That is the quiet premise of Destination: Scientology, Brussels, which takes viewers from Art Nouveau streetscapes and the Grand-Place’s fairy-tale grandeur to a landmark just off the city’s procession of monuments and storefronts: the 88,000-square-foot Churches of Scientology for Europe, dedicated January 23, 2010—now marking its 16th anniversary.
In Brussels, you may arrive for the chocolate but leave with something far less expected.
The significance of the Brussels Church extends far beyond its architecture. In a city where European decisions are drafted, negotiated and disseminated, the Church stands at the crossroads of faith and civic life—shaped by Belgium’s talent for compromise, and defined by a two-decade legal fight that culminated in a decisive courtroom victory for religious freedom, with reverberations far beyond Belgium.
The episode leans into Brussels’ defining paradox: unity while still being diverse. It’s a place with three official languages and a shared habit of making room for difference—an ethos the Church mirrors in its daily rhythm of open doors, community events and interfaith cooperation. “We try to unite people,” one staff member in the film says, and “get them in better communication, better understanding with each other.”
That theme becomes personal in stories of transformation. A Belgian business owner describes discovering what he calls “a manual for the human being,” and learning a way of communicating through Scientology that changed how he related to others—helping him grow a one-person venture into a company of nearly 200.
The episode then turns, unflinchingly, to a nearly two-decade-long struggle: raids, prosecutions and a campaign to marginalize minority religions—until a court trial unequivocally rejected all charges, issuing a severe rebuke of the prejudiced investigation. The result was a victory that reaffirmed a simple principle: People cannot be prosecuted merely for their faith.
In Brussels, you may arrive for the chocolate but leave with something far less expected. Sixteen years after the Church of Scientology established its home on Waterloo Boulevard—and after a decisive test of conscience—the city offers something else entirely: a reminder that freedom, like unity, is built—patiently, deliberately—one opened door at a time.
