Scientology

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So What If Will Smith's School Preaches Scientology?

Actor denies it, but live and let live, writes LAT

(Newser) - Will Smith denies he, wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, or the school they founded are affiliated with the Church of Scientology, writes the LA Times in an opinion piece, but who cares if L. Ron Hubbard himself is teaching Scientology 101? The school, set to open in September amid rumors that it...

Cruise's Lawyer Rips Dr. Drew
Cruise's Lawyer Rips Dr. Drew
Jun 13, 2008 11:20 AM CDT

Cruise's Lawyer Rips Dr. Drew

Celebrity Rehab host says actor's love of Scientology suggests childhood neglect

(Newser) - Celebrity psychiatrist Dr. Drew Pinksy's armchair diagnosis of Tom Cruise in Playboy has riled up Cruise’s lawyer, who compares the doc to a Nazi, Radar reports. The host of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew said Cruise’s attraction to the “cultish kind of environment” of Scientology is “...

No Charges for Scientology Protester

Court rules sign not 'abusive, insulting'

(Newser) - Charges against a 15-year-old who called Scientology as a ‘cult’ were dropped today, the BBC reports. The London police issued a mea culpa after a court ruled that the teen’s holding up a sign reading, "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult," did...

Teen Calls Scientology a 'Cult,' Faces Charges

London police leap to institution's defense

(Newser) - A 15-year-old is facing charges for holding a sign calling Scientology a "cult" during a peaceful protest. A London policewoman asked the teen to remove the sign; when he refused, she handed him a court summons, the Guardian reports. Free speech and anti-cult groups are furious, particularly in light...

Smith Puts His Money Where His Church Is (Maybe)

Actor funds school that uses Scientology teaching methods

(Newser) - Doing little to dispel widespread rumors that he's a new recruit to Scientology, Will Smith is funding a school that will use teaching methods devised by L. Ron Hubbard. Smith's own kids will attend the school, reports the Guardian. So-called "Study Technology" has been criticized for its ties to...

Cruise Busts Moves in Birthday Video

Footage of ship-board birthday party shows Cruise's wild side

(Newser) - The lock on Scientology's media vault must be missing. Gawker has obtained "secret video" of a lavish birthday bash thrown for church booster Tom Cruise on board a cruise ship, in which the couch-jumper enters to theme music from Top Gun, and sings and dances through Old Time Rock ...

Internet Activists Target Scientology

Church can no longer control its image

(Newser) - Scientology is increasingly under attack on the Internet, where critics and dropouts are undermining the church's traditionally tight control of its public image, reports the LA Times. Three ex-Scientologists, including the niece of the church's head, launched ExScientologyKids.com last week. Its motto: "We were born. We grew up....

Video Sparks Hacker War vs. Scientology

Embarrassing Cruise clip disappears; mayhem ensues

(Newser) - After the Church of Scientology removed a video of Tom Cruise calling his religion a “blast” from YouTube, the Internet world declared war. Hackers have been furiously shutting down and “Google bombing” Scientology's website while free-speech protesters gather and pranksters send white powder in envelopes to LA-area Scientology...

Cruise Out to Save World in Wacky Video

Calls Scientology 'rough and tumble, wild and woolly, and a blast'

(Newser) - The latest Tom Cruise thriller is a Scientology testimonial video circulating online in which the weirdly intense actor promotes the faith as the way to save the world, and urges fellow Scientologists to "educate to bring a new reality" to non-believers. "When you drive past an accident,"...

Scientologists Blast Cruise Bio's Claims

Diana scribe threatened with lawsuit over explosive allegations

(Newser) - The Church of Scientology is preparing a libel suit against an upcoming biography of actor Tom Cruise that calls him the organization's second-most-powerful man and says it influences nearly every facet of his life, reports the Daily Mail. The book, by Princess Diana biographer Andrew Morton, says Scientology staffers from...

Germany to Try Scientology Ban
Germany to Try Scientology Ban
Dec 7, 2007 10:22 PM CST

Germany to Try Scientology Ban

Lawmakers order domestic spies to gather a decade of data on the group

(Newser) - German ministers accused Scientology of being unconstitutional today and took steps to ban it from the country, Der Spiegel reports. They ordered spies to assemble a dossier on the group, based on 10 years of surveillance, to support the ban. Scientologists were outraged, and called themselves victims of "on-going...

Scientology and Seinfeld: What's the Deal?

Comic dabbled—not that there's anything wrong with that

(Newser) - After raising a ruckus by acknowledging that he dabbled in Scientology, Jerry Seinfeld has cleared the record: “It is not my complete wacko resume. It’s just one aspect!” Seinfeld said he spent his younger days exploring “self-help things” —meditation, Aikido, yoga, and karate. Of Scientology,...

11 Injured in Cruise Film Car Crash
11 Injured
in Cruise Film
Car Crash
Aug 20, 2007 2:52 PM CDT

11 Injured in Cruise Film Car Crash

Berlin police investigate a totaled truck for defects on the set of "Valkyrie"

(Newser) - Eleven extras were injured on the Berlin set of Tom Cruise's latest film, "Valkyrie," when the side of a truck—decked out to look like a Nazi military transport—blew open as it took a corner. One man was seriously injured in the crash. Local authorities reported "...

German Leaders Reject Scientology Ban

Stumbling block is procedural, not philosophical

(Newser) - German leaders say they won't press for a ban on Scientology—not because they're against it, but because they don't think it would succeed. The German government officially considers the organization a cult, Der Spiegel reports, but politicians from both major parties say that they probably don't have enough evidence...

Scientology: No Weirder Than The Others

Group may be wacky but it's no cult, Slate writer says

(Newser) - Scientology has earned cult status for many outsiders, but Slate’s Mark Oppenheimer argues it's no more bizarre than any mainstream faith. He says the peculiarities of the celebrity-friendly religion abound, but that they're reflected right back in the wacky ideas of more accepted theologies—say, by the Book of...

Cruise Can Film in Germany Despite 'Cult' Status

Berlin does an about-face on anti-Hitler movie

(Newser) - Tom Cruise will be allowed to shoot his new movie, about a German military officer who tried to assassinate Hitler, on German soil. Earlier reports said the megastar would be banned because of his ties to Scientology, which Germany regards as a threat to democracy and keeps under "official...

Cruise Film Can't Shoot at German Sites

Berlin says nein because Tom belongs to 'Scientology cult'

(Newser) - The makers of a new Tom Cruise movie will be barred from filming at key German military sites, Reuters reports, because of the star's Scientology connection. Cruise is to play the lead in "Valkyrie," about a failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler. But the Germans don't recognize Scientology...

Germans Spy on Scientologists
Germans Spy on Scientologists
Mar 29, 2007 8:06 AM CDT

Germans Spy on Scientologists

They're wiretapping followers. Will Tom Cruise swoop in to save the day?

(Newser) - Celeb church-of-choice Scientology is under surveillance from German intelligence officials, alarmed at the recent opening of its new chapel in Berlin, just blocks from the Reichstag. Leaders' phones have been tapped. "This is a dangerous group… that wants to break the will of each of its members. That's why...

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