Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2009, Page 69
to the Scientology Flag World Tour in Hollywood recently began with the voice of Bart
Simpson. It said: ―Yo, what‘s happening man. This is Bart Simpson. Haha, just kidding.
Don‘t hang up. This is Nancy Cartwright.‖ A Scientologist, Cartwright has been the voice of
Bart Simpson since 1987 and has reportedly donated $10 million to the organization.
Leaflets delivered to homes in a London suburb earlier this year asking, ―Do you have a
loved one or a friend on Drugs or Alcohol,‖ and claiming that Narconon [Scientology‘s drug
treatment program] ―has been saving lives for over 40 years in the fight against addiction
with more than 200,000 drug free.‖ The leaflet also asks recipients to contribute money,
through a secure web page, to support Narconon‘s work. The pamphlet does not explicitly
identify Narconon with Scientology.
In a submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission, Scientology argues that
churches and individuals who have been ―defamed‖ should be able to sue for damages. ―The
Church of Scientology,‖ it protested, ―has regularly been subject to relentless ridicule and
misinformation by the media,‖ and that police should have the power to identify anti-
Scientology activists associated with the loosely organized Internet group called
Anonymous. Serious vilification should be made a crime, the submission maintains, ―the
subject of fine, imprisonment, or both.‖ The appeal reveals Scientology‘s concern that its
tax-free status, established by a 1983 High Court judgment, would be threatened if the
Federal Government imposed ―unduly difficult taxation compliance measures‖ on religions.
In response to the May shooting death of Sikh preacher Sant Rama Nand during a melee at
a Sikh temple in Vienna, thousands of lower-caste Sikhs rioted in India‘s Punjab region. The
events reflect a rivalry between Ravidasias, a lower caste community — not considered
Sikhs, although they share certain similarities—and the pro-Khalistanis, older members of
the gundawara (temple), a ―hub‖ of Sikh separatists from the 1980s and 1990s ―lush with
offerings from a nostalgic and large-hearted diaspora.‖ The Ravidasias in Vienna, who
include ―disgruntled loser-caste youths from an increasingly prosperous Punjab, part of ―a
rising Dalit [a low Indian caste] assertion‖—set up their own temple, splitting the
congregation as well as the revenue from offerings.
Mary McAleese, the president of Ireland, distanced herself in July from the Buddhist
spiritualist Sogyal Rinpoche—one of whose retreats she visited in 2007—following
renewed allegations that he sexually abused female followers. In 1995, Rinpoche settled for
$10 million a suit brought by a number of women alleging that he abused his position by
inducing them to have sex with him. They also charged him with infliction of emotional
distress, breach of fiduciary duty, and assault and battery. Rinpoche, also called Rigpa, has
had a center in London since 1977. He apparently studied comparative religion at
Cambridge University but did not graduate.
Juliano Verbard, guru of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, a cult on the
French island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean, 1200 miles off the African cost, escaped in a
helicopter from a prison on the island in April. He was serving a 15-year term for rapes and
sexual assaults on children in the group. A psychiatrist at Verbard‘s trial called him ―an
extremely powerful manipulator with great intelligence.‖ Verbard founded the group in 2002
after persuading scores of followers that the Virgin Mary appears to him every month. They
each paid him $26 for the honor of participating in an appearance ceremony.
Jaycee Lee Dugard, kidnapped at the age of 11 by Phillip Garrido, spent seven years in
captivity without, apparently, trying to escape, even as she greeted the public at the front
door while helping him run his business. The most common explanation for her not choosing
to flee is the Stockholm Syndrome—sometimes called terror-bonding or traumatic
bonding—the phenomenon in which victims display compassion for, and even loyalty to,
their captors.
to the Scientology Flag World Tour in Hollywood recently began with the voice of Bart
Simpson. It said: ―Yo, what‘s happening man. This is Bart Simpson. Haha, just kidding.
Don‘t hang up. This is Nancy Cartwright.‖ A Scientologist, Cartwright has been the voice of
Bart Simpson since 1987 and has reportedly donated $10 million to the organization.
Leaflets delivered to homes in a London suburb earlier this year asking, ―Do you have a
loved one or a friend on Drugs or Alcohol,‖ and claiming that Narconon [Scientology‘s drug
treatment program] ―has been saving lives for over 40 years in the fight against addiction
with more than 200,000 drug free.‖ The leaflet also asks recipients to contribute money,
through a secure web page, to support Narconon‘s work. The pamphlet does not explicitly
identify Narconon with Scientology.
In a submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission, Scientology argues that
churches and individuals who have been ―defamed‖ should be able to sue for damages. ―The
Church of Scientology,‖ it protested, ―has regularly been subject to relentless ridicule and
misinformation by the media,‖ and that police should have the power to identify anti-
Scientology activists associated with the loosely organized Internet group called
Anonymous. Serious vilification should be made a crime, the submission maintains, ―the
subject of fine, imprisonment, or both.‖ The appeal reveals Scientology‘s concern that its
tax-free status, established by a 1983 High Court judgment, would be threatened if the
Federal Government imposed ―unduly difficult taxation compliance measures‖ on religions.
In response to the May shooting death of Sikh preacher Sant Rama Nand during a melee at
a Sikh temple in Vienna, thousands of lower-caste Sikhs rioted in India‘s Punjab region. The
events reflect a rivalry between Ravidasias, a lower caste community — not considered
Sikhs, although they share certain similarities—and the pro-Khalistanis, older members of
the gundawara (temple), a ―hub‖ of Sikh separatists from the 1980s and 1990s ―lush with
offerings from a nostalgic and large-hearted diaspora.‖ The Ravidasias in Vienna, who
include ―disgruntled loser-caste youths from an increasingly prosperous Punjab, part of ―a
rising Dalit [a low Indian caste] assertion‖—set up their own temple, splitting the
congregation as well as the revenue from offerings.
Mary McAleese, the president of Ireland, distanced herself in July from the Buddhist
spiritualist Sogyal Rinpoche—one of whose retreats she visited in 2007—following
renewed allegations that he sexually abused female followers. In 1995, Rinpoche settled for
$10 million a suit brought by a number of women alleging that he abused his position by
inducing them to have sex with him. They also charged him with infliction of emotional
distress, breach of fiduciary duty, and assault and battery. Rinpoche, also called Rigpa, has
had a center in London since 1977. He apparently studied comparative religion at
Cambridge University but did not graduate.
Juliano Verbard, guru of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, a cult on the
French island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean, 1200 miles off the African cost, escaped in a
helicopter from a prison on the island in April. He was serving a 15-year term for rapes and
sexual assaults on children in the group. A psychiatrist at Verbard‘s trial called him ―an
extremely powerful manipulator with great intelligence.‖ Verbard founded the group in 2002
after persuading scores of followers that the Virgin Mary appears to him every month. They
each paid him $26 for the honor of participating in an appearance ceremony.
Jaycee Lee Dugard, kidnapped at the age of 11 by Phillip Garrido, spent seven years in
captivity without, apparently, trying to escape, even as she greeted the public at the front
door while helping him run his business. The most common explanation for her not choosing
to flee is the Stockholm Syndrome—sometimes called terror-bonding or traumatic
bonding—the phenomenon in which victims display compassion for, and even loyalty to,
their captors.
