World News for Students of English

11-05-2026 15:00

In Vancouver, Canada, hundreds of teenagers tried to force their way into a Church of Scientology building.

This is part of a new social media trend called Scientology speedrunning. In these viral videos, young people run through the church’s rooms as fast as they can to explore and map the building before security guards kick them out.

While the attempt in Vancouver was not successful, similar events have happened in cities all over the world. A spokesperson for the church called these stunts harassment and said that religious spaces should be respected. Sociologist Massimo Introvigne explains that these teens choose Scientology because it is part of pop culture and has an image of being a powerful and mysterious organization. Because the media often portrays it as secretive or dangerous, young people feel that challenging the church is brave or exciting.

Introvigne notes that if this happened in a mosque or a synagogue, the public reaction would be much more serious due to international tensions. However, because Scientology is seen more as a curiosity, many people find the trend amusing, even though the church itself is very concerned about safety and violence.

Difficult words: harassment (behaving in a way that makes someone feel upset, annoyed, or unsafe), portray (to describe or show someone or something in a particular way), curiosity (a strong desire to know or learn something; or something unusual that people find interesting).

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