Scientology and celebrities
Recruiting Scientologist celebrities and getting them to endorse Scientology to the public at large has always been very important to the Church of Scientology. Scientology has had a written program governing celebrity recruitment since at least 1955, when L. Ron Hubbard created "Project Celebrity", offering rewards to Scientologists who recruited targeted celebrities.[1][2] Early converts included former silent-screen star Gloria Swanson and jazz pianist Dave Brubeck.[2][3] A Scientology policy letter of 1976 states that "rehabilitation of celebrities who are just beyond or just approaching their prime" enables the "rapid dissemination" of Scientology.[4]
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[edit] Coordinated effort
The Church of Scientology operates special Celebrity Centres. Scientology policy governs the Celebrity Centres (the main one in Los Angeles and others in Paris, Nashville, and elsewhere), stating that "one of the major purposes of the Celebrity Centre and its staff is to expand the number of celebrities in Scientology." (Scientology Flag Order 2310) Another order describes Celebrity Centre's Public Clearing Division and its goal, "broad public into Scientology from celebrity dissemination"; this division has departments for planning celebrity events and routing the general public onto Scientology services as a result of celebrity involvement.[1][5]
As founder L. Ron Hubbard put it:
Celebrities are very Special people and have a very distinct line of dissemination. They have comm[unication] lines that others do not have and many medias [sic] to get their dissemination through (Flag Order 3323, 9 May 1973)[6]
Hugh B. Urban, professor of religious studies in the Department of Comparative Studies at Ohio State University said about Scientology's appeal to celebrities in an interview for Beliefnet.com:
But then I think the reason that celebrities would be interested is because it's a religion that fits pretty well with a celebrity kind of personality. It's very individualistic. It celebrates your individual identity as ultimately divine. It claims to give you ultimate power over your own mind, self, destiny, so I think it fits well with an actor personality. And then the wealth question: These aren't people who need more wealth, but what they do need, or often want at least, is some kind of spiritual validation for their wealth and lifestyle, and Scientology is a religion that says it's OK to be wealthy, it's OK to be famous, in fact, that's a sign of your spiritual development. So it kind of is a spiritual validation for that kind of lifestyle.[7]
[edit] Notable Scientologists
The Church has long opened its door to artists, musicians, writers and actors to get a spiritual look at their lives and careers, and state that Scientology can help them be more successful in their lives.[8] Among the most well-known celebrity Scientologists are John Travolta, Juliette Lewis, Kirstie Alley, Leah Remini, Catherine Bell, Nancy Cartwright, Beck, Jason Lee, Edgar Winter, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Jenna Elfman, Anne Archer, Lisa Marie Presley, Chick Corea and opera singer Julia Migenes. The January 14, 2008, issue of The New Yorker magazine included a feature by Dana Goodyear, "Château Scientology," on the topic of Scientology and Hollywood celebrities.[9]
According to prosecuting attorney Vincent Bugliosi in his 1974 book Helter Skelter, American serial murderer Charles Manson had been an avid Scientologist in the mid 1950's, claiming for years to be proud of his Theta Clear status.[10] Bugliosi referenced Manson's interest in Scientology several times during his trial as a basis for some of Manson's psychologies about human culture and behavior.[10]
[edit] Implied or disputed celebrity endorsements
The descendants of Sir Winston Churchill have asked the Church of Scientology to remove Churchill's image and quotations from Scientology advertisements, which were described as "obnoxious" and "offensive" by his grandsons, Winston Churchill and Sir Nicholas Soames.
In response, a spokesman from the Church of Scientology argued that "The use of iconic images, including those available in the public domain, to add colour is, of course, done very commonly."[11]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Sappell, Joel; Welkos, Robert W. (1990-06-25). "The Courting of Celebrities". Los Angeles Times: p. A18:5. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-scientology062590b,1,279442.story?coll=la-news-comment. Retrieved 2006-06-06.
- ^ a b Shaw, William (2008-02-14). "What do Tom Cruise and John Travolta know about Scientology that we don't?". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3671262/What-do-Tom-Cruise-and-John-Travolta-know-about-Scientology-that-we-dont.html. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
- ^ Cusack, Carole M. "Celebrity, the Popular Media, and Scientology: Making Familiar the Unfamiliar". In: Lewis, James R. (2009). Scientology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 394–395. ISBN 978-0-19-533149-3. http://books.google.com/?id=MtW90YkkB3gC&pg=PA394&dq=dave+brubeck+gloria+swanson.
- ^ Baker, Russ (April 1997). "Clash of Titans" ([dead link] – Scholar search). George. Archived from the original on May 20, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060520093832/http://www.russbaker.com/George+Magazine+-+Clash+of+The+Titans/Clash+of+The+Titans+-+George+Magazine.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
- ^ Scientology and Celebrities - Premiere Magazine
- ^ Farrow, Boyd (2006-08-01). "The A-listers' belief system". The New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.co.uk/200508010024. Retrieved 2006-08-24.
- ^ http://www.beliefnet.com/story/169/story_16925_1.html
- ^ "Artists Find Inspiration, Education at Church of Scientology & Celebrity Centre Nashville." The Tennessee Tribune, Jan 20-Jan 26, 2011. Vol. 22, Iss. 3, pg. 14A
- ^ Goodyear, Dana (2008-01-14). "Château Scientology". Letter from California. The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/01/14/080114fa_fact_goodyear?printable=true. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
- ^ a b Bugliosi, Vincent; Curt Gentry (2001). Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders. W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 144, 200–202, 225, 300–301, 316, 318, 608, 610–611. ISBN 0393322238.
- ^ Leave Churchill out of Scientology, says family The Independent, 2009-11-29
[edit] External links
- "Celebrity Centre International". Presentation of the Celebrity Centers and news about Scientologist celebrities. Church of Scientology. http://www.celebritycentre.org.
- "Successes". A presentation of successes in Scientology by some Celebrities. Church of Scientology. http://www.scientology.org/wis/wiseng/17/17-01.htm.
- "Scientology: Training and the Arts". Testimonials from celebrities Anne Archer, Chick Corea, Isaac Hayes and Juliette Lewis and other artists.. Church of Scientology. http://www.fundamentaltraining.org.
- Notable Scientologists at the Open Directory Project
- "Scientology and Celebrities" (Personal site). Critical site. Scientology Lies. http://www.scientology-lies.com/faq/celebrities/scientology-celebrities.html.
- "Project Celebrity" (Personal site). Scan of Hubbard's instructions to use Celebrities for Scientology. Xenu.net. http://www.xenu.net/archive/celebrities/1955-ability_project_celebrity.png.
- "The Cult of Celebrities" (Personal site). Hubbard names celebrities as "quarry" to be "hunted". Xenu.net. http://www.xenu.net/archive/celebrities.
- "Scientology Recruits Hollywood". How Scientology recruits celebrities, and what benefits they receive. Factnet. http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/celeb1.htm.
- "Another look at Scientology: Scientology Celebrities" (Personal site). By Bernie. http://www.bernie.cncfamily.com/sc/celebrities.htm.
- List of celebrity critics of scientology
