Why Scientologists Do the Right Thing—And Those Who Don’t Don’t Like Us

In the religions that I have observed, each has a standard of behavior expected of its members. The Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, these are guidelines one is supposed to follow as a member of the religions that they are connected with. However, there isn’t really real insistence that one follows these guidelines. Your minister will attempt to get you to follow the guidelines and every Sunday he will go over scripture to try to help you do so. But I have observed that, despite many a minister’s efforts, members of these religions don’t always follow the guidelines laid down in scriptures in their day-to-day lives.

In our current culture it is accepted that people cheat on their spouses, do drugs, lie, steal… and many of the people doing these things consider themselves “religious.”

In Scientology, there is an insistence that you follow the moral guidelines. If you cheat on your spouse, you can’t continue to progress in Scientology until you do something about it. You have to fess up to your significant other and either repair the marriage or end it. And if you keep up this immoral behavior, you might just get kicked out of our church.

The same applies to drugs. We don’t tolerate drugs. You can’t go on course or get Scientology counseling if you do drugs. Oh, we’ll help you get off them, but you have to decide that this is something you want. And until you do, you can’t move forward in Scientology.

In Scientology if you damage another person’s reputation through lies, you have to make up the damage in some way or another. A part of it will likely be to go tell those you spread lies to that they were lies. If you don’t think that’s a bit painful, think again.

Now, here’s what most Scientologists really hate. Those people that spread lies about Scientology are, in the main, those people who were kicked out because they refused to straighten up their acts and live ethical, honest lives.

Now, I hope you see that there is a theme here. Your spiritual journey in Scientology is dependent upon your willingness to clean up your act and do the right thing. If you can’t, or feel that your immoral behavior is more important to you than your spiritual progress, you and Scientology will probably part ways.

Now, here’s what most Scientologists really hate. Those people that spread lies about Scientology are, in the main, those people who were kicked out because they refused to straighten up their acts and live ethical, honest lives. Despite numerous opportunities to clean up, they didn’t. And now, they are the people that other people listen to about my religion. As a Scientologist, that’s more than a little bit irritating.

Imagine that your spouse keeps having affairs. Imagine that you’ve tried to get him to stop. You've forgiven him, worked to improve your marriage so that he won’t feel he had to go outside of it for something you’re not providing. Yet, despite all of this, he just won't get it together, so you divorce him.

Now, because he really isn’t a good guy, he goes to all of your friends and tells them that you were the problem. He tells them that you used to yell at him for no reason, that you spent all his money and that you tried to cover up how awful you were from others.

Hopefully your really good friends know better than to believe him, but strangers might. Then those strangers behave towards you as if you have leprosy because a guy who couldn’t follow the simple marriage vow to “be faithful” has now spread lies about you. This is the situation in which Scientologists find themselves.

I'm a business consultant. I remember working with one of my clients who was not a Scientologist. We were going over some business principles that L. Ron Hubbard developed. She was telling me how brilliant his management technology was. However, the next thing out of her mouth was, “Too bad he invented such a weird religion.” It never occurred to her that perhaps the data she had about my religion was false.

I have to admit I was taken aback. I actually laughed out loud because it was so unexpected. Then I replied, “I’d be willing to bet that anything you think you know about my religion isn’t true.” She laughed too and agreed this was probably the case.

Some of the nicest people you know might be Scientologists, but people who weren’t very nice and were kicked out have made many others think we aren’t. I have to live with that and I don’t really like it.

That incident kind of proves my point. This person knew me, was helped by me, had some familiarity with Mr. Hubbard’s writings and liked them, yet, because she had a preconceived idea (brought about by lies spread), didn’t even consider that the “information” she had about my religion might be false.

Some of the nicest people you know might be Scientologists, but people who weren’t very nice and were kicked out have made many others think we aren’t. I have to live with that and I don’t really like it.

So, please, stop believing lies and start thinking for yourself. Go meet a few Scientologists. Talk to them. Invite them to coffee (most Scientologists really like coffee). You’ll find out that we’re pretty good people.

We’re the ones actually doing the right thing, and trying to make things better for everyone.