Jenna Miscavige, the niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige, says the childhood she spent toiling for the church makes sense, at least to adherents of the religion.
The former Scientologist described to “Banfield” how she was isolated at a boarding school from the age of 6 to 12 and worked for 30 hours a week doing hard labor that included digging trenches, hauling rocks and even making the church’s “E-meters.” The Church of Scientology sees people as immortal spiritual beings who transfer to another body when their present one dies, she said.
“So, really, a child is just a spirit in a small body. The concept of children isn’t really real,” she said. “They basically use this belief to justify all manner of ills in Scientology.”
Who is the niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige?
Jenna Miscavige is the daughter of David Miscavige‘s older brother, Ron, and was a third-generation Scientologist who grew up in the church’s Sea Organization, or Sea Org, a group of the most devout members.
In 2004, she met another Scientology member, Dallas Hill, on a church mission to Australia. The two were able to access the internet and found material, including the website Operation Clambake, that criticized the church. They got married and left the church when Hill was 22 years old.
The Church of Scientology declined an invitation from “Banfield” to rebut Jenna Miscavige’s claims on television, but in a statement, the organization said her stories are filled with contradictions. Representatives say Jenna Miscavige was expelled from the church and is trying to get back at the organization.
Miscavige, long an outspoken critic of Scientology, recently renewed her attacks on the church through a TikTok page that features tell-all videos. She previously authored a book “Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape.”
Jenna Miscavige says she was interrogated as a child
Jenna Miscavige says she considers her treatment as a child in the church to be abusive. She described interrogation-like interviews in which she would be asked questions of a sexual nature while connected to an E-meter, a sort of lie detector.
“I kissed a boy when I was 15 years old, and to them, that was unethical. And they’d say, ‘OK, what did you do?’ And they’d say, ‘What parts of him were touching you?’” she told “Banfield” on Thursday.
The church ignored allegations of misconduct against members and forbid another member from going to the authorities, she alleges.
“Otherwise, you will get expelled,” she explained. “Basically, you risk losing everyone you’ve ever known your whole life. You risk losing your job opportunities, especially if you grew up there with no standard education. So, getting expelled is a big deal.”
Scientology code of silence reflected in star’s rape trial: Ex-member
Jenna Miscavige says this code of silence was reflected in the sexual assault trial of “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson, a Scientologist charged with raping three women in the early 2000s. He was convicted in 2023 of sexually assaulting two victims and is serving a sentence of 30 years to life in a California state prison.
The women who accused Masterson of rape said they had been members of the Church of Scientology and claimed the organization tried to silence them; church representatives denied the allegations.
“They believe that this bad PR for Scientology basically stops them from being able to save mankind,” Miscavige said.
What is Scientology?
Scientology describes itself as a religion founded in the 1950s by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.
Hubbard based the religion on the theory that people could be held back by “engrams,” or past negative events, some from previous lives. He suggested the engrams could be overcome by an “auditing” process, in which trained Scientology members would use E-meters to measure reactions.
David Miscavige is called the “ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion” and also serves as chairman of the board of the Religious Technology Center, according to the church’s website.
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