The Complex: An Insider Exposes the Covert World of the Church of Scientology
Encyclopedia
The Complex: An Insider Exposes the Covert World of the Church of Scientology is a non-fiction
book about the organization and practices of the Church of Scientology
, written by former Scientologist
John Duignan with Nicola Tallant. The book was published in Ireland
on October 7, 2008 by Merlin Publishing. Both of Duignan's parents died when he was very young and as a result he had difficult experiences as a teenager. He met an attractive female Scientologist on the streets of Germany, who convinced him to take a free personality test
from Scientology. After the test, he was told he had a result of "Urgent Action Required", and he began to take Scientology courses. Duignan was recruited into Scientology's elite paramilitary
organization called the "Sea Org
", and spent a total of 22 years in the organization. After attending an event where actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise
was given the award of "Most Dedicated Follower", Duignan began to examine the organization more closely and had doubts about remaining. He left the organization in 2006, after taking measures to avoid investigation by Scientology's intelligence agency
the Office of Special Affairs
.
The Church of Scientology has responded to the publication of The Complex by sending legal letters to several bookstore retailers that were selling the book, claiming the book contains libelous statements about a member of the organization. Merlin Publishing "emphatically denied" these allegations, and an editorial director at the publishing company called Scientology's claim "vexatious". The United Kingdom
branch of Amazon.com
, Amazon.co.uk, stopped selling copies of the book after receiving legal letters
from the Church of Scientology; booksellers Waterstone's
and W H Smith
also received the legal letter, and Borders Books may have also been "warned off" selling the book. A representative for Amazon.com in the United States said that the U.S. branch of the company will be selling copies of the book, but is "awaiting arrival of the inventory" to their networks.
from age 11 to 17, and later moved to Germany
. Duignan was recruited into Scientology in 1985 at age 22 when an attractive woman on the street in Stuttgart
, Germany offered him a free personality test
. After the personality test Duignan was told he had a result of "Urgent Action Required". He left his job and his girlfriend to become active in the organization. After spending time learning Scientology techniques, officials from Scientology Missions International
in Los Angeles
contacted Duignan and asked him to join the organization's elite paramilitary
group called the Sea Org
. He spent some time training in Los Angeles, and later was posted to the Scientology headquarters at Saint Hill Manor
in East Grinstead
, West Sussex
. Duignan states he received weapons training
while in the organization. At one point he was responsible for working on the organization's global finance computer system. While in the organization Duignan and his friends who were also Scientologists felt the organization was not a religion but rather a political movement. Duignan devoted twenty years to the organization, eventually leaving in July 2006.
He began to question his devotion to the organization in 2004, after an encounter with actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise
at the annual International Association of Scientologists
Gala Ball where Cruise was honored as "Most Dedicated Follower". Duignan felt hurt that he was working for between five to fifteen pounds
per week under difficult conditions, but was not seen to be as dedicated to the organization as Cruise. Duignan then began to research Scientology on the Internet, which he had been forbidden to do inside the organization. He told Scientology management officials that he had to leave for a week to visit his dying uncle, in order to get permission to go back to Ireland. He left and later traveled to Dublin and then returned to his native County Cork
, where he is studying for an arts degree. He currently regards Scientology as "unlicensed and unmonitored psychotherapy". In an interview on Phantom FM
radio, Duignan said that "the readjustment after it has been tremendously difficult".
and brainwashing, and describes his experiences during the Scientology process called "Auditing
". He describes Church of Scientology goals called "Clear the Planet" (referring to the Scientology state of "Clear
") and "Get Ethics In" (referring to the Scientology justice
system called "Ethics
"). Duignan also describes the disciplinary organization within the Church of Scientology known as the Rehabilitation Project Force
. He comes to believe that there are inherent problems with the organization's management structure, and decides to leave in 2006. Duignan writes that he escaped the Sea Org in 2006, and took steps to avoid investigation and action from Scientology's intelligence agency
the Office of Special Affairs
.
The Complex was available for sale on Amazon.com
's United Kingdom
branch, Amazon.co.uk, as of October 23, 2008. The Sunday Tribune
reported in mid-November that Amazon.co.uk, removed The Complex from its website after the Church of Scientology sent a legal letter to the retailer. In the letter, the Church of Scientology claimed that the book contained libelous statements about a member of the organization. Merlin Publishing has stated that it stands by Duignan and the book. The publishing company "emphatically denied" the allegations made by the Church of Scientology, and Merlin Publishing editorial director Aoife Barrett called Scientology's claim about the book "vexatious". A source at Merlin Publishing told The Sunday Mirror: "It's crazy. These are bully-boy tactics. Their case is weak, and we are going to fight them." Chenile Keogh, a representative for Merlin Publishing, stated in TribuneNews: "We are standing by the book and the author. The book is on sale in Ireland and there is no problem with us publishing in Ireland".
Customers that had previously placed orders for The Complex with Amazon.co.uk were informed that the book is no longer available. Individuals that already ordered the book were sent an email from Amazon.co.uk that The Complex had been "removed from sale for legal reasons". By November 12, 2008 there was no trace of the book's listing on Amazon.co.uk, though the prior entry was visible in a cache of the page on Google. According to The Bookseller, Amazon.co.uk stated: "Unfortunately, we have had to withdraw The Complex by John Duignan in the UK because we received a specific allegation that a passage in the book is defamatory regarding an individual named in the book. In circumstances such as these, UK law gives us no choice but to remove the title from our catalogue." The Church of Scientology also sent the legal letter to other booksellers including Waterstone's
and W H Smith
. The Bookseller reported that Waterstone's, W H Smith and Borders Books may have been "warned off" selling the book.
The United States
branch of Amazon.com responded to a request for comment about the situation from The Register
, and stated: "we're awaiting arrival of the inventory into our fulfillment networks. As soon as we get the books in our fulfillment centers, we'll start shipping them out to customers". On November 18, 2008 a query on the German site for Amazon.com for the book resulted in the message "not available". Days prior to the report on the incident by The Register, Tom Cruise attended an Amazon.com employee meeting, and treated the employees to a special screening of his movie Valkyrie
, set to be released in December 2008. According to the Swedish news site Realtid.se, John Duignan did not think Cruise was responsible for the legal threats to Amazon.com. Amazon.com spokeswoman Patty Smith commented on the status of the book in a November 16, 2008 article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
: "We're awaiting shipments of the book into our fulfillment network. Once it arrives, we'll send it out to customers who've ordered it. ... Since the libel laws are different in the U.K., they are not able to sell the book."
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
book about the organization and practices of the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
, written by former Scientologist
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
John Duignan with Nicola Tallant. The book was published in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on October 7, 2008 by Merlin Publishing. Both of Duignan's parents died when he was very young and as a result he had difficult experiences as a teenager. He met an attractive female Scientologist on the streets of Germany, who convinced him to take a free personality test
Oxford Capacity Analysis
The Oxford Capacity Analysis , also known as the American Personality Analysis, is a list of questions which is advertised as being a personality test and that is administered for free by the Church of Scientology. The OCA test is offered by the Church of Scientology online, at its local churches,...
from Scientology. After the test, he was told he had a result of "Urgent Action Required", and he began to take Scientology courses. Duignan was recruited into Scientology's elite paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
organization called the "Sea Org
Sea Org
The Sea Organization or Sea Org is an association of Scientologists established in 1968 by L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction writer and founder of Scientology. Its members are found in the central management organizations of the Church of Scientology as well as in individual churches...
", and spent a total of 22 years in the organization. After attending an event where actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
was given the award of "Most Dedicated Follower", Duignan began to examine the organization more closely and had doubts about remaining. He left the organization in 2006, after taking measures to avoid investigation by Scientology's intelligence agency
Intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
the Office of Special Affairs
Office of Special Affairs
The Office of Special Affairs or OSA is a department of the Church of Scientology. According to the Church, the OSA is responsible for directing legal affairs, public relations, pursuing investigations, publicizing the Church's "social betterment works," and "oversee[ing its] social reform programs"...
.
The Church of Scientology has responded to the publication of The Complex by sending legal letters to several bookstore retailers that were selling the book, claiming the book contains libelous statements about a member of the organization. Merlin Publishing "emphatically denied" these allegations, and an editorial director at the publishing company called Scientology's claim "vexatious". The United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
branch of Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
, Amazon.co.uk, stopped selling copies of the book after receiving legal letters
Scientology and the legal system
The Church of Scientology has been involved in court disputes in several countries. In some cases, when the Church has initiated the dispute, question has been raised as to its motives. The Church says that its use of the legal system is necessary to protect its intellectual property and its right...
from the Church of Scientology; booksellers Waterstone's
Waterstone's
Waterstone's is a British book specialist established in 1982 by Tim Waterstone that employs around 4,500 staff throughout the United Kingdom and Europe....
and W H Smith
W H Smith
WHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...
also received the legal letter, and Borders Books may have also been "warned off" selling the book. A representative for Amazon.com in the United States said that the U.S. branch of the company will be selling copies of the book, but is "awaiting arrival of the inventory" to their networks.
Author
Both of Duignan's parents died when he was very young, and he and his brother were sent to live with his aunt and her husband. As a result of these childhood experiences he had a difficult time as a teenager and felt like an outsider. He lived in County CorkCounty Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
from age 11 to 17, and later moved to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Duignan was recruited into Scientology in 1985 at age 22 when an attractive woman on the street in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany offered him a free personality test
Oxford Capacity Analysis
The Oxford Capacity Analysis , also known as the American Personality Analysis, is a list of questions which is advertised as being a personality test and that is administered for free by the Church of Scientology. The OCA test is offered by the Church of Scientology online, at its local churches,...
. After the personality test Duignan was told he had a result of "Urgent Action Required". He left his job and his girlfriend to become active in the organization. After spending time learning Scientology techniques, officials from Scientology Missions International
Scientology Missions International
Scientology Missions International is a Californian 501 non-profit corporation, which is located in Los Angeles, California. SMI is part of the Church of Scientology network....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
contacted Duignan and asked him to join the organization's elite paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
group called the Sea Org
Sea Org
The Sea Organization or Sea Org is an association of Scientologists established in 1968 by L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction writer and founder of Scientology. Its members are found in the central management organizations of the Church of Scientology as well as in individual churches...
. He spent some time training in Los Angeles, and later was posted to the Scientology headquarters at Saint Hill Manor
Saint Hill Manor
Saint Hill Manor is a country house at Saint Hill Green, Mid Sussex, near East Grinstead, West Sussex, England that serves as the location of the head office for the Church of Scientology in the United Kingdom.-Early history:...
in East Grinstead
East Grinstead
East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. Duignan states he received weapons training
Weapons training
weapons training may be*martial arts**Kata*military drill**Recruit training**Weapon effects simulation**Tactical engagement simulation*MilSim sports*Weapons Training...
while in the organization. At one point he was responsible for working on the organization's global finance computer system. While in the organization Duignan and his friends who were also Scientologists felt the organization was not a religion but rather a political movement. Duignan devoted twenty years to the organization, eventually leaving in July 2006.
He began to question his devotion to the organization in 2004, after an encounter with actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
at the annual International Association of Scientologists
International Association of Scientologists
The International Association of Scientologists is an English non-profit organization, which was formed in October 1984 by a group of Scientologists, who assembled at Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, Sussex, England...
Gala Ball where Cruise was honored as "Most Dedicated Follower". Duignan felt hurt that he was working for between five to fifteen pounds
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
per week under difficult conditions, but was not seen to be as dedicated to the organization as Cruise. Duignan then began to research Scientology on the Internet, which he had been forbidden to do inside the organization. He told Scientology management officials that he had to leave for a week to visit his dying uncle, in order to get permission to go back to Ireland. He left and later traveled to Dublin and then returned to his native County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, where he is studying for an arts degree. He currently regards Scientology as "unlicensed and unmonitored psychotherapy". In an interview on Phantom FM
Phantom FM
Phantom 105.2 is a Dublin based radio station, founded in 1996 as a pirate radio station. Phantom broadcasts under a contract awarded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland ....
radio, Duignan said that "the readjustment after it has been tremendously difficult".
Contents
Duignan recounts his time in the Scientology organization, and his experiences during his twenty-two years as a Scientologist. He discusses controversial Scientology practices which he refers to as sleep deprivationSleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. Few studies have compared the...
and brainwashing, and describes his experiences during the Scientology process called "Auditing
Auditing (Scientology)
Auditing was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, and is described by the Church of Scientology as "spiritual counseling which is the central practice of Dianetics and Scientology".-Description:...
". He describes Church of Scientology goals called "Clear the Planet" (referring to the Scientology state of "Clear
Clear (Scientology)
Clear in Dianetics and Scientology is one of two levels a practitioner can achieve on the way to personal salvation. A state of Clear is reached when a person becomes free of the influence of engrams, unwanted emotions or painful traumas not readily available to the conscious mind...
") and "Get Ethics In" (referring to the Scientology justice
Scientology Justice
The Scientology Justice system is the Church of Scientology's internal means of assessing and dealing with violations of their code of ethics. These violations include those outside of the Church as well as within it....
system called "Ethics
Ethics (Scientology)
According to the Church of Scientology, "Ethics may be defined as the actions an individual takes on himself to ensure his continued survival across the dynamics. It is a personal thing. When one is ethical, it is something he does himself by his own choice."...
"). Duignan also describes the disciplinary organization within the Church of Scientology known as the Rehabilitation Project Force
Rehabilitation Project Force
The Rehabilitation Project Force, or RPF, is a controversial program set up by the Church of Scientology Sea Organization, intended to rehabilitate members of the Sea Organization who have not lived up to the Church expectations or have violated certain policies...
. He comes to believe that there are inherent problems with the organization's management structure, and decides to leave in 2006. Duignan writes that he escaped the Sea Org in 2006, and took steps to avoid investigation and action from Scientology's intelligence agency
Intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
the Office of Special Affairs
Office of Special Affairs
The Office of Special Affairs or OSA is a department of the Church of Scientology. According to the Church, the OSA is responsible for directing legal affairs, public relations, pursuing investigations, publicizing the Church's "social betterment works," and "oversee[ing its] social reform programs"...
.
Response by Church of Scientology
Scientology spokesman Gerard Ryan spoke with Irish Mail on Sunday prior to the book's publication, and commented on the claims made in the book: "It's absolute baloney. It's all just rubbish. These are just the same old accusations that have been made on the internet and it's all lies." Ryan said he thought Duignan was "associating with fundamentalist Christians and he knows full well that these claims are not true". However, Gerard stated that Scientologists "believe in free speech" and according to the Irish Mail on Sunday Gerard "denied the church would take legal action if false claims were made in the book".The Complex was available for sale on Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
's United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
branch, Amazon.co.uk, as of October 23, 2008. The Sunday Tribune
Sunday Tribune
The Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
reported in mid-November that Amazon.co.uk, removed The Complex from its website after the Church of Scientology sent a legal letter to the retailer. In the letter, the Church of Scientology claimed that the book contained libelous statements about a member of the organization. Merlin Publishing has stated that it stands by Duignan and the book. The publishing company "emphatically denied" the allegations made by the Church of Scientology, and Merlin Publishing editorial director Aoife Barrett called Scientology's claim about the book "vexatious". A source at Merlin Publishing told The Sunday Mirror: "It's crazy. These are bully-boy tactics. Their case is weak, and we are going to fight them." Chenile Keogh, a representative for Merlin Publishing, stated in TribuneNews: "We are standing by the book and the author. The book is on sale in Ireland and there is no problem with us publishing in Ireland".
Customers that had previously placed orders for The Complex with Amazon.co.uk were informed that the book is no longer available. Individuals that already ordered the book were sent an email from Amazon.co.uk that The Complex had been "removed from sale for legal reasons". By November 12, 2008 there was no trace of the book's listing on Amazon.co.uk, though the prior entry was visible in a cache of the page on Google. According to The Bookseller, Amazon.co.uk stated: "Unfortunately, we have had to withdraw The Complex by John Duignan in the UK because we received a specific allegation that a passage in the book is defamatory regarding an individual named in the book. In circumstances such as these, UK law gives us no choice but to remove the title from our catalogue." The Church of Scientology also sent the legal letter to other booksellers including Waterstone's
Waterstone's
Waterstone's is a British book specialist established in 1982 by Tim Waterstone that employs around 4,500 staff throughout the United Kingdom and Europe....
and W H Smith
W H Smith
WHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...
. The Bookseller reported that Waterstone's, W H Smith and Borders Books may have been "warned off" selling the book.
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
branch of Amazon.com responded to a request for comment about the situation from The Register
The Register
The Register is a British technology news and opinion website. It was founded by John Lettice, Mike Magee and Ross Alderson in 1994 as a newsletter called "Chip Connection", initially as an email service...
, and stated: "we're awaiting arrival of the inventory into our fulfillment networks. As soon as we get the books in our fulfillment centers, we'll start shipping them out to customers". On November 18, 2008 a query on the German site for Amazon.com for the book resulted in the message "not available". Days prior to the report on the incident by The Register, Tom Cruise attended an Amazon.com employee meeting, and treated the employees to a special screening of his movie Valkyrie
Valkyrie (film)
Valkyrie is a 2008 American historical thriller film set in Nazi Germany during World War II. The film depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country...
, set to be released in December 2008. According to the Swedish news site Realtid.se, John Duignan did not think Cruise was responsible for the legal threats to Amazon.com. Amazon.com spokeswoman Patty Smith commented on the status of the book in a November 16, 2008 article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
: "We're awaiting shipments of the book into our fulfillment network. Once it arrives, we'll send it out to customers who've ordered it. ... Since the libel laws are different in the U.K., they are not able to sell the book."
See also
- A Piece of Blue SkyA Piece of Blue SkyA Piece of Blue Sky: Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard Exposed, published in 1990, is an examination from a critical perspective by former British Scientologist Jon Atack of the history of L. Ron Hubbard and the development of Dianetics and the Church of Scientology...
- Blown for GoodBlown for GoodBlown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology is a non-fiction book about Scientology, written by Marc Headley. It was first published in the United States on November 5, 2009. Headley's mother was a Scientologist and he joined the organization at a young age...
- Scientology and the legal systemScientology and the legal systemThe Church of Scientology has been involved in court disputes in several countries. In some cases, when the Church has initiated the dispute, question has been raised as to its motives. The Church says that its use of the legal system is necessary to protect its intellectual property and its right...
- Scientology controversies