La scientologie a de moins en moins d'adeptes dans le monde. En Suisse ils ne sont qu'un millier!

Suisse: La secte de scientologie serait en recul en Suisse

http://www.kipa-apic.ch/... - 3 juillet 2011
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L’organisation affirme avoir "environ 5’000 membres passifs et actifs"

Zurich, 3 juillet 2011 (Apic)

La scientologie n’aurait plus le vent en poupe en Suisse, selon des experts suisses des sectes, et le nombre des membres de cette "Eglise" serait en recul, selon le quotidien dominical "Sonntag". Ce que conteste l’organisation, qui affirme avoir "environ 5’000 membres passifs et actifs en Suisse", selon sa porte-parole Annette Klug.

A Zurich, le théologien protestant Georg Otto Schmid, spécialiste des sectes, parle d’un "rétrécissement continu" de l'organisation. Il pourrait même s’imaginer que la scientologie aura disparu du paysage suisse dans quelques années. Il estime que l’organisation n’a pas plus de 1’000 membres actifs, contre 3’000 en 1990. Selon le journal, c’était alors que l'organisation comptait le plus grand nombre de membres.

L’argent se ferait plus rare

Autre observateur des sectes, le spécialiste allemand Christian Ruch, qui vit en Suisse, partage cet avis: pour lui, la scientologie, en ce moment, a de tout gros problèmes en Suisse. "La secte n’arrive quasiment plus à trouver de nouveaux membres", estime-t-il. Il y voit un indice supplémentaire dans le fait que les gens qui tentent de recruter des adeptes dans la rue sont très peu formés. Pour lui, c’est un signe qui ne trompe pas.

Dieter Sträuli, de la centrale alémanique d’informations et de conseils sur les sectes Infosekta pense également que la secte dispose de moins d’argent, car elle recourt bien moins qu’auparavant aux tribunaux.

Annette Klug estime au contraire qu’étant donné son développement positif – la scientologie compterait dans son association internationale plus de 2’000 membres venant de Suisse – elle n’a plus tellement besoin de se défendre par des moyens juridiques.

Scientology pfeift in der Schweiz aus dem letzten Loch

Von Pirmin Kramer

http://service.aargauerzeitung.ch/azdigital/epaper.php - July 3, 2011
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Die Organisation kämpfe mit grossen Schwierigkeiten, sagen Sektenbeobachter

Die Scientology-Pressesprecherin wehrt sich gegen die Aussagen von Experten, ihre Organisation finde kaum mehr Mitglieder: Solche Behauptungen seien «völlig absurd».

In Deutschland hat sich im Mai die Bundesregierung zu Scientology geäussert: Die Organisation verliere Anhänger und habe derzeit rund 4500 Mitglieder, teilte sie in einer Antwort auf eine parlamentarische Anfrage mit. Wie steht es um Scientology in der Schweiz? «In der Schweiz findet eine leichte Expansion statt, aber nicht so stark wie in anderen Ländern», sagt Scientology-Sprecherin Annette Klug. «Passiv- und Aktivmitglieder zusammen gibt es in der Schweiz zirka 5000.»

Religionswissenschafter und Sektenexperte Georg Otto Schmid kann das nicht glauben: «Scientology schrumpft kontinuierlich, und ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass es diese Sekte in der Schweiz in einigen Jahren nicht mehr geben wird.» Er schätzt, dass Scientology hierzulande noch ungefähr 1000 aktive Mitglieder habe. Die grösste Anzahl Anhänger habe die Sekte etwa im Jahr 1990 gehabt, damals hätten ihr etwa 3000 Menschen aktiv angehört.

GEMÄSS EIGENER WEBSITE ist Scientology «eine Religion, die einen exakten Weg bietet, der zu einem vollständigen Verstehen und einer Gewissheit über die eigene spirituelle Natur führt». Prominente Schauspieler wie John Travolta und Tom Cruise bekennen sich zur Organisation. Sektenexperten werfen Scientology vor, ihre Anhänger psychisch und finanziell abhängig zu machen. «Scientology hat in der Schweiz derzeit ganz grosse Schwierigkeiten», sagt der deutsche Sek tenbeobachter Christian Ruch, der in der Schweiz lebt. «Diese Sekte schafft es kaum mehr, neue Mitglieder zu finden.» Wenn er sehe, wie schlecht geschult die Leute seien, die auf den Strassen auf Mitgliedersuche gehen, «dann ist das für mich ein Zeichen dafür, dass Scientology aus dem letzten Loch pfeift». A

nnette Klug von Scientology entgegnet, diese Vorwürfe seien «völlig absurd »: «Alleine in Zürich hatten wir vor ein paar Wochen eine Veranstaltung der lokalen Kirche für die Scientologen aus der Umgebung, an der mehr als 500 Personen teilnahmen.» Und alleine bei der Internationalen Scientology-Vereinigung (IAS) gebe es weit über 2000 Mitglieder aus der Schweiz.

Doch auch ein dritter Sektenexperte aus der Schweiz glaubt, dass Scientology hierzulande mit «grossen Schwierigkeiten » kämpft: «Sie prozessieren viel weniger oft als früher, es scheint ihnen das Geld auszugehen», sagt Dieter Sträuli von der Fachstelle Infosekta. «Dass wir keine Gerichtsverfahren mehr führen, ist doch eine völlig positive Entwicklung und ein Beweis dafür, dass wir es nicht mehr nötig haben, uns mit rechtlichen Mitteln zu wehren», sagt Annette Klug.

Derweil glaubt Sträuli, dass Scientology nicht nur in der Schweiz Probleme habe: «Weltweit zu schaffen macht der Sekte ausserdem, dass es inzwischen regelmässig prominente Aussteiger gibt.» So trat nach 35 Jahren Mitgliedschaft Hollywood-Regisseur und Oscar-Preisträger Paul Haggis aus Scientology aus.

Kanton Zürich will keine Räume an Scientology vermieten

AZ Limattaler Zeitung - Juni 3. 2011
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Der Kanton Zürich will keine kantonseigenen Räumen an die umstrittene Organisation Scientology vermieten. Dies hält der Regierungsrat in einer Antwort auf eine SP-Anfrage fest. Dafür müsse man allerdings auch wissen, mit wem man es zu tun habe.

In der Anfrage wollten zwei SP-Kantonsräte wissen, wie es dazu kommen konnte, dass die Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) im Februar 2011 die Alte Börse in Zürich für fünf Tage mieten konnte, obwohl die CCHR eine Scientology -Tochterorganisation ist. Das Gebäude der Alten Börse befindet sich im Besitz der BVK des Kantons Zürich.

Der Regierungsrat betont, in der Vergangenheit seien Vermietungen an Scientology jeweils abgelehnt worden. Das wäre auch «mit grosser Wahrscheinlichkeit» im Februar so gewesen. Dass es Verbindungen des Mieters - einer Privatperson - zur CCHR und Scientology gab, habe man jedoch nicht gewusst.

Die CCHR, die sich als «Bürgerkommission für Menschenrechte» bezeichnet, wurde nach eigenen Angaben 1969 von Mitgliedern der Scientology und dem Psychiater Thomas Szasz gegründet. Sie gibt an, Verletzungen der Menschenrechte durch die Psychiatrie zu untersuchen.

Vom 18. bis 23. Februar präsentierte sie in der Alten Börse eine Ausstellung mit dem Titel «Psychiatrie - Hilfe oder Tod ?» Präsidiert wird die Vereinigung in der Schweiz vom Winterthurer Psychiater Felix Altorfer.

Ne quittez anti-scientologie sans avoir écouté ce témoignage

Entre l'Afrique du Sud, la Grande-Bretagne et les Etats-Unis, Mylène a passé une vingtaine d'années au sein de l'Eglise de scientologie, occupant des postes à responsabilité (membre de la Sea-Org). Si elle a fini par en partir, ses enfants, aujourd'hui adultes, y sont encore et ont coupé tous liens avec elle. Mylène a attendu 10 ans avant d'oser témoigner de son calvaire en scientologie. Nos autorités doivent mettre fin à de tels abus

Scientology losing Swiss support: experts

http://www.thelocal.ch/442/20110704/ - July 4, 2011
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The Church of Scientology is rapidly losing support in Switzerland, and the number of members is declining, religious experts say.

According to a report in the SonntagsZeitung newspaper, theologist Georg Otto Schmid, an expert on sects, said that support for Scientology is “shrinking.”

“I would imagine that the sect will no longer exist in Switzerland in a few years,” he was quoted as saying by the paper. According to Schmid, the organisation currently has 1,000 active members, a steady decline compared to the 3,000 registered in 1990.

Other religious experts share Schmid’s view, the paper said, adding that activists who try to recruit new members on the streets appear to be poorly trained.

Also, according to Swiss sect expert Dieter Sträuli from Infosekta, Scientology is running out of money, the paper said.

However, Church of Scientology spokeswoman Annette Klug rejected the experts' analysis, which she dubbed “completely absurd”.

Spokespeople from the Church of Scientology argue that the group founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard still has 5,000 “passive and active members in Switzerland.”

Marta Falconi

Scientologists: How Many Of Them Are There, Anyway ?

By Tony Ortega

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/07/scientologists_1.php - July 4, 2011
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David Miscavige and crew in happier times

Happy Independence Day! And to our international readers, Happy Monday !

Here in America, we'll be enjoying cool drinks by the pool or the beach or at the backyard barbecue, and the news cycle should be slow. So we thought we'd take this relaxing time to ruminate about something that tends to come up from time to time with Scientology watchers: just how many Scientologists are there, anyway ?

That question came up again this week when the Associated Press, reporting on an interesting development in Russia*, happened to mention that Scientology claims 10 million members worldwide.

If that number were true, Scientology would be a little smaller than Judaism around the world, and well ahead of the Baha'i faith.

And if you think that's true, we have a lovely bridge here in New York City that you might be interested to hear is for sale...

Before we get to the better-documented numbers, let's deal with this incredible figure that the AP repeated in a fairly shocking case of ignorance.

Scientology has claimed millions of members forever. But I'll never forget watching a video deposition of Heber Jentzsch† in 1999 or 2000 -- he was at the time the president of the Church of Scientology International, a figurehead position -- during which he admitted where the inflated number came from.

When Scientology says it has millions of "members," Jentzsch admitted under oath, it is actually talking about the total number of people, since L. Ron Hubbard first came up with Dianetics in 1950, who have ever picked up a Hubbard book, or filled out a "personality test," or taken a course, or otherwise had any interaction with the organization in any way.

As Janet Reitman pointed out in her excellent book Inside Scientology, she herself is a Scientologist by that definition because she began her research on the church by taking a couple of courses.

In other words, the claim that Scientology has millions of active members is a ludicrous notion and no legitimate news organization has any reason to repeat such nonsense, no matter what the church tells them. Associate Press, you blew it.

So if there aren't millions, how many are there ?

There are several interesting ways to count Scientologists, and I'll save my personal favorite for later on. But for now, let's look at what official, government surveys tell us.

The U.S. Census Bureau, for example, provides at its website some very interesting data from Trinity College in Hartford, which has been surveying Americans about their religious affiliations for more than 20 years.

In 2008, the school released its latest American Religious Identification Survey, based on talking to 54,000 Americans. (The Census Bureau link will take you to an Excel spreadsheet that breaks down the minor religions individually.)

Go to the ARIS website, and you'll find a number of interesting stories coming out of the survey, such as that Latinos are losing their religion at a surprising rate, and that overall, "None of the above" is among the fastest, er, "religions" in America.

There don't seem to be any stories at the website about Scientology. Apparently, it's just too small to be concerned about. How small ? Well, brace yourself. According to the latest survey, the total number of people who identify as Scientologists is just 25,000 in this country of more than 300 million human beings.

That's one Scientologist for about every 12,000 Americans.

In other words, the total number of active U.S. Scientologists is about the size of your run-of-the-mill local credit union.

But there's more. As paltry as that number is, the news is even worse for Scientology, because previous surveys by the same researchers show a steep drop in membership in recent years, reflecting anecdotal evidence that there's been a "mass exodus" (as Reitman calls it) under the leadership of David Miscavige.

In 1990, ARIS had found about 45,000 Scientologists. In 2001, it found 55,000, and in 2008, it found 25,000.

Obviously, these are estimates, but you'd think Miscavige might be concerned to see the number of people willing to tell a researcher that they belong to the church of Scientology drop by more than half over a seven year period.

Let's put those numbers in some further context. I've put the results of the 1990, 2001, and 2008 surveys in some simple graphs to show how Scientology compares to some other minor religious affiliations (numbers in 1,000s):

Yes, according to the ARIS survey, fewer Americans identify themselves as Scientologists than Rastafarians, Sikhs, and whatever the heck Eckankar is.

And finally, let's visualize where Scientology stands now with some other faiths in this country (in 1,000s):

Meanwhile, surveys from other countries show similarly paltry numbers. A 2001 census found only 1,525 Scientologists in Canada and 1,781 in England and Wales. A 2003 study in Australia found only 741 members.

One person in a position to know these numbers is Jeff Hawkins, who was once Scientology's PR genius and was largely responsible for the church's biggest growth in the 1980s. We wrote about his excellent book about his life in Scientology, Counterfeit Dreams. He also blogs about leaving the church.

"I have an advantage here because I used to work for Scientology's Central Marketing Unit, and had access to all of the actual lists and statistics," he wrote at his blog last year. And he explained how he came up with an overall number of worldwide members:

I know that event attendance internationally was somewhere in the region of 25,000 to 35,000. The International "Bodies in the Shop" (people actually in the orgs that week for service) was 16,000 to 18,000. IAS was struggling to get 40,000 members. Based on this and a lot of other information I was privy to, I estimate the actual number of Scientologists at a maximum of 40,000. That's on the high side.

So, 40,000 total worldwide members. As others have pointed out, that wouldn't even fill Citi Field for a Mets-Yankees showdown.

But there's more. My favorite single piece of data for how to measure the number of active Scientologists -- at least the ones leader David Miscavige could count on to shell out significant amounts of cash -- comes from Marc Headley, whose exciting escape narrative, "Blown For Good," we've written about before.

In the book, Headley describes his experiences working for Miscavige at Scientology's secretive headquarters in the California desert, where he at one point was overseeing the fabrication of "e-meters," the devices that measure skin galvanization and whose fluctuations Scientologists believe can help identify a past-life trauma while a subject talks about his or her memories.

Scientologists take the devices very seriously, and are willing to pay amazing prices for them. Reitman, in her book, describes a former Scientologist who hasn't been able to part with his $20,000 gold-plated e-meter !

Anyway, Headley writes that some years ago, a new line of e-meters was about to be released, and Miscavige told him that he wanted enough of them manufactured so that every Scientologist in the world could buy two of the devices. (Headley explained that members are supposed to have a backup machine, just in case.)

And in order to have that many on hand, Miscavige asked Headley to make sure 30,000 of them were made.

I told Headley that his story implied that Miscavige himself knew there were only about 15,000 Scientologists around the world with the money or desire to pay for the machines.

"The actual number is more like 10,000," he told me.

As Reitman and others have pointed out, Scientology seems to be dwindling at the same time that it's buying up or developing property like crazy. Hunter Walker at The Daily did the math, and figured that today, the church owns 484 square feet of property for every active Scientologist in the world.

So the next time the AP or some other news organization feels obliged to mention Scientology's bogus claims to millions of members, please keep in mind that it's just an unfortunate result of the mainstream media's misplaced dedication to he-said-she-said ignorance it mistakenly refers to as "balance."

Meanwhile, with an increasing number of longtime members leaving to join the Independence movement that Marty Rathbun writes about at his blog, such a drain is bound to be significant when it comes to Scientology's bottom line.

And so we've managed to bring things full circle on this Independence Day. So stop reading about Scientology and go light a sparkler or something. Happy Fourth!

Update: And right on time, here's a story from Switzerland which says that Scientology is rapidly dwindling there. [h/t: Rick Ross]

* If you're not a fan of Scientology, this is how NOT to do something about it. In suburban Moscow, the AP reported, Scientology's writings by founder L. Ron Hubbard were banned by a local court that found them "extremist." Miscavige LOVES this kind of persecution and will try to milk it for everything it is worth. In fact, the more Scientology's policies and philosophies are examined and written about, the harder it is for the church to reach normal, sane human beings.

† Heber Jentzsch was once a fairly public face for Scientology, sparing the church's real leader, David Miscavige, from having to face the press. But in recent years, Heber has been nowhere to be seen. Ex-Scientologists assume that Jentzsch has lost favor with Miscavige and is being kept out of view. Jeff Hawkins has a good piece about Jentzsch's career.

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