Scientology and marriage

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Scientology and marriage, within the Church of Scientology, are discussed in the book The Background, Ministry, Ceremonies & Sermons of the Scientology Religion.

Scientology weddings do not require that both parties of the wedding be adherents of Scientology. Nor does the Church necessarily exclude material from weddings of other faiths in its own ceremonies. One source, J. Gordon Melton, has ascribed this to Scientology trying to mollify members of the wedding partners' families.[1]

## Wedding ceremony

[edit]

Scientology wedding ceremonies are similar to wedding ceremonies used by many religions. They typically include a bridal procession, best man, maid of honor, and the traditional seating of friends and family.[2] The ceremony may include wedding customs used by other faiths.[1] There are five versions of the ceremony: traditional, informal, single ring, double ring, and concise double ring.[3] The Traditional ceremony includes:

> Now, (groom's name), girls need clothes and food and tender happiness and frills, a pan, a comb, perhaps a cat. All caprice if you will, but still they need them. Hear well, sweet (bride's name), for promise binds. Young men are free and may forget. Remind him then that you may have necessities and follies, too.[1]

In the Double Ring ceremony, the ring symbolizes permanency and reaffirms the ARC principles within Scientology. ARC comprises three elements of Understanding: A is Affinity, R is Reality, and C is Communication.[4]

## Same-sex marriage

[edit]

Main article: Homosexuality and Scientology

The Church of Scientology has had a controversial history regarding LGBT issues and same-sex marriage. In recent years, the Church has publicly embraced the subject more so than in the past.[5] In 2005, a spokesperson for the Church told the New York Daily News that the Church had "not taken an official position on gay marriage, and that members prefer not to talk about it." In 2008 the Church supported Prop 8 in California which banned same-sex marriages, even in counties where they had been performed before. In 2009, award-winning writer Paul Haggis quit the church due to its apparent stance on homosexuality.[6]

## Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

[edit]

Probably the most famous Scientology wedding was the one between Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes on Saturday, November 18, 2006. Cruise and Holmes announced their engagement in June 2005. Scientologist spokesperson Karen Pouw stated that as part of their nuptial vows, "they won't go to sleep at night without having repaired any upset they may have had during the day,".[7]

## United Kingdom decision

[edit]

In 2008, Louisa Hodkin and then fiancé Alessandro Calcioli were denied the right to marry in a Church of Scientology chapel in London due to a 1970 High Court ruling that said that "Scientology services were not 'acts of worship.'" Hodkin initiated legal action, and after a five-year battle, in December 2013, five Supreme Court judges ruled that the church was "a place of meeting for religious worship." In early 2014, Hodkin and Calcioli wed in the Scientology chapel in Blackfriars, London, and Hodkin expressed pride in the victory, which she felt put an end to inequality for people of all faiths.[8][9][10]

## See also

[edit]

* Scientology's second-dynamic topics:
* Scientology and gender
* Scientology and sexual orientation
* Scientology and sex
* Scientology and abortion
* Silent birth

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Brozan, Nadine (November 12, 2006). "For Mrs. Cruise, Perhaps a Cat". New York Times. p. 9.
2. ^ "What is the Scientology wedding ceremony?". scientologynews.org. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
3. ^ Hubbard, L. Ron (1999). The Background, Ministry, Ceremonies & Sermons of the Scientology Religion. Bridge Publications. ISBN 1573181749.
4. ^ "What is a Scientology wedding?". TODAY.com. November 17, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
5. ^ "Church of Scientology wants Gays", Fab! magazine, February 14, 2003. [1]
6. ^ Brooks, Xan (October 26, 2009). "Film-maker Paul Haggis quits Scientology over gay rights stance". The Guardian.
7. ^ Washington Post, "Scientologist Cruise to pledge loyalty, maybe a Cat", by Jill Serjeant, Wednesday, November 15, 2006. [2][dead link]
8. ^ "Scientology Supreme Court case couple get married". BBC News. February 23, 2014.
9. ^ "Couple get married in Britain's first Scientology wedding". Independent.co.uk. February 23, 2014.
10. ^ "Judges stumped over couple's bid to marry in Church of Scientology". Independent.co.uk. July 19, 2013.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Hubbard, L. Ron (1981). The Second Dynamic. Heron Books. ISBN 0897390032. OL 3793635M.

## External links

[edit]

* Scientology Wedding Ceremonies
* ScientologyToday.org: Creating Greater Understanding

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Organizations
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Countries|

* Status by country
* Australia
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* Canada
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* France
* Germany
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
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* United Kingdom
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Officials|

* L. Ron Hubbard
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* Shelly Miscavige
* Bob Adams
* John Carmichael
* Tommy Davis
* Jessica Feshbach
* David Gaiman
* Leisa Goodman
* Heber Jentzsch
* Kendrick Moxon
* Karin Pouw
* Mark Rathbun
* Mike Rinder
* Michelle Stith
* Kurt Weiland

Affiliated
organizations
and recruitment|

* Association for Better Living and Education
* Applied Scholastics
* Celebrities
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* Criminon
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* KSCN-TV
* WFTT-TV
* Second Chance Program
* Trademarks
* Volunteer Ministers
* The Way to Happiness Foundation
* World Institute of Scientology Enterprises
* Youth for Human Rights International

Popular
culture|

* Ali's Smile: Naked Scientology
* Being Tom Cruise
* Bowfinger
* The Bridge
* Going Clear
* film
* Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath
* The Master
* My Scientology Movie
* The Profit
* South Park
* "A Token of My Extreme"
* A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant
* We Stand Tall

* Wikibooks
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Types of marriages

Legal scenarios|

* Civil
* Covenant
* Customary
* Nikah 'urfi
* Plaçage
* Fleet
* Monogamy
* Serial monogamy
* Marriage
* Remarriage
* Same-sex
* Temporary
* Hollywood
* Nikah mut'ah
* Wedlease
* Voidable
* Putative
* Void

Religious|

* Jewish
* Christian
* Catholic
* Josephite
* Eastern Orthodox
* Mormon
* Sealing
* Polygamy
* Mixed-orientation
* Quaker
* Clerical marriage
* Islamic
* Marriage in Islam
* Misyar
* Nikah mut'ah
* Nikah 'urfi
* Levirate
* Yibbum
* Natural
* Scientology
* Self-uniting
* Widow conservation
* Hindu
* Vivaaha
* Brahma
* Daiva
* Arsha
* Prajapatya
* Gandharva
* Asura
* Rakshasa
* Paishacha
* Ayyavazhi
* Vedic
* Yogic
* Manus

Age|

* Marriageable age
* Child
* Teen

Arranged|

* Sister exchange
* Flash
* Forced
* Abduction
* Raptio
* Heqin
* Miai
* Shotgun
* Tongyangxi

Ceremonial|

* Betrothal
* Handfasting
* Mystery of Crowning
* Wedding
* Las Vegas
* Proxy

Circumstantial
basis|

| Death|

* Posthumous
* France
* Germany
* Chinese ghost marriage
* Widow inheritance
* Ghost marriage in South Sudan
* Levirate
* Yibbum

|

Financial|

* Boston
* Flash
* Hypergamy
* Naked
* Peer
* Tongyangxi
* Trial

Convenience|

* Lavender
* Sham
* Green card
* Marriage allowance
* Predatory

Other|

* Exchange
* Watta satta
* Heqin
* Love
* Sologamy
* Mixed-orientation
* Sororate

De facto|

* Common-law
* Plaçage

Endogamy|

* Consanguine
* Avunculate
* Cousin
* Middle Eastern
* Same-surname
* Homogamy
* Royal intermarriage

Exogamy|

* Human–animal
* Hypergamy
* Inter-caste
* Interethnic
* International
* Interracial
* Interfaith
* Morganatic

Non-monogamous|

* Concubinage
* Group
* Open
* Plural
* Bigamy
* Polygamy
* Polyandry
* Polygyny

Sexless|

* Mariage blanc

Other|

* Dishu system
* Mail-order bride
* Marriage in pre-Islamic Arabia
* Walking

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