Review: Going Clear

David Cross once joked that Mormonism was the Scientology of its day. Like a lot of David Cross jokes, the punchline was nothing more than a widely dismissive statement that attempted to brush the two vastly different religions with one general stroke of snarky skepticism. When I heard it, laughing along at the jabs at Scientology, I squirmed awkwardly at the mention of Mormonism.

Not my Mormonism, I thought. My spiritual experiences were hardly insubstantive, and couldn’t be reduced so casually as the result of a “lies of a convicted fraud.”

Admittedly, I knew a lot less about church history back then. I find it increasingly difficult to maintain the stalwart defenses of my religion as I used to. So this is probably all me. I’m the one at fault for my following review of Alex Gibney’s Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. I honestly set out to give an unbiased review of an expose on a fascinating modern religion, or some would say billion-dollar cult, but I can’t do that. I guess I’m preemptively saying I’m sorry.

The truth is, there is enough in Going Clear to make any thoughtful Mormon at least a little uncomfortable. For a Mormon in transition, the parallels were there, even if I didn’t want them to be. Maybe David Cross was half right. That doesn’t make his joke any funnier. Opposite, in fact.

Most of the similarities between the two religions are banal, and nearly everything I know about Scientology comes from this documentary. But learning about its origins altered my perspective of the origins of Mormonism and the possible mindset of Joseph Smith. Which, I know, is the last thing any Mormon wants to hear. But an early scene depicts Hubbard staring at the night sky and explaining the different alien races  of the cosmos, forging elaborate stories about their appearance, language, and societies. I couldn’t help but think about how a century earlier, Joseph Smith did the exact same thing about the people of the moon.

Yet, Smith’s speculation plays no part in the theology of Mormonism, now or then. Scientology relies mostly on the belief that Hubbard did know exactly what was going on lightyears away from us. And that account of Joseph Smith talking about the moon is hardly a credible one. So I can let that slide, logically. It’s just hard not to notice these things.

L. Ron Hubbard created a religion and mythos that was born out of twentieth century science fiction. But he also spent time in Jack Parson’s Aleister Crowley-inspired cult, steeped in new-age mysticism and folk magic. Not totally unlike Joseph Smith, although he never dabbled in the occult. But folk magic, mysticism, and an influence from other contemporary revolutionary spiritualists all have their place in the origins of Mormonism.

Hubbard holds the world record for number of books published, over one thousand. He was prolific, if anything. His theology stems from his own imagination and propensity to spin a yarn. Joseph Smith wasn’t nearly as prolific, because he never actually wrote anything down. But apologists like to point out the near impossibility of Smith writing, or dictating, a book so complex and consistent as The Book of Mormon. Hubbard is a case of a similar figure–the kind prone to starting churches with unique religious texts–with a similar talent.

But of course, Joseph warned of false prophets, and the believing Mormon could easily excuse the advent of Scientology as another one of Satan’s mockeries, and I accept that viewpoint. After all, Going Clear makes no mention of Mormonism, and the point is actually much less about Hubbard as it is Scientology’s current incarnation, and the lengths they will go to humiliate, abuse, and control its members, while also bleeding them dry. I find no such problems in Mormonism, and Joseph Smith is surely a flawed character, but nowhere on the creep level of Hubbard. And while cultural pressure might make it difficult for members to leave, relationships can remain intact in a post-Mormon existence.

That’s not totally true, though. I did feel another uncomfortable familiarity when ex-Scientologists talked about their families “disconnecting” from them over the church. I know Mormons who have been disowned over their breakups from Mormonism, and the practice of excommunication essentially severs a family’s eternal ties. I suppose these faults are not unique to Scientology nor Mormonism, though.

The most depressing similarity comes halfway through the film, when Gibney explores the Church’s rhetoric during an early ‘90s campaign to achieve tax-exempt status. Scientology declared war on the IRS, and claimed religious liberty with the purpose of skipping out on a billion dollar tax bill. When the IRS finally conceded, they threw a massive celebration and declared that “the war is over!”

Interesting that this aired the day after the LDS women’s conference, which ramped up a similar “war on the family” mentality that, while maybe not so bold or vindictive, nevertheless employs references to violence in an effort to maintain a status quo. I’m sure nobody would argue that Mormonism’s stance on gay marriage is in some part an effort to maintain its own tax-exempt status, though it may only be a cynic that sees phrases like “strengthen the family” as a long-term veiled attempt at winning a political battle that in the end promises to keep certain regulations from LDS-affiliated institutions.

I am that cynic, though. I wish I wasn’t, but then again — I wish there were a lot of things about Scientology that weren’t reflective of my understanding of Mormonism. This says much more about me than it does either of these two complicated and misunderstood communities. Anyone could pick anything out of this blog and accuse me of stretching for connections, or looking for criticisms that might not hold water. They wouldn’t be wrong. It’s not about an accurate dissection of where Scientology and Mormonism overlap, but rather my own disillusionment.

Maybe Gibney’s documentary will force Scientology to modernize and abandon it’s more harmful practices, a transitional phase similar to what Mormonism did after polygamy. I will say, one thing I did not find in common with my Mormon experience is that I do not particularly find Scientology worth saving.

I do think people find Scientology because they seek a path to a more mindful place. A peace with existence. Mormons start their journey with the same things in mind. They want to find a connection to their Creator, and make the most out of the relationships they cherish. I don’t think either of those goals are lofty, and I don’t think anyone is foolish for starting down either path.

Maybe Scientology can learn from their shared patterns of Mormonism. Or maybe Mormonism should learn from Scientology. Any organization looks a little unflattering when a light is shone into it’s darkest corners, where they keep their secrets. Both these worlds are better for it in the end. Maybe I will be too.