''The Secrets of Scientology'' is a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

which was broadcast on 28 September 2010 as part of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

'' documentary strand. Presented by John Sweeney, it is a follow-up of his 2007 investigation into the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religiou ...

and features interviews with former high-ranking members of the organisation.

Production

Reporter John Sweeney presented the hour-long programme, which was a follow-up to his 2007 documentary ''

Scientology and Me ''Scientology and Me'' is a television documentary first broadcast on 14 May 2007 as part of the BBC's ''Panorama'' series. In it, reporter John Sweeney visited the United States to investigate whether the Church of Scientology was becoming mor ...

'' in which he travelled to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to investigate

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a scam, a Scientology as a business, business, a cult, or a religion. Hubbard initially develo ...

In ''The Secrets of Scientology'', Sweeney interviews several individuals connected with the organisation and investigates allegations by former Scientology followers that the church sought to divide their families, something the church denies. Among those interviewed include

Mike Rinder Michael John Rinder (; April 10, 1955 – January 5, 2025) was an Australian-American former senior executive of the Church of Scientology International (CSI) and the Sea Organization based in the United States. From 1982 to 2007, Rinder ser ...

a former long-term member of the organisation and one of its officials who was assigned to "handle" Sweeney during his 2007 programme. Rinder, who left the Church soon after the previous documentary, confirms Sweeney's suspicions that he was followed by the organisation during the making of that programme. He tells the reporter; "You were being followed ..It would have come under my purview, no doubt whatsoever." Rinder, a member of the church since the age of six, talks about how he was subjected to " disconnection", a process by which his family cut him out of their lives. Another Church of Scientology official interviewed during the programme is Amy Scobee, who joined the Church at the age of 14 and was a member of its

Sea Org The Sea Organization or Sea Org is the senior-most status of staff within the Church of Scientology network of corporations, but is not itself incorporated. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Sea Org was started as L. Ron Hubbard's private navy, and ...

which runs the organisation's day-to-day operations. Scobee tells Sweeney of how details of her sex life before she was married were leaked to a newspaper after she left Scientology in 2005 and criticised the Church.

Anti-documentary activity by Scientology

As with the 2007 documentary, Sweeney and his team were once again followed by people filming them during their visit to the United States, although on this occasion, their filming was much less covert. However, those filming refused to answer Sweeney's questions when he approached them and asked about their identity and purpose. On his return to the United Kingdom the BBC received photographs of Sweeney in a farewell embrace with Amy Scobee from

Carter-Ruck Carter-Ruck is a British law firm founded by Peter Carter-Ruck. The firm specialises in libel, privacy, international law and commercial disputes. The leading legal directories (Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners) rank Carter-Ruck in the top ...

, the Church's UK lawyers, something which Sweeney welcomed as proof that those following him were working on behalf of the Church. Shortly after ''The Secrets of Scientology'' premiered, the Church created their own documentary regarding Sweeney and Mike Rinder's activities called ''Panorama: Desperate Lies'', not only listing off further alleged violations of BBC and Ofcom Broadcast Codes in both of Sweeney's programs, but also attempting to further discredit Church detractors featured in the documentary.

Ratings

''The Secrets of Scientology'' was a ratings success for ''Panorama'' and the BBC in its initial broadcast; with ''MediaTel Newsline'' reporting, "The ''Panorama'' special, which saw reporter John Sweeney get an insider's view of the organisation, attracted more than five million peak viewers and a 20.3% average audience share during the all-important 9pm to 10pm slot." The documentary performed better than simultaneous programming for ''

71 Degrees North ''71 Degrees North'' is a reality television series on ITV which began broadcasting on 11 September 2010. Ten celebrities had to battle it out to see who would make it to the 71st parallel north, with challenges along the way. It returned for a ...

''. It was the most popular programme broadcast in the 9pm hour.

Reception

In a review of ''The Secrets of Scientology'', ''

Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

'' commented, "Thankfully, there was exemplary investigative journalism on the show, with the BBC man unbowed by closed avenues of inquiry or alleged surveillance." '' JOE.ie'' highlighted the documentary as its "Pick of the night" in television. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' selected the film as its recommendation for "Pick of the day"; it was also recommended by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', ''

Bristol Evening Post The ''Bristol Post'' is a city/regional five-day-a-week (formerly appearing six days per week) newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was ...

'', and ''

Wales on Sunday Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

''. David Chater of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' called Mike Rinder a "

whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

", commenting, "Mike Rinder, erstwhile spokesman for the Church of Scientology and the former head of its Office of Special Affairs, has turned whistleblower and describes the operation against Sweeney last time round." Fiona Mayhem of ''Watch With Mothers'' assessed the documentary as, "a bit of a disappointing effort which could have been made more entertaining ... or more informative, by exploring more what it is about the tenets of the cult that former members still hold so dear. Still, for those with no prior knowledge of the religion, this was a decent starter pack." Paddy Sherman of the ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St. Paul's Square, Liverpool, England. It is published Monday through Sunday, and is Liverpool's da ...

'' called the documentary an "in-depth look at the workings of the church". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' referred to it as "a very disturbing video documentary adefor the BBC programme Panorama". In an analysis of the documentary for ''Catholic Online'', associate editor Randy Sly noted the programme's ratings success in the UK, and commented, "People in England seemingly can't get enough when it comes to revelations about Scientology."

References

External links

The Secrets of Scientology
at

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