This article takes basic insights provided
by resource mobilization theory in order to discuss how Scientology
celebrities used their status to influence the international debate
over Scientology between the United States and Germany. Their
ability to have done so is another indicator of the access to
American political elites that Hollywood cultural elites have
gained in recent years, most especially during the administration
of President Bill Clinton (1992-2000). The shortcomings, however,
of some of the celebrities' efforts reveal the weaknesses that
are associated with cultural elites entering political debates.
As is common in other instances of celebrities' political involvement,
Scientology's celebrities have contributed to the trivialization
of serious issues that confront the international community.
[1] As international cultural
elites,[i]
Hollywood celebrities frequently are spokespeople for social and
political causes (see Keller 1983, 5-7; George 2000). In
addition to whatever genuine social concern they may feel, successful
celebrities have opportunities provided them by the nature and
rewards that are part and parcel of their occupations. Often,
for example, actors have periods of discretionary time between
work engagements (see McCarthy and Zald 1977, 1236). Moreover,
they have access to globalized media and often possess extraordinary
wealth - two charismatic qualities that elevate their own status
(see Mills 1956, 71-72) at the same time that they bestow a "charisma
through association" to persons (like politicians) with whom
they have personal or professional contact (see Glassman 1984,
219; Keller 1983, 3-4; Mills 1956, 74). Consequently, just as
celebrities sometimes need politicians in order to advance the
political stature of their causes, politicians need celebrities
to boost their campaign coffers and elevate their charismatic
appearance in the media (see Mills 1956, 75). With increasing
frequency, therefore, celebrities want access to the corridors
of power, and many politicians are more than willing to let them
in.
[2] Certainly since the period
of the Vietnam War (and some would argue, well before), celebrities
have attempted to transform their privileged social position into
institutionally based social power (Brownstein 1990; Meyer and
Gamson 1995, 184; see Sherman 1990). Celebrity public advocacy,
congressional testimonies, and successful bids for public office
by Hollywood personalities have become commonplace in American
public life.[ii]
These activities have occurred in the current context of America's
debate with European countries, especially Germany, over religious
human rights issues.
[3] In contrast to the expected
pattern, however, of celebrities avoiding marginal political issues
involving a "stigmatized constituency," especially regarding
international issues (Meyer and Gamson 1995, 189), Scientology
celebrities during the Clinton administration (1992-2000) took
their complaints of international religious persecution to politicians
and the media in America and Europe. American politicians, in
turn, paid tribute to these celebrities in levels that far exceeded
the stars' contributions to public life and political discourse
(see Keller 1986, 152). Of special note is that perhaps never
before the Clinton administration in post-war American politics
had celebrities been official, organizationally-sanctioned lobbyists
for the ÿreligious' ideologies to which they adhere.
[4] This article takes basic insights
provided by resource mobilization theory about the ability of
an elite group to act as "issue entrepreneurs" who define,
create, and manipulate grievances and discontent (McCarthy and
Zald 1977, 1215).[iii]
Making use of extensive media and Internet sources about Scientology
and the American government along with many of the organization's
own publications,[iv]
the article argues that Scientology's Hollywood celebrities were
sufficiently influential in their federal lobbying during the
Clinton administration that they influenced the American position
(although not always in the direction they desired) on the American-versus-German
debate over Scientology that took place between the two countries.
Their ability to do so is another indicator of the access to American
political elites that Hollywood cultural elites gained in recent
years, especially while Clinton was in office. The shortcomings,
however, of some of the celebrities' efforts reveal the weaknesses
that are associated with cultural elites entering political debates.
As is common in other instances of celebrities' political involvement
(see Keller 1986, 160, 162-163), Scientology's celebrities contributed
to the trivialization of serious human rights issues that confront
the international community.
Scientology and Celebrities
[5] Sociologically, a comprehensive
perspective on Scientology is that it is a multifaceted transnational
in which (arguably) religious aspects interweave and often compete
with material and activities related to business management, education,
mental health, physical health, drug rehabilitation, social reform,
entertainment, science fiction, and even intelligence-gathering
(see Kent 1999a; 1999b; 2001c, 3). As a resource mobilization
strategy, Scientology demands that most Western societies call
it a religion at the same time that it downplays the secular nature
of many of its activities (see Kent 1990, 397-403). Celebrities
play an important in this strategy.
[6] With considerable insight,
Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986) developed organizational
policies that attempted to recruit celebrities into his group
(see, for example, Hubbard 1971; Sappell and Welkos 1990), and
currently a number of high-profile stars follow Scientology's
teachings (Hausherr 2002). Geographically, Scientology's Los Angeles
headquarters is only minutes from Hollywood itself, and the organization
runs an exclusive facility (the Celebrity Center) that caters
to members and friends primarily in the entertainment industry.
Realizing the stars' potential public relations and political
value, Scientology leadership has developed specific assignments
through which these celebrities can further the goals of the organization.Ä
From the standpoint of the Scientology organization, a primary
responsibility for celebrities is for them to "use their
power to speed the forward drive of creating a new civilization"
(Lesevre 1988, 1) based upon Scientology principles, and their
lobbying efforts are attempts to eliminate barriers to the dissemination
of the group's ideology.
[7] In the language of resource
mobilization theory, these celebrities are elites because they
have access to sizable resource pools such as media and wealth
[see McCarthy and Zald 1977, 1221]). Moreover, celebrities have
high "status honor" because of the "style of life"
that many of them lead, the cultural impact that they have, and
the social "distance and exclusiveness" that they keep
(see Weber 1946, 186-187, 191). Frequently because of these attributes,
celebrities gain entry into political settings, as politicians
defer to their status, enhance their own images by associating
with cultural icons, and often benefit from their campaign-contribution
generosity. Consequently, as the American political antagonism
toward Scientology seemingly diminished during the Clinton years,
the organization was quick to place some of its celebrity members
on the political stage.
Scientology's Lobbying
and Public Relations Campaign in America
[8] Several activities that Scientology
undertook near the beginning of the 1990s had a significant impact
later on upon a few American foreign relations issues.Ä First,
it set out to improve its image with politicians and the population
at large by undertaking a major public relations effort in the
nation's capitol. As part of this public relations effort, a Scientology
affiliate in Los Angeles was paying "almost $725,000 to a
Washington-based firm [Federal Legislative Associates] to lobby
Congress in 1997 and 1996" (Dahl 1998a, 14A). These lobbying
efforts (many performed by the firm's managing partner, David
H. Miller) eventually bore fruit during the battle between Scientology
and Germany.
[9] Second, Scientology greatly
expanded its access to resources by entering into an agreement
(in October 1993) with the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS)
that granted the American organization and its affiliates tax
exemption. Receipt of the much-coveted exemption from tax on charitable
grounds gave Scientology a degree of legitimacy in the United
States that it had not had for decades, despite the fact that
the organization received this exemption under most unusual circumstances.[v]Ä
Regardless of the conditions under which Scientology and the IRS
reached their agreement, the charitable status was a greatly-prized
resource (see Kent 1990, 398) that opened up important possibilities
to gain even more resources and support. Most significantly, after
the IRS/Scientology agreement, the United States Department of
State now considered Scientology to be a tax-exempt religion,
so it began criticizing Germany's actions against the organization
and its members. Indeed, by the time that the IRS issued its agreement
in late 1993, the battle between Germany and Scientology was growing
in intensity.
The German Debate Over Scientology
[10] In a phrase, many Germans
(including regional and federal government officials) see Scientology
as a totalitarian, business-driven organization that is guilty
of significant human rights abuses (see Enquete Commission 1998,
189-192, 230). Prominent German officials such as Ursula Caberta
y Diaz of Hamburg's Scientology Task Force, Member of Parliament
Renate Rennebach [SPD], and Bavarian Interior Minister Dr. GØnter
Beckstein-examined a wide array of primary and secondary sources,
legal documents, and former member testimonies before concluding
that the organization was antithetical to a democratic state.
This conclusion is similar to the position reached by the German
Parliament's Enquete Commission that studied new religious and
psychological groups in the country. After scrutinizing numerous
groups and scrutinizing Scientology's doctrines and corporate
behavior, the Enquete Commission singled out Scientology as requiring
monitoring by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
(Equete Commission 1998, 170-173, 291).[vi]
The German government's position, however, that Scientology was
both non-religious (see Enquete Commission 1998, 268) and a potential
threat to democracy brought it into direct conflict with its American
counterpart.
[11] Although Scientology first
appeared in Germany during the early 1970s, the issues leading
to the contemporary human rights allegations of abuse trace back
to the late 1980s and early 1990s. Germans became alarmed when
it appeared that Scientologists were operating in the volatile
rental and condominium market, and politicians around the country
began receiving complaints about allegedly unscrupulous behaviour
by parties associated with the Scientology organization (Baker
1997, 116; MieterEcho 1997; Walsh 1997, A10; see Hausherr 1997,
#12). In addition to Scientologists' involvement in the building
trades, by late 1992 prominent German Scientology businesspeople
were under financial pressure to make profits in order to undertake
major investments on behalf of Scientology in the former Communist
country of Albania (American Family Foundation 1994; Haag 1992).[vii]
[12] Probably because so much
Scientology business activity took place in Hamburg around the
turn of the 1990s, the city established a working group "to
combat the Scientology movement" (Whitney 1994). The key
person in this group was Ursula Caberta, and certainly by 1995
(and probably well before) she and other Germans learned about
Scientology's forced labor and re-indoctrination programs in which
the organization places its upper level members whose job performance
declines or who show signs of ÿdeviance' toward it or its leaders.
Operating in several American locations,[viii]
these programs (called the Rehabilitation Project Force or simply,
the RPF) involve classic brainwashing techniques. These techniques
include (often forcible) confinement and physical coercion in
the context of an intensive re-education program involving social
and psychological degradations, forced confessions, and hard physical
labor (Kent 2000; 2001a; 2001b; R. Young 1995, 107).Ä Partly because
of Germany's experience with forced labor camps during the Second
World War, German officials were particularly concerned to learn
about Scientology's operation of its own version of such camps
in Europe and America. (Indeed, forced labor is specifically banned
in post-war Germany by Article 12 of its constitution.) Moreover,
parliamentary officials remained puzzled at the fact that American
government officials were completely unaware of them, especially
since the RPF has attracted so much American press (AFP 1998;
Behar 1986, 318; Koff 1989; Shelor 1984; Welkos and Sappell 1990).
[13] In 1997, a German state official
raised the issue of the RPF programs on American soil in response
to a harsh "open" letter to Chancellor Helmut Kohl that
equated the German government's handling of Scientology with Nazis'
persecution of Jews prior to World War II. Published as a full
page ad in the International Herald Tribune, thirty-four
Hollywood personalities signed it, including actors Dustin Hoffman,
Goldie Hawn, director Oliver Stone, writer Mario Puzo, and CNN
talk show host, Larry King (Boyes 1997). (Afterwards, the film
director Constantin Costa-Gavras expressed regret at having given
the letter his signature [Reuters 1997]). It turned out that many
of the signatories had close ties to prominent Scientology actors
Tom Cruise and John Travolta (Whittell 1997). The analogy between
the current plight of Scientology in Germany and the fate of Jews
during the early days of Hitler proved so offensive that the U.S.
State Department immediately denounced it, saying "This is
an outrageous charge against the German government by an American
group. It bears no resemblance to the facts of what is going on
[t]here" (quoted in Boyes 1997). Likewise, German-Jewish
leader, Ignatz Bubis, dismissed the accusations as "insulting
to the memory of the [holocaust] victims" (quoted in John
1997).
[14] As a resource mobilization
strategy, therefore, the celebrities' letter was a failure and
almost certainly hurt the Scientology cause. Their use of an early
Nazi image to convey their message fragmented rather than galvanized
both public and American governmental support for their criticisms
of the German government, and the incident reveals some of the
pitfalls involved with entertainment elites trying to gain entry
into an important public debate. They had enough money to purchase
exposure in the media, but they did not have sufficient grasp
of the issues nor the political wisdom to select appropriate symbols
that might have won them support. Indeed, the ill-chosen symbol
of Naziism angered German officials (including Kohl himself),
and it provided an opening for another German official to respond
with a press release that advised, "Instead of sending ÿopen
letters' to Germany, Hollywood VIPS should express their outrage
at Scientology's punitive camps." The Bavarian State Minister
of the Interior, Dr. GØnther Beckstein, went on to refer to the
RPF facilities as "penal colonies" that subjected their
inmates to "extreme processes of brainwashing and punishment."
Using information that came directly out of an American affidavit
by former Scientologist, Andre Tabayoyon, Beckstein mentioned
one of the harsh physical punishments that a female inmate supposedly
suffered, and described the security system around one California
facility that involved a "fence, barriers, floodlights, electronic
monitors, hidden microphones, ground sensors, and electronic eyes...."
He also mentioned information about "semi-automatic rifles
and unregistered weapons" in the Southern California RPF
facility. Mockingly, Beckstein mused, "Wouldn't it be great
if Mario Puzo wrote a script to a film directed by Oliver Stone,
in which Dustin Hoffman and Goldie Hawn starred as two inmates
in a Scientology penal colony attempting [t]o escape from their
heavily-armed keepers?" (Beckstein 1997; see Tabayoyon 1994).
Even though Beckstein gave explicit directions about the location
of an RPF facility only about 100 kilometers from Hollywood itself,
no indication exists that any American officials took his remarks
seriously. Nevertheless, the incident reveals the dangers of cultural
elites wading into complicated, international political battles.
[15] In summary, as American government
officials seemed to side with Scientology, German officials became
convinced that their counterparts in the United States simply
did not understand the nature of the organization that they were
supporting. Most German officials viewed the organization as a
either a psychological group or a business being run under a totalitarian
ideology whose alleged human rights violations were inimical to
the operations of German democracy (see Enquete Commission
1998, 347; St. Paul Pioneer Press 1995). Along these lines,
the Americans did not seem to appreciate the requirements placed
upon German politicians by their country's constitution and law,
which requires a "militant" protection of "the
ÿfree democratic basic order'" (Kommers 1997, 217, see 510;
also see Articles 18 and 20 of Germany's Basic Law). In essence,
as one government (the United States) was providing Scientology
with important opportunities to expand its resource base, another
one (Germany) was severely curtailing the organization's resource
acquisition abilities in ways that might have significant implications
for the organization's European activities. Germany's curtailment
of Scientology became the subject of hearings before the American
congressional committee, the Organization [formerly Conference]
on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, also called the Helsinki
Commission), and in these hearings Scientology celebrities played
prominent roles.
Scientologists Present
Before the Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)
[16] Probably through its lobbying
efforts, Scientology had three of its prominent celebrities-musician
Chick Corea, musician and actor, Isaac Hayes, and actor John Travota-appear
before the CSCE on September 18 1997.[ix]
Chairman of the CSCE, Senator Alfonse D'Amato (R.-N.Y.) who spent
much of the day "showing Travolta around the Senate,"
quipped, "ÿMy staff, for the first time, was in early this
morning.... They all had cameras. I never saw so many cameras.'"
The New York Post printed a picture of D'Amato and Travolta
facing each other with D'Amato's right hand clenching Travolta's
left bicep, and Travolta's left hand under D'Amato's right arm.
Travolta had a noble look on his face, and the photo caption read,
"Sen[ator] Al D'Amato yesterday embraces John Travolta, who
testified about persecution of Scientologists" (New York
Post 1997). Clearly Travolta's celebrity status carried weight,
and it served the intended point of getting Scientology's charges
against Germany into the American media. That status suggests
that even some politicians (not to mention their staff) feel the
effects of a "charisma through association." Likewise,
it demonstrates that political committees can attract media attention
to their work by bringing in celebrities into their public hearings.
[17] Taken together, the statements
that Travolta, Hayes, and Corea offered to the Helsinki Commission
provide a comprehensive summary of Scientology's objections to
the treatment of its organization and members in Germany (see
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe 1997). Never
did they question Scientology's status as a religion (as did German
officials), but instead they presented a list of religiously based,
alleged human rights complaints. As Travolta summarized in his
written statement, "federal and state government officials
have urged the public to blacklist and boycott Scientologists
from every aspect of German life" (Written Statement of John
Travolta in Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe 1997).
[18] Travolta, Hayes, and Corea
provided additional complaints to the CSCE about (what they considered
to be) discrimination in business affairs. These complaints were
against the requirement that individuals and companies sign documents
(called ÿsect filters') stating that none of the parties involved
followed Scientology practices. Additional complaints were against
government-sanctioned "Scientology" labels placed on
businesses owned or operated by Scientologists; loss of employment
and employment opportunities; denial of business licences to Scientologists;
prohibitions against Scientologists obtaining bank loans; cancellation
of Scientology-related bank accounts; movie boycotts (specifically
against Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible and Travolta's
Phenomenon); and boycotts against patronizing businesses
that employÄScientologists. Indeed, the celebrities even asserted
that sometimes these boycotts took place against wrongly identified
people.
[19] In the area of education,
the testifying celebrities highlighted discrimination claims that
included the charge that biased information against Scientology
created an oppressive climate in schools for Scientology children
in a manner that violated their educational rights as well as
the rights of parents to provide the religious training of their
choice to their kids. In schools and in German society at large,
the three witnesses claimed, Scientologists were harassed, threatened,
and even assaulted. Scientology children, they asserted, were
expelled from clubs and even schools. Ordinary citizens viewed
their good-will projects (like drug rehabilitation) as recruitment
schemes, and even a foreign soccer team had to pay a fine for
displaying a Scientology ad in view of the playing field (Testimonies
and Written Statements by John Travolta, Isaac Hayes, and Chick
Corea in Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe 1997).
[20] Contrasting these extensive
allegations of human rights violations was the German Ambassador's
succinct letter to the CSCE, which outlined his government's position
toward Scientology and its members and helped to explain Germany's
reaction to it:
After having conducted thorough studies on
the Scientology organization, the Federal Government has come
to the conclusion that the organization's pseudo-scientific
courses can seriously jeopardize individuals' mental and physical
health and that it exploits its members. Expert testimony and
credible reports have confirmed that membership can lead to
psychological and physical dependency, to financial ruin, and
even to suicide.
In addition, there are indications that Scientology poses a
threat to Germany's basic political principles.
Later he added, "[u]p until
now, no court has found that the basic and human rights of Scientology
members have been violated."Ä As was usually the case, the
German Ambassador continued by citing two court cases from the
United States that reinforced his concerns, along with legal decisions
from Lyon, France, Italy, Greece, and Germany (German Ambassador
JØrgen Chrobog, in Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
1997; see Enquete Commission 1998, 227-232). American congressional
leaders had not mentioned any of the court cases during the hearing,
so one is left wondering whether they even knew about them.
[21] Neither Travolta, nor Corea,
nor Hayes mentioned (probably because they did not yet know) that
earlier (on February 28, 1997) a German Scientologist had "been
granted asylum in the United States after telling a judge she
would be subjected to religious persecution if she went back home"
(The Washington Post 1997). Nearly three years later, however
(on June 14, 2000), another actress and Scientologist, Catherine
Bell, did bring up the asylum issue before the House Committee
on International Relations. Pointing out the former German resident
in the hearing room, Bell told that committee that she was "Ms.
Antje Victore, who in 1997 became the first German Scientologist
to be granted asylum by a U.S. immigration court on the grounds
that she faced ruinous persecution if she had to return to Germany"
(Bell. 2000, [3-4]). Bell could not have realized that the circumstances
under which Victore sought asylum were fraudulent, having been
contrived by the Scientology organization itself ostensibly to
embarrass the Germans. German media exposed the fraud just two
weeks after Bell's introduction of her to the American congressional
members (Kruttschnitt, Nuebel, and Schweitzer 2000; see Billerbeck
2000; Kent 2001c, 3).
John Travolta and President
Clinton
[22] Evidence of Scientology's
high level State Department contacts came to light in a widely-discussed
article about Travolta in George magazine. Travolta attended an
April 1997 summit on volunteerism in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
in order "to present educational materials created by Scientology
founder L. Ron Hubbard." The next day, Travolta met President
Clinton who told him, "Your program sounds great.... More
than that..., I'd really love to help you with your issue over
in Germany with Scientology" (Travolta quoting Clinton in
J. Young 1998, 106).Ä Clinton informed Travolta that "he
had a roommate years ago who was a Scientologist and had really
liked him, and respected his views on it. He said he felt we were
given an unfair hand in [Germany] and that he wanted to fix it"
(Ressner 1997).Ä Clinton followed up on this conversation by going
"to the extraordinary length of assigning his national security
advisor, Sandy Berger, to be the administration's Scientology
point person" (J. Young 1998, 138). In September 1997, when
Travolta and Chick Corea were in Washington (presumably for their
testimony before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in
Europe), Clinton "had White House political affairs director,
Craig Smith, arrange a meeting between Berger, Travolta, and jazzman
Chick Corea, also an avid Scientologist. According to a senior
administration official, the straight-shooting Berger briefed
Travolta on the administration's efforts in the same manner he
would a senior senator. ÿSandy was just great to us,' Travolta
notes" (J. Young 1998, 138).
[23] The State Department received
some criticism for this high-level meeting, in no small part because
people wondered whether Clinton was doing a favour for Travolta
in return for the actor providing a favorable interpretation of
the presidential character (based upon Clinton) in his current
movie, Primary Colors. Senator Lauch Faircloth (R.-N.C.),
for example, wanted "ÿto haul John Travolta before Congress'
to find out whether the actor toned down his portrayal of a philandering,
Clintonlike presidential candidate . . .Ä in exchange for Mr.
Clinton's promise to help the Church of Scientology fight with
the German government" (Pierce [comp.] 1998).Ä Apparently
this effort went nowhere, but the possibility that Clinton was
adjusting foreign policy for his movie image came up in both The
White House Press Briefing on February 12, 1998, and on the NBC
news interview program, Meet The Press, on which Berger
was the guest. The White House Press Secretary, Mike McCurry,
tried to minimize the discussion that Clinton and Travolta had
in Philadelphia, and suggested that Berger only explained to Travolta
(and presumably, Corea) "what we had been doing to raise
our concerns pursuant to work that we had already done diplomatically"
(The White House 1998, 6).Ä When an interviewer on Meet The
Press asked Berger whether he or the President were trying
to influence Travolta's portrayal in Primary Colors, he
replied that the only ulterior motive he had for the meeting was
"to get an autograph" for one of his kids (excerpt from
Meet The Press in O'Connor 1998; The Washington Post
1998).
[24] An op-ed piece in The
New York Times, written by Frank Rich, reproduced Berger's
claim that his reason for holding the briefing was to get an autograph.
As an explanation, however, for "why he had wasted his time
and taxpayers' money to brief a movie star's delegation,"
columnist Rich judged it to be "as revealing as it is pitiful"
(Rich 1998). Europeans, however, likely saw the Clinton-arranged
meeting in the context of other actions the American president
had taken on behalf of Scientology. For example, the section of
the State Department's 1996 human rights report that was harshly
critical of Germany's actions towards Scientology "was written
by the White House...." Its condemnation was so strong that
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright apologized to the German
government because of it (American Spectator 1997). French
and German authorities also were aware that the December 1996
issue of Scientology's French language publication, éthique
& Libertê, published what it called an "Interview
exclusive" against drug-use, written by Clinton himself
(Clinton 1996). They also took note when Clinton sent Scientology
congratulatory greetings on its 50th anniversary (on
December 28, 1999), in which he "thanked the church for its
work to promote religious tolerance and to ÿbuild just communities'"
(Gerstein 2000). In short, it appears to the Europeans that Clinton
was working actively on behalf of the Scientology organization,
and that his assistance to the Hollywood Scientology lobbyists
was indicative of his general support for the group.
Lobbying in the House of
Representatives for a Bill Condemning Germany
[25] While in Washington meeting
with Berger and presenting before the CSCE, Travolta also spent
time lobbying on behalf of a House of Representatives motion that
(had it passed) would have put on record its "concern that
performers, entertainers, and other artists from the United States
who are members of minority religious groups such as Scientology
continue to experience discrimination by the German Government"
(House of Representatives 1997). Almost certainly introduced after
lobbying efforts by Scientology's paid lobbyist, David H. Miller,
the resolution gained "support from leaders of House caucuses
who advocate on behalf of arts, Hispanics[,] and African Americans"
(Dahl 1998a, 14A). Although the resolution cleared the House International
Relations Committee, it failed to pass the full House when it
went to vote in November. One Representative (Doug Bereuter, R-Neb.)
complained, "ÿI think it is important we not have Tom Cruise
or John Travolta setting foreign policy in this country and [I]
think that is a driving factor behind this legislation" (Dahl
1998a, 14A). The bill suffered defeat at 101 in favor and 318
against (Anonymous 1997), with Amo Houghtin (R-N.Y.) apparently
expressing the majority's opinion by concluding, "the issue
was ÿwhether we do not look just a bit pompous sitting back here
with all our many moral problems in this country, to pass judgment
on a nation, our friend, which is wrestling with something which
we ourselves and other nations are wrestling with'" (quoted
in The Virginian-Pilot 1997).
[26] Travolta and lobbyist Miller
saw "a victory in the defeat.Ä Miller claimed, ÿThe important
thing was to make a point here'" (quoted in Dahl 1998a, 14A),
while Travolta proclaimed, "ÿthere were at least 300 people
in the House and the Senate who agreed with our plight and, at
minimum, 100 who went 100 percent to bat for it.'" He added,
"ÿI think a lot of it had to do with Clinton backing it up
because it was for all minority religions, not just ours, which
I liked'" (quoted in J. Young 1998, 138). Moreover, Miller
saw the failed resolution as only a first attempt. He revealed
that he was "in regular contact with the National Security
Council and the State Department and is counting heads on Capitol
Hill to see if his group could persuade the Scientology-sponsored
resolution. ÿWe're going to come back at it again.Ä Let me tell
you, it's well in the works, he said'" (quoted in Dahl 1998a,
14A).
[27] As promised, Representative
Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), whose Mormon faith a Scientology publication
thought was significant (Church of Scientology International 1998,
24), introduced another resolution that called on the President
"ÿto assert the concern' of the United States about religious
discrimination in Germany" (quoted in Dahl 1998b). In late
June 1998, Travolta was back on Capitol Hill, lobbying for Salmon's
bill. Again he attracted a flurry of attention, but not just from
the media. The Washington Post carried a small article
with a picture of Travolta, stating:
In case you needed reminding that congressmen
are shameless groupies, consider the small mob of House members
that formed around John Travolta yesterday in the Rayburn Room
of the Capitol, just off the House floor.Ä There was jostling,
There was staring. There was lining up for photos with the movie
star who was on the Hill to meet with lawmakers, including House
Speaker Newt Gingrich, on behalf of the Church of Scientology,
of which he is a member (Gerhart and Groer 1998, B3).
Perhaps the blurring boundary in
Washington between politics and entertainment helps to explain
why Gingrich, who at the time was the most powerful figure in
Congress, met with him (see Marshall,997, 204-205; Seib 1999).
The bill apparently died in committee.
[28] The following year, 1999,
Scientology continued its lobbying efforts. When Salmon, along
with Representatives Benjamin A. Gilman (R-NY), Mark Foley (R-FL),
and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), (and others) introduced House and
Senate bills calling for the German government "to enter
into constructive dialogue with minority groups subject to government
discrimination based upon religion or belief," Scientologist
Anne Archer was at the press conference (News From the House International
Relations Committee 1999, 2).Ä In 2000, Salmon, Gilman, and Donald
Payne (D.-N.J.) Introduced another bill that identified Austria,
Belgium, France, and Germany as countries where religious intolerance
persists (House of Representatives 2000).Ä Although none of these
bills haveÄ passed, they revealed differences in understanding
that persisted between members of the American and German governments
on the sensitive issues of religious freedom, transnational conglomerates,
and the protection of democracy within autonomous states (see
Kent 2001c).
Conclusion
[29] While reflecting on the relationship
between celebrities and politics,Äsociologists David S. Meyer
and Joshua Gamson concluded, "[t]he resources that celebrities
bring to bear in social movement struggles do not generally include
citizen education or detailed political analysis" (Meyer
and Gamson 1995, 202). In essence, few celebrities have the educational
and political skills that would allow them to do sustained, in-depth
and nuanced presentations. Certainly this conclusion gains support
from reading a CSCE transcript in which the Scientology celebrities
floundered for answers to members of Congress about why Germany
appeared to be so hostile to that particular group (Commission
on Security and Cooperation in Europe 1997, 16-17).[x]
[30] If we can overlook these
floundering responses, and if we put aside the unsuccessful campaign
that attempted to link the condition of contemporary German Scientologists
with pre-war German Jews, then observers of Washington politics
must give credit to the partial effectiveness of Scientology's
negotiation and celebrity lobbying efforts. Its negotiation of
an IRS settlement has proven enormously valuable to the organization's
image, and it is doubtful that Scientology's stars would have
gained access to governmental elites without it. With that charitable
status in place, Scientology and its celebrities apparently applied
pressure on the Department of State, gained access to key State
Department officials, motivated the U.S. Trade Representative
(with Sonny Bono's assistance) to undertake a key copyright issue
with Sweden (Bardach 1999, 91; Heintz 1997), won key congressional
members to its causes, and even gained entry into the Clinton
White House. Taken together, these achievements bespeak an organization
that had learned how to make Washington listen.
[31] While some Hollywood celebrities
gain political access through their financial contributions, only
a few prominent Scientologists show up on politicians' lists as
major contributors. For example, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman-perhaps
Hollywood's highest-profile Scientology couple until their recent
divorce proceedings cast her commitment in doubt-contributed $58,000
to various Democratic causes, including $14,000 to Hilary Clinton's
successful Senatorial campaign (von Rimscha 2000). Scientologist
Mimi Rogers attended a $5,000-a-person dinner/fund-raiser for
Clinton in September 1998 (Weinraub 1998), and Travolta introduced
President Clinton at a $25,000-a-plate fundraiser in August 2000
(Kennedy 2000:2). An inside-the-beltway Washington lawyer and
Scientologist, John Coale, donated at least $30,000 to various
Democratic causes, "including the Democratic National Committee
and Vice President Al Gore's political action committee"
(Jacoby 1998:5; Hess 1999, 74). He and his wife (CNN legal commentator,
lawyer, and Scientologist Greta Van Susteren) attended a state
dinner for the Italian Prime Minister, and Van Susteren sat next
to First Lady Hilary Clinton (Jacoby 1998, 5). No evidence, exists,
however, that Cruise, Rogers, Coale, or Van Susteren have tried
to transform their financial clout and contacts into Scientology
lobbying opportunities. More interesting is that fact that, all
on the same day (July 2, 1998), ten prominent Scientologists donated
a total of $7,400 to Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman's coffer-three
months before he signed on as a co-sponsor to Matt Salmon's House
of Representatives bill that was critical of Germany's protection
of religious freedom (see The Center for Responsive Politics 1999).
Financial interests, however, may be a factor that helps to explain
the Scientology celebrities' access.
[32] Not only does the Department
of State have a mandate to monitor human rights (including religious
human rights) issues in countries around the world, it also seeks
to protect American financial interests abroad. Seen in this context,
Germany's firm stand against Scientology combined religious human
rights concerns with financial protection of America's major export-entertainment.
Corea caught the ear of politicians and State Department officials
with his claims of financial loss due to the cancellation of German
shows, and Travolta (along with fellow Scientologist Cruise) had
been the subject of a movie boycott. Hayes had not ÿsuffered'
at the hands of German officials, but perhaps Scientology officials
thought that his status as a visible minority (an African-American)
gave him a platform to discuss alleged discrimination. In any
case, the withdrawal of state funding for Corea and the (albeit
failed) boycott of a Travolta movie gave the stars issues in which
they could "legitimately claim standing or stake" (Meyer
and Gamson 1995, 201).
[33] Finally, worth remembering
is that members of Congress and the State Department grew up with
these Hollywood personalities. Travolta has been a presence in
the American pop culture scene since the 1970s, starring in numerous
television and movie roles with a rejuvenated career in the 1990s.
Hayes's major musical hit, "Shaft," is instantly recognizable
and still receives occasional radio airtime, and Corea has been
making music for decades. For a generation of Americans who have
grown up with television and radio, these three celebrities are
familiar figures who, in various ways, have been in people's lives
for a long time. Indeed, some baby-boomers associate them with
crucial moments in their own young adult lives. Because of this
pop-culture, media-generated notoriety, it is not surprising that
Americans-specifically American politicians and government officials-would
give them special access. Indeed, Scientology officials count
on them doing so, and thus far the actions of D.C. decision-makers
have proven them right.
[34] On a practical level, perhaps
the most significant question that thisÄ article generates is
whether the influence of Scientology's celebrities was indeed
part of a larger pattern of accessibility that Hollywood experienced
because of systemic predilections involving media, money, and
political power in the American political system, or instead was
a temporary window of opportunity fostered by the social climate
of the Clinton administration. Cultural studies theorists who
view celebrities and politicians as constructingÄ "public
subjectivities to house the popular will" (Marshall 1997,
204) undoubtedly see the infusion of celebrities into politics
as a reality of post-modern life. In, however, the post-9/11 realities
of a nervous America led by George W. Bush, one cultural commentator
reflects, "[t]he whole fusion thing [between Hollywood and
Washington] seems dated suddenly.... [W]hat the public wants now
are supercompetent technocrats with no discernible private lives
who sublimate their libidos by plotting strategy instead of parading
them on cable [television]" [Kirn 2002, 12]). For many people,
world events may have become more gripping than entertainment,
so celebrities may find fewer politicians and smaller audiences
for their opinions on pressing issues of the day.
Notes
[i]
By "cultural elites" I mean people whose relationships
to various media give them significant impact upon societies and/or
cultures, especially in areas involving styles, tastes, and entertainment.
[ii]
The best known celebrity among American federal politicians was
Ronald Reagan, and a celebrity-turned-politician who had taken
Scientology courses and remained a supporter of some of its causes
was the late Congressman Sonny Bono [Bardach 1999, 90-92])
[iii]
Resource mobilization theory identifies the ways in which organizations
acquire and utilize a wide variety of assets (such as time, wealth,
talent, labour etc.) in efforts to reach their goals while depriving
their opponents of them. By the late 1970s it has usurped relative
deprivation as the dominant paradigm for interpreting social movements.Ä
In recent years, new social movement theory has been among its
most vocal challengers, yet some researchers have moved resource
mobilization theory into areas such as Internet battles (Peckham
1998)and globalization (Kent 1999a; 2001c).
[iv]
Most of this material is housed in a research collection that
I oversee, although a great deal of it is available on the Internet.
[v]
In secret committee negotiations that transpired over two years
and that operated "outside of normal agency procedures,"
Scientologists and IRS officials reached an agreement that granted
the organization tax-exempt status after the organization agreed
to pay $12.5 million for unspecified reasons to the federal government,
and Scientology agreed to drop 2300 lawsuits that its members
had launched against the revenue department (International Association
of Scientologists, [1994?]). These and other aspects of the agreement,
which undermined a string of court decisions against Scientology's
tax exemption efforts, remained confidential until The Wall
Street Journal posted a leaked version of the document on
the Internet (Franz 1997; MacDonald 1997).
[vi]
Some North American scholars see Germany's position differently.
Two Canadian authors explain German hostility toward Scientology
as the result of a "lack of empirical research coupled with
hasty theological judgements based on limited texts" interpreted
by church-affiliated anti-cultists who often enjoy special relationships
with the state (Hexham and Poewe,1999, 210, 222). Taking a different
approach, an American law student argued, "the majority of
Germans perceive Scientology as not fitting traditional religious
norms and as perhaps unworthy of protection" (Moseley 1997,
1169).
[vii]
It is difficult to obtain information about the results of Scientology's
Albanian efforts, although one source indicates that Albania banned
Scientology "in the wake of a corruption scandal" (Morvant
1996).
[viii]
RPFs operate in and on Scientology property in at least three
California locations, plus at locations in Clearwater (Florida),
Copenhagen, East Grinstead (West Sussex, England), and Australia.
[ix]
Important to note is that, within Scientology, all three entertainers
are "Honorary LRH [L. Ron Hubbard] Public Relations Officers"
whose goals involve the propagation of Scientology information
and image. (See the list attached to Anderson 1980, 1, 3; Church
of Scientology International 1994).Ä
[x]
When, for example, Corea responded to a question about apparent
German hostility to Scientology, his interpretation of its cause
was, "We're dealing with incredible, weird, wild emotions"
(Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe 1997, 17).
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