International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation ■ Vol. 2, 2021 97
the Sea Organisation as children. Westbrook finds that more than a
third of members joined before age 19. Although Scientology
states that it complies with applicable laws, that may not always
have been the case see, e.g., “Church of Scientology Settles LA
Suit with Ex-Member Claiming Coerced Abortion and That She
Had to Work as a Pre-Teen” (24 July 2018), Los Angeles Daily
News (online at www.dailynews.com/2018/07/24/church-
ofscientology-settles-la-suit-with-ex-member-claiming-
coercedabortion-and-that-she-had-to-work-as-a-pre-teen/), and
Tony Ortega, “Scientology’s Shocking Treatment of Children Held
in a Suburban Labor Camp” (14 February 2012), The Village
Voice (online awww.villagevoice.com/ 2012/02/14/
scientologysshocking-treatment-of-children-held-in-a-suburban-
labor-camp).
li The maximum term of a contract depends on how it is
categorised. It is generally limited to 100 years see, e.g., arts 1123,
1197, 1272, 1880, 2374 CCQ.
lii See, e.g., “Is It True that People in the Sea Org Sign a Billion-
Year Contract?” supra note xx (“It is a symbolic document that,
similar to vows of dedication in other faiths and orders, serves to
signify an individual’s eternal commitment to the goals, purposes
and principles of the Scientology religion”).
liii See generally Lord, “Scientology’s Legal System,” supra note iii
and Lord, “Case Comment,” supra note viii.
liv See my comment about inaccurate information on public
Scientology websites (and related sources) at note 16. See also the
claim at note 37.
lv Clifford Heseltine, “What Is the ‘Billion Year Contract’ in
Scientology?” (17 April 2018) (online at Quora
www.quora.com/What-is-the-billion-year-contract-in-
Scientology/answer/CliffordHeseltine?ch=10&share=d1f664b6&sr
id=OBAm).
lvi See, e.g., arts 1591, 1671 CCQ.
lvii Also see generally Lord, “Scientology’s Legal System,” supra
note iii and Lord, “Case Comment,” supra note viii.
lviii See generally Stephen A Kent, “Scientology and the European
Human Rights Debate: A Reply to Leisa Goodman, J. Gordon
Melton, and the European Rehabilitation Project Force Study”
(2003) 8:1 Marburg J Religion.
lix Although I do not explicitly argue earlier that Scientology’s
legal system is fully equivalent to the mainstream legal system,
there is no reason to differentiate between the consequences that
sanction a contractual breach within Scientology and the
consequences that sanction the same within the mainstream legal
system. In my other paper, I argue that Scientology’s legal system
is self-contained and independent. Scientology has the full
apparatus of enforcement mechanism and facilities to punish
contractual breaches in the same way as the mainstream legal
system does. As mentioned earlier, the pressure to honour one’s
contractual commitments may be more significant within
Scientology because the consequences reach beyond those
imposed institutionally.
lx This paper has focused on the billion-year contract. I did not
consider the various other contracts, some valid within the
mainstream legal system, that Scientology uses to define its
relationship with its members. On these, see generally Lord, “Case
Comment,” supra note viii and Paige Papandrea, “Losing My
Religion (and My Money): How the Church of Scientology
Contractually Limits Its Ex-Members’ Ability to Fight the Church
in Court” (30 December 2018), Minnesota Law Review Blog
(online at minnesotalawreview.org/2018/12/30/losing-my-
religionand-my-money/).
lxi This terminology is also consistent with the legal research
involving other religions and religious movements see, e.g., John
Witte, “Foreword: From Critical Legal Studies to Christian Legal
Studies,” in Robert Cochran &David VanDrunen, eds., Law, and
the Bible: Justice, Mercy and Legal Institutions (Downers Grove,
IL: InterVarsity Press, 2013), at 7, and Ayesha S. Chaudhry,
“Islamic Legal Studies: A Critical Historiography,” in Anver M.
Emon &Rumee Ahmed, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Islamic
Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), 1, at 1. The suffix
-ical does not imply a perspective that is favourable to or rooted in
the religion being studied.
lxii See notes xv and xvi.
lxiii See generally note xlv. See also Lord, “Case Comment,” supra
note viii.
lxiv My personal opinion is that the magnitude and
comprehensiveness of the materials that constitute Scientology’s
legal system suggest that it is unlikely that the use of a word with
such an obvious relationship to the mainstream legal system is
unintentional.
lxv See Lord, “Scientology’s Legal System,” supra note iii at 20–21,
and Mikael Rothstein, supra note viii, at 24.
About the Author
Phil Lord conducts research at McGill
University’s Faculty of Law. His research
concerns law and religion, public law, and
behavioral economics. He has authored more
than a dozen academic articles.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54208/0002/006
the Sea Organisation as children. Westbrook finds that more than a
third of members joined before age 19. Although Scientology
states that it complies with applicable laws, that may not always
have been the case see, e.g., “Church of Scientology Settles LA
Suit with Ex-Member Claiming Coerced Abortion and That She
Had to Work as a Pre-Teen” (24 July 2018), Los Angeles Daily
News (online at www.dailynews.com/2018/07/24/church-
ofscientology-settles-la-suit-with-ex-member-claiming-
coercedabortion-and-that-she-had-to-work-as-a-pre-teen/), and
Tony Ortega, “Scientology’s Shocking Treatment of Children Held
in a Suburban Labor Camp” (14 February 2012), The Village
Voice (online awww.villagevoice.com/ 2012/02/14/
scientologysshocking-treatment-of-children-held-in-a-suburban-
labor-camp).
li The maximum term of a contract depends on how it is
categorised. It is generally limited to 100 years see, e.g., arts 1123,
1197, 1272, 1880, 2374 CCQ.
lii See, e.g., “Is It True that People in the Sea Org Sign a Billion-
Year Contract?” supra note xx (“It is a symbolic document that,
similar to vows of dedication in other faiths and orders, serves to
signify an individual’s eternal commitment to the goals, purposes
and principles of the Scientology religion”).
liii See generally Lord, “Scientology’s Legal System,” supra note iii
and Lord, “Case Comment,” supra note viii.
liv See my comment about inaccurate information on public
Scientology websites (and related sources) at note 16. See also the
claim at note 37.
lv Clifford Heseltine, “What Is the ‘Billion Year Contract’ in
Scientology?” (17 April 2018) (online at Quora
www.quora.com/What-is-the-billion-year-contract-in-
Scientology/answer/CliffordHeseltine?ch=10&share=d1f664b6&sr
id=OBAm).
lvi See, e.g., arts 1591, 1671 CCQ.
lvii Also see generally Lord, “Scientology’s Legal System,” supra
note iii and Lord, “Case Comment,” supra note viii.
lviii See generally Stephen A Kent, “Scientology and the European
Human Rights Debate: A Reply to Leisa Goodman, J. Gordon
Melton, and the European Rehabilitation Project Force Study”
(2003) 8:1 Marburg J Religion.
lix Although I do not explicitly argue earlier that Scientology’s
legal system is fully equivalent to the mainstream legal system,
there is no reason to differentiate between the consequences that
sanction a contractual breach within Scientology and the
consequences that sanction the same within the mainstream legal
system. In my other paper, I argue that Scientology’s legal system
is self-contained and independent. Scientology has the full
apparatus of enforcement mechanism and facilities to punish
contractual breaches in the same way as the mainstream legal
system does. As mentioned earlier, the pressure to honour one’s
contractual commitments may be more significant within
Scientology because the consequences reach beyond those
imposed institutionally.
lx This paper has focused on the billion-year contract. I did not
consider the various other contracts, some valid within the
mainstream legal system, that Scientology uses to define its
relationship with its members. On these, see generally Lord, “Case
Comment,” supra note viii and Paige Papandrea, “Losing My
Religion (and My Money): How the Church of Scientology
Contractually Limits Its Ex-Members’ Ability to Fight the Church
in Court” (30 December 2018), Minnesota Law Review Blog
(online at minnesotalawreview.org/2018/12/30/losing-my-
religionand-my-money/).
lxi This terminology is also consistent with the legal research
involving other religions and religious movements see, e.g., John
Witte, “Foreword: From Critical Legal Studies to Christian Legal
Studies,” in Robert Cochran &David VanDrunen, eds., Law, and
the Bible: Justice, Mercy and Legal Institutions (Downers Grove,
IL: InterVarsity Press, 2013), at 7, and Ayesha S. Chaudhry,
“Islamic Legal Studies: A Critical Historiography,” in Anver M.
Emon &Rumee Ahmed, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Islamic
Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), 1, at 1. The suffix
-ical does not imply a perspective that is favourable to or rooted in
the religion being studied.
lxii See notes xv and xvi.
lxiii See generally note xlv. See also Lord, “Case Comment,” supra
note viii.
lxiv My personal opinion is that the magnitude and
comprehensiveness of the materials that constitute Scientology’s
legal system suggest that it is unlikely that the use of a word with
such an obvious relationship to the mainstream legal system is
unintentional.
lxv See Lord, “Scientology’s Legal System,” supra note iii at 20–21,
and Mikael Rothstein, supra note viii, at 24.
About the Author
Phil Lord conducts research at McGill
University’s Faculty of Law. His research
concerns law and religion, public law, and
behavioral economics. He has authored more
than a dozen academic articles.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54208/0002/006
