Scientology Task Force of the Hamburg Interior Authority
Encyclopedia
The Scientology Task Force for the Hamburg Interior Authority was founded in 1992 to monitor the activities and publications of Scientology
, raise public awareness about the organization, and serve as a resource to Scientology members who may wish to exit the group. The Hamburg
government made the decision to form the task force in 1991, after claiming in public statements that the Church of Scientology's aims included world domination
and the destruction of society. Other German politicians stated that Scientology planned to infiltrate businesses and the government.
The Task Force was closed down in 2010 as a result of budget cuts.
, a Hamburg
government official widely cited in the German press as an expert on sects and Scientology. Caberta served as an expert on behalf of the task force for the German Parliament's Enquete-Kommission. After the 2010 closure of the Task Force, Caberta took a post within the Hamburg State Ministry of the Interior. A ministry spokesman said she would continue to provide information on Scientology to the public, but individual counselling would henceforth be provided by a staff member of the Verfassungsschutz (Office for the Protection of the Constitution).
access to the real estate market in Hamburg. Commissioner Ursula Caberta
also helped the task force convince local banks to deny loans to Scientology organizations and Scientologists. In the mid-1990s the task force invented and distributed a form that was used for a job or association membership applicant to sign that s/he does not use the technology of L. Ron Hubbard
.
In December 2005 the Federal Administrative Court
prohibited the task force from distributing this form. The court took the view that distribution of the form violated the freedom of religion guaranteed by the German constitution. In June 2008 the Task Force was fined €5,000 for refusing to comply with the court's decision, having continued to make the form available.
The task force published a number of reports, some in English, including "Brainwashing in Scientology's Rehabilitation Project Force
" by Prof. Stephen A. Kent
.
The report examines the confinement programs and camps which the task force states that Scientology operates as 'rehabilitative facilities for deviant members of its elite Sea Organization.' According to the report, these programs, known collectively as the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF), put coerced participants through regimes of harsh physical punishment, forced self-confessions, social isolation, hard labor, and intense doctrinal study, all as part of leadership-designed efforts to regain members’ ideological commitment. The report continued by asserting that the confinement the participants experience, combined with forms of physical maltreatment, intensive ideological study, and forced confessions, are considered by social scientists a "brainwashing" program.
The task force posted comments on the city's website, in English, containing its assessment of the European Court of Human Rights decision against Russia's attempt to not register Scientology as a religious organization.
In the opinion of the Task Force, "The ECHR itself did not consider whether the Scientology organisation as such meets the characteristics of a religion (or religious community) within the meaning of article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights in terms of its structure and beliefs ... without positively according the Scientology organization as a whole the status of a religious community." The task force then went on to conclude that the Russian authorities are "perfectly entitled to refuse such registration once again for other, sound reasons".
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...
, raise public awareness about the organization, and serve as a resource to Scientology members who may wish to exit the group. The Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
government made the decision to form the task force in 1991, after claiming in public statements that the Church of Scientology's aims included world domination
Hegemony
Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...
and the destruction of society. Other German politicians stated that Scientology planned to infiltrate businesses and the government.
The Task Force was closed down in 2010 as a result of budget cuts.
Organization
The task force was part of the Hamburg State Ministry of the Interior. It was led by Commissioner Ursula CabertaUrsula Caberta
Ursula Caberta y Diaz is a German politician, State of Hamburg government official and was the Commissioner for the Scientology Task Force of the Hamburg Interior Authority. She graduated in political economy. According to Deutsche Welle she was considered an expert on the subject of Scientology,...
, a Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
government official widely cited in the German press as an expert on sects and Scientology. Caberta served as an expert on behalf of the task force for the German Parliament's Enquete-Kommission. After the 2010 closure of the Task Force, Caberta took a post within the Hamburg State Ministry of the Interior. A ministry spokesman said she would continue to provide information on Scientology to the public, but individual counselling would henceforth be provided by a staff member of the Verfassungsschutz (Office for the Protection of the Constitution).
Function
The task force was set up with the full-time mission of monitoring Scientology activities in Germany. It was reported to have denied ScientologyScientology
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...
access to the real estate market in Hamburg. Commissioner Ursula Caberta
Ursula Caberta
Ursula Caberta y Diaz is a German politician, State of Hamburg government official and was the Commissioner for the Scientology Task Force of the Hamburg Interior Authority. She graduated in political economy. According to Deutsche Welle she was considered an expert on the subject of Scientology,...
also helped the task force convince local banks to deny loans to Scientology organizations and Scientologists. In the mid-1990s the task force invented and distributed a form that was used for a job or association membership applicant to sign that s/he does not use the technology of L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
.
In December 2005 the Federal Administrative Court
Federal Administrative Court of Germany
The Federal Administrative Court is one of the five federal supreme courts of Germany. It is the court of the last resort for generally all cases of administrative law, mainly disputes between citizens and the state...
prohibited the task force from distributing this form. The court took the view that distribution of the form violated the freedom of religion guaranteed by the German constitution. In June 2008 the Task Force was fined €5,000 for refusing to comply with the court's decision, having continued to make the form available.
Publications
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...
" by Prof. Stephen A. Kent
Stephen A. Kent
Stephen A. Kent, is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He researches new and alternative religions, and has published research on several such groups including the Children of God , the Church of Scientology, and newer faiths...
.
The report examines the confinement programs and camps which the task force states that Scientology operates as 'rehabilitative facilities for deviant members of its elite Sea Organization.' According to the report, these programs, known collectively as the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF), put coerced participants through regimes of harsh physical punishment, forced self-confessions, social isolation, hard labor, and intense doctrinal study, all as part of leadership-designed efforts to regain members’ ideological commitment. The report continued by asserting that the confinement the participants experience, combined with forms of physical maltreatment, intensive ideological study, and forced confessions, are considered by social scientists a "brainwashing" program.
The task force posted comments on the city's website, in English, containing its assessment of the European Court of Human Rights decision against Russia's attempt to not register Scientology as a religious organization.
In the opinion of the Task Force, "The ECHR itself did not consider whether the Scientology organisation as such meets the characteristics of a religion (or religious community) within the meaning of article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights in terms of its structure and beliefs ... without positively according the Scientology organization as a whole the status of a religious community." The task force then went on to conclude that the Russian authorities are "perfectly entitled to refuse such registration once again for other, sound reasons".
See also
- Scientology in GermanyScientology in GermanyThe Church of Scientology has been present in Germany since 1970. German authorities estimate that there are 5,000–6,000 active Scientologists in Germany today; the Church of Scientology gives a membership figure of around 30,000...