I Was Born and Raised in the Scientology religion
I was born and raised in Scientology. My daughter and son are third generation Scientologists.
As a young Scientologist growing up in the 70’s in Los Angeles, I remember having to explain all the time what Scientology was (which was not so easy for a child in kindergarten).
My young schoolmates were always inquisitive about it. What is it like? What do you DO? Is it normal? I always felt as if my classmates thought I had a handicap or a magician for a dad, it just felt weird, always being questioned.
There was a Christian boy in my school who was adamant that if you weren’t a Christian you were doomed, this was when I was maybe 6 or 7 years old. He started a rumor that I didn’t believe in God. So there I was this 6-year-old Scientologist who everyone thought didn’t believe in God.
I got laughed at, made fun of. That was a very hard week for me.
I finally stood on a table at lunch and explained that I DID believe in God, but not the same God as the boy believed in––that I believed that the real God would never make fun of someone because he was not the same religion as someone else and that the real God would not allow others to make fun of other people’s beliefs.
I made some very good friends that day and some lifelong enemies.
For those who didn’t agree with me or still felt there was something wrong with me, I was challenged to a number of after school fist fights.
How amazing it is that young children can be so passionate and so bigoted at the same time.
My daughter went to schools mostly with other Scientologists until she was 8. I was petrified of what she too might experience when she went to another school. She came home one day and told me of a boy who ridiculed her at school in front of a number of other children for being a Scientologist. She said he was yelling that his parents had told him that Scientologists believe in aliens and that we are weird.
Her Jewish friend stood up and said, “well, Tabitha’s not weird,” to which Tabitha said yeah and I don’t believe in aliens either, but I do believe in helping people and it sounds to me like your parents need help.
The other children embraced my daughter. I cried at the idea that in a day and age when so much hatred has been expelled from our society so much still exists.
Half a dozen of Tabitha’s school mates, Christians, Jews and Hindus, have since taken courses at our Scientology church to help them through deaths, and to overcome study problems and communication difficulties.
My son is only 4 months old and I hope by the time he is in school there will be no more bigotry, but rather hope, help and humanity for all religions.
Being a Scientologist helped me to be brave, alert, competent, and aware and most of all it has made me want to help any and all who need help. I see this as well in my daughter who is now 12.
We are proud. We are Scientologists.
Karen