I love reading about cults, and I’ve never read anything by Lawrence Wright that I didn’t like, so I was all-in from the very beginning on Going Clear. Much of what is in the book has been cited in various articles, documentaries, and published personal accounts from defectors. Still, Wright does a fantastic job of bringing it all together and synthesizing it into a coherent narrative, adding details that make this a compelling (if not sometimes infuriating) read even for those familiar with Scientology.
The book begins at the beginning, with an in-depth look at Scientology’s founder, the charismatic and prolific L. Ron Hubbard, a man who still holds the world record for the number of books written during his lifetime. We learn how Hubbard made the battle against psychiatry a lifelong mission, and how he evolved from being a dreamy sci-fi writer who cynically founded a religion-as-business to a deluded church leader, high on his own supply, convinced of his own divinity. We meet the women in Hubbard’s life, his children, and some of his most ardent supporters, some of whom do not survive their association with the church.
After Hubbard’s death, the narrative shifts to examining the current leader of the organization, a man with striking similarities—and differences—from Hubbard. We learn about how members of the Hollywood elite are drawn into Scientology, and how the organization maintains those relationships through its celebrity center in Los Angeles.
The most interesting part about the book (and possibly the most interesting thing about cults in general) is a consideration of what makes one group’s set of beliefs an ‘absurd cult’ and what makes another group’s beliefs an ‘official religion’. Wright doesn’t rush us to easy answers, and I appreciate it. He asks us to consider our own biases about how we define religion, and asks us to reflect on why many people want (and need) to believe things that are not true to be the best version of themselves.
This is a pretty long book, but I blazed through it quickly (even with all the legal disclaimers). There’s a lot to consider here for anyone who has looked at religious people and wondered how intelligent people allow denial and existential fear to inspire beliefs that have no basis in reality.