Read about It. Рахимбергенова М.Х. - 41 стр.

bard cassette tapes lay for sale alongside sweater-vests and «60s cook-     dent. A video screened to newcomers explains Scientology’s core prac-
books. Minister Carol Yingling came to work in slippers. «I forgot I        tice – Dianetics, a pseudo-psychological confessional that aims to rid
sold my favorite black shoes,» she explained to the sparse congregation,    participants of the bad memories that inhibit their current behavior. «I
pointing at her feet, «I had to buy them back on the way over here.»        never get depressed – ever,» a member of the congregation testified of
       On that Sunday, Yingling was only speaking to twenty-five peo-       the process. When asked by the video’s narrator think back on negative
ple sitting in folding chairs. The new church, however, has space for       phrases they hear constantly, a man described how the phrase, «I’m a
almost five times that many. To make full use of the new elbow room,        loser, I’m a loser,» loops in his head. The scene recalls, of course, the
Rachel, the head of recruitment, says they’re looking to double the         Beck lyric, «I’m a loser, baby / So why don’t you kill me?» Even Beck,
number of staff members – from the present 40 to around 80. Will the        indie-teen-idol, is a registered Scientologist, whose glammy smile
church look to Yale to fill the gap?                                        graces Scientology’s shiniest propaganda.
       Currently, there are no registered Scientologist student groups on          Five or six teenaged girls sit in the back row at service one Sun-
campus, and no Yalies attend services. But certainly Yale will feel the     day, sneaking peaks at sci-fi romances one minute and listening to the
effects of the church expansion. Recruitment schemes are growing more       minister the next. In the past year, both the University of Cincinatti and
and more insidious – swiftly zooming in on fumbling, self-seeking col-      the University of Houston have printed op-eds against aggressive re-
lege students, individuals desperate for a connection with something        cruitment techniques.
greater. Rachel herself was recruited right out of college, and nearly as          Matthew, Rachel, and Don admit they actively recruit from
soon as she stepped foot in the church, she was offered a staff position:   «business colleges and typing colleges» in the area, but haven’t yet set
«I finished the Basic Study manual before I finished my first Dianetics     foot on Yale’s campus – a feat which requires paperwork. University
course,» she bragged to her friend and co-worker, Don, a Southern           Chaplain Reverend Frederick J. Streets, doesn’t mind their recent en-
Connecticut State University drop out. In other words, Rachel finished      croachment: «When it comes to Yale students,» he said in a phone in-
qualifications for a clergy position before she even attended Sunday        terview, «my main concern is that before they give their commitment
school.                                                                     [to any group] they should be very critically thinking about it, what’s
       Though Scientologists have occupied the Elm City since the re-       expected of them, what do they think they’re going to get out of it, be-
ligion’s advent in the «50s in the form of «missions,» the first church     fore deciding to be a part of it.»
came about in the early «80s, and recruitment is only now edging to-               Before a Yalie considers Scientology, he or she should consider
ward the University’s campus. Recently, Scientologists have actively        the cost, even before the creed. The major contrast between Scientology
recruited near the intersection of York and Broadway, outside the stu-      and other organized religions is a system of mandatory donations, like
dent-flooded Gourmet Heaven, touting «stress tests» which encourage         tithes, that must be paid to undergo the auditing sessions necessary to
students to evaluate their lives using a handy written examination as       attain enlightenment.
well as an «e-meter,» a pseudo-scientific measuring device outfitted               «They’re the only religious group I know that self-consciously
with two steel cylinders, which purportedly senses, through changes of      operates as if it is a business,» Jon Butler, professor of religious history
mass, the moment when the person holding them grabs hold of an idea.        at Yale, said. Speaking of how Scientology offers classes in everything
Until the FDA stepped in in 1963, Scientologists freely marketed the        from drug awareness to marriage counseling, Rachel mentions that
device as a psychological aid and medical panacea. Today, there’s a         what’s really helpful are the classes on finances. She pulls out two
small warning label.                                                        books written by Hubbard – The Dynamics of Money and Financial
       It’s easy to understand how Scientology’s most immediate claim       Control. But the church’s real financial record is not spelled out as
– a cleansing of stress – might attract the oft-overworked college stu-     clearly. IRS evidence tracks funds from congregants through money

                                   81                                                                           82