Jon Atack

Infobox Person
name = Jonathan Caven-Atack


image_size =
caption =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1955|6|5|mf=y
birth_place = United Kingdom
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Artist,
Author, A Piece of Blue Sky
spouse =

Jonathan Caven-Atack (born 5 June, 1955) known as Jon Atack, is a British artist, published author and widely recognized as one of the most outspoken critics of the Church of Scientology.

cientology

Background

Atack was a member of the Church of Scientology from December 1974 through to October 1983 and completed 24 of the 27 spiritual levels available, including the "secret upper levels" closely guarded by the church to this day.

Atack also completed a further eight auditing training courses, as well as courses in recruitment and administration, performed at Scientology Missions or Churches in Birmingham, Manchester and at the British headquarters at Saint Hill, near East Grinstead. He says that as a part of his "indoctrination" (the word used by Hubbard for training), he read more than 20 of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's textbooks and listened to about 150 taped Hubbard lectures.

In January 1983, the Church of Scientology published a list of 611 people who had been "declared a Suppressive Person", including one of his employees. A Suppressive person order requires "disconnection" - forbidding Scientologists any contact with any declared person. For six months, Atack wrote letters questioning the "Suppressive Person declare" to the Master at Arms, or Ethics Officer, at Saint Hill, of the Special Unit, of the International Justice Chief, of the Executive Director International and ultimately of L. Ron Hubbard. He received nothing but evasive responses.

Atack begins investigation

Finally in September 1983 Atack made a decision. He was unhappy with Scientology's new "tough" and "ruthless" management, the 15 fold increase in training fees, and that he was "unwilling to have [his] communication controlled and my freedom of association denied", and as such he personally began investigating the Church of Scientology.

Atack assembled a large collection of Scientology and Hubbard related materials, interviewed over a hundred former members, including a number of former Hubbard aides, and read thousands of pages of Scientology related court rulings, government enquiry reports, affidavits and sworn testimony. This research culminated in 1990, with the publication of his book "A Piece of Blue Sky", a history of Hubbard and his organizations.

A Piece of Blue Sky

"A Piece of Blue Sky" has been cited as a principal source of reference in academic papers by professor of sociology and history of religion Stephen Kent ("International Social Control by the Church of Scientology", presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, November 1991) and by professor of neuropsychiatry Louis Jolyon West ("Psychiatry and Scientology", presented as the "Distinguished Psychiatrist" lecture, American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting, Washington DC, 6 May 1992).

Atack is also the author of other works investigating the Church, such as "The Total Freedom Trap". [ [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Fishman/atack-freedom-trap.html The Total Freedom Tr
] , by Jon Atack]

References

ee also

*Scientology controversy
*Fair Game (Scientology)
*Paulette Cooper
*Cult Awareness Network

External links

* [http://www.jonatack.com/ www.jonatack.com] - Official website
* [http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/scngen.htm Scientology: by Jon Atack]
* [http://home.snafu.de/tilman/j/ Research by Jon Atack on Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard]
* [http://www.religio.de/atack/atack.html The Jon Atack Server]
* [http://www.religio.de/atack/ot3.html Atack on OT III]
* [http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,19869,00.html "Scientology Book an Open Issue"] , Polly Sprenger, Wired News, May 5, 1999.
* [http://www.xenutv.com/int/lateshow.htm "TV Scientology debate in which Jon Atack makes an appearance"] RTÉ Late Late Show, 1995