A TikTok trend known as “Scientology speedrunning” sees content creators tasked with an unusual challenge—how far can an outsider infiltrate a Scientology building?

TikTok’s ‘Scientology Speedrunning’ Trend, Explained

The Church of Scientology is a highly controversial organization—known to be secretive, shrouded in darkness and mystique.

The impenetrable inner workings of the church were subject to a 2015 Louie Theroux documentary, My Scientology Movie. Recounting his experiences while filming, Theroux said, "They have a habit of tailing, filming, questioning and investigating those who do stories on them."

Former Scientologist Leah Remini has been a vocal critic of the church and its alleged human rights and financial abuses, but the church has been associated with strange stories and scandals long before Remini spoke out.

TikTokers are attempting to pierce the veil, “speedrunning” the Scientology buildings, trying to see how deep they can go before security throws them out.

What Is ‘Speedrunning’?

“Speedrunning” is when gamers attempt to complete a video game as quickly as possible, often taking advantage of unintended shortcuts, manipulating gameplay and glitches to catapult themselves to the finish line.

Speedrunning takes a huge amount of dedication, requiring in-depth knowledge of how a particular game works—players have to intuitively understand the mechanics before they can break them.

Successful speedrunning can attract fame and prestige, providing a launchpad for a career in content creation.

In this case, TikTokers seem motivated by the same urge—to go viral.

Scientology Speedrunners Are Going Viral On TikTok

On TikTok and Instagram, Scientology speedrunning videos can attract millions of views.

TikTokers are taking a lighter approach than hard-hitting documentary makers, adding zany music and slapstick sound effects to their clips.

Most find safety in numbers, entering in groups, but TikToker @julia.hill1 received more than 7 million views on a TikTok documenting her lone speedrun.

Speedrunners jokingly assign “levels” to the Scientology buildings, rather like the Backrooms, challenging themselves to reach “level 2” and beyond—some creators are even drawing maps of the buildings, based on TikTok footage.

As the bizarre trend continues, the videos have become increasingly surreal—one clip showing a speedrunner dressed as Jesus Christ attracted more than 17 million views on TikTok.

In the wake of the trend, content creators have noted increased Scientology security in some buildings, such as missing door handles and additional locks.

Scientology Church officials have condemned the trend.

“These incidents are not ‘speed running.’ They are organized trespasses into religious and public information facilities for social media attention,” Scientology spokesman David Bloomberg said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

“Over recent weeks, individuals have repeatedly forced their way into Church properties on Hollywood Boulevard, disrupted religious and public facilities, damaged Church property, and endangered staff, parishioners and visitors.”

The unusual TikTok trend isn’t the first time that social media users have come into conflict with Scientology.

Scientology Vs. Internet Communities

Starting in 1995, the Church of Scientology engaged in a decade-long legal campaign against Dutch writer Karin Spaink and multiple internet service providers, after Spaink and others posted documents allegedly exposing Scientology’s secret teachings.

The church endured a legal defeat in a Dutch court in 2005, but there was another battle on the horizon.

In 2008, 4chan users took to the streets to protest Scientologists' "speech-suppression tactics,” sparked by the church's attempts to remove a controversial video of Tom Cruise from YouTube, in which the Top Gun star enthusiastically discusses Scientology.

The protests took place online and offline, marking something of a public introduction to insular internet communities such as 4chan, and the hacking group Anonymous.

Some of the protesters wore Guy Fawkes masks inspired by Alan Moore’s V For Vendetta, which have since become associated with Anonymous and online activism.

At the time, the Church of Scientology referred to Anonymous as "cyberterrorists" engaged in "religious hate crimes" against the church.

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