Times Reporter Takes Scientology Test, Encouraged To Join

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."