CHILDREN as young as 13 are being recruited to work in a Scottish Scientology church – with reports suggesting one girl's role involved "giving massages".
An investigation by The Times alleges that a number of home-schooled children are being employed at the Scientology church on Edinburgh's South Bridge, known as the Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence (Hapi).
The paper claims that for the past two years, the church has been engaging children to work alongside adults in "administrative, training and recruitment roles".
The Times reports that a teenage girl has a role which involves "giving massages to adults, including male staff and members of the public".
She reportedly joined aged 14, and is now 15, and serves as a "medical liaison officer".
The massages are reportedly conducted in a locked room and unsupervised, and are part of a pseudo-medical practice known in Scientology as a "nerve assist".
Scientology has denied this.
The Times reports that Police Scotland received a report alleging forced labour of children and exploitation of minors through inappropriate physical contact with adults, but the case was allegedly closed due to a "lack of evidence".
The church has insisted the young children are volunteers, despite the fact they have signed "staff contracts" which require them to work full-time in exchange for inadequate pay.
Although they are referred to as staff, the church insists that this does not mean employment but the "staffing of training courses" completed by "volunteers".
Upon joining as "staff", the recruits are given the job title of "Hubbard Communication Officer Expeditor", which is essentially the equivalent of a human resources role.
They are tasked with clerical work, such as sending letters and shredding documents, and more practical work such as helping to run training sessions with members of the public.
They can then train for more specialised roles later.
There are around 25 "staff members" at the Edinburgh church, four of which are believed to be under the age of 16, while two other children are said to be attending the church on a daily basis but are not currently considered as staff.
The vast majority of children are registered as home-schooled, with three of the children living 450 miles away from their parents in West Sussex.
The enrolment drive is said to be in response to the church's struggle to recruit new members.
The Edinburgh church reportedly bought a modern office building near the Murrayfield rugby stadium in 2019, but it remains empty as there are not enough staff to relocate.
In response, a Scientology spokesman stated that "no person under the age of 16 is a member of staff at the Church of Scientology in Edinburgh", but did not respond when asked whether a child employment permit had been obtained.
The spokesman said that those who do sign contracts - which lawyers described as "volunteering agreements" and a "religious pledge" - do so "entirely as volunteers". However, internal documents describe these agreements as "staff contracts".
Lawyers also said that staff are not paid but are given a "discretionary allowance" which is processed through the payroll system for convenience and agreed with HMRC.
The spokesman said: "Naturally, children are involved in the life of places of worship in every religion present in Scotland. We are no different.
"Like other religions we allow some older children to help out in our church.
"Any volunteer participation is done within all the rules prescribed by law, and in the context of normal child safeguarding and protection policies and practices."
Scientology was founded in 1954 by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, who believed that people were "spiritual beings" whose "experiences extend well beyond a single current lifetime".
Scientologists believe that Hubbard identified the nature of "life energy", and that humans are inhabited by an eternal spirit called a "thetan" that passes from body to body through a process of reincarnation.
Therefore, a child would not be distinct from an adult in the sense that scientologists believe they are both inhabited by a "thetan" that is trillions of years old.
