Space Opera in Scientology Scripture - Criticism and Leaking

Criticism and Leaking

Scientology's space opera teachings were publicized in accounts given by former church members, most notably during court cases. One such case was filed by a former Scientologist, Larry Wollersheim, against the church in 1980. Five years later, Wollersheim offered confidential Scientology materials, including space opera teachings, to the court as evidence, a move that was vigorously protested by the church's attorneys. They were unable to prevent disclosure, however, and the documents were published by the Los Angeles Times in November 1985. This was the first time that some aspects of Scientology's space opera teachings were offered as public evidence about the church. In the mid-1990s, Wollersheim published some of the materials on a website, prompting the church to sue his organization, FACTNet. The Church attested that the space opera narratives were trade secrets; this claim was rejected by the court.

In 1990, after being sued for libel by the Church of Scientology, Steven Fishman, a former member turned critic, offered a large amount of the group's highly confidential teachings in court. The documents, contained in what is known as the Fishman Affidavit, included detailed accounts of the church's space opera narratives. This material was subsequently posted on alt.religion.scientology and a website of Dutch journalist Karin Spaink. The church filed suits against those who posted the documents, claiming copyright violations. Lengthy court battles ensued, but the church was unable to prevent the materials' dissemination over the internet.

Former Scientologists and members of the anti-cult movement often discuss Scientology's space opera teachings. They generally take a rationalistic approach to the narratives and see them as absurd, or even as drug-fueled delusions, using them as a source of humor. The doctrines have been satirized in popular culture, most notably in the South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet". The anti-Scientology website Operation Clambake prominently uses space opera doctrines in their criticisms of the church, casting the implausibility of the stories as a clear reason to reject the group. Anti-cult critics of Scientology argue that the content of these teachings demonstrates that Scientology misleads its followers; many aspects of the narratives, such as the age of the volcanoes that Xenu is said to have used, contradict scientific consensus. Rothstein notes that scholars of religion usually do not pursue this line of analysis because all myths contain unscientific content; he notes that cultural conditioning determines whether religious narratives appear reasonable.