It is undeniable that a certain number of sects have particularly significant financial means.
Lafayette Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, had proclaimed besides, not without cynicism, in his speech at Newark: "If one wants to really become a millionaire, the best means consists in founding one's own religion."
This fact is obviously recognized by the majority of the leaders of the sects heard by the Commission, even if they were very evasive concerning the exact budgets of their associations. An appreciation of those thus remains largely the concern of those which are opposed to the sects, and thus incurs the risk of being considerably overestimated. That being, if the sect estimates that the information which circulates is not in conformity with reality, the burden of proof is on them to make a clearer presentation of their financial means, which is very far from being the case. They have little reason to complain - which they however do not fail to do - about the lack of objectivity in the judgements related to their financial base.
The collective work of the Roger Ikor Center "The Sects, State Emergency" comprises much information making it possible to become aware of the true financial empire of which certain associations consist.
The cases of the Moon sect or Scientology are too known to be pointed out here.
CCMM notes, concerning Transcendental Meditation, that the right to initiation is attached to the quarter of the monthly wages, that the price of a course of Sidhi amounts to 40,000 F [$6,564.00].
The same source advances, for the Ra‘lien Movement, a contribution of 3% of the annual net income for admission to the French movement, of 7% for adhesion with the international movement, and of 10% for membership to the world government [geniocrat?].
The financial power of Soka Gakka• results, according to the same source, from the recent real estate investments of the sect (domaine des Forges ˆ Trets, ch‰teau des Roches ˆ Bivres) [(field of the Forging Mills at Trets, castle of the Rocks with Beavers)].
The importance of the sums concerned explains the strategy of many associations, which choose to be established in countries equipped with a "tolerant" tax legislation: thus it goes from there to the United States (where the first amendment with the Constitution is interpreted in an extremely liberal direction), many States of South America or former communist European countries.
The leaders of the sects heard by the Commission in general did not deny this financial power, going so far as, not without humor or cynicism, to affirm that their associations do not represent religions preaching poverty as a virtue.
They in general put forward:
- that their resources come from voluntary contributions versed by the faithful ones to compensate for certain services (religious or not), from the sale of publications, and financial gifts emanating from private individuals;
- that their accounts are approved by certified public accountant firms whose reputation is solid;
- that they are in compliance with the tax authorities, having generally accepted the rectifications imposed by the administration.
Certain leaders even go so far as to recognize the particular links linking them with companies. In the written contribution deposited before the Commission by the Church of Scientology of Paris, one can thus read: "Moreover, like any citizen, certain scientologists work in the business world and for this reason direct private companies. It sometimes happens that they support the Church by financial gifts but this is not in any way an obligation. It is with the discretion of the person.
Lastly, there is a structure called WISE, the purpose of which is to gather companies having decided to employ the management technology of Mr. Hubbard and to create a business world where greater ethics reign."
As for the former followers, of which the Commission heard a certain number, it arises in their testimonies:
- that the amount of the contributions largely exceeds the rendered services... and the means of the followers, who are often brought to pour a great part of their incomes into the sects, to be even involved in debt in proportions that are difficult to imagine;
- that the voluntary character of these contributions can often be prone to guarantee, so great is the state of dependence of the givers with regard to the sect that it leads them to question themselves about the permanence of their free will;
- that the way of life of the leaders allows one to presume sometimes that the well understood interests of these seems to come before the officially declared religious goals of their association.
Such a situation does not leave by worrying: indeed, associations assign significant means to proselytism and in addition set up legal structures enabling them to increase the means of which they could profit.
Indeed, it was based upon a strict interpretation of the religious character of the associations which constitute the diverse religious movements and philosophies that the Council of State until now refused from some of them the benefit of the possibility of receiving gifts and legacy.
The decree Association Fraternity of the Servants of the New World (EC, 21/01/1983) thus confirms the legality of a decree of the Prime Minister, rejecting the administrative recourse of the association against a prefectoral decree which refused the authorization to accept a legacy because "to admit even that the association (...) has also as an aim the exercise of a worship, is to condone its creation of editions and its diffusion of doctrinal publications: since (...) it does not have such an object exclusively, that consequently it is unfounded to sustain that the attacked decree wrongly confirmed the prefectoral decision refusing the authorization to receive a legacy."
In a case of the same kind (Cultuelle [? worship in French = culte. My guess is that cultuelle means worshipful or religious. I will use this, but it is just a guess.] Association of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Paris, EC, 29/10/1990), the Council of State, without proposing the existence of a commercial activity as in the former case, confirms the rejection of the request of association: "Considering that under article 2 of its statutes... the purpose of the Religious Association of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Paris is in particular to "to promote the spiritual, educational, social, and cultural life of the Armenian community," that the applicant association cannot, consequently, be viewed as having for an exclusive goal the exercise of worship..."
It is for all of these reasons that a certain number of associations chose to distinguish several poles within their activities, while separating in particular from their exclusively religious activities, carried on within religious associations, their commercial activities (publishing, bookshop) carried out within limited liability companies.
Such a change, moreover perfectly legal, cannot however miss worrying, the majority of associations clearly displaying (and one cannot, from only a legal point of view, reproach their viewpoint) their will to assign to the expansion of their movement a big part of their financial means: all the leaders of the sects heard by the Commission affirmed the vocation of their association to develop and spread their beliefs by proselytism.
The importance from the means available to a certain number of sectarian associations, to which the documents given to the Members of the Commission testify in particular of the luxury of their activities, incontestably comes to reinforce the capacity of attraction of the sects and to augment the effectiveness of the recruitment techniques used.
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