''Scientology and Me'' is a television documentary first broadcast on 14 May 2007 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 ...

'' series. In it, reporter John Sweeney visited the United States to investigate whether 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 ...

was becoming more mainstream. The programme gained particular controversy before and during filming due to unresolved differences on content and approach between Sweeney's production team and

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 ...

members. Tommy Davis, the international spokesperson for Scientology, did not want the BBC to interview any detractors or perceived enemies of the church or include them in the documentary, and attempted to censor any references to Scientology as a "

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

." The scale of the controversy intensified when the Church of Scientology released a 40-second clip of video footage showing a screaming argument between John Sweeney and Church spokesman Tommy Davis over the way in which Sweeney was interviewing critics of Scientology. In the clip, Sweeney yells: "You were not there at the beginning of that interview! You were not there! You did not hear or record all the interview! You are quoting the second half of the interview, not the ''first'' half! You cannot assert what you're saying!" at Davis in reference to an interview Sweeney recorded with Scientology critic Shawn Lonsdale. Despite the Church of Scientology's lobbying British MPs to have the documentary scrapped, its first airing went ahead on 14 May. With a peak of 4.9 million viewers in the UK, the episode garnered the highest ratings for ''Panorama'' since September the previous year.

Content

The documentary was intended as an investigation of the claims of both critics of the

and the Church itself to see if the Church "still deserved its sinister reputation." In the introduction, Sweeney outlines his investigation into the reputation of the Church of Scientology, its affiliated celebrities and its current activities. He begins with an edited version of a statement issued during the 1994 Los Angeles

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

case ''Church of Scientology of California vs Gerald Armstrong'', in which Judge John Breckenridge describes the Church of Scientology as " hizophrenic, bizarre, ... paranoid ... an organization that harasses its enemies ... and abuses the trust of its members." Sweeney notes that the case has been derided by the Church of Scientology as it believes it was based upon discredited evidence. In describing the affiliated celebrity members of Scientology, the documentary refers to them as an "all-star cast list."

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...

is seen crediting the longevity of his career and demise of other people's careers as due to the influence or lack of influence of

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 ...

. The documentary moves onto an interview in which Sweeney talks with a mother, known as "Sharon," who had been " disconnected" from her daughter after her daughter had taken a weekend away with other Scientologists and had read several books which she claimed had changed her life. Sweeney then explains the concept of a "disconnection" within the context of Scientology doctrine. "To the church, Sharon was a negative influence. Her daughter wrote to her cutting all ties. It's what Scientology call a 'disconnect.' They say they bring families together and a disconnect is a rare last resort and a human right."

Reactions

Outburst controversy

On 10 May 2007, four days before the documentary's first networked airing, video footage filmed by the Church of Scientology was released on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

showing Sweeney's outburst towards Scientology representative Tommy Davis. The Church of Scientology also presented the BBC with a set of 154 breaches of BBC guidelines which they claimed Sweeney and his team broke, though Sandy Smith, the programme's producer, responded that " e head of current affairs, George Entwistle, has viewed all footage complained of and, with the exception of the point when Sweeney shouts, he found nothing that stood outside BBC guidelines." The BBC responded to the clip by releasing on its website the video Sweeney shot to give some context to the argument before the documentary was aired. Since a description of Sweeney losing his temper was included in TV guide listings for the documentary, the BBC already knew about Sweeney's outburst before the YouTube clip was uploaded. Scientologists also later complained of

bigotry Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that pers ...

towards the Church in comments made by Sweeney during interviews with Scientology members. Sweeney's outburst toward Tommy Davis prompted John Travolta to lobby British MPs in an attempt to stop the documentary from being aired. – John Travolta sending 100,000 copies of Sweeney shouting at Tommy Davis to MPs. Both Sweeney and Sandy Smith apologised for his (Sweeney's) behaviour. Sweeney stated that it was a by-product of the "hijacking of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

" by the Scientology exhibition '' Psychiatry: An Industry of Death''which was where the outburst occurredas well as attempts to control his mind. Sweeney said of the incident: "I apologised almost immediately, Tommy carried on as if nothing had happened but meanwhile Scientology had rushed off copies of me losing it to my boss, my boss's boss and my boss's boss's boss, the Director-General of the BBC." Later, he added: "I look like an exploding tomato and shout like a jet engine and every time I see it, it makes me cringe." At the time the Church of Scientology posted its own material regarding the matter on the Internet, one of its spokesmen denied Sweeney's statement regarding a quick apology.

Anti-documentary activity by Scientology

Sweeney said of fair gaming: "While making our BBC Panorama film ''Scientology and Me'' I have been shouted at, spied on, had my hotel invaded at midnight, denounced as a 'bigot' by star Scientologists and been chased round the streets of Los Angeles by sinister strangers." Sweeney also claimed that his family and neighbours had been harassed by unidentified strangers back in the UK, including an intruder at his wedding who fled when confronted. Former high-ranking Scientologist and spokesperson Mike Rinder claimed David Miscavige was unhappy with the church's handling of the documentary, and punished Rinder by exiling him to the United Kingdom to dig ditches. As a result, he left the church in 2007. In 2009, he has subsequently spoken out against the church, and now said he lied to Sweeney during the interviewing to defend the church. The Church also created a documentary regarding the BBC's activities called 'Panorama Exposed', showcasing many of the Panorama team's alleged violations of BBC and government broadcast codes. On 28 September 2010, Rinder and Amy Scobee were featured on '' The Secrets of Scientology'', a follow-up to the 2007 broadcast. Rinder revealed that Sweeney was correct: Scientology was following Sweeney's activities for the 2007 report.

References

External links