# Church of Scientology · The Cult Dossier · The Atlas · The Congregation of Tomorrow

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The Cult Dossier · No. 044 · Commercial / Therapy / Lgat
Church of Scientology
Dianetics; Sea Organization; Church of Spiritual Technology
1950/1953 – present · USA (Clearwater, Los Angeles, Hemet), UK (Saint Hill), worldwide
V. THE POSTWAR ERA 1945–1969
Legally a religion in the USA; banned or denied religious status in several countries
### Who led it
### What it worshipped and taught
### Who was in it
### How it ended, or where it stands
### The dead
### Of note
### Its timeline
- May 1950 Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health published; a bestseller.
- 1952–1953 Dianetics Foundation goes bankrupt; Hubbard establishes the Church of Scientology in Camden, New Jersey, in December 1953. His stated reason in earlier correspondence was that religion is the better business model.
- 1966–1967 Hubbard resigns as director and founds the SEA ORGANIZATION, running the movement from a fleet of ships in international waters. OT III written in 1967.
- 1967 US Internal Revenue Service strips tax exemption.
- 1963 FDA raid on the Washington DC church seizes E-meters.
- 1973–1977 OPERATION SNOW WHITE. The Guardian's Office infiltrates the IRS, DOJ, DEA, Coast Guard and foreign governments — the largest documented infiltration of the United States government by a private organisation. THE SCALE FIGURES COME FROM FEDERAL PROSECUTORS AND THE SENTENCING JUDGE: up to 5,000 covert agents placed across 136 government agencies, foreign embassies and consulates and private organisations critical of the group, in more than 30 countries. Begun in 1973, it remains the largest documented infiltration of the United States government by a private entity.
- 1972–1976 OPERATION FREAKOUT — an operation to have the journalist Paulette Cooper imprisoned or committed by framing her for bomb threats.
- 8 July 1977 FBI raids in Los Angeles and Washington seize 48,000 documents.
- 26 October 1979 Eleven senior figures including Mary Sue Hubbard convicted; she serves four years.
- 24 January 1986 Hubbard dies at his ranch in Creston, California. He had been in hiding since 1980. His death is announced as a voluntary departure from the body.
- 1987 Miscavige consolidates control.
- 1 October 1993 IRS grants full tax exemption after a campaign of roughly 2,400 lawsuits against the agency and its individual staff.
- 5 December 1995 LISA McPHERSON dies in Clearwater, Florida, after 17 days of Introspection Rundown isolation at the Fort Harrison Hotel — dehydrated, 20 kg underweight, covered in cockroach bites. The organisation was indicted in 1998 for abuse or neglect of a disabled adult and practising medicine without a licence; THE CHARGES WERE DROPPED ON 13 JUNE 2000 AFTER THE STATE MEDICAL EXAMINER CHANGED THE CAUSE OF DEATH from undetermined to accident. The family's civil suit settled on 28 May 2004 under a sealed agreement. No one was ever convicted.
- 1997 Germany's federal government places the organisation under surveillance as an anti-constitutional commercial enterprise.
- 1998 Greece revokes its legal status; France convicts the organisation of organised fraud in 2009 (upheld 2013).
- 2009 Australian Senate speech by Nick Xenophon reads out former members' allegations of forced abortions and imprisonment.
- 2013 Belgium prosecutes; acquitted 2016.
- 2015 Alex Gibney's Going Clear released; 2016–2019, Leah Remini's Scientology and the Aftermath.
- June 2020 onward Danny Masterson trials; convicted on two counts of rape 31 May 2023, sentenced to 30 years to life on 7 September 2023. The related civil suits over alleged harassment of accusers continue.
### Its people
### L. Ron Hubbard
LRH; the Commodore; the Source
Founder, Dianetics and the Church of Scientology · 13 March 1911 – 24 January 1986 · active 1950–1986
Before the law. Convicted in absentia of fraud in France, 1978. Named an unindicted co-conspirator in Operation Snow White. A fugitive from US process at his death.
Where things stand. Deceased 1986.
- May 1950 Dianetics published; bestseller.
- December 1953 Founds the Church of Scientology in Camden, New Jersey.
- 1966–67 Founds the Sea Organization; writes OT III.
- 1967 Issues the Fair Game policy.
- 1973–77 Operation Snow White — the largest infiltration of the US government by a private body on record.
- 1979 His wife Mary Sue and ten others convicted; he is named an unindicted co-conspirator.
- 24 January 1986 Dies at Creston, California.
Checked 2026-08-24
### David Miscavige
COB
Chairman of the Board, Religious Technology Center; effective leader of Scientology · born 30 April 1960 · active 1987–present
Before the law. NEVER CHARGED with any offence in any jurisdiction. In civil matters a federal court found in February 2023 that he had intentionally evaded service; that case was then diverted into the organisation's own religious arbitration.
Where things stand. Living. Leads the organisation.
- 1976 Joins the Sea Org aged 16.
- 1987 Consolidates control after Hubbard's death.
- 1 October 1993 Secures full IRS tax exemption.
- 2009 Tampa Bay Times 'Truth Rundown' series publishes senior defectors' assault allegations.
- 2013 Debbie Cook testifies under oath about The Hole.
- 2019 NOT SERVED in the suits brought by Valerie Haney or by the Danny Masterson accusers.
- FEBRUARY 2023 In the federal Tampa labour-trafficking case BAXTER v. SCIENTOLOGY, the court finds he had INTENTIONALLY EVADED PROCESS SERVERS — reportedly 27 TIMES IN FOUR MONTHS — and deems him served. The suit is then forced into Scientology's internal RELIGIOUS ARBITRATION, rendering the service moot.
- 2023–present Continues to be named in civil suits; service remains the recurring obstacle.
Checked 2026-08-24 · living: health details are kept at home
### Mary Sue Hubbard
—
Controller of the Guardian's Office, Church of Scientology · 17 June 1931 – 25 September 2002 · active 1952–1981
Before the law. CONVICTED of conspiracy against the United States, 1979. Served roughly a year in federal prison.
Where things stand. Deceased 2002, estranged from the organisation she helped build.
- 1952 Marries L. Ron Hubbard.
- 1966 Guardian's Office established under her control.
- 1973–77 Operation Snow White.
- 8 July 1977 FBI raids seize 48,000 documents.
- 26 October 1979 CONVICTED of conspiracy; sentenced to five years, serves about one.
- 1981 Removed from all positions as Miscavige consolidates control.
- 25 September 2002 Dies of breast cancer.
Checked
### Mike Rinder
—
Scientology whistleblower; former head of the Office of Special Affairs · 10 April 1955 – 5 January 2025 · active 1973–2007
Before the law. Never charged. A witness and consultant in numerous civil proceedings.
Where things stand. DECEASED 5 January 2025.
- 1973 Joins the Sea Org at 18.
- c.1982–2007 Heads the Office of Special Affairs.
- June 2007 Leaves the organisation; is declared a Suppressive Person and disconnected from his family.
- 2009 Speaks publicly for the first time in the Tampa Bay Times 'Truth Rundown' series.
- 2016–19 Co-hosts Scientology and the Aftermath, which wins three Emmys.
- 2022 Publishes A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology.
- 5 JANUARY 2025 DIES of oesophageal cancer at Palm Harbor, Florida, aged 69.
Checked 2026-08-24
### Leah Remini
—
Scientology whistleblower · born 15 June 1970 · active 1979–2013
Before the law. Never charged. Plaintiff in civil litigation that survived anti-SLAPP motions in 2024 and a further appellate trim in July 2026, and remains pending.
Where things stand. Living.
- 1979 Enters Scientology as a child with her mother.
- 2006 Questions Shelly Miscavige's absence at the Cruise–Holmes wedding; is subjected to internal 'thought modification' procedures.
- July 2013 Publicly leaves; is declared a Suppressive Person.
- 2015 Publishes Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology.
- 2016–19 Produces and hosts Scientology and the Aftermath with Mike Rinder.
- August 2023 Files suit alleging a coordinated campaign of harassment, surveillance and defamation.
- 2024 A Los Angeles superior court judge strikes roughly HALF the defamation claims on First Amendment grounds following an anti-SLAPP motion; the harassment claims survive untouched.
- JULY 2026 A state appeals court NARROWS the suit further — she cannot sue over being called an 'unhinged religious bigot' or 'a one-woman hate machine' — but KEEPS the remaining defamation and harassment claims alive. THE CASE IS STILL PENDING; it has not settled.
Checked 2026-08-24 · living: health details are kept at home
### Paulette Cooper
—
Journalist and target of Operation Freakout · born 26 July 1942 · active 1969–present
Before the law. INDICTED AS A RESULT OF A CRIMINAL FRAME-UP; charges dropped. She was the victim, not the offender.
Where things stand. LIVING, AGED 84 — confirmed August 2026 (she turned 84 on 26 July; some sources still say 83). She has been PAULETTE NOBLE since marrying Paul Noble in 1988. She was still giving interviews about the campaign against her as recently as AUGUST 2024, describing how Scientologists stole her stationery, wrote bomb threats on it, reported them to the FBI and had her arrested — an operation that exposed her to a possible fifteen-year sentence before FBI raids in 1977 uncovered the documentary evidence of OPERATION FREAKOUT and the church settled with her out of court.
- 1971 Publishes The Scandal of Scientology.
- 1972 Framed for bomb threats using her own stolen stationery; indicted, facing 15 years.
- 1975 Cleared after a sodium pentothal examination.
- 1972–76 Operation Freakout runs against her; 19 separate lawsuits are filed against her.
- 8 July 1977 FBI raids seize the documents proving the operation; the plan is found in Scientology's own files.
- 1985 Settles with the organisation.
- 2015 Publishes an account of the whole episode.
Checked 2026-08-24 · living: health details are kept at home
### Jenna Miscavige Hill
—
Scientology whistleblower; niece of David Miscavige · born 1 February 1984 · active 1984–2005
Before the law. Never charged.
Where things stand. LIVING. RE-CHECKED 2026-09-07: no death record, and she remains a public critic of the organisation she was raised in. She left in 2005, co-founded the support site EXSCIENTOLOGYKIDS with other former members, and published the memoir BEYOND BELIEF in 2013. THE ADVOCACY ROLE IS THE DECAYING PART OF THIS CLAIM, NOT THE FACT THAT SHE IS ALIVE — nothing consulted establishes what she is doing in 2026 specifically, and this file does not assert it.
- 1984 Born into Scientology.
- c.1986 Separated from her parents under Sea Org arrangements.
- 1991 Signs a billion-year Sea Org contract aged seven.
- 2005 Leaves the organisation; is disconnected from family members who remain.
- 2008 Co-founds an online support resource for ex-members.
- 2013 Publishes Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape.
Checked 2026-09-07 · living: health details are kept at home
### Lisa McPherson
—
Died in Scientology's care at Clearwater · 10 February 1959 – 5 December 1995 · active 1970s–1995
Before the law. Criminal charges against the organisation were dropped in 2000. The civil case settled in 2004 under seal. NO ONE WAS EVER CONVICTED.
Where things stand. Deceased 1995, aged 36. Protesters still mark the anniversary of her death in Clearwater thirty years on.
- 18 November 1995 Minor traffic accident in Clearwater; she undresses in the street and is taken to hospital.
- 18 November 1995 Persuaded to discharge herself against medical advice into Scientology's care at the Fort Harrison Hotel.
- 18 Nov – 5 Dec 1995 Held 17 days under the Introspection Rundown. She is found severely dehydrated and underweight, with insect bites on her body.
- 5 DECEMBER 1995 Dies aged 36 during a 45-minute drive past several closer hospitals to one with a Scientologist doctor.
- 1998 The Flag Service Organization is indicted for abuse or neglect of a disabled adult and practising medicine without a licence.
- 13 June 2000 THE CHARGES ARE DROPPED after the state medical examiner changes the cause of death from 'undetermined' to 'accident'.
- 28 May 2004 The family's civil suit is settled; the terms are SEALED by the court.
Checked 2026-08-24
### Tony Ortega
—
Journalist; two decades of Scientology reporting · born c.1963 · active 1995–present
Before the law. Journalist.
Where things stand. LIVING AND STILL PUBLISHING DAILY — confirmed August 2026. THE UNDERGROUND BUNKER has run daily since 2012 and has MIGRATED TO SUBSTACK, where it has tens of thousands of subscribers; his podcast was still running into early 2026. ONE FIGURE UPDATED: this file said he had covered Scientology for ‘nearly thirty years’. HE HAS WRITTEN ON IT SINCE 1995 — that is now MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS.
- 1995 Begins covering Scientology.
- 2007–12 Editor-in-chief of the Village Voice.
- 2012–present Runs The Underground Bunker daily.
- 2015 Publishes The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, on Paulette Cooper and Operation Freakout.
Checked 2026-08-24 · living: health details are kept at home
### Lawrence Wright
—
Author of Going Clear · born 2 August 1947 · active 2011–2015
Before the law. Journalist and author.
Where things stand. LIVING AND WORKING — confirmed August 2026; he remains a STAFF WRITER AT THE NEW YORKER. Author of ten works of non-fiction, among them THE LOOMING TOWER, GOD SAVE TEXAS and GOING CLEAR, and of four novels; also a playwright and screenwriter. GOING CLEAR (2013) was a national bestseller and a finalist for both the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD and the NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD.
- 2011 Publishes a long New Yorker profile of Paul Haggis's departure from Scientology.
- 2013 Publishes Going Clear. It is NOT PUBLISHED IN THE UK because of libel exposure.
- 2015 Alex Gibney's documentary adaptation released by HBO; wins three Emmys.
Checked 2026-08-24 · living: health details are kept at home
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