Church of Scientology

You can listen to my interview with Ms. Harney here.

Contact: Pat Harney

Book Recommendation: Dianetics: The Modern Science Of Mental Health (English)

Religion: Scientology

Web Page: http://www.scientology.org/

I always love it when someone tells me I can't do something. Because usually that means I'm about to prove someone wrong.

When I mentioned to people that I wanted to interview someone from the Church of Scientology, the most common response was "Yeah. Never going to happen. They're never going to let you interview them."

Turns out, the process was really pretty easy. Because I live in Tampa, their headquarters aren't too far from where I live (at least compared to, say, the Vatican). I called up a local Scientology branch, explained my project to them, and about a week later I was contacted by Ms. Harney, a spokesperson for the religion.

I did find one thing very interesting and unique about this interview compared to some of my others. I usually don't bring it up, but most interviews go about another hour *after* the interview process is over.

Usually when I'm interviewing a minister, first we have the interview, then usually the minister will want to ask about my project - why am I looking to interview 52 different religions, how did I start, so on and so forth.

Instead, Ms. Harney did the opposite. While I was setting up, she wanted to ask about my project and how it all started and such, so she could seek to understand why I was doing this whole project.

It turns out, from what I later learned, this was an important part of the religion of Scientology: seeking to understand before taking action.

Turns out, Ms. Harney was very candid and willing to explain her religions beliefs, which are set out in the audio portion of the interview. There wasn't a question I asked that she had a problem with answering.

So to all of the people who said I couldn't do it, I'm sticking my tongue out at you. And to Ms. Harney who volunteered her time to answer my questions, I'm very thankful for your time.