By Ruth Lorenzen
The Church of Scientology likes to toss around the term “religious bigotry” and call people by the epithet “Religious Bigot!”
But what’s really behind all this?
A religious bigot is someone who holds a very narrow view of life, filtered by his or her own religious beliefs, prejudiced against anyone not of their same religion. Examples: A Jewish person who won’t deal with gentiles. A Born-again Christian who tries to talk to everyone about his or her new religion and looks down his or her nose when you say “No thanks, I have my own religion.” Scientologists call non-Scientologists “Wogs” and “raw meat” to denigrate them. Most fanatical sects or cults will teach their members that everyone outside of their small circle is evil and cannot be trusted. The Church of Christ members firmly believe that someone who is not Church of Christ will go to hell — forever — with no chance of salvation, save for getting baptized.
These are examples of religious bigotry.
What is not religious bigotry? Being of one religion and deciding, through negative experiences, that you don’t want to deal with people of a particular other religion, while not caring one way or the other about any of the other religions of the world. Or people of many diverse religions discovering that a particular religious organization is inhumane or immoral to their members, or regularly breaks the law.
When the Church of Scientology is protested by people of several different religions, or it has defrauded or abused some individuals to such a degree that those individuals won’t deal with any Scientologist, how is this religious bigotry?
It’s not.
Scientology accuses people of religious bigotry because they know the “phrase” itself will cause others to “react”. It’s a public relations button. Scientology presses it; people react. By repeating the accusation over and over again, Scientologists seek to label others as Religious Bigots, and have others shun those thus labeled.
However, it is the Church of Scientology that promotes and fosters religious bigotry in its own members. How is that? Let me explain.
L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, used the term “wog” to refer to non-Scientologists. “Wog” was short for Worthy Oriental Gentleman and is a derogatory term. Here are some example writings showing how little L. Ron Hubbard thought of non-Scientologists (wogs): “We are very very few in numbers compared to two and a half billion wogs.” “If we don’t ... we’ll just go on being wogs.” “Wog courts are like ...” “The dangerous environment of the wog world ... will only persist and trouble us if we fail to spread our safe environment across the world.” “Do they think a society in this shape will approve Scientology into power? Hell no! And to hell with this society. Were making a new one, So let’s skip the approval button from a lot of wogs and settle down to work to make new people and better people. Then maybe you’ll have a society.” All are quotes by L. Ron Hubbard and published for the Scientologists.
A brand new potential Scientologist is labeled “raw meat”. These terms “wog” and “raw meat” are woven throughout Scientology’s “religious scriptures” and their administrative policies. A Scientologist cannot help but take on the color that L. Ron Hubbard painted of himself and for his religion.
So who is the Religious Bigot? The Scientologist.
He accuses others of what he himself is and does.
Copyright 2008 Ruth Lorenzen. You may freely link to this article on my website, but may not reproduce it on your own website or a message board. Permission is granted to download and print this article 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.