Scientology in a Rehab Centre

[Nightangel8212]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/mom-slams-drug-rehab-centre-run-scientologists-085839547.html

In a nutshell.... woman pays $10,000 to send her son to  a rehab clinic, finding no hints on the website indicating it is run by Scientologists. Son is sent home six days later still addicted to drugs. Son is now homeless and woman had to fight with the scientologist dipshits to get her money back and they only recently agreed to after she brought the situation to the attention of the media.

Scientology, to you I say: Fuck you. You're taking money from innocent people and using a rehab centre in an attempt to recruit more people into your fucking cult!

[Dakota Bob]

Fuck this shit. there need to be some fucking arrests already, this get-rich-quick scheme needs to be broken up.

[Askold]

Not cool.

Seriously, they are preying on people who are already in a vulnerable situation AND you have to pay them to do it...

[Sylvana]

Shouldn't all religious based rehab clinics be banned? Most of them are little more than creepy recruitment prisons that people pay for. Not to mention that most fail to actually treat the problem instead relying on religion to somehow make the inmates better.

I can understand religion helping someone to overcome a problem like addiction, but forcing religion on someone in rehabilitation is just wrong. Especially considering those who are in rehab are generally not of sound mind at the time and would be far easier to indoctrinate. Religious assistance in rehabilitation should be purely optional, and only certified counselors should be part of the rehab staff. Any religious assistance should come from outside only on request by the patient.

[Thejebusfire]

Sadly, this isn't the first time this happened.

[Old Viking]

Scum.

[Caitshidhe]

Scientology is a cancer. It is completely toxic and a flagrant scam on such a level that only the Mormon church can surpass.

I agree with Sylvana. Religious organizations CANNOT be allowed to run treatment centres or rehabilitation centres. If they want to donate money to one, that's fine and nice and charitable, but they should not be allowed to insert their own doctrine into the daily business of helping people get better. If you want to turn to god or Allah or Vishnu or the Mother Goddess or whatever to help you on your way, that's your choice--but you can't just tell people to trust in Jesus and they'll get better and force religion on them as a part of their treatment.

Not all religions are evil like Scientology is. Not all religious organizations who donate money or time or actually run treatment centres are doing so as a brainwashing operation. But enough of them are that it's basically ruined it for everyone. Nobody's church should be allowed to do this because a bunch of real sick fucks keep doing horrible things.

[Osama bin Bambi]

I know that my opinions on this are contrary to several members here, but I'll go ahead anyway.

The only thing the rehab center did wrong was dishonest advertisement. Don't get me wrong, Scientology as it exists now is basically a cult, and the damage they've done to their victims is irreconcilable. But religious groups have the right to set up businesses, as long as they obey the same laws that all other businesses do. The religious agenda of rehab centers is their own business, but if it was blatantly harmful and not mentioned in the advertisement, then it's absolutely wrong. Once you check into a rehab center, it can be very hard to check back out, especially with a predatory group like Scientology running the place. The consumer's right to accurate advertisements and to not be coerced into staying is the issue here.

EDIT: Accidentally posted before I was done.

[MadCatTLX]

Shouldn't all religious based rehab clinics be banned? Most of them are little more than creepy recruitment prisons that people pay for. Not to mention that most fail to actually treat the problem instead relying on religion to somehow make the inmates better.

I can understand religion helping someone to overcome a problem like addiction, but forcing religion on someone in rehabilitation is just wrong. Especially considering those who are in rehab are generally not of sound mind at the time and would be far easier to indoctrinate. Religious assistance in rehabilitation should be purely optional, and only certified counselors should be part of the rehab staff. Any religious assistance should come from outside only on request by the patient.

I would love to see it banned, but people would call "PURSOCUSHUN!!1!!1111" real damn fast.

[StallChaser]

I know that my opinions on this are contrary to several members here, but I'll go ahead anyway.

The only thing the rehab center did wrong was dishonest advertisement. Don't get me wrong, Scientology as it exists now is basically a cult, and the damage they've done to their victims is irreconcilable. But religious groups have the right to set up businesses, as long as they obey the same laws that all other businesses do. The religious agenda of rehab centers is their own business, but if it was blatantly harmful and not mentioned in the advertisement, then it's absolutely wrong. Once you check into a rehab center, it can be very hard to check back out, especially with a predatory group like Scientology running the place. The consumer's right to accurate advertisements and to not be coerced into staying is the issue here.

EDIT: Accidentally posted before I was done.

I would agree that religions should have the right to set up rehab centers, but there should be standards in place to prevent it from becoming some sort of fundie gulag.  For example, everyone should have the right to call/write parents in full privacy, at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, meals that meet basic nutrition requirements, no forced labor, etc.

[TenfoldMaquette]

I would agree that religions should have the right to set up rehab centers, but there should be standards in place to prevent it from becoming some sort of fundie gulag.  For example, everyone should have the right to call/write parents in full privacy, at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, meals that meet basic nutrition requirements, no forced labor, etc.

And no "devote yourself to our god, or no treatment for you" bullshit either. I don't care if they want to mention that they believe it's gods will that they're able to help people...whatever, fine, that's their business. Mention god, go right ahead. They can expound upon their pitch if - and only if - the people listening explicitly ask for them to do so. Converting people by shutting them out of access to lifesaving medical procedures just because they don't want to follow your god is right out, full stop.

[Undecided]

Its website does not make it obvious, however, Narconon uses the teachings of Scientology in its treatment facilities.

[The founder of Narconon] came upon a book in the prison library by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and after reading this book and applying the principles it contained on increasing one's abilities, he and dozens of other inmates were able to permanently end their addictions to heroin.

("About Narconon"; emphasis mine.)

[...]L. Ron Hubbard [...] was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology.

"I don't want my money going to that church," said Keller.

It would take two minutes for a critical thinker and internet user to infer that Narcocon is run by Scientologists. While it seems clear that desperation and frustration with the system played a major role in her decision, I just can't imagine myself shelling out $10k for a treatment program without knowing basic facts about the underlying philosophy.

I suppose that the moral of the story is that desperate people seeking a solution can't distinguish between treatments based on evidence and those that aren't, and hence the latter need to be much more rigorously scrutinized and regulated than they currently are.