 Cover | |
| Author | Paulette Cooper |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Scientology |
| Publisher | Tower Publications |
Publication date | 1971 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 220 |
The Scandal of Scientology is a critical exposé book about theChurch of Scientology, written byPaulette Cooper and published by Tower Publications, in 1971.
In 2007, Cooper wrote about the events resulting from the publication of her story "The Tragi-farce of Scientology" in a 1969 issue ofQueen magazine.[1]: 37 [2] In the article "The Scandal of the Scandal of Scientology," inByline, Cooper commented on her motivation for writing the book: "I had a master's degree in psychology and had studiedcomparative religion at Harvard for a summer and what I learned during my research about the group founded byL. Ron Hubbard was both fascinating and frightening. The story cried out to be told."[3]
About 50,000 copies of the book were printed.[1]: 54
The book earned Cooper negative attention from members of the Church, and she was subsequently the target not only of litigation but a harassment campaign known asOperation Freakout,[4] the goal of which was to deter Cooper from criticism of Scientology by having her "incarcerated in amental institution orjail or at least to hit her so hard that she drops her attacks".[5][6] Members of the church sent itself forged bomb threats, purportedly from Cooper,[7] using her typewriter and paper with her fingerprints on it; further plans included bomb threats to be sent toHenry Kissinger. The Church's campaign was discovered when theFBI raided Scientology offices in 1977 and recovered documents relating to the operation.[8]
In June 2007, Paulette Cooper wrote about her experience with the Church of Scientology and Operation Freakout from "beginning to end" for the first time.[2] Another account of Cooper's testimony can be found in Bent Corydon'sL. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman? in part 1, chapter 14: "Freaking Out Paulette: A Six Year Operation to Drive a Journalist Insane."[9]
The Church of Scientology of Canada attempted to suppress the book in libraries in Canada. In June 1974, libraries were advised that if they do not remove the booksScientology: The Now Religion,Inside Scientology,The Scandal of Scientology andThe Mind Benders from their shelves, they would be named in a lawsuit.[10] Two different library boards inOntario, Canada, had been served with writs.[10]
After obtaining out-of-court settlements ofUS$7,500 andUS$500 and apologies from the publishers of two of the works (Dell Publishing and Tower Publications), Scientology further threatened to sue any library or bookstore that carried them.[11] After certain libraries in Canada refused to remove the books from their shelves, they were sued by Scientology.[11] One Canadian library reported the theft of a book critical of Scientology from its shelves.[11]
These incidents were later reported in a chronological timeline ofcensorship inBritish Columbia.[12]
According toTony Ortega's 2015 biography of Paulette Cooper,The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, libraries in the United States also experienced thefts of the book. Cooper herself learned from the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue that all 50 copies stocked there had been stolen within hours. One Los Angeles library, frustrated by theft attempts, kept the book locked away, and patrons could read it only under supervision.[1]: 54
TheLos Angeles Times described Cooper's work as a "scathing" look at Scientology.[13] TheCharleston Gazette called the book: "a fascinating, 220-page paperback exposé."[14]
The book was used as a reference inJon Atack's later work,A Piece of Blue Sky.[15] Atack wrote: "I happened upon the hard-to-findScandal of Scientology by Paulette Cooper. Now I was fascinated, and started collecting everything I could get my eager hands on — magazine articles, newspaper clippings, government files, anything."[15] Later, whenA Piece of Blue Sky was dropped fromAmazon.com listings in a controversial move, this was compared to court actions that initially limited distribution ofThe Scandal of Scientology.[16]
J. Gordon Melton recommended reading both Cooper's book and the church's refutation,False Report Correction/The Scandal of Scientology by Paulette Cooper, for "insight" into the Scientology controversy in his 1978 work,The Encyclopedia of American Religions.[17]