Tell me of this sounds familiar…

A man who practices a religion that isn’t open to the general public abuses women, and gets away with it, because the religion is set up for him to get away with it.

Of course, I am speaking about former That 70’s Show star, Danny Masterson and the two Scientologists he raped over 20 years ago. But to many viewers of the Blackballed and Get A Life podcasts, I could be talking abut countless people who grew up in the cult known as the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.

The parallels between the two religions are impossible to ignore. Where Scientology has auditing sessions, where church elders talk confidentially to troubled members about problems and secrets, the PBCC have priestly visits, where elders sit privately with members whose behaviour has gone against church doctrine and thus need to be advised on how to manage their lives better overall, usually meaning become even more obedient to PBCC teachings.

Where Scientology demands victims of assault by fellow members keep the accusations internal, as in the case with Masterson’s victims, the PBCC also values the church as above the law, where sexual assault accusations are kept from authorities as a way to protect not the victims, but the church and the perpetrator.

One of the most startling similarities between the two religions is how each of them will work to destroy a person who is forced out of the church, or chooses to leave. In both Scientology and the PBCC, such ex members are systematically vilified, harassed, and separated from their loved ones for the rest of their lives, unless those loved one end up leaving the religion themselves.

Once ex members are fully excised from both religions, they are followed, intimidated, and often threatened. Their lives are invaded, and the message being sent is clear – the church you are leaving is more powerful than you, and you will submit to its will.

Masterson’s rape case was a classic example of how institutions like Scientology or the PBCC is more concerned about bad publicity than victims of sexual abuse. The two institutions are completely desensitized to individual hardships. They don’t really care about members, they care about how they look. Most of all, they care about money.

While Scientology uses cash as a way to achieve a more puritanical lifeforce, using cash as a way to advance up the ranks inside the cult, the PBCC uses cash as a way to pay homage to the leader of the cult, Bruce Hales. The PBCC also has the added distinction of owning a collection of companies that help feeds its overall value, and the trough of the Hales family in Australia.

Masterson just received 30 years in prison, a rare example of the justice system penetrating the walls Scientology successfully. Victims of the PBCC, including ex members like Cheryl Hope of Maple Creek, are still waiting for the justice system to find the courage to fight for survivors of rape and abuse.

Perhaps Masterson’s conviction will one day be seen as a watershed moment not just for the cult he hailed from, but for all the cults that operate at the expense of its own members.