There goes the neighborhood

Xenu Goes Uptown
Scientology makes a major move into Harlem. But why?

by Chloe Hilliard / Village Voice



Recently, the Church of Scientology announced that it was purchasing three buildings on East 125th Street for an estimated $10 million. Since 2003, the controversial religion had been running a mostly overlooked storefront on Third Avenue between 122nd and 123rd streets, but the new expansion marks a major move into Harlem. The buildings will be fully renovated and turned into not only a church, but a community center with the usual Scientology programs: job training, literacy and drug rehab. Media reports about the announcement, however, failed to ask a key question:

What's the mostly white Church of Scientology doing in a mostly black part of town?

Although gentrification is bringing increasing numbers of non-African-Americans to the uptown neighborhood, Harlem is still largely made up of black people who tend to have strong mainstream Protestant and Muslim identities. Other groups have targeted the area for recruitment—young Mormon missionaries can be seen walking up and down 125th Street, and Jehovah's Witnesses are a common sight in train stations.

Find out more about Scientology in Harlem (and in general) ...