Battlefield Earth was a really bad movie, too

Now that Tom and Katie are engaged and Tom has been behaving a little goofy, perhaps a little light needs to be shined on the religion Katie is about to join.

Scott Burgess at The Daily Ablution has a series of posts regarding the beliefs, history and controversies of Scientology.

The obvious question at this point is: how could anybody believe this?

First of all, the Scientologst has been lead in small stages from relatively plausible ideas about communication and psychology - via an unending series of of "courses"and "rundowns" that essentially brainwash the subject into believing the lext level material.

And of course the comittment you've made, both emotionally and financially, makes it very difficult to leave the group. Not to mention the peer pressure that sometimes crosses the line into the criminal.

When they're told about Xenu - probably after at least 2 years of this indoctrination, they either leave (usually with great difficulty, and lots of nervous breakdowns), or they extend their commitment to the group to their entire lives. If they can't afford to continue paying for courses, they can work for the group full time in this life and subsequent ones.

Here is a list of celebrities that have been in or around Scientology with some surprising names. Skip down to the DECLARATION OF ANDRE TABAYOYON in the court case: Church of Scientology International vs. Steven Fishman and Uwe Geertz. The revelations about the perks and benefits for a celebrity like Tom Cruise reveals what makes Scientology so attractive to celebrities.

123. To assure that Tom Cruise's stays at the Hemet base were enjoyable, special provisions were made for him and restrictions were imposed on the staff at the Hemet base. Millions of Church dollars were spent so that millionaire Tom Cruise could regularly visit the Scientology base and be friends with Miscavige. For example, Tom Cruise received special meal services, special room services and the Hemet base staff was restricted in its access to Hemet base facilities. Indeed, a girl by the name of Jennie Matsamura was assigned to take care of him and his renovated cottage. The Hemet base staff was barred from going where Tom Cruise might be present. Construction and renovation work that was done on the base for Tom Cruise's benefit often had to be torn up and redone because the coloring was slightly off or there were a few inches of group that didn't quite match in color. Once we had to pour a concrete walkway so that Tom Cruise would not have to walk on the desert soil. Before the concrete dried it rained. The concrete was spoiled.

[Current Scientology leader] Miscavige went into a fury over that.

Here's an article from Time Magazine May 6, 1991. An excerpt:

The Church of Scientology, started by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard to "clear" people of unhappiness, portrays itself as a religion. In reality the church is a hugely profitable global racket that survives by intimidating members and critics in a Mafia-like manner. At times during the past decade, prosecutions against Scientology seemed to be curbing its menace. Eleven top Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife, were sent to prison in the early 1980s for infiltrating, burglarizing and wiretapping more than 100 private and government agencies in attempts to block their investigations. In recent years hundreds of longtime Scientology adherents -- many charging that they were mentally of physically abused -- have quit the church and criticized it at their own risk. Some have sued the church and won; others have settled for amounts in excess of $500,000. In various cases judges have labeled the church "schizophrenic and paranoid" and "corrupt, sinister and dangerous."

I highlight all of this not so much as an explanation of Cruise's recent behavior but to show The Church of Scientology isn't some harmless little New Age manifestation of California. Scientology is a real and dangerous cult with very bizarre practices and beliefs. And as bizarre as Katie Holmes' and Tom Cruise's very tabloid romance has been, there is a tragic side to this story of an impressionable young girl being led into a charismatic-led cult that believes space aliens are responsible for much of the ills of the world. Educated minds may reel at the nonsense but we should not be sparing in our revulsion at this most recent turn of events.