Scientology tends to attract derision and mockery rather than investigation, which is unfortunate. Apart from anything else, its belief system involving evil aliens, volcanoes and DC-8s is no more bizarre than most monotheistic religions.
What Scientologists believe is irrelevant and not the business of the state or, really, anyone else. It is what they do that is of concern — what they do to those who refuse to comply with the cult’s internal rules, and what they do to those who reveal the abuse that goes on within the cult.
There is widespread evidence — sworn evidence, by victims and perpetrators alike — of systemic abuses within the cult in the United States. Last November, Senator Nick Xenophon revealed evidence that similar abuses had occurred here in Australia.
As is apparently standard Scientology practice, the evidence was met with a blanket denial by the cult, and attacks on those who had shown the courage to speak out against it.
The Government Leader in the Senate, Chris Evans — who has yet to respond to Crikey’s request for information on what follow the Government has undertaken in response to Senator Xenophon’s material — has told advocates on a Senate inquiry into Scientology that the Government does not support one.
“The Rudd Government’s view is that a Senate inquiry into the Church of Scientology is not justified on the basis of our view of the Parliament’s function. It is inappropriate to conduct an inquiry into a private and, in this case, religious organisation.”
Putting aside that most days the Senate appears ready to order inquiries into the drop of a hat if it suits someone’s political purposes, Evans is completely wrong.
The cult receives generous assistance from Australian taxpayers, via its tax-free status as a religion. An inquiry into what our tax dollars are supporting is entirely consistent with Parliament’s function.
At the very least, the basis on which tax-free status is provided for religions must be urgently reviewed. Taxpayer support for any “religion” that may systematically harm its adherents makes the state complicit in that harm.
Isn’t it amazing. If I told people I heard someone speaking to me nobody could see or hear, and they were telling me to do things, I’d get medication and a counsellor.
If that someone suddenly became ‘God’ or ‘Jesus’, I’d get tax free status and a political party ala Family First.
At least they’re consistent. They also refused several requests for an inquiry into the Exclusive Brethren, despite much more evidence of direct political interference, and at least as much personal suffering.
The British are light years ahead of us in this. In determining whether or not an organisation provides a public benefit, they take into account, among other things, the harm caused by the organisation and how it is balanced against the benefit to the public. Also, people in poverty must not be excluded from the opportunity to benefit. Scientologists will say that poor people can join the staff and get their scientology for free. That’s an unreasonable restriction on the availability of the “benefit” to the public.
Taxpayer support for ALL religions should end!
Is there any religion that has not done physical or psychological harm to its followers or the broader community? Priests molesting children, Muslim Clerics blaming sexual assault victims for being ‘uncovered meat’ , religous funded organisations harrassing women seeking abortions, exclusive bretheren routinely engaging in political interference – despite being exempt from voting for religious reasons….. the list goes on.
The fact that religions do still enjoy tax exempt status – even for profit making activities – shows how much power and influence they wield over our politicians and therefore public policy.
Abortion and voluntary euthanasia are classic examples. Both have overwhelming public support yet abortion is still in the crimes acts of various states (Qld legal case shows these laws are not benign) and voluntary euthanasia is illegal throughout the country – not only that but even TALKING to someone about methods is illegal!
On the basis that systematic harm to a Religions’s adherents should cause a review of its tax free status, I think that there would be few who would survive this test.
These organisations have been around a lot longer than most of us (Scientology perhaps excepted) and have had plenty of time to treat adherents in ways that we would now find abhorrent.
The treatment of child migrants and stolen generation children here should be enough to cause the ATO to start their engines and take a close look at “established religion” of every shade.
The big-endian / little-endian mutual massacres including burnings etc etc. carried out by Catholics and Protestants in Europe went on for hundreds of years and set a neat precedent for present day religious intolerance worldwide.
However, to follow ABARKER, if you alone hear the voices you will almost certainly be seen as a loony if you can get a critical mass of middle age men to sign up then and only then will you be able to claim religious tax exemption.