Cyril Ronald Vosper (7 June 1935 – 4 May 2004) was an
anti-cult leader, former
Scientologist
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The most recent published census data in ...
and later a
critic of Scientology,
deprogrammer, and spokesperson on
men's health
''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands.
Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. ...
. He wrote ''
The Mind Benders'', which was the first book on Scientology to be written by an ex-member, and the first critical book on Scientology to be published (narrowly beating ''
Inside Scientology'' by Robert Kaufman).
Biography
Vosper was born in 1935 in
Hounslow, Middlesex (now part of
Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness
Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...
) and lived his early life in Britain. He joined the
Hubbard Association of Scientologists International
The Hubbard Association of Scientologists (HAS) was the original corporation founded in 1952 by L. Ron Hubbard that managed all Scientology organizations. The HAS evolved from the Office of L. Ron Hubbard located in Phoenix, Arizona. It was re-inc ...
(the overseas arm of the
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious ...
) in 1954 at 19. He soon became a Scientology
auditor
An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and a ...
.
[Vosper, Cyril. ''The Mind Benders''. ]Neville Spearman
Neville Spearman Armstrong (20 October 1913 – September 2008) was a British soldier, literary agent, and publisher. In the 1940s and early 1950s he was in partnerships with others, then from 1955 he operated his own publishing company called Ne ...
, 1971 In 1956, he was personally cited by
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...
for his "test work and the wonderful results
e hasobtained on pcs
/nowiki>preclears.html" ;"title="preclear.html" ;"title="/nowiki>preclear">/nowiki>preclears">preclear.html" ;"title="/nowiki>preclear">/nowiki>preclearsprocessed under various directives." Vosper joined Hubbard's staff at Saint Hill Manor in the 1960s, working as the Dissemination Secretary, World Wide and Dissemination Secretary, Evening and Weekend Foundation. He was expelled in September 1968 for alleged disciplinary offences.copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...
and breach of confidence
The tort of breach of confidence is, in United States law, a common law tort that protects private information that is conveyed in confidence. A claim for breach of confidence typically requires the information to be of a confidential nature, wh ...
but its case was rejected by the courts. At one stage in the litigation, a High Court judge was reported as saying of applications by the Church that Vosper and a newspaper editor be committed to prison for contempt of court
Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
, that these actions were deliberately taken "to try to stifle any criticism or inquiry into their he Church of Scientology'saffairs". The Church was permitted to appeal the case but the Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...
rejected the Church's appeal, finding "fair dealing
Fair dealing is a limitation and exception to the exclusive rights granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. Fair dealing is found in many of the common law jurisdictions of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Fair dealing is an en ...
in ''The Mind Benders'' in criticising scientology and that it was in the public interest to investigate and disclose."
Following the outcome of the case, Vosper asserted that he had been subjected to "dirty tricks" carried out by the Church. According to him, a copy of his manuscript disappeared from his lodgings and, while on holiday in Spain, he was questioned by the police when they opened a parcel addressed to the place in which he was staying, containing obscene caricatures of the Spanish dictator General Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...
.
Vosper subsequently became a deprogrammer, working to extract individuals from groups he considered to be cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...
s. In November 1987, while a committee member of the British anti-cult group Family, Action, Information, Rescue (FAIR), he was convicted in Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
on charges of false imprisonment and causing bodily harm to German Scientologist Barbara Schwarz in the course of a deprogramming attempt. He received a five-month suspended sentence.[''The Guardian'' (London), December 30, 1987. Title: "UK News In Brief: Britons convicted of kidnapping." Full text: "Two Britons were yesterday convicted by a Munich court on charges of false imprisonment and causing bodily harm. Cyril Vosper, aged 52, and John Mathewson, aged 25, were stated to have held 32 year old Barbara Schwarz against her will for 12 hours in an attempt to persuade her to abandon her religion. Vosper received a five month suspended sentence and Mathewson a three month suspended sentence."]
References
Additional sources
*Cyril Vosper, ''The Mind-benders: Scientology'', Mayflower (April 19, 1973), trade paperback, 176 pages, ; hardcover, Neville Spearman Ltd (September 9, 1971), 190 pages,
Warrior Against Sect And Prostate Cancer
(obituary, ''The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'', 12 May 2004)
External links
Researching New Religious Movements: Responses and Redefinitions by Elisabeth Arweck, p. 114
(required Google login)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vosper, Cyril
1935 births
2004 deaths
British expatriates in Australia
British people convicted of kidnapping
British whistleblowers
Critics of Scientology
Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia)
Deprogrammers
Exit counselors
Former members of new religious movements
Former Scientologists