Tom And Xenu Won't Be happy

The Church of Scientology is having a tough time of late and, well, it kind of makes me giggle.

First off, let's talk Europe in general, France, in particular, where Scientology was recently convicted of fraud and fined $900,000.00. The courts did, however, stop just short of banning the group's activities in France. Of course, the French branch of Scientology likened the conviction and fine to sort of a modern-day Inquisition, and Tommy Davis, spokes-flack for Scientology, questioned the attention given to the French verdict when the church won court victories in Italy and Russia.

But then Scientology felt the sting of Paul Haggis' resignation from the church, and his open letter to L.Ron Hubbard successor, David Miscavige. Haggis' main complaint with the church is that it didn't do enough to distance itself from proponents of Prop H8--California's marriage equality ban--and he also criticized a church practice of "smearing" high-level defectors who'd left the church and then spoken about it. The filmmaker is also disgusted with another church practice called "disconnection," in which members cut off contact with loved ones who leave or advocate against the religion--something Tommy Davis said is not mandated, though he didn't deny that it is a church practice.

Tommy Davis says these top-level defections, lawsuits and letters as not troubling at all, but rather a gain for the church. Talk about turning lemons in lemonade, or, er, Kool-Aid.

Then there is the story from former Scientology defectors who told of an alleged culture of violence and control under David Miscavige. Four former high-ranking Scientology executives who said they witnessed Miscavige, chairman of the board that oversees the church, hit staff members dozens of times and urged others to do the same. The church has denied the allegations against Miscavige, portraying the accusers as merely disgruntled ex-employees, and Tommy Davis called the allegations "absolutely, unquestionably false" and "sickening and outrageous."

And Davis goes on to stress that, even with these court battles, denouncements and defections from Scientology, the movement is flourishing, with upwards of 8,000 churches, missions and groups in 160-plus nations, and he claims that assets and property holdings have doubled over the past five years.

This makes me wonder if it's a church or a business? I wonder, because they spend more time telling you how much they've amassed in terms of property and capital, but not really discussing what it is that they do. "From our perspective, things are going pretty great," Davis said. "In fact, that's downplaying it. Actually, what's happening with the church right now is frankly spectacular. To the degree there are these various things happening, it really is a lot of noise."

And yet, a survey of American religion shows Scientology numbers on the decline in the U.S. In 2001, the estimated numbers of Americans who called themselves Scientologists was approximately 55,000, but as of 2008 the number had fallen to just 25,000.

Tommy Davis, still squeezing lemons, and creating spin, says that the church avoids memberships estimates, but then says it's "absolutely in the millions" globally and growing in the United States.

Controversy isn't new to Scientology. In fact, after a nearly forty year battle, in 1993 the IRS granted the Church tax exemption, even though critics maintain that Scientology is a business, preying on people by charging exorbitant sums for services. And it's chock-full-o-celebrities, from Tom Cruise to Lisa Marie Presley, John Travolta to Kirstie Alley, and perhaps even Will Smith, though he denies any affiliation.

So, what will become of the Church of Scientology? Will it overcome the bad press and, one day, be as accepted as the Mormon Church and Jehovah's Witnesses, which also endured a time of attacks and speculation of wrongdoing? And what of the defections of leaders and members? They are those who say that, while the defections hurt, they are but a minor setback.

"If five cardinals walked out of the Roman Catholic Church and turned on it and said there are bad things happening, it'd be a storm, but the church would weather the storm," said J. Gordon Melton, director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion. "I think Scientology is big enough to where it can and will weather the storm."

But some believe that Scientology is in trouble. Along with the defections and the French court setback, Scientology has been unable to stop Internet leaks of confidential material for which members must pay a premium; Hugh Urban, a professor at Ohio State University, calls that their "bread and butter."

And rumors still swirl over which celebrity or high ranking official will be next to leave. If you put money on Tom Cruise, I'd think again.