After years of failing to get inside Scientology,Louis Theroux struck on a new approach: film ex-members’ stories on Hollywood soundstages – then wait for the church’s enforcers to come after himNot counting the brand of Sunni Islam practised by the so-called Islamic State, there is probably no religion in the world that comes in for more flak than Scientology. It is, and whether you believe the TV shows and tabloids,the “weird religion” non-pareil: a weird and greedy cult that sees ex-members fleeing its allegedly ultra-controlling clutches; family members supposedly prevented from seeing each other because one of them has been “declared suppressive”; Hollywood stars reportedly blackmailed into remaining in the church via the threat of having their sexual secrets revealed.
Only last week came news that Cathriona White – Jim Carrey’s ex-girlfriend, who killed herself with a prescription drug overdose in September – had been a paid-up Scientologist and had recently been taking one of the church’s Survival Rundown courses. (I paused on reading this, and wondering approximately the relevance of White’s faith to her death – anyone can be subject to depression; but Scientology advertises itself as the world’s main authority on mental health,and in fact actively discourages church members from seeking non-Scientology-based psychiatric care.)Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com