The Religious Technology Center (RTC) is an American non-profit corporation Letter by the Internal Revenue Service to Flemming Paludan, Regional Director, Danish Tax-Office, Washington, D.C., USA, December 22, 1993 that was founded in 1982 by 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 ...

to control and oversee the use of all of the trademarks, symbols and texts of

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 ...

and

Dianetics Dianetics is a set of pseudoscientific ideas and practices regarding the human mind, which were invented in 1950 by science fiction writer L.Ron Hubbard. Dianetics was originally conceived as a form of psychological treatment, but was reje ...

. Although RTC controls their use, those works are owned by another corporation, the

Church of Spiritual Technology The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) is a California 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, incorporated in 1982, which owns all the copyrights of the estate of L. Ron Hubbard and licenses their use. CST does business as L. Ron Hubbard Librar ...

. Since 1987,

David Miscavige David Miscavige (; born April 30, 1960) is an American Scientologist who is serving as the second and current leader of the Church of Scientology. His official title within the organization is Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology ...

has been the head of RTC with the title "Chairman of the Board". While exercising authority over the use of all Dianetics and Scientology materials, RTC claims that it is not involved in the day-to-day management of the Church of Scientology; that role is assigned to a separate corporation, the

Church of Scientology International The Church of Scientology International (CSI) is a California 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Letter by the Internal Revenue Service to Flemming Paludan, Regional Director, Danish Tax-Office, Washington, D.C., December 22, 1993 Within the wor ...

(CSI). According to the RTC website, "RTC stands apart as an external body which protects the Scientology religion and acts as the final arbiter of orthodoxy" and its stated purpose is "to protect the public from misapplication of the technology and to see that the religious technologies of Dianetics and Scientology remain in proper hands and are properly ministered". In a 1993 memorandum by the

(CSI) to the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

, CSI wrote about RTC's personnel and its income: "RTC ... owns the Scientology religious marks and advanced technology. It licenses the marks to CSI for sublicense to subordinate churches and directly licenses the advanced technology to appropriate churches. Through this structure RTC assures that practice of the Scientology religion within the ecclesiastical hierarchy under CSI's authority as Mother Church remains strictly orthodox, in accordance with the Scientology Scriptures. This church has a staff of approximately 50 individuals and an annual budget of approximately , based on its annual disbursements for the most recent year for which financial statements are available."

History

Corporate establishment and officers

RTC was incorporated on January 1, 1982, in Los Angeles, California, by Terri Gamboa, David Mayo, Norman Starkey, Phoebe Mauerer, Lyman Spurlock, Julia Watson, and

. Six months later, on June 15, 1982, the

Articles of Incorporation Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article(s) may also refer to: ...

were restated. On April 8, 1986, they were amended in order to clarify the disposition of RTC's assets upon the dissolution of the corporation. On September 21, 1993, the following individuals held corporate positions at RTC: the Board of Trustees was composed of David Miscavige, Gregory Wilhere, and Norman Starkey. The members of RTC's Board of Directors at that time were Mark Rathbun, Warren McShane, and David Miscavige. RTC's President was Mark Rathbun, its Secretary Warren McShane, and its Treasurer Barbara Griffin. A 2024 filing with the

Secretary of State of California The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's other constitutional officers; the officeho ...

listed Warren McShane as CEO, Darnelle Bloomberg as Secretary, Barbara Griffin as CFO, and the principal address as 1710 Ivar Avenue, Suite 1100, Los Angeles CA 90028.

Obtaining tax-exempt status

On August 19, 1993, RTC filed an application for tax exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the

Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC), is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States. It is codified in statute as Title 26 of the United States Code. The IRC is organized topically into subtitles and sections, co ...

.Form 1023 - Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code - Religious Technology Center, Washington, DC, August 19th, 1993 In the same year the Internal Revenue Service granted RTC's request for exemption. The granting of tax exemption to RTC and other Scientology corporations was preceded by years of continuous litigation between the IRS and the various entities of Scientology. According to former high-ranking executives, the Scientology organization had launched about 200 lawsuits against the IRS until 1991. During the same time, individual parishioners of Scientology had initiated 2,300 claims against the agency, challenging the denial of tax deduction for their services at Scientology organizations. Late 1991, the dispute over Scientology's tax-exempt status began to resolve through high-level meetings between David Miscavige and the then Commissioner of the IRS, Fred Goldberg, who encouraged a final resolution of the legal battle.

Organizational structure and management

RTC stands hierarchically at the top of the

network. It has regulatory, corporate and

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor, a Scientology splinter group, alleging theft and unauthorized use of confidential material owned by RTC. The case took over a decade to resolve, and in a 1996 appeal, the justices scolded RTC, writing "After 1,825 docket entries and nine years of pretrial litigation ... there is little doubt that RTC is playing 'fast and loose' with the judicial system ... in light of RTC's documented history of vexatious behavior, RTC's actions are indefensible".

Knowledge reports

The RTC maintains a task force called the Inspector General Network, an investigatory body which operates from seven offices on four different continents. The IGN's stated function is to "keep Scientology working by ensuring the pure and ethical use of Dianetics and Scientology technology." RTC, like the Church of Scientology, encourages the use of " Knowledge Reports" (KR) from anyone inside or outside of the Church, to report on potential misuse of the Standard Tech and copyrighted/trademarked materials. They maintain an online form in which anyone is encouraged to report any such matters that may be of concern. The use of reports is one system used by RTC to police the use of Scientology materials and the application.

Notes

References

External links

Religious Technology Center
{{Scientology 1982 establishments in California Intellectual property law Scientology organizations Hemet, California Organizations based in Riverside County, California