Scientology
Beliefs and practices and associated movement
Follow Scientology on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!
We include updates on Danny Masterson, After Earth, Xenu, Shelly Miscavige, Dianetics, Clearwater, Florida, Sea Org, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, The Return of Chef, Super Best Friends, Process Church of the Final Judgment, Operation Snow White, Freewinds, Death of Lisa McPherson, Quentin Hubbard, Narconon ... and more.
2024 |
Writers and Illustrators of the Future
Jack Nash wins Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest with his story 'Son, Spirit, Snake', illustrated by Tyler Vail in Volume 40
|
October 25 2024 |
Scientology in the United Kingdom
Planned International Association of Scientologists event where the Mid Sussex District Council and Police will make observations regarding a potential Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to prohibit public protests outside Saint Hill Manor, following Scientology's request.
|
January 2024 | A Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied bail for Danny Masterson pending an appeal, citing concerns that he could flee, especially in light of his ongoing divorce proceedings. |
2023 |
Writers and Illustrators of the Future
David K. Henrickson wins Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest with his story 'White Elephant', illustrated by Dao Vi in Volume 39
|
2023 |
A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant
The live audio recording from the 2022 revival was preserved as a live cast album on Soundcloud, featuring new orchestrations of nine musical tracks documenting the performance.
|
2023 | A former Scientologist arranged a protest outside Saint Hill Manor during the annual IAS event, calling for an end to alleged organizational abuses. |
2023 | Nancy Cartwright was awarded 'Patron Excalibur With Honors' for her $21 million donation to the International Association of Scientologists. |
December 27 2023 | Masterson was admitted to North Kern State Prison after months of post-sentencing hearings. |
November 3 2023 |
Scientology in the United Kingdom
46 anti-Scientology protestors marched from East Grinstead to Saint Hill Manor during the first International Association of Scientologists event since the COVID-19 pandemic. The demonstration was organized by Alexander Barnes-Ross with the theme 'The Abuse Must Stop' and was live-streamed on YouTube, attracting over 18,000 views.
|
September 2023 | A slander case brought by the Church of Scientology Basel against Free Anti-Scientology Activists (FASA) was dismissed after an evidentiary hearing. |
September 2023 |
Scientology status by country
The Church of Scientology Basel's slander lawsuit against Free Anti-Scientology Activists (FASA) was dismissed after an evidentiary hearing.
|
September 2023 |
Scientology status by country
The Church of Greece issued a statement describing Scientology as a 'pseudo-religious organisation with socially dangerous activities' and claimed the organization has been operating under different names.
|
September 2023 |
Scientology in the United Kingdom
The Charity Commission for England and Wales confirmed that due to the Charities Act 2006 statute of limitations, Scientology can no longer appeal the 1999 rejection for tax-exempt status, and upheld the original ruling that it does not serve a public benefit in the United Kingdom.
|
September 18 2023 | Bijou Phillips filed for divorce from Danny Masterson, citing irreconcilable differences and requesting full legal and physical custody of their child, as well as spousal support. |
September 7 2023 | Danny Masterson was sentenced to an indefinite period of 30 years to life in prison for sexual assault. |
July 2023 | Prosecutors announced that they would not retry Danny Masterson on the charge for which the jury was hung. |
June 2023 | Stephen Hupp is named as the new editor of Skeptical Inquirer, replacing Stuart Vyse. |
June 7 2023 | Judge Olmedo sanctioned Danny Masterson's earlier defense attorneys, Tom Mesereau and Sharon Appelbaum, for leaking confidential discovery material from the criminal case to Vicki Podberesky, an attorney representing the Church of Scientology. This breach violated multiple directives to refrain from sharing criminal discovery with civil case litigants and included personal information about the victims. |
May 2023 | Danny Masterson was convicted of raping two women in 2003, while a third count of rape resulted in a hung jury. |
May 31 2023 | Danny Masterson was convicted of two counts of forcible rape during a retrial held between April and May 2023. |
February 2 2023 | Publication of two books by Timothy Wyllie: 'Love Sex Fear Death: The Inside Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgment' (Expanded Edition) and 'Propaganda and the Holy Writ of The Process Church of the Final Judgement'. |
2022 |
Writers and Illustrators of the Future
Desmond Astaire wins Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest with his story 'Gallows', illustrated by Zaine Lodhi in Volume 38
|
2022 |
A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant
A revival of the theatrical production 'A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant' was staged, featuring a new cast performance.
|
2022 | The Church of Scientology Religious Education College Incorporated filed reports with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, claiming 700 'volunteers' (including Sea Org members) across various UK organizations. |
2022 | Kenny Biddle was a speaker at CSICon for the second time, continuing his involvement with the organization. |
November 2022 |
A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant
The show was filmed as a television special titled 'A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant - Live!', directed, designed, produced, and adapted for television by Sean Pollock, with a re-orchestrated score by Richard Lowenburg.
|
November 2022 | Stuart Vyse becomes interim editor of Skeptical Inquirer following the passing of Kendrick Frazier. |
November 30 2022 | A mistrial was declared after the jury remained deadlocked following three days of deliberation. The jury foreman indicated that they leaned towards acquittal based on the inconsistencies in the testimonies of the complainants. |
November 14 2022 | Both parties rested their cases during the trial, with Masterson choosing not to testify or present witnesses in his defense. |
October 2022 | Nikolas Schreck published the UK edition of 'The Manson File: Myth and Reality of an Outlaw Shaman' through Crossbank Publishing, which includes additional information about British occultists. |
October 11 2022 | The trial against Masterson commenced after being rescheduled from the original August date at the request of his legal team. |
September 2022 |
Fred T. Goldberg Jr.
Named to the Washingtonian's 2022 Top Lawyers Hall of Fame.
|
September 2022 | Kenny Biddle is announced as the Chief Investigator of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). |
August 30 2022 |
Scientology status by country
After a nine-year review, Scientology was officially recognized as a charitable organization (ANBI) in the Netherlands.
|
August 19 2022 |
Scientology status by country
Scientology organization in Brazil was voluntarily liquidated, ending its registered activities as a non-religious 'private association' under CNPJ number 05.586.122/0001-25.
|
April 3 2022 |
Freewinds
Valeska Paris, Gawain Baxter, and Laura Baxter filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. US District Judge Tom Barber ruled that the plaintiffs must seek relief through Church arbitration, dismissing some arguments due to potential religious doctrine interpretation conflicts.
|
2021 |
Scientology in Australia
During his trial, the boy was deemed not criminally responsible for the stabbing due to his mental health condition. Justice Hament Dhanji issued a verdict of 'act proven but not criminally responsible'.
|
2021 |
Scientology in Australia
Australian Census further documented a continued membership decline, with 1,655 Scientology members reported.
|
2021 |
Writers and Illustrators of the Future
Barbara Lund wins Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest with her story 'Sixers', illustrated by Dan Watson in Volume 37
|
2021 |
Church of Spiritual Technology
CST is designated as an 'undesirable organization' in Russia.
|
2021 |
Scientology status by country
Russia labeled World Institute of Scientology Enterprises and Church of Spiritual Technology as 'undesirable organizations', claiming they pose a threat to the security of the Russian Federation.
|
2021 | Netflix documentary 'The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness' released, featuring the Process Church. |
2021 |
Scientology in the United Kingdom
Census reveals 1,844 individuals in England and Wales identified as Scientologists, marking a decline of approximately 25% since 2011.
|
2021 |
Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me
Ron Miscavige passed away at the age of 85.
|
November 10 2021 | Judge Ronald S. Coen ruled that the testimonies of the alleged victims were credible and set the trial date for August 29, 2022. |
August 9 2021 | During a pretrial hearing, Judge Olmedo rejected several broad subpoena requests from Masterson's defense attorneys regarding evidence, and a motion to dismiss the case was forwarded to another judge. |
June 7 2021 | Masterson pleaded not guilty again during his arraignment concerning the rape allegations spanning from 2001 to 2003 and was ordered to remain free on $3.3 million bail. |
May 21 2021 | Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo ruled the three witnesses credible and ordered Masterson to stand trial on three counts of rape, requiring him to surrender his passport at the upcoming arraignment. |
January 21 2021 | Masterson pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. |
2020 | Scientology launched a campaign distributing booklets titled 'How to Keep Yourself and Others Well' during the COVID-19 pandemic, targeting businesses and government offices in multiple countries. |
We are only showing the most recent entries for this topic. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Freewinds, Fred T. Goldberg Jr., Scientology status by country, Sea Org, Scientology in Australia, A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant, Volunteer Ministers, Danny Masterson, Scientology in the United Kingdom, International Association of Scientologists, Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Process Church of the Final Judgment, Church of Spiritual Technology, Writers and Illustrators of the Future & Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.