As our correspondent Commodore H. McCringleberry learned at an event in Houston recently, Scientology is crazy for surveys. Church members are always being asked to fill them out, even though they tend to ask the same questions over and over again in a poorly disguised attempt to sell church services.
Another of our readers pointed out something very interesting to us this week. He noticed that Scientologists were asked to fill out an online survey about the Sea Org, Scientology’s inner hardcore of workers who sign billion-year contracts and work for pennies an hour. We’ve grabbed the questions from the survey…
Have you ever considered joining the Sea Org?
[If yes], when was it you decided to or considered joining the Sea Org?AdvertisementIn your opinion, what would be the most appealing aspects to being in the Sea Org?
What do you see are the biggest benefits to you, for joining the Sea Org?
What do you or would you have hoped to accomplish by joining the Sea Org?
If you no longer plan on it, what changed?
What in your opinion, if anything, are the most admirable aspects of the Sea Org or Sea Org members?
What in your opinion is the most important thing about the Sea Org?
[If no], what is the main reason you wouldn’t/can’t join?
Is there anything that would make joining the Sea Org more appealing to you?
The rest of the questions were more generic…
What is your age?
How many years have you been in Scientology?
What is your processing level?
What is your highest training level?
Do you have staff experience?
Which region do you live in?
Our reader pointed out that other surveys that church members have been asked to fill out are also online — more than 1,200 of them.
Score! We’ve gone through some of the more recent surveys, and we pulled out a few questions from some of them to give you an idea what Scientology wants to know about its own members…
— What do you feel needs to be done to get even more Scientologists participating in field activities?
— When you think about Flag, what comes to your mind first?
— Have you read the book Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard?
— What did you come into Scientology to get handled?
— What do you find most helpful about attending Scientology events? What is the importance of being briefed on expansion news?
— If you attended any of the Maiden Voyage events so far, what drew you to attend? If you did not attend, why not?
— What do you think should be the response of Scientologists to the current state of the world?
— Have you ever thought about or wanted to start a mission?
— Have you ever considered opening or working in a Narconon?
— What do you think Clear is?
— As regards you doing a Scientology service on the Freewinds, who do you listen to? Whose opinion do you accept?
— How do you feel about the Scientology mail you receive?
— Please tell us what happened when you received this magazine and DVD that resulted in you not watching the DVD that was placed on the back of the magazine.
— How does a person know whether Scientology works or not?
— What reasons would you have for not going to the AO in Canada?
— Has someone explained to you what an operating thetan is?
— What would you like as a free gift as part of buying one of the Golden Age of Knowledge Packages?
— What TV stations do you spend the most time watching?
— Do you think there is a possibility of life after death?
— Are you a parent?
— What is the biggest change or improvement in your life from the Basics?
— What activity do you think of instantly when I say “Keeping Scientology Working?”
— At what price do you begin to perceive a seminar as so expensive that you would not consider buying it?
— What was your greatest win on the SRD?
— Describe how your life is now as a Clear, compared to how it was before.
— What role do Ideal Orgs play in clearing the planet? In your opinion, what needs to be done to create Ideal Orgs everywhere?
We’d love to hear what you think these questions tell us about the current state of the organization. Oh, and of course, tell us how you’d answer them!
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Someone at the Pasadena Org needs to update the mailing list
Karen de la Carriere received this letter recently, and she was good enough to share it with us, knowing that we might have fun picking our jaw up from the floor…
Karen, of course, is one of the most well known former Scientologists, and a fierce critic, who was kept by the church from seeing her own son after he died of a very preventable medical condition while under the care of other Scientologists. We asked her how she felt about getting this letter.
“I still get these letters from all around the world. Mostly I say or do nothing. They get shredded,” she said. “I feel an emotional pang for these staff members, working the trenches, doing it all and believing in it all, and waking up only 20 to 30 years later with the best years of their life sacrificed to a cult.”
She also said she wanted to show us the letter as an example of how the church tries to convince lapsed members to come back into the church, and to contrast it with the creepy one-line message that one of our readers received recently.
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German court sides with company that doesn’t trust its Scientologist employee
This story popped up yesterday afternoon and is generating a lot of talk on the forums. A German Scientologist who worked for a helicopter manufacturer sued when he was excluded from sensitive meetings where trade secrets were being discussed because of his affiliation with the church. Being left out of such meetings, he argued, was a form of religious discrimination and would negatively affect his career.
But a German court sided with the company, finding that the company had a legitimate reason to fear that a Scientologist exposed to sensitive company secrets might be a security threat because he might be required to divulge his secrets during Scientology auditing sessions.
Well, sure. Because of the nature of Scientology and its snitching culture and blackmailing practices, you’d be an idiot to trust a Scientologist with anything more than your lunch order.
But we’re still a bit shocked that a German court would make this ruling. We have a hard time seeing something similar happening here in the U.S.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 13, 2016 at 07:00
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Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information about the book, and our 2015 book tour, can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts
Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield
