Scientology exists here, we met a former follower in Brussels: “I believed in the power of thetans”

This week, the news magazine Exclusif investigates one of the most controversial religious movements of the 20th century: Scientology. While some consider it a religion, others describe it as a sect.

Established in Belgium since 1974, the Church of Scientology faced Belgian justice in 2015. If today this organization is still present in our country, it is discreet.

7,000 km from Brussels, there is another capital: Clear Water. This small town in Florida in the United States is none other than the capital of Scientology. 115,000 inhabitants, including one unlike any other: actor Tom Cruise. He would have bought his main residence there in 2018.

According to several concordant sources, the cinema superstar would have liquidated all of his immense real estate assets to come and settle in this small coastal city and thus live in the Mecca of Scientology. Scientology is siphoning off his fortune.

A fortune of Tom Cruise estimated at around 600 million dollars would therefore have been used to afford a large apartment on the top two floors of a downtown tower…

What is Scientology?

The basis of this “religion” (the term is debated there) is a work entitled “Dianetics” written by L. Ron Hubbard in 1950 on spiritual awakening and personal development, which would later become the bible of the world. Church of Scientology…

The avowed goal of Scientology would therefore be the optimization of the potential of each human being that the followers will try to maximize with the help of a personalized program.

Arthus (assumed name), Belgian and former follower

This program, this Belgian followed it for a while. For the sake of discretion, he preferred to testify anonymously. We will call him Arthus, and we met him in Brussels. His particularity: He was born in Scientology. “Both my parents were in it. My best friends were in it. My best friends’ parents were in it. So“.

The Scientology doctrine, he therefore knows it very well. “It is the call to the will to power. With Scientology, you will unlock your potential. You’re going to be efficient, you’re going to make money, you’re going to be happy. You have your life under control. You are going to get what you want“.

A personalized program but above all a strict, long and above all very expensive program. “Scientology cost my mother more than a hundred thousand euros. There are many that exceed a million, I know some, well I have known. It is normal. you have to pay for what you want”.

Before opening their eyes, the former followers nevertheless firmly believed in the various principles of the church. This is the case for these Americans as it is the case with us for Arthus. “When I was in Scientology, I believed in the power of thetans*, that I believed in. I expressed my admiration for example for the founder of Scientology, Ron Hubbard“.

The founder of the sect, he was just a crazy guy

But since he left the church, he sees more clearly, as he says himself. “I was able to gain perspective on everything that was taught in Scientology then I was able to see in fact that the founder of the sect was just a guy who was a bit crazy, a bit megalomaniac, a bit crazy, completely crazy even , who had created his sect“.

According to him, “Scientology is not particularly well established in Belgium, but it exists, there is an Org (organization) Ideal. It’s made up of a classroom, and audition rooms.”

An audition session is a kind of confession for (future) followers, who must surrender body and soul. “Everything you say in the session is written down and recorded. My secrets, my fears, my dreams, everything is on paper, they have everything”.

* In Scientology, the concept of thetan is similar to the concept of self, or spirit or soul found in many belief systems. The term is derived from the Greek letter T, theta, which in Scientology beliefs represents “the source of life, or life itself”. (source: Wikipedia)

Scientology exists here, we met a former follower in Brussels: “I believed in the power of thetans”