Mary Sue

Voice Readers Raise Thousands For Couple That Refused to Spy for Scientology

We've always been suckers for the final scene of It's a Wonderful Life. No matter how many times we see it, we tear up at the sight of George Bailey's friends coming to his aid in his time of need, proving to him that he really is the richest man in town. Over the last couple of days, we watched so ... More >>

Scientology and The Master

Scientology's Oklahoma Nemesis, Bob Lobsinger: "They Lied Every Step of the Way"

On Saturday and Tuesday, we gave readers some background on the Scientology drug treatment center in Oklahoma -- called Narconon Arrowhead -- that is now the center of controversy after four recent deaths which are under investigation, three just since October. Tonight, a report by Rock Center's H ... More >>

Scientology's Idea of a Rollicking Sermon: Watch This Gem From 1984

Here at Scientology Watching Central, we often get asked, is Scientology really a religion? In general, we tend not to get into a debate about that -- Scientology calls itself a "church," so we do the same. We find that it only makes the organization's alleged abuses -- including ripping apart famil ... More >>

Chick Corea, Heber Jentzsch, Ingo Swann, and Scientology's 1977 OT Summit!

Scientology has been rocked by so much bad news lately, with all of the divorces and disappearances and defections and schisms and death investigations and torture programs and unnatural relationships and forced abortions and space opera and weird kids and weirder movies, we thought it might be tim ... More >>

"Tom Cruise Worships David Miscavige Like a God": A Scientology Insider Gives First Full-Length Interview to the Voice

I've spoken to John Brousseau numerous times over the past couple of years. In 2011, I reported about the photographs he smuggled out of Scientology's International Base east of Los Angeles which documented the work he did customizing a motorcycle, a Ford Excursion, and an airplane hangar for Tom Cr ... More >>

The Master Screenplay: Scientology History from Several Different Eras Skillfully Woven Together

On Thursday, Marc Headley settled things once and for all. In a story he wrote for The Daily Beast, he showed conclusively that Paul Thomas Anderson's script for The Master is about almost nothing but Scientology, providing 22 direct comparisons as proof. Marc did a great job showing some of the pa ... More >>

Video from the Memorial of Alexander Jentzsch; Also: Scientology Commenters of the Week

Filmmaker Mark Bunker put together this video of Friday's memorial held Friday for Alexander Jentzsch aboard the ship Spirit out of Long Beach Harbor in California. It's a simple event with a few people on a boat. But don't underestimate its significance. Since she sent out a message to thousands ... More >>

SCIENTOLOGY CRUMBLING: An Entire Church Mission Defects as David Miscavige Faces Leadership Crisis

For several years, we've been reporting about a crisis in Scientology as key members of the church -- including some of its highest-ranking former executives -- have left the organization and spoken out about its abuses. One by one, longtime, loyal Scientologists have announced that they are fed up ... More >>

SCIENTOLOGY ABANDONED BY L. RON HUBBARD'S GRANDDAUGHTER AND DAVID MISCAVIGE'S FATHER

Multiple sources are telling the Voice that Scientology's International Base in California has experienced stunning new defections -- Roanne Leake, who is L. Ron Hubbard's granddaughter, has "blown" the base, which was her home for more than 20 years. But just as shocking, at about the same time, th ... More >>

How Hooters -- Yes, Hooters -- Could Mess Up Scientology's Refund Scam

We've been telling you for the past year about the large number of longtime Scientologists who are walking away from their church. It seems like nearly every week we hear about someone like Dave Fagen who gives up after years of dedication because of the continuing crisis over David Miscavige's lead ... More >>

The Master Gets Its Scientology On in 2nd Trailer

The second trailer to Paul Thomas Anderson's upcoming film The Master was just released, and this time we get a look at Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams along with Joaquin Phoenix. We gave PTA credit for being wily with his first trailer -- for years, we've all been waiting to see how much The ... More >>

It's a Scientology Book Avalanche! RUN FOR COVER!

A slow week was suddenly broken wide open as we were hit with an avalanche of new books, promised books, and barely-begun books with one thing in common: Disapproval of David Miscavige's brand of Scientology. After the jump, we'll tell you about the book that legendary cult-busting attorney Paul Mo ... More >>

David Edgar Love: "I Think I Have Scientology By The Balls"

When I talked to David Edgar Love by Skype at his Montreal apartment Wednesday evening, he sounded exhausted -- he'd had only an hour of sleep in the past two days. "I'm pretty tired. I was up until about 5 this morning, then I had mnql1 wake me up at 6 and had that radio interview," he says, cred ... More >>

Scientology 451: Commenters of the Week!

We used the news from Russia this week as an excuse to mix up a shaker of vodka martinis. After quite a few glasses garnished with olives, we got a bit lightheaded, but we never felt the desire to ban L. Ron Hubbard's books. This was a strange week of Scientology news around the world, but we kept ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: Posing as Archaeology Students for the Sardinians

In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from late 1968 through 1971, a ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: Hubbard Welcomes the New Meat!

In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from late 1968 through 1971, and this time we'r ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: Ringing in 20 A.D. with the Commodore!

On November 18, we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from late 1968 through 1971, and this time ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: Yuletide Cheer, Including Dickens Adapted with Evil Psychs

​On November 18, we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from 1968 to 1971, and this time we' ... More >>

Hey, Scientology Celebrity, Here's Your Media Training Checksheet!

Our readers send us the most wonderful things. By e-mail and snail mail, our far-flung correspondents put in our hands Scientology's tasteless fundraising mailers (which we use in our recurring Sunday Funnies posts), they send us over-the-top glossy Scientology magazines, and of course they send us ... More >>

L. Ron Hubbard Christens the Apollo 43 Years Ago Today: For The First Time, His "Orders of the Day"

​ For you Scientology watchers and Scientology history buffs, we think we have something very special for you today. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard sailed around the Mediterranean in a small armada of vessels, going from port to port. Each day, he issued ... More >>

The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 8: Mike Rinder

​On August 5, we started a countdown that will give credit -- or blame -- to the people who have contributed most to the sad current state of Scientology. From its greatest expansion in the 1980s, the church is a shell of what it once was and is mired in countless controversies around the worl ... More >>

The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 21: Kendrick Moxon

​On August 5, we started a countdown that will give credit -- or blame -- to the people who have contributed most to the sad current state of Scientology. From its greatest expansion in the 1980s, the church is a shell of what it once was and is mired in countless controversies around the worl ... More >>

The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 22: Jamie DeWolf

​On August 5, we started a countdown that will give credit -- or blame -- to the people who have contributed most to the sad current state of Scientology. From its greatest expansion in the 1980s, the church is a shell of what it once was and is mired in countless controversies around the worl ... More >>

Scientology's Anti-Commie, Space Opera Beginnings, and Other Nuggets From New Academic Book

​There's a new academic treatise on Scientology coming out this September, and it's a very welcome addition to the literature surrounding L. Ron Hubbard's odd organization. Hugh B. Urban, Ohio State University religious studies professor, has given us, in his Princeton University Press tome, ... More >>

Scientology's Crushing Defeat

A previously unpublished saga of an $8 million check

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