Teenager faces prosecution for calling Scientology ‘cult’
Censorship, Crime and Punishment, Current Affairs, Religion, State Terror May 20th, 2008A teenager is facing prosecution for using the word “cult” to describe the Church of Scientology.
The unnamed 15-year-old was served the summons by City of London police when he took part in a peaceful demonstration opposite the London headquarters of the controversial religion.
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Writing on an anti-Scientology website, the teenager facing court said: “I brought a sign to the May 10th protest that said: ‘Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult.’ The Guardian
The mind boggles. Under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1985, “a person is guilty of an offense if they [...] display any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting, within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby”. The word cult, in this context, is a critical term but also it is the central point of the protest. Does that mean all criticism of “new religious movements” (the non-perjorative term) is illegal? Based on the police action, the answer seems to be YES.
The police clearly over stepped their bounds and authority - the teenager has something known in subversive circles as “legal rights” under the “European Convention on Human Rights” (section 10 if you are interested). Secondly, criticism as part of a peaceful protest is not “threatening, abusive or insulting”.
The police should ask for the prosecution to be dropped and issue guidance to all officers as to what is “threatening, abusive or insulting” to prevent this happening in future. Remember tolerance does not mean refraining from criticism.
Anti Citizen One
May 20th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Although the meaning has evolved somewhat, strictly speaking whether one employs it as perjorative or not ‘Scientology’ insofar as it proclaims itself to be a religion is a “cult”.
The word comes into our language from the latin Cultus meaning to Care, cultivate and worship. It has agricultural connotations as evident in its etymological relationship to the word colere meaning “to till the soil”.
Thus we have the basis of the idea that religious beliefs, myths, theologies etc. are cultivated with care.
Techinically then in my opinion the term “cult” is thoroughly accurate and fair. And in Catholicism the term denotes particular devotion to a saint or school of religious thought.
Even were one to then try to employ the word with negative connotations - as is claimed to be the case here - that is only one interpretation that can be given to the word - and it is an interpretation that relies nonetheless on its family resemblance to the original value-neutral term.
If the unfortunate teenager was to be persecuted for anything it perhaps should suffice only to correct his placard so that it should read “Scientology is not ONLY a religion, it is a dangerous cult”.
(Remove the evaluative term “dangerous” and then the poor lad can be shown to have been waving a tautological placard about).
How sad though that the police have nothing better to do than to pursue this… maybe its just the above lesson in Latin etymology but am I the only one to recall a scene in Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” where the Centurian with nothing better to do persecutes Brian not for the act of graffiti but for his poor Latin!
“Romanus eunt domus?”
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:06 pm
‘Legal action has been dropped against a 15-year-old who faced prosecution for branding Scientology a “cult”.’ BBC