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Web Extras
Inside the Church of Scientology - Februrary 2013
The Church of Scientology Responds
Mr. Wright’s book is so ludicrous it belongs in a supermarket tabloid. The book is an error-filled, unsubstantiated, bigoted anti-Scientology book. The Church has produced a white paper identifying the more than 200 errors so far discovered in Mr. Wright’s book. See, www.lawrencewrightgoingclear.com. Specific examples include:
British and Canadian publishers chose not to print Mr. Wright’s book, which speaks volumes about their confidence in its facts and allegations. Mr. Wright ignored the real story of Scientology in favor of stale allegations and ever-changing bizarre tales invented by a handful of confessed liars.
If objectivity and truth are the hallmark of an ethical journalist, then the only words to describe Lawrence Wright are corrupt and bigoted. A self-described atheist, Mr. Wright apparently feels that Scientologists have no rights to express their religious beliefs. In a letter of October 14, 2011, a full 15 months before publication, the Church offered full cooperation to answer any questions so as to provide all information Mr. Wright would need to accurately represent the religion, the Church, its leadership and Founder.
The Church repeated this request fifteen times, as many of the letters went entirely unanswered while others resulted in only about a dozen fact-checks consisting of obscure or mundane subjects out of context. As a result, Mr. Wright produced a travesty of falsehoods.
Millions of Scientologists around the world embrace the religion. Since Lawrence Wright began his research, thirty new Churches of Scientology, known as Ideal Organizations, opened across the world—twelve in 2012 alone—and our humanitarian programs are bringing help to thousands of people from all walks of life on a daily basis.
To find out the true story of Scientology and its Founder, one can visit www.scientology.org, www.lronhubbard.org, or one can read Mr. Hubbard's books, which are available worldwide.
Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher of "Going Clear," Responds
Wright spent several years researching and writing GOING CLEAR. During that time he conducted over 250 interviews, the majority of them with present and former Scientologists; sourced original material about the Church and its founder; read thousands of documents; and did extensive reporting. He was assisted by a fact checker throughout the process.
The fact checker was in contact with the Church numerous times prior to publication, having sent over 150 queries to one of their spokespeople. The Church responded slowly and evasively, frequently putting forth their own agenda and complaining about the focus of Wright’s reporting rather than addressing Wright’s queries.
Additionally, Wright provided officials from the Church with repeated opportunities to speak on the record and they declined to do so. As part of the publication process, the book went through a vigorous vetting by Random House counsel.
It is worth noting that Wright is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and the genesis of this book – his The New Yorker article about Paul Haggis (“The Apostate”) – won the National Magazine Award for reporting. Given the arc and scope of Wright’s narrative, and the readership it is likely to draw, it is unsurprising that the Church has chosen to vilify Wright, as well as reach out to media organizations in an effort to influence their coverage of his book.
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