Scientology issue was not about movie, Berger
says
Adviser denies any effort to influence Travolta
role
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- President Clinton's chief security adviser dismissed suggestions that the administration became involved in the Church of Scientology's disputes with the German government to influence Scientologist John Travolta's portrayal of a Clinton-like president in a movie.
"I did meet with a [Church of Scientology] delegation, including Mr. Travolta, to indicate that we would continue to discuss with the German government our belief that one should not be discriminated against on the basis purely of belief," national security adviser Samuel R. Berger said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
The magazine George, in its March edition, quoted Travolta as saying that Clinton had told him, "I'd really love to help you with your issue in Germany with Scientology," and that the White House later arranged for him to meet Berger.
Travolta also told the magazine that Clinton took no other action and did not mention Travolta's role as a presidential candidate closely resembling Clinton in the movie "Primary Colors."
Asked if the White House hoped, by helping Travolta on the Scientology issue, to have the movie treat the presidential character more favorably than in the best-selling book, Berger said: "It sounds to me that you are developing your own conspiracy theories here.
"The only thing I was trying to get was an autograph for one of my kids, but other than that I had no ulterior motive," Berger said.
The Clinton administration raised questions about the German government's treatment of Scientologists in 1996.
The German government contends that the church is a moneymaking organization with traits of organized crime and, as such, represents a threat to democracy.
Originally Published on 2/16/98
Scientology Cultivates Its
Roster of Stars
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By DOUGLAS FRANTZ
LOS ANGELES -- John Travolta stood in the
parking garage below City Hall, waiting for his
sleek black Jaguar. He had just accepted an award on
behalf of the Church of Scientology from the public
works commission, and he was talking earnestly
about what the religion means to him.
"Through Scientology, you learn to examine your life
and be more productive," Travolta said as three
senior church officials hovered nearby. "You can
make sure you avoid any pitfalls and you can face
your challenges and handle them."
Travolta, referred to within the church hierarchy as
J.T., is the brightest star in Scientology's galaxy of
celebrities. He is a box-office draw whose value as a
public representative of the much-debated group has
soared along with his rejuvenated career.
But the star of "Pulp Fiction" and other movies is far
from alone in stumping for Scientology. More than
any church that has begun on the religious fringe, the
Church of Scientology has cultivated a potent roster
of celebrity members -- including actors Tom Cruise
and Kirstie Alley, musicians Isaac Hayes and Chick
Corea and television legal analyst Greta Van
Susteren -- in its struggle to win acceptance as a
mainstream religion and spread its message at home
and abroad.
Other celebrities also become visible spokesmen for
their religions, like actor Richard Gere, who has
pushed Buddhist causes. But Scientology's use of
celebrities is part of a calculated, three-decade effort
that religious scholars and others say is extraordinary
for a religious group.
Scientology has established separate facilities, called
Celebrity Centres, that cater to prominent members
by offering private counseling and courses and even
emergency health services. Although the facilities are
open to all Scientologists, internal church documents
show that their primary purpose is to recruit
celebrities and use the celebrities' prestige to help
expand Scientology.
In turn, some of those celebrities have become
prominent advocates for Scientology. Last fall
Travolta criticized the German government's stand
on Scientology before Congress and spoke out
against a British television documentary that was
highly critical of the organization's founder, the late
L. Ron Hubbard.
In its March issue, George magazine quotes Travolta
describing a conversation last April in which
President Clinton promised to try to help ease the
treatment of Scientologists in Germany, where the
church is locked in a fight with the government over
accusations of discrimination. At the time, Travolta
was starting to film "Primary Colors," the upcoming
movie in which he portrays a womanizing Southern
governor seeking the presidency.
Ms. Alley is the spokeswoman for a drug treatment
program affiliated with Scientology and founded a
church in her hometown of Wichita, Kan. Cruise
wrote to Congress on behalf of German
Scientologists last fall, and he and his wife, Nicole
Kidman, praise Scientology's founder in an
exhibition on Hubbard's life at a Scientology center
here.
Anne Archer, who had a leading role in "Fatal
Attraction," among other movies, has appeared at
pro-Scientology rallies in Germany. Isaac Hayes
attacked newspapers articles critical of the church on
his New York radio show and joined Lisa Marie
Presley in opening a Scientology church in Memphis,
Tenn.
"Scientology works for these people, and they just
want to give to others what works for them," said
Marty Rathbun, a senior church official. "We don't
give them a badge and send them out. They do it on
their own."
For an organization fighting to win mainstream
acceptance in an atmosphere of suspicion,
association with celebrities in the public mind can be
very beneficial. "These groups are often crying out
for legitimacy, and they seek it any way they can,
especially if they are under duress in public," said
James T. Richardson, a professor of sociology and
law at the University of Nevada at Reno. "What's
phenomenal is the success that Scientology has had
with the entertainment industry."
Scientology has needed any help it could get in
presenting a positive image to counter the
often-negative public perceptions.
In 1993, only after a bitter campaign and a two-year
government inquiry did the Internal Revenue Service
grant the church the tax-exempt status accorded other
religions. Church staff members remain under
criminal investigation in connection with the death
of a Scientologist at a church facility in Clearwater,
Fla., in 1995. Many critics and some governments,
including Germany and France, still question
whether Scientology is even a religion, saying instead
that it is a moneymaking enterprise because of the
high fees it charges members.
In response, Scientologists argue that they are
victims of religious intolerance. In Germany, for
instance, church officials have documented nearly
1,000 instances of what they say is discrimination
against their members.
It was Hubbard himself who recognized the value in
having celebrity members. Hubbard, a writer,
composer and painter who founded Scientology in
1954, saw early on that recruiting prominent people
could bring quick recognition to his new religion.
Beginning in the late 1960s, Scientology built
Celebrity Centres specifically to cater to artists and
actors.
"The purpose of Celebrity Centre is, to forward the
expansion and popularization of Scientology through
the arts," Hubbard wrote in a church policy letter in
1973.
There are 10 Celebrity Centres around the world,
with the largest and most successful located in the
former Chateau Elysee hotel, restored by
Scientology, near the Hollywood Hills in Los
Angeles.
The Celebrity Centre is open to all Scientologists,
and on any given day members with backgrounds of
all varieties can be seen taking the counseling and
courses that constitute Scientology's religious
philosophy. But its special clientele is celebrities.
In interviews and testimonials printed in Celebrity, a
Scientology magazine, Scientologists praised the
center as a spiritual retreat. "Celebrity Centre is truly
an oasis in this town for every artist on any level in
their career," Travolta told the magazine in a recent
issue. "This is an ultra-safe environment. It is the
safest place in town for me. This is a place where I
know I have friends I can trust."
In several interviews arranged through church
officials, prominent Scientologists talked about what
they see as the special appeal of the church
philosophy to people in creative fields. They
described techniques that help them communicate
better and focus more clearly on their lives and
careers.
In many ways, the descriptions echoed the criteria of
what scholars have called a world-affirming religion.
These are groups that stress philosophies and
techniques intended to help people be more
successful in the world in which they live, rather than
concentrating on the afterlife.
Like most religions, Scientology embraces a creation
myth. According to its scriptures, people are
immortal spirits who have lived through many
lifetimes after being banished to Earth 75 million
years ago by an intergalactic ruler. Scientology
counseling is designed in part to remove obstacles
accumulated over those lifetimes.
Less baffling to those outside Scientology are what
adherents say is the philosophy's ability to provide
them with tools to identify and solve problems.
"Through its drills and studies one may find the truth
for himself," says an introductory text. "The
technology is therefore not expounded as something
to believe, but something to do."
Travolta joined the church in 1975, after an actress
gave him a book on Scientology and just before he
got a breakthrough role in the television series
"Welcome Back, Kotter." Although his career waned
in the 1980s, he said he stuck with Scientology
because it taught him to overcome challenges.
"I'm a high school dropout, but when I applied
Scientology study techniques I was the best jet pilot
to ever go through the school that American Airlines
runs for civilians," said Travolta, who owns three
jets and is licensed to fly them all.
Jenna Elfman is on the way up, the star of the
twentysomething sitcom "Dharma and Greg" and
playing opposite Richard Dreyfuss in a new movie.
She credits Scientology with teaching her to focus on
her goals.
"What it really does is give you your self
determination back," said Ms. Elfman, who joined in
1991 at the suggestion of her husband, Bodhi
Elfman, also an actor and Scientologist. "Scientology
clears away the noise so you can be certain of your
point of view."
Mark Isham, who has composed scores for more than
20 feature films, was searching for spiritual guidance
in the early 1980s when a friend who was a
Scientology minister gave him a copy of its original
text, "Dianetics."
"It had a very practical side," recalled Isham. "As an
artist you are very involved in doing something.
There is a craft to putting the first note on the page.
There was a craft in back of Scientology, too."'
Isham said Scientology's techniques have helped him
communicate better with film directors and others
who are critical to his work and also to understand
his own spiritual side. "It opened up whole concepts
of what it is to be an artist, what is the purpose of
being an artist," he said.
With help from its celebrity members, Scientology
has clearly moved toward the mainstream in
Hollywood, where the church was often the target of
jokes in the '70s and '80s. But celebrities have had
mixed success in helping the church outside the
entertainment industry.
Travolta's appearance before Congress did not sway
enough votes to win approval of legislation asking
Clinton to express new concern about the treatment
of Scientologists in Germany.
Likewise, the opening of the Scientology church in
Wichita by Ms. Alley brought some early press
attention but stirred a lingering dispute in the
religious community.
Ms. Alley grew up in Wichita and says she moved to
Los Angeles to overcome her addiction to cocaine
through Narconon, a drug treatment program
supported by Scientology. She said the results were
so effective that she became the program's
spokeswoman and has begun an effort to expand
Scientology by financing new churches.
"This is a personal thing," said Ms. Alley, star of the
sitcom "Veronica's Closet." "It's fun for me. It's my
hobby. I want to do something for the world."
Ms. Alley, with Travolta and other Scientology
celebrities on hand, cut the ribbon on the Wichita
church three years ago. She received a proclamation
from the City Council and spoke at a luncheon of
Inter-Faith Ministries, which represents more than 80
religious congregations in the Bible Belt city.
The church opening gave Scientology a profile in
Wichita, and its local officials have participated in
some citywide religious events since then. The
inter-faith organization also has discussed offering
membership to the group, although Scientology has
not yet applied.
"If they want to be a member, let them be a member,"
said the Rev. Samuel Muyskens, executive director
of the ministries group. "What harm can they do?"
Plenty, say ministers of some established
congregations. Muyskens said several prominent
ministers have made clear to him that they would
withdraw from the Inter-Faith Ministries if
Scientology was given a seat at the table.
The Rev. Keith Koch, pastor of Grace Presbyterian
Church in Wichita, said Scientology is a religion
"like gambling is a religion."
"The larger churches," he said, including his own,
"would be adamantly opposed to Scientology
becoming a member."
The leaders of Scientology say that such remarks
reflect the intolerance the church faces in many
quarters. "Bigotry is born out of ignorance, and that
statement evidences an ignorance of what
Scientology is and does," said Rathbun.
For now, however, the mansion in Wichita that Ms.
Alley personally helped refurbish stands as an
outsider in the religious community, a testament to
the difficulty that Scientology encounters, despite its
celebrity friends.
Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company