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Anti-cult group accuses watchdog of naivety
Scientology TV campaign gains official approval
The Times, September 13 1996
BY CAROL MIDGLEY AND RUTH GLEDHILL THE Church of Scientology is to begin its first television advertising campaign in Britain next week after winning approval for a pilot commercial. Uisdean Maclean, director of the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre, confirmed that the commercial had been approved in July. In April the Independent Television Commission lifted a ban on advertising by the group. The move has been criticised by people who monitor the activities of such groups. The 60-second advertisement, produced at the group's studios in America for 70,000, features people from different cultures saying the word "trust". It ends: "On the day we can fully trust each other there will be peace on Earth", and features a telephone number for further information. The Church of Scientology, founded in 1954 by the American science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986, has 100,000 members in Britain who often visit its headquarters at East Grinstead, West Sussex. Hubbard, who died in 1986, claimed to have discovered "Dianetics", which he promoted as the science of mental health. He left more than 500,000 pages of writings. The advertisement will run for a month on the satellite channels UK Gold and UK Living and, if successful, could move to ITV and Channel 4. Religious groups are prohibited by the commission from advertising if their meetings are not open to the public; the group had successfully argued that this was not the case. Concern about the advertising campaign has been expressed by the Cult Information Centre. Ian Howarth, the general secretary, said: "I am very concerned for the welfare of anybody who might finish up being interested in going to a Scientology meeting after seeing these advertisements. It is a group about which we are deeply concerned, and always have been, and it is most unfortunate that they have been allowed to go on television. I think the ITC has been most unwise and rather naive in its decision." In the past, the group has been accused of high-pressure sales techniques and imposing a strict discipline that has been held responsible by the group's detractors for mental breakdowns and suicides. Worried parents attempting to extract their children from membership have used anti-cult groups and kidnappers. The group has also been criticised for the cost of courses that adherents follow. However, the group, which help drug addicts, alcoholics and those with family difficulties, claims it has been a victim of campaigns here and in America. In recent years, with the adherence of celebrities such as Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Priscilla Presley, its image has improved. Scientology is recognised as a religion in Britain. The advertisement had to be approved by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre before being screened. The commission would take action only if a complaint was made after broadcast. In April the commission said it had decided to lift the ban after considering new evidence from an academic source submitted by the Church of Scientology over whether the group held meetings open to the public. At the time, the group said it was pleased that a "discriminatory" ban had been lifted. Rachael Ryerson, spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology, which denies allegations that it operates as a cult, said yesterday: "It is more of a message than an advertisement. It will get across the values that we stand for and enable people to find out more about us."
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