Scientology’s presence in Joburg is dubiously significant, what does this reveal about the city of gold?
Thank you for loving me when I still tasted of heartache and war.” - ‘Happily Ever After’ by Nakita Gill in, Fierce Fairytales, & Other Stories to Stir Your Soul
The heartache and war of apartheid South Africa ended in 1994, yet, in that time, scars forgot to form, and opened wounds were left bleeding.
Poverty, joblessness, homelessness, displacement, neglect, disparity – these are all part of the picture of Joburg City.
In a metropolis with over six-million people, living in Joburg can be lonely, whether it’s the high life in Sandton or down-and-out in Hillbrow, even the widest of smiles can mask the pain of lost hope. Of being incomplete. Making community ever more important.
There are those who share a way of thinking, others who believe in the same god, some who share stories through music and poetry, and many who hold politics as their armour. All uniting with a feeling of belonging.
But what happens in a city like Johannesburg? A city with the collective trauma left by apartheid, a city where people are gasping for air as the tide gets higher? What happens when the curious case of Scientology makes its way into the city.
Scientology: the religion Tom Cruise made famous…or infamous
In life, at one point or another, it is only natural to wonder what your purpose is, where you are going, and who you truly are. These are questions you may ask yourself, your parents, someone you trust. These are also the questions that Scientology claims to answer.
In his book, Scientology: A New Slant on Life, L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the movement, described the religion as “the science of knowing how to know answers,” explaining that, “a Scientologist is a specialist in spiritual and human affairs,” believing in the spirit’s connection to all things around it, including itself.
The religion takes its lead from established faiths that are practiced all around the world, these include Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, among others. Through these, it promises to guide practitioners toward attaining the goal of survival and immortality through repairing the negative parts of one’s life. In this effort, Scientologists practice a combination of mental and spiritual improvement counselling, including auditing and advanced training, which apply the principles and goals of the religion.
At the top of a hill in Kyalami, Johannesburg, rests the advanced training centre of Africa. Here, people from all over the world can do counselling and complete their training courses in the fortified castle.
Unbeknown to some, Scientology has come to gain a significant following in South Africa, with the Church of Scientology in Johannesburg being established in 1957, in Hillbrow, and later being moved to Kensington, which is where it can be found today.
Some may wonder why Scientology became so incredible, and notoriously, renowned. Is Tom Cruise’s celebrity to blame, did he promote the need for the religion, or is there truly merit in its practice?
Counselling your way to ‘you complete me’
Jade Lopes is a fourth-generation South African Scientologist and volunteers as a “Sea Org”. Sea Orgs work seven days a week, and are considered the most devoted Scientologists, dedicating their life to the religion by symbolically signing a billion-year contract.
“I think I did my first course when I was about five years old. I did a course called ‘Learning How to Learn’, and it was amazing because it gave me the ability to study from a young age. And then there was really a point in my life where I started receiving counselling, and this was probably at the age of 19 or 20,” muses Lopes.
“During the counselling, probably on session 20 or something like that, I realised that I felt happier, like, stably happy, you know? It wasn’t like I had my session and then two hours later I’m back to being sad again or whatever it was. When I realised that I was more in control of myself, that was when I was like, okay, Scientology is it for me,” she affirms.
This counselling ,which Jade expressed such appreciation for, is known as auditing, and uses the practice of ‘Dianetics’.
Defined by L. Ron Hubbard, dianetics is “what the soul is doing to the body,” believing that our minds hold images of past experiences of pain or distress, called engrams, which manifests negatively on a person’s physical and mental health. Dianetics works to “clear” the mind of these engrams through reliving the experience in auditing sessions and letting them go, all in an effort to get rid of the reactive mind – responsible for emotional reactions – and bring the logical mind forward.
“Honestly, Scientology saved me”, says Sandile Hlayisi, the chairperson for the “Volunteer Ministers in South Africa” programme.
“If I hadn’t found Scientology when I did, I’d either be a very miserable lawyer or I’d be dead in a ditch somewhere,” Hlayisi considers, explaining that growing up in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, he had a typical township childhood, which wasn’t easy, and that during his second year at UNISA, studying law, a friend of his called him.
Sandile describes the conversation as such;
“Remember all those questions you used to ask as a kid? On life, the meaning of life, the universe, all these questions you had in school?”, the friend inquired.
“Yeah,” Sandile agreed.
“I think I found a place that might be able to help you find the answers.”
With the promise of help, guidance, answers to live a better life, why wouldn’t you join Scientology?
Likewise, Kiran Dhiman, a Scientologist all the way from India, now living in Johannesburg, shared her story with Wits Vuvuzela. Dhiman said that she joined the religion because she was, “struggling in life,” explaining that it helped her to communicate with people and tackle her problems effectively.
The Scientology network, which holds a collection of media pertaining to Scientology, their teachings and practices, shares similar stories in their series titled, “Meet a Scientologist.”
Stories of people needing help and finding solace in the religion’s offering of counselling through auditing, and life skills through training courses. Hopeful stories, aspirational stories. In a city with a history of trauma still endured today, it offers a fertile ground to plant such seeds of hope.
You want the truth?
William Gumede, associate professor at Wits University, explained in an article written from a keynote he gave in 2022, that the challenge in rebuilding South Africa stems from the damage created in the wake of apartheid.
Gumede illustrates that development efforts such as building a democracy and growing entrepreneurship become stunted and replaced by broken communities, families, and an inability to engage thoughtfully in relationships, in the economy, in the workplace, and so on.
What the oppressors leave, Gumede explains, are human casualties who feel as if “the self has no foundation” any longer.
And here enters Scientology.
As I drive from Wits University down toward Kennsington, fear fills my stomach, and adrenaline reaches my heart. The religion is shrouded in controversy, “It’s a cult!” is the over-arching narrative. All I could think was, “I elected to spend the next four weeks inside a cult.” My sense of self-preservation must’ve escaped me when I wasn’t looking.
Upon entering the illustrious church of Scientology I was handed a questionnaire to fill out: name… age… what struck your interest in Scientology?
The question that stood out the most, however, asked what area in life I needed help with, giving options ranging from school or work to family or relationships. From there I learnt that the church offers courses, both free and paid, which promise to help you improve your life.
For Dhiman, Hlayisi, and Lopes this proved to be true. Encouraging all to not only engage in counselling and further training, but to join the religion as volunteers.
Through community work, human rights initiatives, and education programmes, Scientology in Johannesburg demonstrates its goal to “make the world a safe and peaceful place,” gushed Kiran.
One of these initiatives is known as the “Volunteer Minister” a free programme that comprises of online courses. According to the official Kyalami Castle Scientology website, “Volunteer Ministers are dedicated to assisting others not only in life saving situation, but also by helping individuals overcome difficulties in their daily lives.”
Dhiman further enthuses that South Africa has the highest number of trained volunteer ministers and leaders in the world, with 40 000 active workers.
In 2022, Scientology Volunteer Ministers were recognised for the humanitarian work they did during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the work the ministers were applauded for, the group’s initiative to sanitise over 70 000 buildings stood out, this was recognised by the city, and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department. The group was presented with an award made of a bronzed pair of JMPD standard issue boots, for their efforts.
Beyond this are initiatives including, “The truth about drugs” programme, which is an education-based programme, as described by both Sandile and Kiran, which seeks to teach people about drugs in hopes that they will make more informed decisions regarding their consumption or experimentation when confronted with narcotics. From mental health initiatives and human rights to education in life improvement and spiritual enlightenment, Scientology promotes itself. It is difficult though to ignore the controversy held over the religion, and subsequently makes one consider the implications of such work.
But can you handle the truth?
Controversies and allegations against Scientology have dominated the narrative around the religion, painting the group as a money-hungry, exploitative, cult. Reconciling the evident humanitarian image of the church with the darkness of its portrait is conflicting, but one that cannot be dismissed.
In 2014 the church was taken to the Johannesburg High Court by two of its former members, Ernest and Gaye Corbett. The Corbetts claimed that the church failed to repay at R5,8-million loan, and were demanding a full repayment with interest, amounting to R16-million. Allegations against the church included secretive internal financial dealings, separating families, and unfair policies within the religion.
Earlier this year, the church was put on blast again for unfair labour practices and exploitation of workers at its rehab facility in Rustenburg, Narconon Africa. The case is still being investigated.
One of the earliest grievances against the church, was its use of ‘Dianetics’ as counselling, with the American Psychological Association and the American Medical Association dismissing Hubbard’s work as pseudoscientific, soon after the release of his book, Dianetics: The Science of the Mind.
This fact prompts the question: with the impact apartheid South Africa left, does the perceived harm of Scientology’s presence in the city of gold indicate an exploitable vulnerability in Joburg?
One suspenseful morning, I took my third trip to the Johannesburg Church of Scientology. At 12:45pm sharp I participated in the church’s offering of one free dianetics session.
My auditor first briefly explained the process, asked if I was comfortable, and then asked me a series of questions including my parents’, grandparents’, aunts’, uncles’, brothers’, and sisters’, names, ages, and quality of relationship. Though I answered the latter, I declined giving any names. An effort in exercising caution.
The hour encompassed me closing my eyes and being told to find my earliest memory of pain. From there, I verbally relived the memory, working to recall as much detail as possible, and once I did, I was told to let it go.
Now, doubtful and curious about the practice of auditing, I spoke to counselling psychologist and psychotherapy researcher, Kerry Gordon, who explained, “what’s important in psychotherapy is that there has to be a relationship of trust built, and we really take it at the clients pace, guided by how quickly or slowly the client wants to go into the traumatic memory, which is often fragmented.”
Gordon noted that though there is a similarity between the practice of dianetics and psychology with regard to working through trauma, there are complexities when counselling people through it, explaining that there are dangers to applying one method to all clients.
“Not all traumas look the same, you can’t exactly apply the same methodology or pace to each person.”
Scientologists are known to not believe in the practice of psychology and psychiatry.
When speaking to Hlayisi, he said, “The only thing we don’t believe in is when something becomes harmful for people, that’s when we have a problem.”
Explaining that, “everything has a place in the world, the only thing we have a problem with is when an industry or sector abuses their power and ends up harming the individual.”
“Why are you as a psychologist or psychiatrist sexually abusing your clients?” he expressed further
In the same vein, Jade explained that part of the issue is unnecessary prescription of medication, saying that “a psychologist can refer you to a psychiatrist, who can prescribe medication,” further advocating for dianetics by highlighting her emotional stability following auditing sessions, positing, “After years of counselling, does that person feel stable and okay?”
To this, Gordon adds a significant fact, “[In any psychological practice] one person is intrinsically more vulnerable than the other, which is why that accountability is really important, there’s someone objective to report me to. The process is open. It all gets documented,” she continued.
Thus, signifying a key concern with Scientology, it is plagued with secrecy and confidentiality, there is something unknown behind the paywall.
Hlayisi explains that they are legally obligated to report harm or potential harm, but what protections to the receivers of auditing have?
Gordon emphasises that without an ethical code, “there’s real scope for abusive power there.”
Joburg: A world class African city?
One of the qualities of a world class city is the strength of its global presence. Scientology’s presence in Johannesburg, and significantly the centre housed at the Kyalami Castle, for Advanced Training in Africa, exemplifies a significant placement in the continent. Joburg: World Class African City … Joburg: Gateway to Africa.
These labels mask the reality of South Africa, the reality that Joburg is still bleeding, the reality that if untreated, the wound is susceptible to infection.
Characterising Scientology as completely good or completely bad is something that I cannot do in good faith. Though, can we really be a world class city if our citizens are left vulnerable to potential harm?
FEATURED IMAGE: Claiming a place in the cIty, calling those desperate and in need. Photo: Ekta Seebran
Related articles:
- Wits Vuvuzela, REVIEW: Apartheid explored ‘between the cracks’, May 2025.
- Wits Vuvuzela, EDITORIAL: An American pope has revealed the politics of faith, May 2025.
