According to four former high ranking church members, their leader David Miscavige is a violent bully who randomly and viciously attacks members of his own organization. They claim that on dozens of occasions they witnessed him attacking someone for ‘violations’ ranging from looking at him funny, to not answering questions fast enough. Miscaviage’s huge legal team denies these allegations.

Personally, if this story is true I’m not entirely surprised. I’ve seen the tactics they employ to ‘free’ people of thetans. These often involve a great deal of shaming, screaming, and yelling (where you need to stay absolutely still and show no emotion in the face of such attacks). It’s a form of mental abuse, so news that the physical kind is also prevalent in this organization isn’t very shocking.

This isn’t the first time the church has been accused of abuse, and it certainly won’t be the last. When has an organized religion ever avoided a major scandal? It’s practically a requirement these days. If you aren’t physically abusing kids, advising husbands to beat their wives when they are disobedient, or slapping your staff around, what kind of religion are you?