Scientology, in its never ending quest to be seen as Mankind’s champion, pays lip service to the idea of human rights for all. As the hold on their own religious designation is tenuous, COS is most adamant about demanding Religious Freedom.
To the world, the face they show is one of dedicated protector. Perusing the News, Scientology’s Stand League posts outraged commentary on social media decrying hate crimes and violations against religious practices. International Director for Stand League Edward Parkin is most vocal in his support of the Jewish Community as they face internationally increasing anti-Semitic attacks.
The fact that Scientology is cozily in bed with virulently racist and anti-Semitic Nation of Islam, whose leader blames the Jewish Community for the Holocaust and referred to them as “termites” is never mentioned.
In all of its various manifestations Scientology’s first and foremost goal is good PR. Willing to do anything to present a benign, benevolent face to those around them, they speak a good game hoping no one will notice that their actions far outweigh their empty words.
One of the most effective of Scientology’s policies is to latch onto legitimate, credible organizations or entities in order to lend legitimacy to whatever their agenda may be. Referencing these organizations in their writings and announcements, at times without the targets of COS’ attention even knowing about it, they become tools to mislead the unwary public.
Applying artistic license both subtle and overt, what was at one time factual data or information becomes biased, skewed misinformation taken out of context and left with another meaning entirely.
Incapable of honesty or integrity on their own, riding the coattails of respected groups or persons helps them camouflage the true hypocrisy and rot within their core.
To this end, a 60 page booklet, What is Freedom of Religion? Know Your Rights has been created and distributed by Church of Scientology International to ostensibly instruct the persecuted on their inalienable rights to their beliefs.
Relying heavily on the United Nation’s Declaration of Human Rights and it’s accompanying documents to lend solemnity and gravity to their so called activism, the COS booklet is an adventure in hypocritical “do as we say, not as we do”.
The United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights, DHR, is one of three linked documents outlining the basic Human Rights every person on the planet is entitled to.
Crafted in 1948 in response to the horrors of the Holocaust it was designed in the hopes of avoiding another such atrocity. Scientology often looks to the DHR as they attempt to persuade others of the seriousness of their cause.
Right away in Know Your Rights CSI points to the UN, laying the groundwork for the rest of the booklet.
“This publication is designed to facilitate understanding of the right to freedom of religion or belief and its meaning under universal human rights principles and international human rights law.”
Continuing the authors align their Founder with these ideals, saying:
“The Scientology Creed of 18 February 1954, written by L. Ron Hubbard, the Founder of the Scientology religion, states:
‘We of the Church believe: That all men have inalienable rights to their own religious practices and their performance.’”
LRH in his usual way wrote one thing for COS to present to potential members, but quite another for those already within the fold. Scientology is all about the superficial; shiny and palatable on the outside, bitter and moldy within. While Hubbard did write the referenced quote, the truth of his beliefs and teachings cancels out this gracious, all inclusive rhetoric.
Exceedingly anti Christian with a special focus on the Catholics, Hubbard was very clear on his opinion of Christian belief.
“You will find the cross as a symbol all over the universe, and the Christ legend as implant in preclears a million years ago.”
—L. Ron Hubbard, Professional Auditor’s Bulletin 31, 1954
“Somebody, somewhere on this planet, back about 600 B.C., found some pieces of R6…. And it became what is known as Christianity. Uh, the man on the cross, there was no Christ, but the man on a cross, is shown as every man…. a person can have been crucified, but in R6 he is shown as crucified….. the entirety of Roman Catholicism, the devil and all this sort of thing, that is all part of R6….The Roman Catholic Church, somewhere along the line, through watching the dramatizations of people, picked up some little fragments of R6…”
—L. Ron Hubbard, Class VIII Auditor Course Assists Lecture, 1968
Hubbard was just as flippant and dismissive of the Muslims as well, making snide comments concerning Mohammad during at least one of his lectures.
The Scientology document focuses almost exclusively on the religious aspect of the U.N. declarations, however the reality is that the heart of the DHR is that it was created to define “Fundamental Freedoms” of which Religion is only one.
For COS, anything other than the freedom of belief and practice of religion is an aside and brushed over unacknowledged. It is this glaring omission that should be addressed in order to highlight and prove beyond reasonable doubt that for Scientology, the Declaration of Human Rights is not taken seriously in it entirety, but rather simply one more tool to further its own selfish agenda. Attempting to separate one fundamental freedom from the rest is to violate the spirit of the declaration as a whole.
Man is entitled to all the freedoms outlined in the creation of these charters, none of them are any more or less valuable in their worth.
Further, it is impossible to protect one Right while destroying the others as they are in a sense one basic, inalienable Right.
The right to be Human in all the myriad diversity that entails.
Amongst these freedoms are:
Right to self-determination
Right to liberty
Right to due process of law
Right to freedom of movement
Right to freedom of thought
Right to freedom of religion
Right to freedom of expression
Right to peaceful assembly
Right to freedom of association
Scientology actively works to deny not only its own members their fundamental rights, but the rights of those around them as well.
At the time of this writing Scientology is not only engaged in actively denying Valerie Haney and her co-plaintiffs their right to due process of law, but in defending Danny Masterson the same right to due process is being denied his victims as well.
Every day that goes by where children are being abused and molested while taught they are responsible for their attacks they are denied due process. These youngest and most helpless of parishioners trapped without a voice or a choice are denied the right to a decent education and most importantly for the children of SeaOrg members denied the right to be parented by their own families.
Auditing members into a state of fearful compliance is in defiance of freedom of thought as well as expression, not to mention the right to self determination.
What good is religious freedom if one is refused the ability to consider all it means and stands for? Forcing anyone into shame and fear in order to quell one’s natural right to thought and expression is an egregious violation of everything the DHR intended.
Depriving people of their passports, holding them behind razor topped fences and in prison like captivity is clearly in defiance of the right to freedom of movement.
Freedom of Religion is not a stand alone right. It depends upon the proper observance of all the other inherent freedoms, each acts in accordance with the other and when one falls so to do they all.
Article 2 of the DHR proclaims: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion…” yet in order to attain an executive position in the SeaOrg one must not be guilty of the “crime” of homosexuality.
In spite of the assertion that everyone is entitled to all the rights, Scientology violates every one in their arrogance and condescension.
COS creates the illusion of good will towards all yet scornfully looks down on non Scientologists as lesser beings incapable of bettering themselves. They refer to others as “wogs” fostering not brotherhood and freedom but division and chaos.
The policies of Fair Game and Disconnection violently fly in the face of everything the U.N. intended in defining Humanity’s Fundamental Rights.
Scientology’s fancy booklet is worth nothing when taking into consideration that it is a creation of guile and selfishness. Insisting that it fosters religious freedom yet failing utterly under the simplest scrutiny.
Once again it is clear and unequivocal; Scientology understands nothing about humanity’s inalienable Rights. For them, the Declaration of Human Rights is simply nothing more than a tool. One they show very little real care for. Something solely to further their own agenda while attempting to present a gilded façade to the world.
This is a sad and contemptible use for a document created to define and protect the good of all Mankind.
What else can one expect from a cult that hates so incredibly well?
Confront And Shatter 