I used to live near a large Mennonite community and admired the local Mennonites with their hard work and choice of living arrangements. I conversed many times with the local harness maker and some of the shopkeepers. Apparently, there are "good seeds" and "bad seeds" in all communities — religious or not. I learned that one could not judge a person as being "ethical" just because he appeared to be strongly "religious" or "devoted" or "community oriented". That was just one of the many life lessons I learned along the way.
Of course, later I got into Scientology. One has a tendency to trust your fellow Scientologists without looking at their actions and deciding on their sense of ethics. You get bitten enough times and you'll remember your earlier lessons about good seeds and bad seeds.
Corporate Scientology practices a vicious scheme of "disconnection" should anyone not toe the line or decides to leave. Whether you're kicked out or you leave you are systematically blackballed and ostracized from every Scientologist you ever knew. Corporate Scientology will spread rumors about you and order everyone you know to disassociate with you and stop all communications and business relations with you.
Corporate Scientology tells the media or anyone enquiring about Scientology disconnection practices that it is normal in any religion (they're still holding on tight to the idea that Scientology is a religion; which it ain't). They try to compare themselves favorably with the Amish Church, and assert that the Amish shun people who leave and hold mock funerals for them; that those who leave are deemed as dead to them.
But that's not true.
People don't convert to Amish. (Well, not usually. It's very, very rare.) People grow up in Amish households. When they become 16 years old, they are finally considered adults. Only adults are allowed to join the Amish Church as children are considered lacking in the ability to make such serious life decisions and promises to God. A child who grew up as Amish is now given the opportunity to join the Amish Church, be baptized, and promise their life to God and their church. They are expected from that point forward to be Amish. Before then, they're not part of the Amish Church. And though their family or friends may encourage them to join the Amish Church, it ultimately has to be the individual's own decision and their own personal promise to God.
If you leave the Amish Church after promising to God to live your life as Amish, then you may be shunned by your family and friends (depending on the strictness of that particular Amish community) because you broke your vow to God, and not because of some imagined idea that you have become an enemy to the Amish religious beliefs or way of life. But if you never joined the Amish Church in the first place, like an older teenager or young adult might choose not to join, then you are not dead to your family. You may live your life outside of the Amish community and still maintain your ties to your family, including visiting them.
In Scientology, you are not allowed to test the waters — to try out some courses or have a little auditing, then decide it's not for you. You cannot leave at that point. You can never leave gracefully.
You see the difference?
All Amish are raised amongst Amish, learn the teachings and style of life, then are ASKED: Do you want to be Amish? Having grown up in an Amish household gives these young adults the information they need to make an informed decision.
A pre-Scientologist is never asked if he or she wants to be a Scientologist. "You want to learn about communication (or Dianetics or past lives)? Sign up here. Will that be cash, check or credit card? Here's your course supervisor. Start!" You are expected to BE a devoted Scientologist from Day One. You are given a "free six-month membership" with the International Association of Scientologists. And you are "counted" as a Scientologist from that day forth.
Could a child grow up in the household of Scientologist parents and CHOOSE to not be a Scientologist? Yes. But you will be ostracized and cut off from your family from that point forward. That's hard for a young person to do. (Hell... it's hard for anyone to do — choose to lose all your friends and family.) A young person can't even get away with pretending to go along with it all. If you don't go to your local Scientology Organization and take some courses regularly, you're just not being a good little Scientologist. It's off to Ethics with you for a little more "encouragement" (hint, hint).
Corporate Scientology can claim otherwise all they want for the media cameras that they don't practice "enforced disconnection", but the above is the reality of the situation.
The upshot is... one can never just TRY Scientology. You're either in or you're very, very out.
So the next time you hear a spokesperson or advertisement from Corporate Scientology tell you to just TRY it out and see for yourself... don't fall for the trap. You're much better off remaining a non-Scientologist in your local community than ever getting involved and try to leave later. Non-Scientologists are still "prospects". Ex-Scientologists are pariah!
Cult behavior? You betcha.
Copyright 2008 Ruth Lorenzen. You may freely link to this page on my website, but may not reproduce it on your own website or a message board. Permission is granted to download and print this page for the purpose of viewing, reading and retaining for reference. Any other copying, distribution, retransmission or modification of this article, whether in electronic or hard-copy form, without express prior written permission by me is strictly prohibited.
