SCIENTOLOGY
History
The founder of the Church of Scientology was Lafayette Ron Hubbard
(1911-1986). During the 1930's he was a well known writer of science fiction.
He wrote a novel Excalibur in 1938 which contained some of the
concepts that were later developed into Scientology. Hubbard switched to the
mental health area in 1950 with the publishing of his
best known book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. The
book has never been out of print since that date. It has sold over 7 million
copies and is still actively publicized on television and other media.
Dianetics came under attack by the American Psychological Association
and the American Medical Association, who described it as a potentially
dangerous form of therapy. In 1952, Hubbard created Scientology which
blended the therapy of Dianetics with religious concepts such as
reincarnation, a religious symbol, etc. The next year, he incorporated the
Church of Scientology. The first church was established in 1954 in Los
Angeles (some sources say Washington DC).
During the 1960's the Church of Scientology was prosecuted by the US
Food and Drug Administration which unsuccessfully tried to ban his
E-Meter device. During the 1970s, the Church and many other emerging
religions came under increasing attack from the anti-cult
movement. Many rumours circulated about illegal and/or unethical
methods of controlling the membership. As a result of an FBI raid on church
offices, some senior people in the movement (including Hubbard's wife) were
convicted of stealing government documents. In 1965, the Australian
government banned Scientology. This triggered a legal battle which the
Church won in 1983; this contributed greatly to the scope of religious
freedom in that country. From 1968 to 1980, the British government restricted
people who wished to enter the country to pursue a Scientology course.
L.R. Hubbard died in 1986. Unlike many emerging religions, the movement
survived the transition to new leadership. It is now headed by David
Miscavige. Scientology continues its rapid growth.
In recent years, the Church of Scientology has evolved into an "applied
religious philosophy" whose role is to promote mental health. It is
increasingly being referred to simply as Scientology. Their followers
and sympathizers number many millions throughout the world. There are about
50,000 active members in the movement.
Beliefs:
- Scientologists believe that humans are descendent from Thetans
which were a godlike race who gave up their powers and devolved into human
beings. During this development, all knowledge of their existence as Thetans
disappeared.
- The human mind is divided into two components: the analytical
mind and the reactive mind. The former resembles Freud's concept of
the conscious mind; it senses, remembers, reasons and recalls. The reactive
mind is somewhat similar to Freud's "unconscious". It records physically and
psychologically disturbing events in this life and prior lives. These include
perceived assaults in the womb, the birth process, assaults, injuries etc.
They are recorded as engrams which are a form of psychic scar.
These engrams are considered "the single source of all man's insanities,
psychosomatic illnesses and neuroses.". They are not sensed by the
analytical mind directly. However, they can degrade a person's life and keep
an individual from reaching their full potential. By removing the engrams,
one can progress from being preclear (PC) to clear; i.e.
totally free of engrams.
- A person can progress beyond "clear" to becoming a OT or
Operating Thetan.
- Great religious leaders like Buddha and Jesus Christ are regarded as
being slightly above "clear".
- Scientologists reject the concept of eternal life in hell and heaven.
They believe in reincarnation in which a person passes through a number of
lifetimes.
- "....personal salvation in one lifetime [is] freedom from the cycle
of birth and death".
- They believe that God exists, but do not have a specific belief about
the nature of deity.
- Their goal is to help sufficient numbers of people to become "clear"
so that a significant impact can be felt in areas of crime, mental illness,
warfare, drug addiction, physical illnesses etc.
Practices:
- Removal of engrams is done by a trained Auditor. He/she uses an
E-Meter which measures skin resistance of the "preclear". The auditor asks
a series of questions, recites a series of words or performs other drills.
Any fluctuation in skin resistance indicates that an engram is present. It
is removed from the reactive mind by recalling and discussing the experience
(as it is perceived to have happened in this life or a previous one).
- Auditors are called ministers, are ordained and wear clerical clothing.
- Scientology sponsors a Narcanon program to help drug users. They
use auditing, exercise, sauna treatments and vitamin supplements. They
also have programs which promote rehabilitation in the prisons and aid
developmentally handicapped people.
- Their main symbol is a cross. Its two bars symbolize matter and spirit.
- Not being an exclusive religion, members are welcomed to retain their
church affiliation when they become Scientologists.
Scientology Books and Magazines
- L. Rod Hubbard, "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health",
Bridge, Los Angeles (1950, 1978)
- L. Rod Hubbard, "Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought",
The Church of Scientology of California Publications Organization, Los
Angeles, (1973)
- Periodicals published by various units in the organization are:
Source, The Auditor, Advance and Freedom.
Attacks on and by Scientology
Many emergent religions suffer repeated attacks by anti-cult groups.
Scientology is no exception. Their main opposition seems to have come from
FACTnet (Fight Against Coercive Tactics network) and CAN (Cult
Awareness Network). The Church has fought back with countless lawsuits aimed
at preserving their freedom to practice their religion, and preserving their
copyrights and trade secrets.
A war of sorts is raging on the Internet between the church, anti-Scientology
individuals and anti-cult groups. One example involves the Fishman
Documents which contain secret Church rituals. They have been published
on a private home page. Scientology representatives asked the Internet
Service Provider to delete the documents from their customer's page; the
provider refused. When the smoke cleared, duplicate documents had appeared
at 100 other WWW sites.
So much controversy has been generated by pro and anti Scientology
individuals and groups that the truth is impossible to separate from the bull
sPit. Scientology has been accused of gross ethics violations, initiating
nuisance lawsuits, brainwashing techniques, swindling people out of their
money, etc. Their opponents have been accused of violating copyright laws,
violating the civil rights of Church members by kidnapping, confining and
brainwashing them, etc.
Reality is somewhere between the two extremes; we have not the foggiest idea
where it lies.
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Description of Religions page.
Interenet Resources
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Description of Religions page.