The Way to Happiness
Encyclopedia
The Way to Happiness is a 1980 booklet written by Scientology
founder L. Ron Hubbard
listing 21 moral precepts, and distributed by The Way to Happiness Foundation International, a Scientology-related non-profit organization founded in 1984.
Translated into 70 languages (a Guinness world record), the booklet is used as part of Scientology's Criminon
rehabilitation program and is promoted by Scientology celebrities. The unsolicited distribution of personalised copies of the booklet to schools and mayors' offices has caused controversy, and while it is promoted as secular in nature, critics have stated that it includes ideas that are specific to Scientology, and is used as a recruiting tool.
, the foundation coordinates the activities of the Way to Happiness international network, including continental and national officies, associates and local groups. The Way to Happiness Foundation International is a division of the Association for Better Living and Education
(ABLE), and is a "Scientology-related entity" under the 1993 IRS Closing Agreement.
schools was described in Church of Scientology publications as "the largest dissemination project in Scientology history" and "the bridge between broad society and Scientology." A song titled "The Way to Happiness" appears on the music album The Road to Freedom, with music and lyrics by L. Ron Hubbard.
The Way to Happiness forms the core of the Church of Scientology prison program Criminon
. It is also used in the Scientology-affiliated organization Narconon
- all clients receive a pamphlet of The Way to Happiness when they begin the program. Volunteer Ministers
, a Scientology-affiliated organization which responds to disaster scenes, distributes The Way to Happiness pamphlets, and did so in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
, and the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre
. The Scientology organization Concerned Businessmen's Association of America
(CBAA) has also distributed The Way to Happiness, though representatives of the group have denied connections to Scientology. A 1993 article in Newsweek
described cases where schools in Bellflower, California
and Brooklyn, New York were influenced by CBAA to use The Way to Happiness in their schools, without knowing of the connections to Scientology. A 1990 Los Angeles Times
article described the situation of a school in Fresno, California
, where CBAA representatives refused to sponsor a contest at the school if The Way to Happiness pamphlet was not distributed.
The Way to Happiness holds the Guinness world record for most translated book; it is available in 70 languages, among them Hindi
, Samoan
and Uzbek
.
, the voice actress for Bart Simpson
, mailed 1 million copies of The Way to Happiness booklet to residents of San Fernando Valley
, California
in December 2007. Cartwright told the Daily News of Los Angeles: "The mailing was from me to the San Fernando Valley community, the highest gang-infested area of Los Angeles. I thought it would make an impact, give someone a tool in order to make their lives happier at home." Isaac Hayes
distributed The Way to Happiness pamphlets at his jazz performances in 2005.
Tom Cruise
has distributed The Way to Happiness pamphlets, and passed out brochures embossed with his name at the elementary school where the 2005 movie
War of the Worlds
was filmed. He also gave copies of the pamphlet to managers of United International Pictures
, the company which distributed War of the Worlds overseas. In a Church of Scientology-produced promotional video which appeared on YouTube
in January 2008, Cruise cites "the way to happiness" as one of the benefits of Scientology: "When you're a Scientologist and you drive by an accident, you know you have to do something about it, because you know you're the only one who can really help," said Cruise. "We are the way to happiness. We can bring peace and unite cultures." Actor Miles Fisher
parodies
this quote by Cruise, in a scene in the 2008 film
Superhero Movie
. Fisher's character in the film states that he can "eat planets" and that he is "the way to happiness".
" including auditing
.
found copies of The Way to Happiness in their school mailboxes accompanied by a letter inviting the teachers to order more copies and distribute them to their students. Parents complained to the school district, and the school districts director of secondary education, Bill Mell, instructed school principals to tell teachers not to order The Way to Happiness. Mell told the Anchorage Daily News
: "I don't know that it went to every teacher ... It looks as if they got ahold of the teachers' mailing list." A local businessman and Scientologist who was a member of the Concerned Businessmen's Association of America organization paid for the books to be distributed to the schools, and told the Anchorage Daily News that he believed both "The Way to Happiness" and the Concerned Businessmen's Association of America were not affiliated with the Church of Scientology.
At a 2005 fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Clearwater, Florida
, attendants found The Way to Happiness booklets in their goodie bags. The booklets contained the insignia of Boys & Girls Clubs on the front cover, and instructions on the back cover stating that additional copies could be obtained at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast facilities. Carl Lavender, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast, said that this usage of the Boys & Girls Clubs was unauthorized: "...I'm not pleased. You can't produce materials with our logo on it unless I give permission. We are going to collect all of them back and have them discarded." Joanie Sigal of the Scientology volunteer group Clearwater Community Volunteers, and a member of the Clearwater Boys & Girls Club's board of managers, had originally suggested adding the Club's insignia and distributing the booklets, and requested that the corporate board officially endorse the booklet. Executive director Lavender denied the request, stating: "The booklet ends as of today ... There needs to be a lesson. This cannot happen."
In 2007, "The Way to Happiness Foundation" produced and distributed pamphlets with sample endorsements from the mayors of Dallas, Texas
and San Francisco, California
. The books were sent to mayor's offices, accompanied by a letter asking mayors to purchase copies of the books for distribution in their city. The mayor of Dallas did not appreciate this unauthorized usage of the mayor's logo and the official seal of the city of Dallas, stating: "Clearly we were not very comfortable and did not think it was appropriate to use the seal of the city of Dallas, the mayor's logo or my name on something we were not aware of." According to a report in The Dallas Morning News
, the city attorney's office of Dallas is looking into possible options in this matter.
Similarly, in San Francisco, California
, the mayor's office also received a boxful of the booklets and voiced displeasure with the unauthorized usage of the mayor's image, logo, and the seal of the city. According to a report by the Associated Press
, the city ordered the Scientology group to stop using an unauthorized picture of Mayor Gavin Newsom
on its promotional pamphlets. An official spokesman for the mayor of San Francisco released a statement, saying: "The mayor does not support the unauthorized use of his image or the city seal on this booklet." The city attorney for San Francisco wrote a letter to "The Way to Happiness Foundation", citing California
state law, which prohibits deceptive and misleading advertising
that could create an appearance that the pamphlets are from a government agency. The city attorney also cited San Francisco law, writing that the Board of Supervisors must approve any commercial use of the city's official seal.
In Winnipeg, Manitoba a box of pamphlets was delivered to the mayor's office with the official City of Winnipeg logo and the image of mayor Sam Katz
. No legal action was taken: "This is obviously a sample sent to our office and it was not approved or paid for by our office... If material was being distributed on our behalf with a false endorsement, it would be a different story."
In a published US embassy cable, Ursula Caberta, the Director of the Working Group on Scientology (created by the Hamburg State Parliament to address all "destructive groups" which endanger society), obtained a booklet that contained the Hamburg mayor's photograph and signature, yet was actually a publication from Scientology's "The Way to Happiness Foundation."
She contended that "Scientology regularly used misleading methods to fool individuals into joining and said that such booklets had been distributed to other German cities. For someone unfamiliar with Scientology publications, the booklet looked very much like information brochures from the City of Hamburg."
In October 2007, uniformed police officers visiting Whyalla High School in Australia
distributed a booklet called "Whyalla High School presents the way to happiness, a common-sense guide for better living", against the school's guidelines for religious education. One parent told the Adelaide, Australia paper The Advertiser she had specifically told the school not to give religious instruction to her children, and other parents mistakenly thought that the booklets were distributed by the Education Department because Whyalla High School was displayed on the booklet's cover.
In March 2008, The Way to Happiness Foundation agreed to stop sending thousands of unsolicited, personalized copies of the booklet to elected officials in Florida
, after hundreds of them complained. Booklets sent to mayors had the mayor's name on the front, and an endorsement from the mayor on the back, along with the Florida state flag and the address of the town hall. A note advised prospective readers to contact town hall if they had further questions. The Foundation said it had sent about 2,800 mailings, comprising a total of 250,000 booklets, to Florida mayors, businesses and community groups. Following the complaints, the Foundation explained that the books were only samples meant to encourage the recipients to buy further copies, and said that it would henceforth send out unpersonalized stock copies only.
Unlike many mayors who were reported to have been displeased at seeing their names on the personalized samples, Anthony Masiello
, the mayor of Buffalo
, did authorize distribution of the booklet, complete with the city seal and a picture of the city hall, after a Scientology center opened in Buffalo.
Cmdr. Mike Downing, Los Angeles Police Department, complained that "the Church of Scientology forged his endorsement on The Way To Happiness Web site, prompting the LAPD to disavow any endorsement of Scientology and The Way To Happiness."
's event in 2007, David Miscavige
, the current leader of the Church of Scientology, claimed that the distribution of the booklet is aided by "corporate tie-ins", mentioning 7-Eleven
in Taiwan
, Coca-Cola
Pakistan
, Philips Electronics
in Pakistan, and Dell
in Africa as companies who supported the Foundation as part of their efforts to address their "third-world image problems". A video of the speech was released to YouTube
in February 2008. A spokesman for Dell told the Los Angeles Times
that they had researched the matter with their colleagues in Africa and elsewhere and found "no evidence that this is accurate ... it's not our practice to disseminate religious materials of any kind." Representatives from other companies such as Philips and 7-Eleven told the Los Angeles Times that they were unaware of any such association, but said they were looking into the matter.
, Israel
in February 2008, when a group calling itself the "Association for Prosperity and Security in the Middle East" became active in the city. The non-profit group sent e-mails to social workers in Sderot, offering to help people cope with Kassam rocket attacks the city has been enduring. Dalia Yosef, head of an umbrella psychological organization in the region called Hosen Center, received complaints from multiple social workers about the e-mails, and stated: "We intend to investigate this association, as we do every group that offers social and psychological services in Sderot". In an e-mail response to The Jerusalem Post
, the Association for Prosperity stated: "We are unaware of any Scientology activity whatsoever being offered to Sderot residents. In general, regarding your question on Scientology activity in Sderot or elsewhere, you should contact the official representatives of the religion and receive their response".
A representative of Scientology told The Jerusalem Post that the director-general of the Association for Prosperity was a Scientologist, as were most individuals in the organization, but that some were not, and said that the principles found in The Way to Happiness were "totally different" from Scientology. The organization stated: "Claiming our organization is connected with Scientology just because our director-general studied Scientology is like saying that other nonprofits are hi-tech because volunteers work in hi- tech." Director-general of the Israeli Center for Cult Victims Ayelet Kedem described the organization as a front group for Scientology: "Hiding behind a front organization is a common tactic ... The idea is to create a positive image by obscuring the connection with Scientology ... Later, people who undergo free workshops are convinced that they must correct flaws in their personality by taking Scientology courses. Those who are hooked end up giving all their possessions to the Church of Scientology".
In Illinois in 2011, Rep. Dan Burke (D-Chicago) sponsored a resolution endorsing the "Good Choices" program, which is based on The Way to Happiness, as one of a number of suitable tools for teaching character, morals and values. Actress Nancy Cartwright
, the voice of Bart Simpson
, submitted testimony to a House education committee, stating the program had "nothing to do with religion." Opponents voiced concerns about the program's links to the Scientology belief system, and said that promoting its use in schools would violate the principle of the separation of church and state
. Burke accepted that the program's Scientology links were more substantial than he had thought. He said he would work on the resolution and present it again at a later date. The reporter stated, "Not even the voice of Bart Simpson could convince Illinois lawmakers to approve a resolution aimed at teaching character in public schools because of its link to the Church of Scientology."
The text uses key words and concepts taken directly from Scientology beliefs – for example that "survival" is the fundamental point of life, that you can be truly happy if you become the "cause" of your own actions, and that the truth is "what is true for you." This relativistic
view is emphasized in the book repeatedly. A Brooklyn school principal who at first appreciated the booklet as "a values-oriented book about righteousness and peace" stopped using it after becoming aware that it contained "an undercurrent of a religious nature."
"The Way to Happiness" is argued by critics that it is primarily a recruiting tool for the church. According to Vicki Aznaran, former Inspector General of the Religious Technology Center, the church's highest ecclesiastical organization, The Way to Happiness Foundation is "a front group to get people into Scientology" and the book is designed "to make Scientology palatable to the masses."
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...
founder 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...
listing 21 moral precepts, and distributed by The Way to Happiness Foundation International, a Scientology-related non-profit organization founded in 1984.
Translated into 70 languages (a Guinness world record), the booklet is used as part of Scientology's Criminon
Criminon
Criminon is a program for rehabilitating prisoners using L. Ron Hubbard's teachings. Criminon International, a non-profit, public-benefit corporation managing the Criminon program, was spawned from Narconon International in 2000, and is part of Association for Better Living and Education's public...
rehabilitation program and is promoted by Scientology celebrities. The unsolicited distribution of personalised copies of the booklet to schools and mayors' offices has caused controversy, and while it is promoted as secular in nature, critics have stated that it includes ideas that are specific to Scientology, and is used as a recruiting tool.
Foundation
"The Way to Happiness Foundation International is a non-profit 501(c)(3), incorporated in 1984. Headquartered at 201 East Broadway, Glendale, CaliforniaGlendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, the foundation coordinates the activities of the Way to Happiness international network, including continental and national officies, associates and local groups. The Way to Happiness Foundation International is a division of the Association for Better Living and Education
Association for Better Living and Education
The Association for Better Living and Education is a non-profit organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It states that it is "dedicated to creating a better future for children and communities." It promotes secular uses of L. Ron Hubbard's works, and has been classified as a...
(ABLE), and is a "Scientology-related entity" under the 1993 IRS Closing Agreement.
Booklet
The Way to Happiness booklet contains a set of 21 precepts, which were written by author, and founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. It was first published in 1981 by Regent House, Los Angeles as a 48-page paper-covered booklet (ISBN 0-9605930-0-4). This book is frequently given out by Scientologists. A campaign in the early 1990s to distribute the book in United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
schools was described in Church of Scientology publications as "the largest dissemination project in Scientology history" and "the bridge between broad society and Scientology." A song titled "The Way to Happiness" appears on the music album The Road to Freedom, with music and lyrics by L. Ron Hubbard.
The Way to Happiness forms the core of the Church of Scientology prison program Criminon
Criminon
Criminon is a program for rehabilitating prisoners using L. Ron Hubbard's teachings. Criminon International, a non-profit, public-benefit corporation managing the Criminon program, was spawned from Narconon International in 2000, and is part of Association for Better Living and Education's public...
. It is also used in the Scientology-affiliated organization Narconon
Narconon
Narconon is a residential program aimed at substance abusers, headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It operates through several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and Western Europe. Each Narconon center is independently owned and operated under a license...
- all clients receive a pamphlet of The Way to Happiness when they begin the program. Volunteer Ministers
Volunteer Ministers
The Volunteer Minister program of the Church of Scientology dispatches groups of Scientologists using techniques developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard...
, a Scientology-affiliated organization which responds to disaster scenes, distributes The Way to Happiness pamphlets, and did so in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
, and the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
. The Scientology organization Concerned Businessmen's Association of America
Concerned Businessmen's Association of America
Concerned Businessmen's Association of America , founded in 1983, is an element of the Scientology movement directed at promoting moral education and "enhanced well-being" through the use of Hubbard's The Way to Happiness booklet in their Set A Good Example program, which holds children's antidrug...
(CBAA) has also distributed The Way to Happiness, though representatives of the group have denied connections to Scientology. A 1993 article in Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
described cases where schools in Bellflower, California
Bellflower, California
Bellflower is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is a suburb of Los Angeles. It was incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,616, up from 72,878 at the 2000 census....
and Brooklyn, New York were influenced by CBAA to use The Way to Happiness in their schools, without knowing of the connections to Scientology. A 1990 Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
article described the situation of a school in Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, where CBAA representatives refused to sponsor a contest at the school if The Way to Happiness pamphlet was not distributed.
The Way to Happiness holds the Guinness world record for most translated book; it is available in 70 languages, among them Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Samoan
Samoan language
Samoan Samoan Samoan (Gagana Sāmoa, is the language of the Samoan Islands, comprising the independent country of Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language—alongside English—in both jurisdictions. Samoan, a Polynesian language, is the first language for most...
and Uzbek
Uzbek language
Uzbek is a Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. It has about 25.5 million native speakers, and it is spoken by the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia...
.
Promoted by celebrities
Scientologist Nancy CartwrightNancy Cartwright
Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
, the voice actress for Bart Simpson
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, mailed 1 million copies of The Way to Happiness booklet to residents of San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in December 2007. Cartwright told the Daily News of Los Angeles: "The mailing was from me to the San Fernando Valley community, the highest gang-infested area of Los Angeles. I thought it would make an impact, give someone a tool in order to make their lives happier at home." Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
distributed The Way to Happiness pamphlets at his jazz performances in 2005.
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....
has distributed The Way to Happiness pamphlets, and passed out brochures embossed with his name at the elementary school where the 2005 movie
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds (2005 film)
War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
was filmed. He also gave copies of the pamphlet to managers of United International Pictures
United International Pictures
United International Pictures is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios , to distribute some of the two studios' films theatrically outside the United States , Canada, and the Anglophone...
, the company which distributed War of the Worlds overseas. In a Church of Scientology-produced promotional video which appeared on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
in January 2008, Cruise cites "the way to happiness" as one of the benefits of Scientology: "When you're a Scientologist and you drive by an accident, you know you have to do something about it, because you know you're the only one who can really help," said Cruise. "We are the way to happiness. We can bring peace and unite cultures." Actor Miles Fisher
Miles Fisher
Miles Fisher is an American film and television actor and musician. Born as James Leslie Miles Fisher, he was raised in Dallas, Texas until his family moved to Washington, D.C. He was educated at the St. Albans School in Washington, D.C...
parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
this quote by Cruise, in a scene in the 2008 film
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
Superhero Movie
Superhero Movie
Superhero Movie is a 2008 American spoof film written and directed by Craig Mazin, produced by David Zucker and Robert K. Weiss, and starring Drake Bell, Sara Paxton, Christopher McDonald, and Leslie Nielsen...
. Fisher's character in the film states that he can "eat planets" and that he is "the way to happiness".
Courses
The Church of Scientology offers two courses based on The Way to Happiness: "The Way to Happiness Course", done at a Church organization or mission and the "The Way to Happiness Extension Course", which can be done at home. There is also the "Happiness Rundown" which is a Scientology procedure of a "RundownRundown (Scientology)
In Scientology, a "Rundown" is the term created by L. Ron Hubbard to apply to a series of Scientology and/or Dianetics procedures designed to address a specific area in depth.-Cause Resurgence Rundown:...
" including 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:...
.
Deceptive and misleading distribution
In 1992, teachers in Anchorage, AlaskaAnchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
found copies of The Way to Happiness in their school mailboxes accompanied by a letter inviting the teachers to order more copies and distribute them to their students. Parents complained to the school district, and the school districts director of secondary education, Bill Mell, instructed school principals to tell teachers not to order The Way to Happiness. Mell told the Anchorage Daily News
Anchorage Daily News
The Anchorage Daily News is a daily newspaper based in Anchorage, Alaska, in the United States. It is often referred to colloquially as either "the Daily News" or "the ADN"...
: "I don't know that it went to every teacher ... It looks as if they got ahold of the teachers' mailing list." A local businessman and Scientologist who was a member of the Concerned Businessmen's Association of America organization paid for the books to be distributed to the schools, and told the Anchorage Daily News that he believed both "The Way to Happiness" and the Concerned Businessmen's Association of America were not affiliated with the Church of Scientology.
At a 2005 fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
, attendants found The Way to Happiness booklets in their goodie bags. The booklets contained the insignia of Boys & Girls Clubs on the front cover, and instructions on the back cover stating that additional copies could be obtained at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast facilities. Carl Lavender, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast, said that this usage of the Boys & Girls Clubs was unauthorized: "...I'm not pleased. You can't produce materials with our logo on it unless I give permission. We are going to collect all of them back and have them discarded." Joanie Sigal of the Scientology volunteer group Clearwater Community Volunteers, and a member of the Clearwater Boys & Girls Club's board of managers, had originally suggested adding the Club's insignia and distributing the booklets, and requested that the corporate board officially endorse the booklet. Executive director Lavender denied the request, stating: "The booklet ends as of today ... There needs to be a lesson. This cannot happen."
In 2007, "The Way to Happiness Foundation" produced and distributed pamphlets with sample endorsements from the mayors of Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. The books were sent to mayor's offices, accompanied by a letter asking mayors to purchase copies of the books for distribution in their city. The mayor of Dallas did not appreciate this unauthorized usage of the mayor's logo and the official seal of the city of Dallas, stating: "Clearly we were not very comfortable and did not think it was appropriate to use the seal of the city of Dallas, the mayor's logo or my name on something we were not aware of." According to a report in The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
, the city attorney's office of Dallas is looking into possible options in this matter.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, the mayor's office also received a boxful of the booklets and voiced displeasure with the unauthorized usage of the mayor's image, logo, and the seal of the city. According to a report by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, the city ordered the Scientology group to stop using an unauthorized picture of Mayor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
on its promotional pamphlets. An official spokesman for the mayor of San Francisco released a statement, saying: "The mayor does not support the unauthorized use of his image or the city seal on this booklet." The city attorney for San Francisco wrote a letter to "The Way to Happiness Foundation", citing California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
state law, which prohibits deceptive and misleading advertising
False advertising
False advertising or deceptive advertising is the use of false or misleading statements in advertising. As advertising has the potential to persuade people into commercial transactions that they might otherwise avoid, many governments around the world use regulations to control false, deceptive or...
that could create an appearance that the pamphlets are from a government agency. The city attorney also cited San Francisco law, writing that the Board of Supervisors must approve any commercial use of the city's official seal.
In Winnipeg, Manitoba a box of pamphlets was delivered to the mayor's office with the official City of Winnipeg logo and the image of mayor Sam Katz
Sam Katz
Samuel Michael Katz, OM is the 42nd mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is also a businessperson and a member of the Order of Manitoba.- Life before mayorship :...
. No legal action was taken: "This is obviously a sample sent to our office and it was not approved or paid for by our office... If material was being distributed on our behalf with a false endorsement, it would be a different story."
In a published US embassy cable, Ursula Caberta, the Director of the Working Group on Scientology (created by the Hamburg State Parliament to address all "destructive groups" which endanger society), obtained a booklet that contained the Hamburg mayor's photograph and signature, yet was actually a publication from Scientology's "The Way to Happiness Foundation."
She contended that "Scientology regularly used misleading methods to fool individuals into joining and said that such booklets had been distributed to other German cities. For someone unfamiliar with Scientology publications, the booklet looked very much like information brochures from the City of Hamburg."
In October 2007, uniformed police officers visiting Whyalla High School in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
distributed a booklet called "Whyalla High School presents the way to happiness, a common-sense guide for better living", against the school's guidelines for religious education. One parent told the Adelaide, Australia paper The Advertiser she had specifically told the school not to give religious instruction to her children, and other parents mistakenly thought that the booklets were distributed by the Education Department because Whyalla High School was displayed on the booklet's cover.
In March 2008, The Way to Happiness Foundation agreed to stop sending thousands of unsolicited, personalized copies of the booklet to elected officials in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, after hundreds of them complained. Booklets sent to mayors had the mayor's name on the front, and an endorsement from the mayor on the back, along with the Florida state flag and the address of the town hall. A note advised prospective readers to contact town hall if they had further questions. The Foundation said it had sent about 2,800 mailings, comprising a total of 250,000 booklets, to Florida mayors, businesses and community groups. Following the complaints, the Foundation explained that the books were only samples meant to encourage the recipients to buy further copies, and said that it would henceforth send out unpersonalized stock copies only.
Unlike many mayors who were reported to have been displeased at seeing their names on the personalized samples, Anthony Masiello
Anthony Masiello
Anthony M. Masiello was mayor of Buffalo, New York from 1994 to 2005. Prior to being mayor, he served as a New York State Senator.-Personal and Educational Background:...
, the mayor of Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, did authorize distribution of the booklet, complete with the city seal and a picture of the city hall, after a Scientology center opened in Buffalo.
Cmdr. Mike Downing, Los Angeles Police Department, complained that "the Church of Scientology forged his endorsement on The Way To Happiness Web site, prompting the LAPD to disavow any endorsement of Scientology and The Way To Happiness."
False claims of affiliation
In a speech given at a New YearNew Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
's event in 2007, David Miscavige
David Miscavige
David Miscavige is the leader of the Church of Scientology and affiliated organizations. His title is Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center , a corporation that controls the trademarked names and symbols of Dianetics and Scientology. Miscavige was an assistant to Hubbard while a...
, the current leader of the Church of Scientology, claimed that the distribution of the booklet is aided by "corporate tie-ins", mentioning 7-Eleven
7-Eleven
7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...
in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Philips Electronics
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
in Pakistan, and Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
in Africa as companies who supported the Foundation as part of their efforts to address their "third-world image problems". A video of the speech was released to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
in February 2008. A spokesman for Dell told the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
that they had researched the matter with their colleagues in Africa and elsewhere and found "no evidence that this is accurate ... it's not our practice to disseminate religious materials of any kind." Representatives from other companies such as Philips and 7-Eleven told the Los Angeles Times that they were unaware of any such association, but said they were looking into the matter.
Denying affiliation with Scientology
The Way to Happiness pamphlet caused controversy in SderotSderot
Sderot is a western Negev city in the Southern District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 20,700. The city has been an ongoing target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in February 2008, when a group calling itself the "Association for Prosperity and Security in the Middle East" became active in the city. The non-profit group sent e-mails to social workers in Sderot, offering to help people cope with Kassam rocket attacks the city has been enduring. Dalia Yosef, head of an umbrella psychological organization in the region called Hosen Center, received complaints from multiple social workers about the e-mails, and stated: "We intend to investigate this association, as we do every group that offers social and psychological services in Sderot". In an e-mail response to The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. The daily readership numbers do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers....
, the Association for Prosperity stated: "We are unaware of any Scientology activity whatsoever being offered to Sderot residents. In general, regarding your question on Scientology activity in Sderot or elsewhere, you should contact the official representatives of the religion and receive their response".
A representative of Scientology told The Jerusalem Post that the director-general of the Association for Prosperity was a Scientologist, as were most individuals in the organization, but that some were not, and said that the principles found in The Way to Happiness were "totally different" from Scientology. The organization stated: "Claiming our organization is connected with Scientology just because our director-general studied Scientology is like saying that other nonprofits are hi-tech because volunteers work in hi- tech." Director-general of the Israeli Center for Cult Victims Ayelet Kedem described the organization as a front group for Scientology: "Hiding behind a front organization is a common tactic ... The idea is to create a positive image by obscuring the connection with Scientology ... Later, people who undergo free workshops are convinced that they must correct flaws in their personality by taking Scientology courses. Those who are hooked end up giving all their possessions to the Church of Scientology".
In Illinois in 2011, Rep. Dan Burke (D-Chicago) sponsored a resolution endorsing the "Good Choices" program, which is based on The Way to Happiness, as one of a number of suitable tools for teaching character, morals and values. Actress Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
, the voice of Bart Simpson
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, submitted testimony to a House education committee, stating the program had "nothing to do with religion." Opponents voiced concerns about the program's links to the Scientology belief system, and said that promoting its use in schools would violate the principle of the separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
. Burke accepted that the program's Scientology links were more substantial than he had thought. He said he would work on the resolution and present it again at a later date. The reporter stated, "Not even the voice of Bart Simpson could convince Illinois lawmakers to approve a resolution aimed at teaching character in public schools because of its link to the Church of Scientology."
Validity of secular claim
The Way to Happiness is described by the foundation as "a non-religious moral code, based entirely on common sense, which is having profound effects around the world". The religious scholar Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi states he has performed an extensive search in the history of religions, and has been unable to find a single case in which "a religion was publicly propagating a secular version of its ethical system". To illustrate the uniqueness of the booklet, he gave the following analogy: "How about a secular, improved version of the Ten Commandments?"The text uses key words and concepts taken directly from Scientology beliefs – for example that "survival" is the fundamental point of life, that you can be truly happy if you become the "cause" of your own actions, and that the truth is "what is true for you." This relativistic
Relativism
Relativism is the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception and consideration....
view is emphasized in the book repeatedly. A Brooklyn school principal who at first appreciated the booklet as "a values-oriented book about righteousness and peace" stopped using it after becoming aware that it contained "an undercurrent of a religious nature."
"The Way to Happiness" is argued by critics that it is primarily a recruiting tool for the church. According to Vicki Aznaran, former Inspector General of the Religious Technology Center, the church's highest ecclesiastical organization, The Way to Happiness Foundation is "a front group to get people into Scientology" and the book is designed "to make Scientology palatable to the masses."
See also
- Church of Spiritual TechnologyChurch of Spiritual TechnologyThe Church of Spiritual Technology, also known as CST, is a Californian 501 non-profit corporation, incorporated in 1982, which owns all the copyrights of the estate of L. Ron Hubbard. The CST is doing business as L. Ron Hubbard Library...
- Concerned Businessmen's Association of AmericaConcerned Businessmen's Association of AmericaConcerned Businessmen's Association of America , founded in 1983, is an element of the Scientology movement directed at promoting moral education and "enhanced well-being" through the use of Hubbard's The Way to Happiness booklet in their Set A Good Example program, which holds children's antidrug...
- Volunteer MinistersVolunteer MinistersThe Volunteer Minister program of the Church of Scientology dispatches groups of Scientologists using techniques developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard...
- Youth for Human Rights InternationalYouth for Human Rights InternationalYouth for Human Rights International is a non-profit organization based at 1954 Hillhurst Ave. # 416 in Los Angeles, California. Founded and largely staffed and financed by Scientologists, its stated mission is "To teach youth around the globe about human rights, thus helping them to become...