AUDIO: Scientology debate breaks out at Portage City Council meeting

PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – They were holding a Portage City Council meeting last night when a debate over Scientology broke out.

A resident asked for a proclamation honoring the 75th anniversary of the publication of “Dianetics,” the L. Ron Hubbard book that serves as the foundation for the belief system, which is described as a religion, a cult, a business, or a scam, depending on who you ask.

Several residents, two of them mental health workers, called it a dangerous belief for the city to promote.

Jeff Breedlove, who asked for the proclamation, says it’s helped him.

City Manager Pat McGinnis approved putting it on the agenda.

Mayor Patricia Randall gave a disclaimer for their proclamations.

City Attorney Catherine Kaufman even got involved in the discussion, saying as long as it’s a neutral statement, it can be in a proclamation, but apparently neutrality is in the eye of the beholder.