You would think the Church of Scientology had a bulletproof reputation, considering how it railed against a relatively modest, family-friendly attraction. The Church flagrantly called out the Clearwater Marine Aquarium during its proposed expansion and move to downtown Clearwater, also Scientology’s spiritual world headquarters, earlier this year — a move that the public voted to support in a referendum and the city leaders unanimously advocated. Unfazed, the Church sought to harpoon the finny project with the same searing exactitude that a Bible Belt town would wield toward a whorehouse. It brought in an accountant, an economist and an investigative reporter to investigate the nonprofit aquarium’s financial projections and its animal-care history, according to the accounts of aquarium supporters provided to the Tampa Bay Times. Lobbying against bed-tax funding happened, too. The church’s side: They wanted to point out facts, problems that might arise from having the CMA downtown. Regardless of their intentions, the Church has once again reinforced its reputation as exclusionary bullies to be feared and mistrusted. Slow clap, Scientology.
This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2015.