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us 14
---
title: "Understanding Scientology — us-14"
source: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/wakefield/us-14.html
retrieved: 2026-06-28
---
Understanding Scientology, by Margery
Wakefield
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Chapter 14
## Brainwashing and Thought Control in Scientology -- The Road to
Rondroid
... (the techniques used in modern brainwashing) are not
like the medieval torture of the rack and the thumb-screw. They are
subtler, more prolonged, and intended to be more terrible in their
effect. They are calculated to disintegrate the mind of an intelligent
victim, to distort his sense of values, to a point where he will not
simply cry out "I did it!" but will become a seemingly willing
accomplice to the complete disintegration of his integrity and the
production of an elaborate fiction.
-- Dr. Charla W. Mayo, The Rape of the Mind
In part, the totalitarian state is sustained because
individuals terrorize themselves -- they become accomplices in their own
tyrranization, censoring what they say and even what they allow
themselves to think and feel.
-- Willa Appel, Cults in America
The effectiveness of a doctrine does not come from its
meaning but from its certitude.... Crude absurdities, trivial nonsense
and sublime truths are equally potent in readying people for
self-sacrifice if they are accepted as the sole, eternal truth.... It is
obvious, therefore, that in order to be effective, a doctrine must not
be understood, but has to be believed in.
-- Eric Hoffer, The True Believer
Most people think that brainwashing is something that only happens
in Communist countries like Russia or North Korea. There is some
validity to this belief, because brainwashing was developed in these
countries where it was used for psychopolitical purposes.
Brainwashing is defined as "the process of causing a person to
undergo a radical alteration of beliefs and attitudes.... The
brainwashed person is conditioned by punishment for undesirable beliefs
and rewarded for expressing desirable beliefs." (1)
Ex-cult members and their families are only too aware of the truth
-- that brainwashing does exist in America. "An uncomfortable reality
has at last come home to the American public: brainwashing, which once
seemed exclusively a Communist technique, is here in America, and used
by cults." (2)
Hundreds of former cult members testify this is so in court
proceedings, public information hearings concerning the cults, magazine
and newspaper interviews, and counseling sessions. Psychiatrists and
other professionals who counsel former cultists confirm this...
These techniques include constant repetition of doctrine,
application of intense peer pressure, manipulation of diet so that
critical faculties are adversely affected, deprivation of sleep,
lack of privacy and time for reflection, complete break with past life,
reduction of outside stimulation and influences, the skillful use of
ritual to heighten mystical experience, and the invention of new
vocabulary and the manipulation of language to narrow down the range of
experience and construct a new reality. (3)
Ronald Enroth describes what he calls the "seduction syndrome." Many
of those inducted into a cult like Scientology come in searching for
identity or for spiritual reality, and this is especially true of young
people.
Coming to grips with one's identity has always been a part of
adolescence in America, but today's youth face difficulties compounded
by the massive cultural and social upheavals that characterize the
contemporary world, especially during the last decade.... Despite the
boom in entertainment and the pervasive impact of the mass media, youth
often remain bored, unfulfilled and lonely.... The tendency to drift in
and out of job, college and sexual relationships; uncertainty and
anxiety regarding the future; discontent with economic and political
structures -- all contribute to isolation and loneliness. (4)
Most cult members had previous experience in a traditional church or
synagogue. However:
... cult seekers have found these conventional religious
institutions to be lacking in spiritual depth and meaning, incapable of
inspiring commitment and providing clear-cut answers, and often
hypocritical in everyday life. (5)
In contrast, the cults provide black-and-white answers to the
questions of life.
Cults not only provide firm answers to every question, but also make
promises that appeal to those needing reassurance, confidence and
affirmation. (6)
Many people come into a cult such as Scientology at a time in their
life when they are undergoing unusual stress or crisis. An example of
this is the first year college student, away from home for the first
time.
Other precipitating life experiences that increase vulnerability
include such things as a recent divorce of one's parents or similar
serious problem in the home; the extended, critical illness of a family
member; a breakup with a girlfriend or boyfriend; poor academic
performance or failure; or unpleasant experiences with drugs or sex.