Supreme Court Judges were unable to decide whether services in the Church of Scientology - the cult of choice for Tom Cruise and other Hollywood celebrities - should be considered religious worship.
The discussion in the highest court is the culmination of one couple’s five year legal battle to marry in a Scientology chapel in London. Louisa Hodkin, 24, first took the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths to court in 2008 after they said she could not marry her fiancé there because it was not a place of worship.
A decision in yesterday’s Supreme Court hearing was delayed so that the Registrar had time to send in further evidence on whether it should have been deciding at all what constituted a religious ceremony. A ruling is now not expected until October, after the summer break.
Ms Hodkin said she “remained hopeful” that the court will rule in her favour and allow her to marry her fiancé, Alessandro Calcioli. The couple were unable to attend court because of the birth of their daughter, Isla, just two days before yesterday's hearing.
She said in a statement: “It’s been a long and demanding five years so far, but Alessandro and I remain strong and patient. We have always believed in the fairness of the British legal process, and I remain hopeful that the Supreme Court will rule in our favour.”
The hearing, in front of Lords Neuberger, Wilson, Toulson, Clarke and Reed got increasingly bogged down in a discussion of what constituted religious worship.
Lord Neubegrer asked: “If you have a group of vegetarians who believe passionately in vegetarianism and have meetings in which to promulgate that view, is that a form of worship?” Later adding: “I don't regard that as a religion because you can't very well worship a vegetable.”
The judges appeared divided on how to define Scientology chapel services - designed for those who follow a group of beliefs created by Los Angeles Science fiction writer Ron Hubbard.
After reading out a prayer used in every Scientology service, which says, ”May the owner of the universe enable all men to reach an understanding of their spiritual nature... May God let it be so,” Lord Wilson asked: “Just looking at that, how is that not a manifestation of religious worship?”
James Strachan QC, representing the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, said the chapel’s services could not be considered worship: “It’s a spiritual investigation of oneself, not the worship of a divine being”
He added: “The process of scientology is not about worshipping god or a supreme being - it's about instruction, auditing and training. The practices involved here are not in fact directed in reality to religious worship, they are very much processes directed at self-awareness achieved through auditing and training.”
Lord Toulson asked whether simply self-analysing could be considered worship. “is it enough for the communication to come from something within ourselves or does communication have to be with something external?”, he said.
Ms Hodkin’s barrister, Lord Lester QC, retorted “Even Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you”.
Her solicitor, Paul Hewitt, said in a statement: “We hope the Supreme Court reviews the facts in the context of the modern, multi-cultural world we now live in, which recognises the right for everyone to be treated equally. It has always felt wrong that Louisa has been denied the right afforded to members of other faiths to enjoy a legal marriage ceremony in accordance with her own religious beliefs and in her own Church. We look forward to the judgment.”
Scientology case has judges debating the meaning of religion
Case is brought by Louisa Hodkin, who wishes to marry her fiance in the Church of Scientology's building in London
The Church of Scientology Centre in Queen Victoria Street, London. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian
Five supreme court justices have spent a day wrestling with notions of God, nirvana and what constitutes worship in an attempt to decide whether Scientologists may conduct weddings.
In one of the more curious appeals to come before the UK's highest court, senior lawyers – wearing puzzled expressions, and bemused smiles but no wigs – ranged across centuries of legislation and a number of faiths to try to establish what religion is.
The case has been brought by Louisa Hodkin, who wishes to marry her fiance, Alessandro Calcioli, in the Church of Scientology's building on Queen Victoria Street in the City of London.
The registrar-general of births, deaths and marriages has declined to license the Scientologists' "chapel" as a place of meeting for religious worship under section two of the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855. Hodkin and her partner, who are volunteers at the Church of Scientology, claim the refusal is discriminatory. At a previous hearing, the court of appeal rejected their application.
Wigs and gowns are rarely worn in the supreme court in Westminster these days. On Thursday, the air of intellectual informality was enhanced by the eccentricity of the issues. On one hand was James Strachan QC, for the registrar-general. Scientology, he told the court, was initially founded by the American writer L Ron Hubbard as "dianetics" – a process of self-discovery. Scientology did not describe itself as a religion until 1951. Its eighth level of perfection, Strachan said, was a state of "infinity". "The process of Scientology is not about worshipping God, infinity or a supreme being," he said. "It's about auditing, training and developing self-awareness. The judge [in the courts below] had difficulty in understanding whether it might be a theistic religion."
Strachan, however, insisted Scientology did not qualify as religion: "It does not involve worship of a divine being. The central processes of Scientology are not about reverence or veneration. It's about constructing the self."
Scientologists do refer to a "creed" and "sermons", he conceded, "but it's not religious worship. If the registrar-general has wrongly registered Buddhists or Jains [other faiths that do not worship gods] then they should be de-registered. The argument that it's discrimination [against Scientology] goes nowhere."
Against him was Lord Lester, the veteran Liberal Democrat peer, who pointed out that the Church of Scientology already enjoys "charitable rates relief" on its London headquarters worth £300,000 a year.
Scientology was akin to Buddhism, he implied. "[The Buddhist principle of] nirvana is not venerated as a being or power that is supernatural or divine. In Scientology, L Rob Hubbard is not venerated."
In other jurisdictions, such as Australia, Scientology has been accepted as a religious denomination. The refusal to register the chapel was religious discrimination, Lord Lester insisted.
The five supreme court justices – Lord Neuberger, Lord Clarke, Lord Wilson, Lord Reed and Lord Toulson – brought in Islam, Unitarianism, Quakerism and other faiths to develop comparisons.
"A Quaker service often consists only of silent meditation," one justice observed.
The appeal is of wider significance since Scientologists have applied for certification at other premises in England that they claim are used for religious worship.
Speaking after an earlier judgment, Hodkin said: "I hope the court allows me to marry in my own church, surrounded by my family and friends, which means everything to me."
The court has reserved judgment. At the end of the hearing, Lord Lester tried a note of religious reconciliation: "Nirvana," he explained, "is a state which an individual attains, the state your lordships attain quite often at the end of a case."
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Media Release: Grieving Mom Details Son’s Death at Hands of Scientology
This Saturday, July 20, 2013, a grieving mother, Victoria Britton, will be joining Colleen Sautez on the X-Women, God Discussion Show to discuss the death of her son, Kyle Brennan -- what many call 'outrageous injustice'.
The Show's website stated today: "There is enough drama and mystery in this story to twist your mind and tug heavily on your heart strings. Why did his dad seize Kyle's medication and lock it in the trunk of his vehicle? Drama? Lies? Cover-ups and possible murder?"
WireService.ca Media Release - 07/18/2013
In August 2006, Kyle went to live with his father, Tom Brennan, in an apartment in Florida. Tom was a handyman for David Miscavige's twin sister, Denise Gentile [Miscavige], and he was also involved with Scientology and taking Scientology courses.
Tom Brennan knew his son had seen a psychiatrist who prescribed medication for a mental illness. Kyle's mom told Tom: "Make sure Kyle takes his medication," and Tom agreed to do so. In effect, he was taking on the responsibility of helping his son continue to take the prescribed medication.
However, in compliance with the commands from the Scientology Ethics Officer, Tom Brennan locked Kyle's prescription Lexapro in the trunk of his car and told Kyle he had to leave.
"According to Damian DeWitt who has followed the case, "On February 16, 2007, Kyle Brennan was found shot through the head under circumstances so suspicious that the possibility he was murdered, shocking as it is, cannot be excluded."
When I interviewed Victoria in March 2013, about her feelings, she stated: "I felt like I had been sucked up in a pneumatic tube and deposited into this very dark, dark underworld that made little or no sense to me — it's been a horrific journey, and I don't have any words. It's horrible because I feel like I've been fighting for so long for the truth and to get some accountability, and there are moments where I feel I have failed. It's really frustrating, and there are times when I feel really alone."
This Saturday, Victoria Britton will be discussing her feelings about Scientology's deadly doctrines and practices concerning the withdrawal of medically necessary medications.
Countless suicides have left a trail of unnecessary deaths due to Scientology's 'War on Psychiatry' -- a major tenet of Scientology is total opposition to psychiatric treatment and medications. Scientology leader David Miscavige has set "the elimination of psychiatry it all its forms" as an objective for all Scientologists.
Victoria has been fighting for justice for her son, despite tremendous adversity-since his death in 2006. She believes that Kyle's story is an important one that must be told. "It can serve as a warning to others. It can save lives" she said.
By David Edgar Love
Show Time: Saturday, July 20, 2013, Noon Pacific / 1 PM Mountain / 2 PM Central / 3 PM Eastern
Show Call-In Number: 914-338-0452 or toll-free, 888-238-8529
To hear the show live and participate in the web-based chat room:
Tom Cruise and Nina Dobrev Should Get Married Says Celeb Matchmaker
Well, this unexpected. Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder only recently broke up, but Tough Lovehost, and "matchmaking expert" Steve Ward tells Access Hollywood that The Vampire Diariesactress should consider marriage... just not to Ian. Instead, he sees her with Tom Cruise, who helped elevate Nicole Kidman's and Katie Holmes's profiles by marrying them. Steve says Nina is not yet a household name, but getting hitched to Tom Cruise would certainly change that. We're not sure if we can see Nina with Tom, but maybe he'd leap onto a few a couches for a chance at the hot starlet?
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