TikTok trends are all the rage with Gen Zers, but the latest fad is making more waves than the pranks normally do: Viral videos have begun circulating of people “speed-running” through Church of Scientology buildings. The trend has made its way to multiple cities, and while the participants claim it is a harmless joke, the famously secretive religious group wants to see real consequences.
What are these pranksters doing?
The videos feature “participants recording themselves ‘speed-running,’ as if in a video game, through Scientology’s buildings,” said NBC News, often “dodging screaming church members and security guards” until they are kicked out of the building. The fad began in Los Angeles, where TikTokers began running through multiple Scientology buildings, including the religion’s Hollywood headquarters.
The TikTokers are seemingly trying to get inside the buildings because Scientology is a “highly controversial organization — known to be secretive, shrouded in darkness and mystique,” said Forbes. The group, which has big-name celebrity followers like Tom Cruise and John Travolta, is often described as “shady at best” and reportedly believes in “space alien magic,” said Vice, including an intergalactic warlord named Xenu. The viral nature of the religion means the speed runners are trying to “rack up as many social media validation points as they can.”
Though the trend began in Los Angeles, it has since spread. New York City detectives began investigating after “young people stormed and ransacked parts of the Church of Scientology in Midtown Manhattan,” said WABC-TV New York. The movement has also gone international, as chaos erupted in Vancouver when “hundreds of people — mostly youths — tried to force their way into the city’s Church of Scientology building,” said CBC News.
What has Scientology’s response been?
The TikTokers have framed the speed runs largely as a joke, but it seems Scientology officials are taking it the trend seriously, accusing the viral videos of perpetuating a religious hate crime. Scientology buildings are “peaceful spaces designed to welcome parishioners, visitors and members of the public,” Scientology spokesperson David Bloomberg said in a statement to The Guardian. “Turning them into targets for viral stunts is not journalism, protest or civic activity. It is trespass, harassment and disruption of religious facilities.”
Law enforcement is getting involved. After a speed-running incident in April, the Los Angeles Police Department began investigating the “incident as an alleged hate crime,” the department told the Los Angeles Times. The LAPD “remains committed to ensuring the safety of all houses of worship.” Some Scientology buildings have removed their door handles in an effort to keep people from entering the premises. Some who were previously associated with Scientology have said the trend is harmful.
Actor Leah Remini, who left the organization in 2013 and has accused Scientology of widespread abuses, lambasted the speed runners on social media. Whether the speed runners are “doing it for social media clout or to genuinely expose the abuses of Scientology, what they are doing is unhelpful, and by engaging in these actions, they are unwittingly helping Scientology,” Remini said on X. Scientologists are “deeply indoctrinated and radicalized and believe they are helping people,” and “running through a building is not going to break that or lead them to reconsider what they’ve given up their entire lives for.”
The church is alleging that the pranks constitute hate crimes
