Times Reporter Takes Scientology Test, Encouraged To Join

Photograph by maevro on Flickr

Well, NY Times reporter Ariel Kaminer was encouraged to join until someone at the Church of Scientology Googled her name and realized that she was a reporter for the NY Times. But she still got enough material for a piece titled, "In Scientology’s Door, but Not Much Farther." Kaminer went to the group's Times Square building and took the "personality test with 200 sometimes puzzling questions":

Many addressed my interactions with others. Some asked about depression and suicide. A few were out of the blue: “Do you consider the modern ‘prisons without bars’ system to be doomed to failure?”

I tried to answer honestly: Yes, past failures sometimes trouble me. Though even as I filled in the oval, I thought: Tom Cruise would never admit such weakness.

The results were plotted along 10 axes, like stable/unstable, happy/nervous. I scored in the top 25 percent for most categories, and I saw a few eyebrows rise approvingly. But the test said I had only average communication skills and was overly critical: Interesting, given my job.

When I returned the next morning, everyone seemed very happy to see me. A platinum-haired woman sat me down and asked a big question: What had I heard about Scientology?

Kaminer was later encouraged to sign up for an $84 Scientology intro course—since members said it "could help an 'upstat' — high scoring — person like me achieve my long-term goals." Some other things: Could she join the church for 6 months and would she sign a waiver to "recognize, acknowledge and agree" that Scientology is a religion "intended for the betterment and well-being of mankind" and that L. Ron Hubbard's writing were intended to do various things.

Though she refused, Kaminer was allowed to take a correspondence course in the library—after giving her real last name (she initially just gave her husband's)—but her deep dive into Scientology ended when a man in a tan suit—the head of the church's NY chapter—approached her, "Apparently while I had been studying, someone had been Googling. He complimented me on my articles in The New York Times... He was very polite, even inviting me back for a tour. But after a few minutes, he escorted me out."

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By Jen Chung in News on November 8, 2009 2:40 PM

Comments [rss]

WorksInDUMBO

Wow, that article was a whole lotta nothing...

nivek

Does/Did this place get egged on Halloween?

Sophie

I love how if you don't have money to pay for courses or you are a reporter, they kick you out, and church has their own CRUISE SHIP!?

Caleb

My friends and I had half an hour to kill today so we went to the Scientology place to watch their film and make fun of it. It was really sketchy. Also, how can a "religious organization" possibly afford such a nice building?

robingee

Or like the Vatican, which is a whole city. Religion is supposed to be about being humble and living modestly, but you couldn't prove it by the gold statues and towering ceilings.

Humptydank

You mean like St. Patrick's Cathedral?

kafkask

ZING!

At least the Catholics expect you to give money only after you go throught their bozo-rites. They don't charge you 80 bucks to go to a "Why JM&J is right for you" class.

S.K.

Gray Line tour guide:

"On your left is Lion King, and up ahead is the Booth Theater, but on your right is another popular Broadway show, Scientology! Next show is at 8pm."

inoyourider

Sounds like the interview for "The Parallax View"

about 5 min in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ5aK2vhZ_0&feature=related

the montage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNMi8fXi5Os

jt10000

Best video ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFBZ_uAbxS0

Rocknrope

Someone should do this to the Landmark group too.

Clarice City

Really! I was invited to show some of my paintings in a show that one of my college acquaintances was curating. Everyone went out to a bar after the opening and thoughout the night I would get into a really great conversation and then, out of the blue, the person would start encouraging me to join Landmark, or they would simply launch into a long story about how successful they became after taking a Landmark course. Totally creeped me out and I left early. I still have only the faintest idea of what Landmark is, but that night I was totally freaked out and thought: cult? sex club? what the hell is it?

Gwinny

Yeah, no kidding. I got pressured into a course at Landmark about 14 years ago by a college friend...while it was interesting, there was no way I was going to dump more money into it like the rest of the suckers there.