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"The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power" is an article, written in 1991 by U.S. investigative journalist Richard Behar, which is highly critical of Scientology. It was first published by ''Time'' magazine on May 6, 1991, as an eight-page cover story,〔 and was later published in ''Reader's Digest'' in October 1991. Behar had previously published an article on Scientology in ''Forbes'' magazine. He stated that he was investigated by attorneys and private investigators affiliated with the Church of Scientology while researching the ''Time'' article, and that investigators contacted his friends and family as well. Behar's article covers topics including L. Ron Hubbard and the development of Scientology, its controversies over the years and history of litigation, conflict with psychiatry and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the suicide of Noah Lottick, its status as a religion, and its business dealings. After the article's publication, the Church of Scientology mounted a public relations campaign to address issues in the piece. It took out advertisements in ''USA Today'' for twelve weeks, and Church leader David Miscavige was interviewed by Ted Koppel on ''Nightline'' about what he considered to be an objective bias by the article's author. Miscavige alleged that the article was actually driven by the company Eli Lilly, because of Scientology's efforts against the drug Prozac. The Church of Scientology brought a libel suit against Time Warner and Behar, and sued ''Reader's Digest'' in multiple countries in Europe in an attempt to stop the article's publication there. The suit against Time Warner was dismissed in 1996, and the Church of Scientology's petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States was denied in 2001. Behar received awards in honor of his work on the article, including the Gerald Loeb Award, the Worth Bingham Prize, and the Conscience-in-Media Award. The article has had ramifications in the current treatment of Scientology in the media, with some publications theorizing that journalists are wary of the litigation that Time Warner went through. The article has been cited by Anderson Cooper on CNN, in a story on ''Panorama'' 2007 program "Scientology and Me" on the BBC, and has been used as a reference for background on the history of Scientology, in books from both the cult and new religious movement perspectives. == Research for the article == Before penning "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", Behar had written a 1986 article in ''Forbes'' magazine, "The Prophet and Profits of Scientology", which reported on the Church of Scientology's business dealings and L. Ron Hubbard's financial success. Behar wrote that during research for "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", he and a ''Time'' contributing editor were themselves investigated by ten attorneys and six private investigators affiliated with the Church of Scientology.〔〔〔 According to Behar, investigators contacted his friends and previous coworkers to ask them if he had a history of tax or drug problems, and obtained a copy of his personal credit report that had been obtained illegally from a national credit bureau.〔〔〔 Behar conducted 150 interviews in the course of his research for the article. Behar wrote that the motive of these operatives was to "threaten, harass and discredit him".〔〔 He later learned that the Church of Scientology had assigned its head private investigator to direct the Church's investigation into Behar.〔 ''Anderson Cooper 360°'' reported that Behar had been contacted by Church of Scientology attorneys numerous times while doing research on the article.〔 The parents of Noah Lottick, a Scientologist who had committed suicide, cooperated with ''Time'' and ''Reader's Digest''.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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