MEDIA WATCH | MARSHALL COUNTY TRIBUNE

Don’t denigrate the faith of others.

You took at face value claims made by former sitcom actress turned obsessed anti-Scientologist who now gets paid to smear her former faith.

January 26, 2017

Marshall County Tribune

Lewisburg, TN 37091

Dear Editor,

As a Scientologist in Nashville, I found your column in the Marshall County Tribune on Scientology and global warming to be offensive.

It is obvious you have no direct knowledge of Scientology. Instead, you took at face value claims made by former sitcom actress turned obsessed anti-Scientologist who now gets paid to smear her former faith. You should have reached out for the other side of the story to hear the views and statements of real Scientologists.

You should know our Church is active in our interfaith community through the Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship. We conduct classroom seminars with our Truth About Drugs campaign, promote human rights based on the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and oversee numerous other faith-based initiatives aimed at helping others help themselves.

My point is that we all have a right to our own religious beliefs. Don’t denigrate the faith of others. In Scientology, we respect the beliefs of others and treasure the religious freedom all of us enjoy in America.

There is plenty of material in all religions for the ignorant to point to and scoff at. As I am sure you will agree, religion is a personal experience and the scriptures of all faiths can only be understood within the framework of the religion concerned. That is why civilized people really do respect the beliefs of others and don’t merely pay lip service to the concept as a preamble for more taunts.

May I suggest you look at a dozen or so of the hundreds of “Meet a Scientologist” videos on scientology.org to view for yourself the individuals you have so sweepingly characterized negatively. I believe you will find them intelligent, creative and engaged in life, contrary to the stereotype you portrayed in your article.

Sincerely,
Brian Fesler
Southeast Regional Director STAND
and Public Affairs Director, Church of Scientology & Celebrity Centre Nashville.