Scientology. Is it a science? Is it a religion? Or is it a
business? Many have never met anyone who has ever been involved in it. The culture is not that of a nationality or
ethnicity, but rather of a religion begun within the United States. As the subject of this oral history interview
is concerned about keeping her identity confidential, she will simply be
referred to as V.R. She was chosen as an
interview subject due to the unique culture into which she was recruited, and
from which, in her own words, she “escaped.” That dominant culture was
Scientology, and its elite sub-group of Sea Org (Wright, 2013). Within these
two cultures, V.R. experienced a manner of communicating far removed from any
she had experienced prior to her recruitment, but which has impacted her even
30 years after having abandoned the church and its teachings.
