diego chapter of Scientology endorsed the measure and the leadership refused to denounce Prop. 8. Haggis's wrote a scathing letter denouncing the church's bigotry and claiming his wife had been ordered to "disconnect" from her parents and shun them.

Married To The Church: Arguably the weirdest revelations in Going Clear involve Tom Cruise. Over the past decade, Cruise has become the public face of Scientology after various media appearances where the subject has been broached. Former church officials claim Cruise's marriage to Nicole Kidman was purposely sabotaged by the church after Miscavige felt the actor was drifting away from the religion and him. Furthermore, the church attempted to get Cruise a replacement for Kidman by pimping supplying actress Nazanin Boniadi thousands of dollars in clothes, dental care, and dying her hair to the particular shade preferred by Cruise. It's alleged the arranged relationship between her and Cruise fell apart after Boniadi did not impress and perform as well as Miscavige thought she should have in a conversation. When Boniadi informed others as to what had happened, Haggis claims she was punished by the church and ordered to do manual labor.

Arguably the weirdest revelations in involve Tom Cruise. Over the past decade, Cruise has become the public face of Scientology after various media appearances where the subject has been broached. Former church officials claim Cruise's marriage to Nicole Kidman was purposely sabotaged by the church after Miscavige felt the actor was drifting away from the religion and him. Furthermore, the church attempted to get Cruise a replacement for Kidman by supplying actress Nazanin Boniadi thousands of dollars in clothes, dental care, and dying her hair to the particular shade preferred by Cruise. It's alleged the arranged relationship between her and Cruise fell apart after Boniadi did not impress and perform as well as Miscavige thought she should have in a conversation. When Boniadi informed others as to what had happened, Haggis claims she was punished by the church and ordered to do manual labor. FBI Investigation Short Circuited: Scientology achieved its tax-exempt status through a concerted effort to demonize the IRS and massive amount of counter-suits to tie the agency in red tape. The former Scientology officials interviewed by Gibney claim an agreement to withdraw those lawsuits was the basis of an agreement assuring the church of tax-exempt status as a religion. Not only was Scientology's tax debt forgiven, but also an FBI investigation of church practices, including alleged labor violations and human trafficking, became moot.

Scientology achieved its tax-exempt status through a concerted effort to demonize the IRS and massive amount of counter-suits to tie the agency in red tape. The former Scientology officials interviewed by Gibney claim an agreement to withdraw those lawsuits was the basis of an agreement assuring the church of tax-exempt status as a religion. Not only was Scientology's tax debt forgiven, but also an FBI investigation of church practices, including alleged labor violations and human trafficking, became moot. The Response From Scientology: The Church of Scientology's response to both Wright's book and Gibney's film is to claim the work is "bigotry" and attacking the character of Gibney, Wright, and the former church members that participated in the documentary.

The allegations in the interview are false and denied. Gibney and Wright are bigots and have drunk the proverbial Kool Aid of their apostate sources. The Church treats all information revealed by parishioners during their spiritual counseling as sacrosanct. If any of Gibney’s sources are claiming that they disclosed or threatened to disclose this information, it is no wonder they were expelled from the Church a decade or so ago.

And therein lies the bitterest irony about this whole thing. This is a religion whose claimed purpose is to relieve the world of dysfunction through confronting truth, but does everything it can to hide and stifle transparency.