A visit to the Church of Scientology
If you have heard differently about the Church of Scientology, listen to it from me as well. When I came to Washington DC six years ago, we were looking to do our 3rd series of workshops on the essence of religions, all the beautiful religions, 13 of them. They were: Atheist/Humanist, Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Native American, Scientology, Sikh, Wicca, and Zoroastrian.
The door was not open to holding the workshops in different places of worship – and they said they would open it if I removed Atheism from the list. I was unwilling to do that, Atheists are a part of America like everyone else, and we need to learn about them. No American must be excluded from any public gathering, definitely organized by the Center for Pluralism. Finally, I ran into Sue Taylor, the National Affairs Director of the Church of Scientology; she sponsored the series and provided refreshments to the guests.
Over the years, I have been a part of the Church, not a member, but attend L.Ron Hubbard’s birthday and other vital events organized by the Church. They never asked, nor put pressure on me to join them, not once. I took time to go through some of the greatest common sense quotes framed in their office and studied his biography. He was a great man and has established the Church to care for fellow humans. They have programs to rehabilitate drug addiction, particularly youth, and several other programs to uplift fellow humans. And they stand up for the religious freedom of all humans regardless of their religions.
As a kid, I was always fascinated by the incredible polymaths during the Abbasid Caliphate, “who were incredibly gifted scholars, astronomers, philosophers, and mathematicians.” They accomplished so much in their lifetime, and they continue to inspire me. Then comes L. Ron Hubbard’s legacy of being a scientist and a learned man in many disciplines, just as Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and others. I want to be like them.
In 1979, I was in Los Angeles strolling on Hollywood Blvd; on the sidewalk was a bookstall, and the volunteers were handing out the book called Dianetics. They took me into a vast building and listened to a lecture there, and I am not sure if it was L. Ron Hubbard. I heard them, and it appealed to me; I was a humanist then through 1999. Since my college days, I have been a big follower of Dr. Abraham Kovoor, a Sri Lankan Doctor who can be rightfully called the father of modern Atheism.
Once we announced the workshop series, including Scientology, one of my Facebook friends, a Christian, was belligerent against me. He could not fathom a Muslim presenting a workshop on Atheism, he accused me quite a bit on Facebook, but I did not delete his comments. I believed in free speech. Then individuals clergies from two other faiths said they would attend if we removed the Church of Scientology from the series. We did not.
The Center for Pluralism is committed to building cohesive societies where every American feels secure about their faith, race, ethnicity, culture, or other uniqueness. No one is more privileged than the others; they need to produce a certificate signed by God if they are.
Pluralism is not about compromise; it is about working through dialogue to respect each other; if they cannot, and the discussion fails, then taking alternate actions is the right thing to do.
The more we learn about each other, the fewer the conflicts. The Center for Pluralism states that if we can learn to respect the otherness of the other and accept the uniqueness of each other, conflicts fade, and solutions emerge.
The picture was taken at the Church of Scientology while recently talking about L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday.
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, pluralist, Muslim, and interfaith wedding officiant. He is the founder and president of the Center for Pluralism and a think tank director called World Muslim Congress. More about him at www.TheGhouseDiary.com