Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2010, Page 113
pretense for raising money through sex was to witness to men who would not hear the COG
version of Christian salvation through any other means. My geographic position in Monte
Carlo made this charade rather believable, since the men I witnessed to were typically of
Islamic religious background or held Western agnostic/atheist positions. It was these men
who were the recipients of my creative verse designed to reveal the reasons for and process
of salvation, which I considered a less obtuse mode of communication than the Mo letters. I
was allowed this freedom only because no one knew I was doing it except for the men, who
rarely met other members of the COG. The fact that I allowed myself to do this indicated
that my sCS had found a symbolic outlet. However, once again, the outlet was closed by the
power elite who existed in my limited world. Whether Berg or other leaders discovered that
I was distributing my words instead of the Mo letters, or there was a sudden renewed focus
on Mo letter distribution to the public, I do not know. I do know that I was singled out for
my lack of spiritual insight, and our colony in Monte Carlo was instructed to distribute only
the most recent Mo letters meant for the public to all our contacts. As a result of this
distribution of what was considered subversive literature in Monte Carlo, within a few weeks
we were banned from the principality by Monaco officials and risked being deported from
France.
Berg‘s writings (the Mo letters) were subversive to anyone not indoctrinated by the COG. I
was told as much by the Interpol police. However, COG leadership was not prepared for this
reaction to their leader‘s words and in their attempts to move their own leadership away
from the increased public attention on Berg‘s controversial literature, I was forgotten. Under
this temporary lack of leadership, I moved to Italy without any COG members to live with a
potential new member (called a ―fish‖). The other members of the Monte Carlo home joined
an existing COG colony in Greece. My time away from the constant and authoritarian
supervision of COG leadership eventually led to my departure from the COG.
An SCS emerged soon after I left the COG. I wrote incessantly. Moreover, I appeared only
mildly affected by the opinions of others on my writing. I was untrained, relatively
uneducated, limited in my command of my native language, and knew very little Italian.
Yet, I submitted letters and opinion pieces that were published in local Italian newspapers,
and also in local newspapers when I returned to the United States. By the time I returned to
college, I noticed that the opinion of those in power (professors) did not appear to affect me
as much as they did many of my colleagues. In one example, my undergraduate journalism
professor asserted the opinion piece I wrote in his class was not publishable. In spite of his
assessment, I submitted it and it was published in a local paper. Likewise, my first proposal
for a book was accepted, and I had a published book when I entered graduate school to
complete a PhD program. Although I do not delight in criticism, which I often receive, I find
myself more resilient to its negative and suppressive effects on my creative self than the
effect I observed on many of my colleagues. I attribute this resilience to the birth of my sCS
in the cult and to the development of an SCS after I left.
The Church of Scientology
The second author of this paper discusses her initial attraction to Scientology—the aspect of
Scientology doctrine that describes the artist‘s role in spearheading a peaceful revolution to
change the world—which led to sixteen years of experience as a follower and as
management staff. She worked at Scientology‘s Celebrity Centre in Hollywood, California for
three years, then at the Church of Scientology‘s International (CSI) management leadership
base near Palm Springs, California for nine years, until she ―escaped‖ in 1998. (Hereafter,
she writes in first person for this section of the paper.)
My husband and I moved to Hollywood in 1980 to advance our careers, mine as a fashion
designer, Peter‘s as a musician and composer. I designed stage clothes for a growing
clientele of actors and entertainers, some whom I met through my husband. We had
pretense for raising money through sex was to witness to men who would not hear the COG
version of Christian salvation through any other means. My geographic position in Monte
Carlo made this charade rather believable, since the men I witnessed to were typically of
Islamic religious background or held Western agnostic/atheist positions. It was these men
who were the recipients of my creative verse designed to reveal the reasons for and process
of salvation, which I considered a less obtuse mode of communication than the Mo letters. I
was allowed this freedom only because no one knew I was doing it except for the men, who
rarely met other members of the COG. The fact that I allowed myself to do this indicated
that my sCS had found a symbolic outlet. However, once again, the outlet was closed by the
power elite who existed in my limited world. Whether Berg or other leaders discovered that
I was distributing my words instead of the Mo letters, or there was a sudden renewed focus
on Mo letter distribution to the public, I do not know. I do know that I was singled out for
my lack of spiritual insight, and our colony in Monte Carlo was instructed to distribute only
the most recent Mo letters meant for the public to all our contacts. As a result of this
distribution of what was considered subversive literature in Monte Carlo, within a few weeks
we were banned from the principality by Monaco officials and risked being deported from
France.
Berg‘s writings (the Mo letters) were subversive to anyone not indoctrinated by the COG. I
was told as much by the Interpol police. However, COG leadership was not prepared for this
reaction to their leader‘s words and in their attempts to move their own leadership away
from the increased public attention on Berg‘s controversial literature, I was forgotten. Under
this temporary lack of leadership, I moved to Italy without any COG members to live with a
potential new member (called a ―fish‖). The other members of the Monte Carlo home joined
an existing COG colony in Greece. My time away from the constant and authoritarian
supervision of COG leadership eventually led to my departure from the COG.
An SCS emerged soon after I left the COG. I wrote incessantly. Moreover, I appeared only
mildly affected by the opinions of others on my writing. I was untrained, relatively
uneducated, limited in my command of my native language, and knew very little Italian.
Yet, I submitted letters and opinion pieces that were published in local Italian newspapers,
and also in local newspapers when I returned to the United States. By the time I returned to
college, I noticed that the opinion of those in power (professors) did not appear to affect me
as much as they did many of my colleagues. In one example, my undergraduate journalism
professor asserted the opinion piece I wrote in his class was not publishable. In spite of his
assessment, I submitted it and it was published in a local paper. Likewise, my first proposal
for a book was accepted, and I had a published book when I entered graduate school to
complete a PhD program. Although I do not delight in criticism, which I often receive, I find
myself more resilient to its negative and suppressive effects on my creative self than the
effect I observed on many of my colleagues. I attribute this resilience to the birth of my sCS
in the cult and to the development of an SCS after I left.
The Church of Scientology
The second author of this paper discusses her initial attraction to Scientology—the aspect of
Scientology doctrine that describes the artist‘s role in spearheading a peaceful revolution to
change the world—which led to sixteen years of experience as a follower and as
management staff. She worked at Scientology‘s Celebrity Centre in Hollywood, California for
three years, then at the Church of Scientology‘s International (CSI) management leadership
base near Palm Springs, California for nine years, until she ―escaped‖ in 1998. (Hereafter,
she writes in first person for this section of the paper.)
My husband and I moved to Hollywood in 1980 to advance our careers, mine as a fashion
designer, Peter‘s as a musician and composer. I designed stage clothes for a growing
clientele of actors and entertainers, some whom I met through my husband. We had
