Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented american writer l. Ron hubbard, and the movement oriented towards him. Adherents are called scientologists. Tiles are variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The main representative of scientology is the church of scientology, a centralized and hierarchical organization based in florida, although many practitioners exist independently of the church in the well-known free zone. It is estimated that there are no more than 40,000 scientologists worldwide. Past lives. Scientologists imagine that traumatic events experienced by the thetan throughout his life have led to the generation of negative “engrams” in the mind that cause neurosis and mental problems. The practice of auditing is said to be able to remove these engrams; most scientology groups charge fees to auditing clients. Once these engrams are removed, the person is “transparent” and can advance through additional operating thetan (ot) levels, each at an additional cost.
At the ot levels, scientologists are at risk. To further ideas not made public, including the story of an alien emperor, xenu, whose massacres led to the ancient origins of mankind. The ultimate goal of scientology is to free the thetan from the trap of the physical universe, returning him to the state where he originally existed. Some scientology texts are kept secret and revealed only after followers typically donate thousands of dollars to the organization in order to complete absolutely everything that scientologists call the bridge to total freedom. The scientology organization has gone to great lengths to keep these texts secret, but they are publicly available on the world wide web.[13] these texts make sure that the lives prior to the thetan’s arrival on earth were lived in extraterrestrial cultures. The doctrine of scientology states that every scientologist who is “audited” will, as a result, encounter and tell important news from the world of gadgets, which is called an “incident”. The secret texts refer to an alien named xenu. It is said that xenu was the ruler of a confederation of planets 70 million years old who brought billions of aliens to earth and then killed them with thermonuclear weapons. Although it is kept secret from most followers, it forms the central mythological basis of scientology’s putative soteriology. These criteria became the subject of popular ridicule.
Hubbard wrote mostly science fiction and had a background in neurological religions like thelema. In the late 1940s he created dianetics, a set of practices that he presented as therapy. Over time he came to the conclusion that auditing was useful not only for matters of the mind but also for the spirit, developing scientology as an extension of dianetics. Although he presented dianetics as a “science”—a characterization rejected by the medical establishment—in the 1950s, for pragmatic legal reasons, he increasingly portrayed scientology as a religion. In 1954, he founded the church of scientology in los angeles, before quickly setting up similar organizations around the world. Relations with various governments were strained. In the 1970s, hubbard’s followers were involved in a program of criminal peeking into the american state government, which led to several of the firm’s executives being convicted and imprisoned for numerous crimes by the us federal court. As he became increasingly withdrawn, hubbard created an elite group around him called the sea org. After the death of hubbard in the 86th of the last century, david miscavige became the head of the church. Since the 1980s, various high-ranking members of the church have left and founded the following categories, such as ron’s organization, forming the basis of the free zone.
Soon after their formation, the hubbard groups aroused considerable opposition and controversy. In many cases due to their illegal activities.[16] in january 1951, the new jersey board of medical examiners filed suit against the dianetics research foundation for allegedly gaining medical knowledge without a permit. Hubbard himself was convicted in absentia by a french court of fraud in 1978 and sentenced to four years in prison.[18] in 1992, a court in canada found a toronto scientology organization guilty of spying on law enforcement and government agencies, but also criminal breach of trust, which was later confirmed by the ontario court of appeal.The church of scientology was found guilty of fraud by a french court in 2009 and the ruling was upheld by the supreme court of cassation in 2013.[21]
The church of scientology has been described by government investigations, international parliamentary bodies , scholars, law lords and numerous high court decisions as a dangerous cult and manipulative commercial business. .[28] after extensive litigation in various states[29][30], the organization has been able to achieve legal recognition as a religious organization in many modern jurisdictions, including australia,[31][32] italy[30] and the united states[. 33] germany classifies scientology groups as an “anti-constitutional cult”[34][35] while the french government classifies the group as a dangerous cult[36][37]
Definition and classification
Sociologist stephen a. Kent views the church of scientology as “a multifaceted transnational corporation, one element of which remains religious.”[38] historian of religion hugh urban has described scientology as “a huge, complex, and multifaceted movement.”[39] scientology has experienced many schisms in its history.[40] while the church of scientology was the original promoter of the movement, various independent groups split off to form the independent scientology groups. Referring to the different types of scientology,” religious scholar aled thomas suggested that it would be appropriate to speak of “scientology”. Sources, including decorations from hinduism and buddhism, thelema, new scientific ideas, science fiction, as well as from psychology and best-selling self-help literature available by the mid-20th century.[42] the ceremonies, the structure of the prayers, and the clothing worn by the ministers of the church reflect the influence of protestantism.[43]
Hubbard claimed that scientology is “all-denominational”[44]. And members of the church are allowed to actively profess other religions.[45] religious scholar donald westbrook met members of the church who also practiced judaism, christianity, buddhism, and the nation of islam; one was a baptist minister.[44] at the same time, in practice, westbrook noted that many members of the church consider scientology their only obligation, and the deeper their involvement in the life of the church became, the less likely they were to actually continue to profess other traditions.[44]
The classification debate
The debate over whether scientology should be considered a cult, a business, or a religion has been ongoing for many years.[46] many scientologists consider it their religion.[47] its founder, l. Ron hubbard, presented it as such,[48] but the early history of the scientology firm, and hubbard’s political directives, letters, and instructions to subordinates, point to the fact that his motivation for doing so was a legally pragmatic move. .[6] in various countries, the church of scientology has been involved in arbitration proceedings to gain recognition as a tax-exempt religious organization,[49] and today it is legally recognized as such in rare jurisdictions, including the united states, but only in a minority of them. In which everything functions. Sociologist brian r. Wilson compared scientology to the 20 criteria he associated with religion and concluded that it is a movement that can be described as such.[54] allan w. Black analyzed scientology through the seven “dimensions of religion” proposed by scholar ninian smart and also determined that scientology met these criteria of a religion. Sociologist david w. Barrett noted that there may be “a strong body of evidence that it is worth considering scientology as a religion,”[56] while scholar of religion james r. Lewis saw that “you see that scientology is a religion.” Religion.”[57]
In particular, many scholars describe scientology as a new religious movement.[58] various scholars have also considered the structure, within a type of western esotericism,[59] at which time the religious scholar andreas grunschloss noted that it became “closely associated with ufo religions,[60] as science fiction themes are evident in such theology. 61] scholars have also variously described it as a “psychotherapeutic religion”,[62] a “secularized religion”,[63] a “postmodern religion”,[64] a “privatized religion”,[65] and “progressive knowledge”. “Religion”.[66] according to religious scholar mary farrell bednarowski, scientology describes the company as rooted in science, religion, psychology, and philosophy, but “claimed by none and largely rejected by everyone.”[67]
Government investigations, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords and numerous rulings from the highest courts describe scientology as a dangerous cult and a manipulative business for profit.[68] they seriously question the classification of scientology as a religion.[50][69] in the article.Time magazine’s “a thriving cult of greed and power” describes scientology as “a ruthless global scam.” Attempts by the church of scientology to sue publishers for defamation and avoid reprinting abroad were defeated. The idea of scientology as a religion is strongly opposed by the anti-cult movement.[71] the church has not gained recognition as a religious organization in the modern times in which it operates;[72] its claims of religious identity have been particularly rebuffed in continental europe, where anti-scientology activists have had a greater impact on public discourse than in english-speaking countries.[51] these critics claim that the church is a commercial business that falsely claims to be religious,[73] or, alternatively, a form of therapy masquerading as religion.[74] gruenschloss observed that those who reject the classification of scientology as a religion acted out of ignorance, “that calling it a religion suggests that someone approves of its basic virtue.” She is “automatically advertised as harmless, pleasant, good and humane”. , “Skill”), which comes from the verb scīre (“to inquire, with the suffix -ology from the greek λόγος lógos (“word” or “account [about]”). Hubbard admitted that the word “scientology” means the science of knowledge.”[79] scientology’s title deliberately uses the word “science,”[80] seeking to capitalize on the “prestige and perceived legitimacy” of the natural sciences in the public imagination.[81] however, scientology has been compared to religious groups such as as “christian teaching and the most fascinating scientific research of the mind”, which used similar tactics.[82]
The term “scientology” was used in published writings at least twice before hubbard.[79] current word” (1901), the poet and jurist allen upward first used scientology to refer to the blind, unthinking acceptance of scientific doctrine (compare scientism).[83] and this phrase was used to refer to scientific sciences.[84] it is not known whether hubbard was aware of any prior use of these words.[85][86]
Hubbard’s early life
Hubbard was born in 1911 in tilden, nebraska, the son of a us navy officer. His family were methodists. Six months later, they moved to oklahoma, and then to montana, settling on a ranch near helena.[50] in 1923, hubbard moved to washington, dc.[89] in 1927 he made a summer trip to hawaii, china, japan, the philippines and guam, followed by a longer visit to exotic asia in 1928. In 1929 he returned to the united states to finish high school. In 1930, he entered the george washington institute, where he began writing and publishing short stories. He dropped out of university a few years later and also married his first wife, margaret “polly” grubb, in 1933.[93]
Becoming a professional magazine writer,[94] fiction in 1935. His first novel, buckskin brigades, appeared in 1937. From 1938 to the 1950s he was part of a group of writers associated with astounding science-fiction magazine. Urban said that hubbard became the most serious of the key figures of the “golden age” of pulp fiction. In a largely late document titled “excalibur” he recalled how he nearly passed out under anesthesia during a dental operation in 1938.[98][99][100]
Lt. Rank) us navy. After the pearl harbor hack, the us entered the second world war, he was called to active duty, sent to the philippines, and then to australia. After the war, he remarried and returned to writing. He contacted rocket scientist jack parsons and the latter’s agape lodge, a pasadena group following thelema, a religion founded by occultist aleister crowley. Hubbard later broke with the group and eloped with parsons’ girlfriend betty. Later, the church of scientology claimed that hubbard’s participation in the agape lodge was at the request of the us intelligence agencies,[105] however, there was no evidence to support this.[106] in 1952, hubbard called crowley “a very good friend” despite never having met him. Although the church of scientology denies the residential influence of thelema, [108] urban identified “crowley’s significant influence on early scientology beliefs and practices in the 1950s.”[109]
Dianetics and the origins of scientology: 1950–1954
In the late 1940s, hubbard began to develop a therapeutic system called dianetics[111]. First published an unpublished manuscript on the subject in 1948. He subsequently published his ideas like the article “dianetics: the evolution of science” in astounding science fiction in may 1950. The magazine’s editor, john w. Campbell, expressed sympathy.[116]
Later that year, hubbard published his intentions in the form of a book, dianetics: the modern science of mental health.[117] the first edition, published by hermitage house, contained an introduction by dr. Joseph a. Winter and an insert by philosopher will durant. Dianetics subsequently spent 28 weeks as a new york times bestseller. >
Dianetics describes a “counseling” technique known as “auditing” where the auditor helps the subject consciously recall traumatic events prior to the person. Initially, it was supposed to be a new psychotherapy. The stated goal is how to rid people of the effects of past traumas by systematically influencing and carrying out the engrams (painful memories) left behind by these events, a process called clearing.[124]
In april 1950 mr. Hubbard established the hubbard dianetics research foundation (hdrf) in elizabeth, new jersey. He began offering courses teaching people how to be auditors and lectured all over the country on the subject. Hubbard’s ideas spawned a new dianetics movement that grew rapidly[127] in part because it was more accessible than psychotherapy and promised faster progress[128]. Individuals and some groups practicing dianetics appeared in many places in america and great britain.[129]
Hubbard constantly sought to improve his dianetics techniques.[130] in 1951 he introduced e-meters into the auditing process.[131] the original “book one auditing” that hubbard promoted in the late 1940s and early 1950s did not use an e-meter, but actually involved a worries and responses session between auditor and user.[132]
Hubbard called dianetics a “science” but not a religion.[133] at the same time, his views on religion were mostly negative.[134] he approached both the american psychiatric association and the american medical association, but none of them took dianetics seriously.[135] dr. Winter, hoping that dianetics would be accepted by the medical community, submitted posts in 1949 outlining the requirements and methodology of dianetics treatment to the journal of the american medical association and the american journal of psychiatry, but these were rejected. 137] much of the medical establishment and the fda were skeptical and critical of dianetics;[138] they considered its ideas to be pseudomedicine and pseudoscience.[48] in the early 1950s, several dianetics practitioners were arrested on charges of practicing without a certificate.[138]
Hubbard openly distanced dianetics from hypnosis,[139] arguing that the two were diametrically opposed. . Goal.[140] however, he admitted to using hypnosis during his early studies,[141] and various acquaintances reported that they observed him doing hypnosis, sometimes for recreational purposes.[140][142] hubbard also acknowledged certain similarities between his ideas and freud’s psychoanalysis, although he said that dianetics provided more adequate solutions to the specialist’s problems than the ideas of sigmund freud.[141] hubbard’s thought was parallel to the direction of humanistic psychology of those years, which also emerged in the 1950s. To remember past destinies, and thus bear witness to the inner soul or spirit. This redirection into metaphysical territory was reflected in hubbard’s second major book on dianetics, the science of survival (1951).[146] some dianetics practitioners have distanced themselves from such claims, believing that people are deviating from the pretentious scientific basis of dianetics.[147] several followers of hubbard, notably campbell and winter, have distanced themselves from hubbard, citing the latter’s dogmatism and authoritarianism. Voluntary bankruptcy.[147][149][150][151] after the bankruptcy, copyright control of dianetics passed from hubbard to don purcell, who provided hdrf with financial support. Purcell then established his personal dianetics center in wichita, kansas.[153] hubbard distanced himself from purcell’s group and moved to phoenix, arizona, where he formed the hubbard association of scientologists.[154] westbrook noted that hubbard’s development of the term “scientology” was “in part due to legal necessity” because purcell licensed dianetics and also reflected hubbard’s “new philosophical and theological practices.”[155] in the first texts, written in the same year, hubbard presented scientology as a “science” from scratch, but not as a religion.[79] in march 1952 he married his third wife, mary sue whipp, who is now an important part of his new scientology movement.[79]
Founding of the church of scientology: 1951-1965
As the 1950s progressed, hubbard saw the benefits of having his scientology movement legally recognized as a religion.[156] urban noted that hubbard’s attempts to redefine scientology as a religion occurred “gradually, in fits and starts, and predominantly in response to internal and external actions that made such a definition of the movement as expedient, likewise necessary.” These influences included challenges to hubbard’s authority in dianetics, attacks from outside categories such as the fda and the american medical association, and hubbard’s growing interest in asian religions and past life memories, among other things.[157]
Several other sciences. Science fiction writers with hubbard’s son reported hearing hubbard comment that the opportunity to make money is to start a religion.[156] harlan ellison told the story of seeing hubbard at a hydra club meeting in 1953 or 1954. Hubbard complained, but it cannot earn a living by the fact when he is referred to as a science fiction writer. Ellison claims that lester del rey told hubbard that in order to get rich, he needed to found a religion.[158]
L. Ron hubbard originally wanted scientology to be considered a science, as stated in his writings. In may 1952, scientology was organized to turn the intended science into a film, and in his year hubbard published a new set of teachings as scientology, the religious philosophy.[159] marco frenchkowski quotes hubbard in a letter written in 1953 to show that he never denied that such an original approach was not religious: “perhaps the greatest discovery of scientology, along with its most significant contribution to the improvement of mankind, has been to identify, describe and work with the human spirit, accomplished in july 1951 in phoenix, arizona. I have established from a scientific rather than a religious or humanitarian point of view that there is a person, a person, can be separated from the body and mind at will – and in the absence of bodily injury. Death or distress (hubbard 1983: 55).[160]
After the hubbard foundation was sued for teaching medicine without a license, hubbard wrote a letter in april 1953 proposing that scientology be became a religion.[161] as membership dwindled and finances got harder to close, https://keycodesoftware.com/ hubbard reversed hostility to religion, as he put it in dianetics.[162] his letter discussed the legal and economic benefits of religious status.[162] hubbard outlined plans to develop a chain of “spiritual guidance centers” charging clients $500 for twenty-four hours of auditing (“that’s real money… Pay enough, we’ll be inundated here”). Hubbard wrote:[163]
I am waiting for your response to the question about religion. In my opinion, public opinion cannot be worse than it was here, or have fewer customers with what we have to sell. Pennsylvania or new jersey would require a religious charter to adhere to. But i’m sure i can do it.
In december 1953, hubbard established three organizations—the church of american science, the church of scientology, and the church of spiritual engineering—in camden, new york. Jersey. In the last few months of february 18, 1954, with hubbard’s blessing, a number of his followers founded the first local church of scientology, the church of scientology of california, adopting “the aims, purposes, principles, and creeds of the church of american science, founded by l. Ron hubbard.”[142]
In 1955, hubbard founded the founding church of scientology in washington, dc[145]. The group stated that the founding church, as stated in the incorporation commemoration of the columbia area founding church of scientology, should “act as the parent church for the religious faith known as ‘scientology’ and act as a church.” For the religious cult of faith.”[164]
During this period, the organization expanded to australia, new zealand, france, great britain and other countries. In 1959, hubbard purchased saint hill manor in east grinstead, sussex, united kingdom, which became the world headquarters of the church of scientology and his personal residence. During hubbard’s years at saint hill, he traveled, lecturing and teaching in australia, south africa and the united states, but also developing substances that have collectively become “the mainstream systematic theology and practice of scientology.”[165]
The fda is even more suspicious of e-meters, and during a policy letter dated october 1962, hubbard emphasized that they should be presented as religious, not medical devices.[ 166] in january 1963, fda agents raided the organization’s offices, seizing over a hundred e-meters as illegal medical devices and tons of literature, which they accused of making false medical claims.The fda’s initial lawsuit to condemn literature and e-meters was unsuccessful,[168] but the court ordered the organization to label each counter with a disclaimer that it was a purely religious artifact,[169] and post a $20,000 bond. Conform to the wishes and pay the fda’s legal fees.[170]
During the development of scientology, hubbard introduced rapidly changing teachings that some considered often contradictory.[171][172] ] according to lindholm, for the final cadre of scientologists during this period, engagement depended not so much on belief in a particular doctrine, but on unconditional belief in hubbard. Harsh criticism, he took drastic action against his critics. In 1966, the church established the guardian’s office (go), an intelligence unit dedicated to undermining those who were hostile to scientology. The go has launched an extensive program to counter negative publicity, gather intelligence, and infiltrate hostile organizations.[175] during operation snow white, the go infiltrated the internal revenue service and several other government departments, kidnapped, photocopied, and finally recovered large amounts of documents relating to churches, politicians, and celebrities.[176]
Hubbard’s later life: 1966–1986
In 1966, hubbard stepped down as executive director of the church. From that moment on, he focused on developing advanced levels of learning. In 1967, hubbard established a new elite group, the sea org, or “sea org”, which included the most devoted members of the church.[180] the sea organization, whose members lived together and held senior positions in the church,[181] was originally based on 3 ocean-going ships: the diana, the athena, and the apollo.[179][145] reflecting hubbard’s fascination with the navy, its members had naval ranks and uniforms. In 1975, seaorg moved its operations from ships to flag’s higher ground base in clearwater, florida. And began to reside in a residence in queens, new york. In july 1977, police raids on church homes in washington and los angeles revealed the extent of the go infiltration into government departments and other groups.[187] 11 church officials and agents were charged; in december 1979 they were each sentenced to terms of 4 to 5 years and fined $10,000. Among those found guilty was hubbard’s then-wife mary sue hubbard. The public exposure of the activities of the go led to widespread condemnation of the church.[188] the church responded by closing the go and expelling those convicted of illegal activities.[188] the new directorate for special affairs replaced the go.[189] in may 1979 the watchdog committee was organized, and in september it announced that it was now monitoring all of the top leadership of the church. Life,[190][191][192] and few senior scientologists ever saw him again.[49] major changes took place in 1980 and 1981 at the unattainable heights of the church hierarchy,[188] many senior members being demoted or leaving the church[49]. By 1981, 21-year-old david miscavige, who became arguably one of hubbard’s closest aides in the sea org, was on the rise.[49] all clear unit (acu) founded that year to take over hubbard’s commitment. In 1981, the international church of scientology[193] was formally incorporated, as was the lucrative author services incorporated (asi), which controlled the publication of hubbard’s writings[194]. This was followed in 1982 by the establishment of the center for religious technology, which controlled all trademarks and service marks.[195][196] the church continued to rise in price in 1980. Such a bicycle had centers in 52 countries, and by 1992 their list had increased to 74. 194], believing that hubbard no longer had control over the church.[198] senior member bill robertson, former captain of the sea org’s flagship apollo, opposed the changes.[182] at a celebration in october 1983, robertson stated that government agents had infiltrated the organization using its services and that it was corrupt. In 1984, he founded the rival scientology group ron’s org[200] and coined the term “loose organization” to include all non-church scientologists.[200] robertson’s departure marked the first major split in scientology.[199]
During his seclusion, hubbard continued to write. His “trail to business success” was a response to a perceived decline in public morality. He also returned to writing fiction, even the sci-fi epic battlefield earth and the ten-volume mission earth. In 1980, church member jerry armstrong accessed hubbard’s personal archive in order to conduct research for hubbard’s official biography.Armstrong contacted the messengers to establish inconsistencies between the evidence he found and the church’s claims regarding hubbard’s life; he properly left the church and took with him the church crusts, which they returned after they sued him. Hubbard died at his ranch in creston, california on january 24, 1986. Head of the church.[182] in 1991, time magazine published a front-page article attacking the church. In rebuttal, the latter filed a lawsuit and launched a large-scale pr campaign.[204] in 1993, the fts dropped all legal proceedings against the church and recognized it as a religious organization,[205] and in 1996, the uk home office also recognized it as a religious organization.[206] the church then focused its opposition on the cult awareness network (can), a major anti-cult group. The church was part of a coalition of groups that successfully sued can, which then collapsed in bankruptcy in 1996. The stated goal of destroying the church; this resulted in the denial of service to the church’s websites and demonstrations outside of the church.[208] in 2009, the st. Petersburg times began another series of exposés of alleged abuse by members of the church, especially at their reeducation camp in gilman hot springs, california.[209] these publications not only provided a good reason for the bbc panorama episodes and ac360 cnn investigating the accusations,[210] but also marked the beginning of the latest series of negative data and books in the press that constitute the revelations of the church.[211]
in 2009, the church established relations with the nation of islam (noi). In the years that followed, thousands of noi members received introductory training in dianetics.[212] in 2012, lewis commented on the recent decline in church membership.[213] among those who departed for the free zone were a host of qualified scientologists who had long since opened up with scientologists,[214] among them mark rathbun and mike rinder.[215][216]
Beliefs and practices
Civilization without madness, without criminals and without war; where the world can prosper and without deceit those who wish can have rights, and where man can freely rise to serious heights, these are the goals of scientology.
– Hubbard, the goals of scientology [219]
Hubbard is at the heart of scientology.[220] his writings remain a source of scientology doctrine and practice,[221] sociologist of religion david g. Bromley describes religion as “hubbard’s personal synthesis of philosophy, physics, and psychology.”[222] hubbard admitted that he developed personal ideas. Through experimentation and research, not through revelation from a supernatural source.[223] during his lifetime he published hundreds of facts and books[224] which scientologists consider to be sacred scriptures[225]. The church encourages people to read his functionings in chronological order, in the order in which they were acquired written.[226] there is evidence here that hubbard’s earnings are perfect, and no refinement or revision is allowed.[227] hubbard described scientology as an “applied religious philosophy” because, in the said words, it is composed of metaphysical doctrine, psychological theory, and moral teachings.[228]
Hubbard developed thousands of neologisms during his lifetime.[ 227] the nomenclature used by the movement is called “scientology” members. Scientologists are expected to learn this specialized terminology, the use of which separates followers from non-scientologists.[227] the church refers to its practice as “technology”, a term often shortened to “technology”.[230] scientologists emphasize the “standard” nature of this “technology”, thereby expressing the hope of its infallibility.[231] the church system of pedagogy is called “teaching technology” and is presented as the optimal teaching method.[232] scientology teaches that when reading it is important not to pass over a word that the person is not familiar with. Instead, one is required to consult a dictionary for the meaning of a word before perfecting what scientology calls “word clearing.” A religion of practice, not a “religion of faith.”[234] according to scientology, its beliefs and skills are based on careful research, and its doctrines are given a weight equivalent to scientific laws. [235] it has been proven that blind faith matters less than the practical application of scientology methods. [235] adherents are encouraged to confirm the practice with their own personal experience.[235] hubbard put it this way, for a scientologist, the ultimate test of any knowledge that he has gained is the use of data and their use in life and meanwhile improved conditions or not? [235] many scientologists avoid using the words “faith” or “belief” to describe how hubbard’s teachings affect the game’s everyday life, preferring to claim that people feel something is true.[236]
Theology and cosmology
May the creator of the universe give all customers the opportunity to achieve an understanding of their spiritual nature. May the awareness and compassion of life expand so that everyone can know creator of the world, and even if others also achieve this understanding, which brings complete freedom.
– Prayer used by the church of scientology[237]
Scientology refers to the existence of the supreme beings, but practitioners are not required to worship him.[238] do not issue any solicitations to seek the help of this being in everyday life.[239]
Hubbard called the physical universe the universe mest, meaning “matter, energy, space and variants”[240]. According to the teachings of scientology, this mest universe is separate from the theta universe, which consists of life, spirituality, and ideas.[241] scientology teaches that the mest universe is created by the agreement of all thetans (souls or spirits) that it exists[241] and is therefore an illusion that only comes into reality through the actions of thetans themselves[242]
Bridge to total freedom
Thomas noted that scientology’s central focus is self-improvement,[243] while religious scholar donald westbrook called it a “religion of self-discovery.” [244] while treading the path of self-discovery and self-improvement, scientologists are expected to be dedicated to the work they are doing and actively practice their teachings. Freedom” or simply “the bridge”.[245][246]
As promoted by the church, scientology involves progression through a series of levels, at all of which the practitioner is believed to gain freedom from certain problems, and in addition to this extended abilities. [247] the degree system was probably adopted from the earliest european organizations, such as freemasonry and the hermetic order of the golden dawn. [248] each of these levels was considered a step on the “bridge”. ,” Has a precise final point called the “final phenomenon” or “kf”[249], and concrete completion is sometimes marked by a ceremony called “graduation”.[250] in the church, the path across the bridge is “commercialized and monetized,” charging for each degree. The bridge with the church is capable of selling hundreds of thousands of us dollars.[252] this monetization of spiritual progress has been a constant source of criticism of scientology.[251]
The upper levels are reserved. For the mostmost famous dedicated and well-trained scientologists.[253] many of its teachings are personal and not passed on to outsiders.[253] while many of hubbard’s writings and other scientology documents are protected by the church and are of no interest to nonmembers or members below a certain rank, certain of them have been disclosed by former members.[254] in an attempt to prevent the dissemination of its secret teachings, the church pointed to the respect that is widely shown to urban religions by those who refuse to spread their secrets. Tradition, arguing that he should be treated with similar respect.[255]
The body and the thetan
The thetan is the person himself, not his last name or the physical universe, his mind or whatever. It is what awareness is aware of; an identity that serves as a person. The person has no thetan, nothing that the person keeps approximately separate from himself; he is a thetan.
—The church of scientology, 1991 [242]
Hubbard taught that there are three “parts of man”: spirit, mind, and body .[256] the first of these is the person’s “true” inner self, the “theta being” or “thetan.”[257] although a thetan is akin to the idea of a soul or spirit found in other traditions,[258] hubbard avoided terms like “soul” or “spirit” because of their cultural baggage. Hubbard stated that “a thetan is a citizen. You are its spectator in the body.”[241] according to hubbard, the thetan uses the mind as the stuff of control of the body.[260] scientology teaches that a thetan usually appears in a human skull, but can also leave the body, either in close company with him or completely separated from him.[261]
According to scientology, a human thetan exists trillions of years,[242] having lived countless lifetimes,[262] long before he replenished the physical body, where he can now reside.[261] in their original form, thetans were simply energy separate from the physical universe.[242] in the modern world the thetan’s need was to have his own “home universe” and it was from their collision that the physical universe mest came into being.[242] scientology teaches that as soon as mest was created, thetans began to experiment with human forms, yet they lost all sense of their origins and became trapped in physical bodies.[242] scientology also claims that a series of “universal incidents” has undermined thetans’ ability to remember their own origins.[242]
Hubbard taught that thetans created the material universe primarily for their own listening. .[263] the universe does not have an independent reality, but derives its apparent reality from the fact that thetans agree that it exists.[264] thetans fell out of favor when they began to identify with their creation and not with their original characteristics of spiritual purity.[263] they eventually lost the memory of their true nature, as well as the spiritual and creative powers associated with it. As a result, thetans began to consider themselves nothing more than embodied beings.[264]
Reincarnation
Scientology teaches the existence of reincarnation;[265] hubbard taught, that any person has experienced “past lives”, although he usually avoided the use of the term “reincarnation” itself.[266] the movement claims that as soon as the body dies, the thetan enters another body in preparation for birth.[242] he rejects the idea that a thetan will be born on earth as a non-human animal.[267] in the book did you live before modern life? Hubbard talked about past lives stretching back 55 billion years, often on other planets.[107]
Exteriorization
In scientology, “exteriorization” means that the thetan leaves the physical body, albeit for a short time, during which the affliction is unencumbered by the physical universe and resides in in its original form.[262] scientology seeks to “exteriorize” the thetan out of the body, so that the thetan stays close to the body and is able to control its actions, but not in it, where he is able to confuse “being with the mass” and the body.[268] by this he seeks to ensure that the thetan does not suffer the trauma of the physical universe, while maintaining a finicky control of mind and figure.[261] some scientologists claim to have experienced exteriorization during their auditing period, and westbrook has encountered just one high-ranking member of the church who reported being exteriorized most of the time.[262]
The goal of scientology is to free the thetan. From outside the physical universe mest[241], thus returning the page to its original state[261]. This idea of liberating the spiritual self from the physical universe has been compared to buddhism.[241] although hubbard’s understanding of buddhism in the 1950s was limited,[269] scientology literature presented his teachings as a continuation and fulfillment of the ideas of the buddha[270]. In one publication, hubbard toyed with the idea that he had become maitreya, and an enlightened future was foretold in some form of mahayana buddhism;[271] some scientologists actually believe him to be maitreya.[272] it has also been observed that the thetan concept is very similar to those circulating in various ufo religions of the mid-twentieth century.[223]
Reactive mind, traumatic memories and auditing
Before founding scientology, hubbard formed a system called “dianetics”[273], and it was from this that scientology grew[274]. Dianetics represents two great divisions of the mind: the analytical mind and the reactive mind.[139][275] dianetics shows that the analytical mind is precise, rational, and logical, and is what hubbard called a “perfect computer.”[139] it is commonly believed that the reactive mind records all pain and emotional trauma.[264][276]
Hubbard claimed that the “reactive” mind stores traumatic experiences in graphical forms, which he called “engrams.” . [277] dianetics holds that even when the traumatic experience is forgotten, the engram remains embedded in the reactive mind.[273] hubbard said that people develop engrams during incubation in the womb[273] and also in their “past lives”[278]. Hubbard taught that these engrams cause problems in people ranging from neurosis and physical illness to insanity. The existence of engrams has never been scientifically proven. Each particular memory is a “lock”.[281]
Auditing
According to dianetics, engrams can be removed by a process called “auditing”.[ 282] auditing remains central to the functioning of scientology[283] and is described by religious scholars as scientology’s main ritual,[284] the “primary ritual activity”[285] and most sacred process.”[286] the person being audited is called a “pre-clear”. ‘;[139] the person conducting the procedure is called the ‘auditor’.[287] auditing usually involves a question and answer session between the auditor and his client, the pre-clear. Usually also – an e-meter is used. The client holds two metal canisters in his paws, which are connected by a cable to the main box-shaped part of the device. This emits a small electrical current through the customer and then back into the box where the building material is measured with a needle.[291] accordingly, it detects fluctuations in electrical resistance in the client’s body.[290][289]
The auditor operates two disks on the central part of the device; the larger one is the “tonearm” and is used to adjust the force, and the smaller “sensitivity knob” affects the amplitude of the needle movement. The auditor then interprets the movements of the needle as it responds to the client’s questions and requests.[227] the motion of the needle is not noticeable to the client, and the auditor writes down his findings, but does not communicate them to the client.[227] hubbard said that the e-meter “measures the emotional response by tiny electrical impulses generated by thought.”[292] scientologists believe that the auditor finds points of resistance and transforms their form into energy that can then be discharged.[247] the auditor is said to be able to detect cards which the client does not wish to acknowledge or which are hidden from the client’s consciousness. Will be located at all points on the tone scale in accordance with their current emotional state.[296] scientologists claim that knowing where you are on the scale makes it easier to predict his or her clicks and helps regulate his or her condition.[297] auditing is an emotional experience for the client, during which he has the right to cry.[298] many former scientologists still hope for the effectiveness of dianetics.[273] urban reported that all of the most cynical ex-scientologists i spoke to spoke of various positive experiences, insights and realizations achieved through auditing.[299]
Scientology doctrine claims that through auditing, citizens can solve their own problems and get rid of engrams.[300] he further claims that this brings them back to their “natural state” as thetans and ensures that “causes” are found in their personal lives, responding constructively and creatively to life games rather than responding to them under the guidance of stored engrams. 301] once the problem area has been identified, the auditor asks the person specific questions about it to help him or her resolve the difficulty, and uses an e-meter to support the argument that the “charge” has dissipated.[289] as one progresses up the bridge to total freedom, the focus of auditing shifts from budget engrams to engrams of increasing complexity and other difficulties.[289] at more advanced levels of ot, scientologists act as their own auditors (“solo auditors”).[289]
Difficulties and costs
Scientology teaches that auditing can be difficult if the client is under the influence of drugs.[302] with this, clients are advised to undergo a cleansing course of several to three weeks in order to remove toxins from the body before taking up the auditing course.[303] the purification program, also known as the purification program or purif, focuses on eliminating the effects of both medical and recreational drugs on the individual through regular exercise, sauna visits, and a healthy diet. The church has purification centers where these activities can take place in most of its organizations,[302] while free zone scientologists sometimes use public saunas for this purpose.[305] other freezoners have argued that the effects of drugs can be counteracted through traditional auditing, without any in the purification rundown. May take materials on a “local” walk with us, during which they are asked to look at the objects they pass.[307] if auditing does not achieve its own goals, scientologists often say that it is due to a lack of sincerity from the auditee.[308] hubbard insisted that the meter was infallible, or that any failures were due to the auditor, not to the device.[309] prices are not often announced publicly.[311] in a 1964 letter, hubbard stated that a 25-hour block of auditing could cost the equivalent of “three months’ salary of the average normal middle-class expert.” Auditing at the tampa church organization cost $4,000.[312] the church is often criticized for the prices it charges for audits[312]. Hubbard stated that it was necessary to charge for auditing because the practice required an exchange, and if the auditor did not receive everything for the services provided, it could be detrimental to both participants.[312]
Going clear
According to scientology teaching, the removal of all engrams from a person’s mind brings that material from the “preclear” state to the “clear” mode.[313] once a person is clear, scientology teaches that he is capable of the latest levels of spiritual awareness.[314] in the 1960s, the church declared that “the clergy are wholly themselves with the richest consciousness and power.”[266] it is said in croup that a clear will have better health, improved hearing and vision, and, among other things, greatly increased intelligence;[315] hubbard claimed that clears are less prone to colds or allergies.[316] hubbard stated that anyone who is clear will play “a complete memory of anything that has ever happened to him, or of anything he has ever studied.”[317] people who have reached clear testify to a number of superhuman abilities, including the ability to see through walls, remote vision, and telepathic communication,[107] although the church does not recommend that they display their advanced abilities to anyone other than high-ranking members of the church.[318]
Hubbard claimed that once one reaches clear, one will be that way forever.[310] the church celebrates the achievement of the status of clergy by assigning a professional international cleric number, which is marked on a silver bracelet, and a certificate to a person. [318] hubbard first began presenting to the public the man that was said to have reached clear in the 1950s.[310] in 1979, he said that 16,849 became clear[319] and this year, 69,657 were clear[320]. In 2019, westbrook suggested that “at least 90%” of the members of the church have certainly not reached the state of clear,[320] which means that the majority” remained on the lower part of the bridge.[321] the goal of scientology is to “cleanse the planet”, in other words to clear all people in the world of their engrams. Rundown is a controversial auditing process of the church of scientology that is designed to handle a psychotic episode or a complete mental breakdown. Introspection is defined for the purposes of this summary as the state in which a person “goes into their own personal mind, feelings, reactions, etc.” [323]. The introspection rundown became the subject of public attention following the death of lisa mcpherson in 1995 [323]. 324]
Operating thetan levels
Degrees above the level of clear are called “operating thetan” or from.[325] hubbard described 15 levels of ot there, although he completed only eight of them during his lifetime.[326] ot levels 9 to 15 have not been achieved by any scientologist[327]; at the end of the last century, the church stated that the ot levels nine and ten would be fulfilled only after reaching certain milestones in the expansion of the church[328]
To obtain a level of study from a church member enters one of the advanced organizations or organizations based in los angeles, clearwater, east grinstead, copenhagen, sydney, and johannesburg[329]. Levels 6 and 7 are only available in clearwater.[330] the highest level, ot eight, is only revealed at sea on the scientology freewinds, operated by the flagship service company.[331][332] religious scholar aled thomas has suggested that human-level status creates an internal class system within the church.[333]
The church assures that the material taught at the ot levels can only be understood as merely its previous material. Has been mastered and therefore kept confidential until the person reaches the required level. Members of the church of the future usually refuse to talk about the content of these levels of ot[335]. People who advance through the ot levels are taught additional, more advanced auditing techniques[259]. An almost teachable technique is a way of auditing oneself[336], which is a necessary ceremony for the implementation of the seventh level – from[330].
Space opera and walls of fire
Reflecting a strong sci-fi issue in their theology[61], scientology teachings refer to the term “space opera”. Denoting events in the distant past that feature “spaceships, astronauts, and [and] intergalactic travel”. This carries what the religious scholar mikael rothstein called the “xenu myth,” the story of the birth of mankind. This myth was what rothstein called “the basic (sometimes implicit) mythology of the movement.”[338]
Hubbard wrote about a great catastrophe that happened 75 million years ago.[66] he called it “incident 2”, one of several “universal incidents” that hindered the thetan’s ability to remember his origins.[242] according to this story, 75 million years ago there was a galactic federation of 76 planets, ruled by a leader named xenu. The federation was overpopulated, and xenu transported a sufficient number of different personalities to the planet tygiac (earth) to solve this turmoil. After which he detonated hydrogen bombs inside the volcanoes to destroy this excess population. Then the thetans of the slain were “packed”, by which hubbard meant that they were grouped together. Implants were inserted into them oriented to the destruction of any body where these thetans would later dwell if they remembered the event of their destruction.[340] after the massacre at tigiac, several officers in xenu’s service rebelled against him, eventually capturing and imprisoning him.The tigieks were destroyed, but their inner thetans survived and continue to bear the trauma of such an important day.[242] scientology claims that some of these traumatized, disembodied thetans become “body thetans”, clustering around and influencing real teachers.[342] a great deal of modern auditing technology taught to scientologists is focused on working with these body thetans, awakening them from the amnesia they experience and allowing them to separate from the bodies around which they cluster. Once liberated, they are able to either be born into bodies of their choice or remain separated from any body in form. “Plunge” into the depths of your “time track”. [344] he remarked that he was “probably the only one who has ever eaten for 75,000,000 years.” [340] scientology teaches that attempting to recover someone else’s letters from the “time track” can normally result in the person’s death caused by the presence of xenu implants, but due to hubbard’s “technology” this death can be prevented.[345]
According to the church, the study of xenu myth is harmful to those who are not capable of it[347]. Documents discussing xenu have been restricted to all members of the church who have reached scale iii, known as the “wall of fire”.[348] these ot iii teachings about xenu were later leaked from former members[349] to the public once the toys were produced and presented as evidence in business court for example [350][351] these diseases are now widely available online.[352] the church maintains that the leaked documents have been corrupted[353] and that texts on the old testament level have religious significance only in the context of the old testament courses in which they are taught and are therefore incomprehensible to outsiders[354]. Church members who have reached caliber iii usually deny the existence of these teachings.[355] however, hubbard spoke of xenu more than once,[356] xenu’s story bears similarities to some of the science fiction stories published by hubbard,[357] and rothstein noted that “significant themes from xenu’s history can be found in hubbard’s scientology: a history of [358]
Critics of scientology routinely consume references to xena to ridicule the movement,[346] believing that said story would be regarded by outsiders as absurd and in a similar way prove harmful to scientology.[ 359] critics have also pointed out factual inconsistencies in the myth; geologists show that the mythical mauna loa volcano is much younger than 75 million years. However, scientologists find this to be a factual description of past events.[360]
Ethics, morals and gender roles
Scientology establishes clear moral guidelines for particular followers to adhere to.[ 361] in the scientology worldview, people are recognized as essentially good.[362] his value system was largely compatible with the protestant culture in which he originated. Scientology professes hope for basic human rights.[363] liberal or individual human rights are generally emphasized as being at the core of the scientology creed[364], and scientologists campaign to promote the universal declaration of human rights[365]
gender and sexuality have been contentious issues in the history of scientology.[ 366] the fair sex can be servants and rise through the ranks just like the men.[367] hubbard’s writing makes use of androcentric assumptions through the use of language,[368] and critics of scientology accuse the film of misogyny.[369] hubbard’s use of language was also heteronormative,[368] and he described same-sex attraction as a perversion and physical disease that makes homosexuals “extremely dangerous to society.”[370] various free zone scientologists have claimed to have encountered homophobia within themselves. Church.[371] the church’s position on systems of same-sex sexuality has drawn criticism from gay rights activists.[372]
Survival and the eight dynamics
Scientology emphasizes the importance includes eight classifications called “dynamics”.[373][374] the first dynamic is individual; the second refers to procreation and the family; the third group or groups to which the person belongs; the fourth is humanity; the fifth is the environment around; the sixth, the physical universe; the seventh, the spiritual universe; and the eighth is infinity or divinity. According to hubbard’s teachings, the correct solution to any difficulty is that which brings the greatest benefit to the greatest number of dynamics.[244][374] westbrook stated that this “utilitarian principle is central to simply scientology ethics by church members.” The krc triangles are concept maps that show the relationship between three concepts to form another concept.These pair of triangles play an important role in the scientology symbol. The lower triangle, the arc triangle, represents the general knowledge of the knowledge that the scientologist seeks.[263] it includes affinity (affinity, love or liking), reality (consensual reality, and communication (the exchange of ideas).[263] scientology teaches that improving one of the three aspects of the triangle “levels up” the other two, but communication is considered the most important. [246] the upper triangle is the krc triangle, the letters krc indicating a similar relationship between knowledge, responsibility and control.[376]
Scientologists use the letters arc as a gentle greeting in personal communication, for example, at the end of the letter.[377] social problems are attributed to failures in arc—in other words, disagreement with reality, inability to communicate effectively, or inability to develop affinity.[378] they must take the form of overts—harmful actions against another person, either intentionally or not acting, followed by usually followed by withholds, attempts to cover up wrongdoing, which adds to the level of tension in life.[378]
Views of hubbard
Scientologists consider hubbard an ex an ordinary person, rather than worshiping him as a deity.[379] they consider him to be an outstanding operating thetan who stayed in the territory to show others the path to spiritual liberation,[227] the man who discovered the source of human suffering and the technology that allows everyone to realize their true potential[380]. The church of scientology leadership describes hubbard’s physical death as “abandoning one’s body” to conduct higher levels of research that would not be possible with an earthbound body.[381]
Scientologists often refer to hubbard affectionately as “ron” [382], and others call him their “friend.”[383] the church uses a calendar where 1950, under the auspices of the publication of hubbard’s dianetics, is considered year zero, the beginning of an era. The years after this date are called “ad”, which means “after dianetics”. [384] they also buried copies of his writings, preserved on stainless steel discs, in a secure underground vault, wishing to save them from a major catastrophe. [380] the church’s view of hubbard is presented in hubbard’s official biography, in their ron magazine series, and in their l. Ron hubbard life exhibition in los angeles.[381] the church’s accounts of the current hubbard have been characterized as being largely hagiographic,[385] aiming to present the money and carrier as “a man of exceptional character, morality, and intelligence.”[386] critics of hubbard and his church claim that many of the details of his life, as he presented it, were false. To imitate those he used in his moments of life,[388] and, most often, his busts are also exhibited.[389] in 2005, the church designated certain sites associated with his life as “l. Ron hubbard landmarks” for scientologists to visit; they are in the usa, england and south africa. Westbrook considered them places of pilgrimage for adherents. Many scientologists visit saint hill manor as a pilgrimage.[392]
Scientology ceremonies
Ceremonies performed by the church fall into two broad categories; sunday services and ceremonies commemorating certain events in the development of the child[393]. The latter include weddings, baby-naming ceremonies, and funerals.[263] friday services are held to mark the end of the previous week’s services.[263] such rites may be performed by appointed ministers of scientology.[263] however, these functions and the clergy who conduct them play only a minor role in the development of scientologists. And observe silent prayer. They then read hubbard’s text and either deliver their own sermon or play a recording of hubbard’s lectures. The congregation can then only ask the minister questions about what they have just heard. Prayers are then offered for justice, religious freedom, spiritual advancement, and understanding of the supreme being. The deductibles will then be read, and finally the service will end with the singing of the anthem or the playing of music.[395] some members of the church regularly attend these services, while others rarely or never[239]. Services are rarely attended,[396] although they are open to everyone, including non-scientologists.[253]
There are two major celebrations each year.[397] the first, “birthday”, marks hubbard’s name day on march 13.[398] the second, “the may 9th event,” marks the day dianetics was first published.[399] major celebrations of these events take place at church headquarters in clearwater, which are filmed and then distributed to other church centers around the world.The footage is being shown at these centers next weekend so that members of the church can gather in other countries to view it.[400]
Weddings, naming ceremonies, and funerals
At church wedding services, two partners are asked to be faithful and to cooperate with each other.[237] these weddings use scientology terminology, such as when a priest asks married couples if they have “told” each other their passion and mutually “confessed” it. The church naming ceremony is designed to help the thetan navigate his new body and introduce him to his godparents.[402] during the ceremony, the minister reminds the parents and godparents of the girl’s father and mother of their responsibility to help the newly born thetan and encourage him to spiritual freedom.[402]
Church funerals take place at home. Or a chapel. If in the latter, then there is a procession to the altar, in front of which the coffin is placed on a hearse.[402] the minister reminds the audience of reincarnation and encourages the deceased thetan to move on and get a new body.[402] the official ordination of ministers contains the new minister reading aloud the auditor’s code and the scientology code and promising to follow them. Then the new minister is given an eight-pointed church cross on a chain. Opposed to psychiatry and psychology. Psychiatry rejected hubbard’s theories in the early 1950s, and in 1951 hubbard’s wife sara consulted doctors who recommended that he “be placed in a nursing home for psychiatric observation and treatment of a mental illness known as paranoid schizophrenia.” >
Hubbard taught that psychiatrists are responsible for much of the evil in the world, saying that psychiatry once offered its strength as a tool of political suppression and that “psychiatry gave rise to an ideology that ignited the hitler mania, turned the nazis into wanted killers and staged the holocaust.”[407] hubbard created the antipsychiatric organization citizens commission on human rights (cchr), which runs the antipsychiatric museum psychiatry: an industry of death.[407]
Since 1969, cchr has been campaigning. Apart from psychiatric treatment, electroconvulsive shock therapy, lobotomy, and drugs such as ritalin and prozac. According to the church of scientology’s official website, “the effects of medical and psychiatric drugs, whether they be painkillers, tranquilizers, or ‘antidepressants’, are just as devastating” as illicit drugs. Church internal documents reveal intention to eradicate neurology and replace it with scientology therapy.[404]
Church of scientology
The church is headquartered at flag ground base in clearwater, florida. This base covers two million square feet and includes over 50 buildings. The church exists according to the hierarchical principle “from top to bottom”[413], having a particularly bureaucratic structure[414]. He proves himself to be the only true voice of scientology.[415] the internal structure of scientology organizations is highly bureaucratic, with an emphasis on data-based management.[416] organizations’ operating budgets are performance driven and reviewed frequently.[416]
By 2011, the church claimed more than 700 centers in 65 countries.[417] smaller centers are called “missions”.[418] their largest population is in america, and second largest in europe.[419] missions are established by missionaries, who are called “missionaries” in church terminology[420]. Members of the church may establish a mission wherever they wish, but must finance it themselves; missions do not receive financial support from a central church organization.[421] mission holders must purchase all required materials from the church; as of 2001, the simplest mission package cost $35,000. Each franchise sends a portion of its entry-level audit income to international management. Bromley observed that using the services of the church is permeated with a system of incentives for entrepreneurship, in which individuals and organizations are rewarded for attracting new people or for registering them for more modern services. The personal and collective results of the various contestants and missions are collected and referred to as “statistics”. [426] indicators that improve from the previous week are called “up statistics”; those showing a decline are “downgrade statistics”. In 2012, in addition to an annual income estimated at 200 million greenbacks annually.[428]
Internal organization
The marine company is the main division administration of the church, [425] containing the highest ranks in the church hierarchy.[416] westbrook referred to its members as “ecclesiastical clergy.”[249] its members are often drawn from the children of existing scientologists[429] and signed a “billion year contract” to serve the church[430].Kent described that for adult members of the sea org with underage children, their work responsibilities took precedence, damaging parent-child relationships and leading to cases of serious neglect, which is dangerous.[431]
The church of scientology international (csi) coordinates any other chapters.[419] in 1982, he founded the religious technology center to admire the application of his methods.[432] missionary activity is located in the presence of the international organization of scientology missions, founded in 1981. Seriously deviated from his teachings. When sea org members are found guilty of a violation, they are sent to the rpf;[434] they are the most likely to face a hearing by an “evidence committee” that determines whether they are sent to the rpf.[435] the rpf operates in several places.[436] the rpf contains a daily regimen of five hours of auditing or learning process, eight hours of work, often hard labor such as building repairs, and at least seven hours of sleep.[434] douglas e. Cowan and david j. Bromley ensure that doctors and observers have come to radically different conclusions about the rpf and many of the rules, whether it be “voluntary or coercive, therapeutic or punitive.” Critics denounced the actions of the rpf for violating human rights[253] and criticized the church for placing children as young as 12 years old in the rpf, engaging firewood in forced labor, and denying access to adults, which is a violation of article 8 of the european convention on the legal limits of the citizen. .[437] the rpf has contributed to the characterization of the church as a cult.[438]
The office of special affairs, or osa (formerly the guardian’s office), is a department of the church of scientology that has been characterized as non-governmental intelligence service.[439][440][441] he has targeted the firm’s critics for its “dead agent” operations, which are ramping up manipulation to kill the reputation of alleged enemies. In the article. A 1990 los angeles times reported that using the services of the 1980s, the scientology organization made more use of detective agencies, in particular the old and current lapd, to provide themselves with a level of protection if awkward tactics were used and made public. ]
The church of spiritual technology (cst) has been described as “the most secret organization in all of scientology.”[444] shelley miscavige, the wife of leader david miscavige, who has not been seen in public for over 10 years, is believed to have a parallel cst in twin peaks, california.[445][446]
scientology operates hundreds of cathedrals and missions around the world.[447] only in these places do scientologists receive introductory training, and only at our local level do most scientologists participate.[447] churches and missions are licensed franchises; they are able to offer services for a fee in a situation where they contribute part of their own earnings and comply with the requirements of the religious technology center (rtc) and its standards.[447][448]
The international association of scientologists works for development of the cause of the church together with her members in different countries.[449]
Advertising material
Converts.[450] hubbard promoted scientology through numerous books, publications, and conferences.[227] the church publishes several magazines, including source, advance, the auditor, and freedom.[224] he founded the new era[451] publishing house and the golden era[452] audiovisual publishing house. The church also used the network for advertising purposes[453]. The church has used advertising to attract potential converts, even in high-demand venues such as tv commercials during the 2014 and 2020 super bowl periods.[454]
The church has long used celebrities as a marketing tool, with ” hubbard’s celebrity project in 1955 and ending with his first scientology celebrity center in 1969. The celebrity center is headquartered in hollywood; other branches are located in dallas, nashville, vegas, new york and paris. They are described as points where famous people can work on their spiritual development without being distracted by either the fans or the press.[457] in 1955, hubbard compiled a list of 63 celebrities who should have been converted to scientology.[458] famous celebrities who have joined the church include john travolta, tom cruise, kirstie alley, nancy cartwright, and juliette lewis[459]. The church uses celebrity participation to appear more desirable.[460] other new religious movements such as the church of satan, transcendental meditation, iskcon and the kabbalah center have also sought to attract celebrities.[461]
Community activities
the applicability of hubbard’s teachings has also led to the formation of secular companies in areas such as drug abuse education and rehabilitation, literacy and human rights .[462] several scientology organizations promote the use of scientology practices as a means of solving social problems. Scientology began to deal with these troubles in the early 1970s under the leadership of hubbard. The church of scientology has developed information seminars to combat drug addiction, illiteracy, hardship – at the desk and criminal behavior. They have been presented to schools, businesses, and communities as secular practices that draw on hubbard’s writings.[463]
The church strives to prioritize social impact through a variety of social programs.[464] to this end, it has created a network of humanitarian organizations[55], the lion’s share of which operate on a non-profit basis.[222] these attempts reflect scientology’s uncertainty about the state’s ability to build a just society.[465] launched in 1966, narconon is the church’s drug rehabilitation program that uses hubbard’s drug theories and cures addicts through auditing, exercise, saunas, vitamin supplements, and healthy eating.[466] criminon is the church’s criminal rehabilitation program. Its applied school program, established in 1972, uses hubbard’s teaching methods to help students. The way to business success foundation promotes a moral code written by hubbard, which has now been translated into more than 70 languages.[468] narconon, criminon, applied school and the no way operate under the direction of the association for a better life and education. The world institute of scientology enterprises (wise) applies the methods of scientology to business management. The best-known training provider using hubbard’s technology is sterling management systems. Volunteers of the church, dressed in distinctive yellow shirts, offer help and boredom to anyone in a difficult situation; this includes the scientology technique of giving “assists”.[471] after the september 11, 2001, terrorist attack in new york, volunteer workers were at the construction site of the epidemic for many days after the attack, helping rescuers;[472] they subsequently went to new orleans after hurricane katrina[39]. Reports on the effectiveness of volunteers have been mixed, and touch assistance is not supported by scientific evidence. Critics of the church view this outreach activity as simply a public relations exercise.[464]
The church is using its citizens commission on human rights to eliminate psychiatry,[424] while scientologists administers anti-discrimination sanctions (stand) handles public outreach for scientology and scientologists.[476] the church’s national law enforcement and human rights commission deals with what the page considers abusive acts committed by governmental and intergovernmental organizations such as the irs, the department of justice, the central intelligence agency, and interpol.[424][407] through these projects, the church sees itself as “cleansing the planet”, striving to return humanity to a personal natural state of happiness.[477]
Responses to opponents
The church considers itself a victim of persecution by an outsider press and government[478], while religious scholar douglas cowan saw that “words about systematic persecution and persecution” are part of church culture[479]. ] Accordingly, urban noted that the church “had a tendency to respond very aggressively to its critics, bringing numerous lawsuits and at times using illegal means to respond to those who threatened it.” His critic.[480] the church’s approach to persecuting its critics often created a more negative need for their organization,[481] but lewis saw how, in this regard, the church “has proven itself to be its own worst enemy”[210].
The church has a reputation for being litigious due to large parties involved in legal conflicts.[482] barrett described the church as “some of the most controversial religions in the world”. She filed lawsuits against governments, firms and individuals both to counter criticism of her native address and to obtain legal recognition as a religion.[483] his efforts to obtain the latter also helped other minority groups to do their best.[484] j.P. Kumar, who studied church litigation, argued that winning was not that important to the organization; it was important to drain the portals and nerves of his critics[485]. The divisiveness of the church has been compared to jehovah’s witnesses in the first half of the 20th century.[224]
Suppressives and fair play
Those considered hostile to the church, including former members, are referred to as “suppressives” or sps[486]. Hubbard admitted that twenty percent of the population would be classified as “suppressive” because they are definitely malevolent or dangerous: “adolf hitlers and genghis khans, unrepentant killers and drug lords.” If the church declares that one of its members is an sp, all other members of the church are prohibited from further contact with them, which it calls “shutdown”.[481] any member who violates this rule is flagged as a “potential trouble source” (pts), and if they do not cut off all contact almost immediately, they themselves may be flagged as sp.[488][489][490]
In a letter to members in october 1968, hubbard wrote about a policy called “fair play” against sps and other perceived threats to the church. Here he stated that such persons are prepared to be dispossessed or injured in any way by any scientologist without any discipline on the part of scientologists. Are deceived, prosecuted, deceived, or destroyed.” After being heavily criticized, the church officially ended the “no-cheat game” after a month, and hubbard stated that he never intended to “permit unlawful acts or acts of the type of persecution against anyone”. Critics of the church and some observer scholars argue that its practice reflects this. The policy will remain in effect.[493] former members of the church “widely argue that fair play” still applies; [494] stacey brooks, a former member of the church’s wise cases department, testified in court that “secrets formerly called ‘fair play’ continue to be used, although the term ‘fair play’ is no longer used.”[492]
Hubbard and his followers harassed many subscribers, as well as government irs and other us government agencies in the 1970s. They also conducted private investigations, reputational damage, and lawsuits against critics of the firm in periodicals.[495]
An ethics system governs the behavior of members,[416] and ethics officers are present in every scientology. Organization. Ethics officers ensure the “correct use of scientology methodology and deal with “conduct adversely affecting the conduct of the scientology organization”, from “omissions and “misdemeanors” to “crimes” and “suppressive acts”, as these terms are defined by scientology. 434]
Free zone scientology
The term “free zone” is used to refer to the vast but disparate group of scientologists outside the church of scientology.[ 496] those those who live in arithmetic are sometimes called “free zones”. Many who are not undeniably church members prefer to describe their practice as “independent scientology” due to associations of the term “free sector” with ron’s firm and the innovations developed by robertson; [498] “independent scientology” is a newer term than “free zone”.[499]
The key to the free zone is that religious scholar aled thomas called it largely unregulated and non-hierarchical “. [500] many different interpretations of scientology are used in the free zone;[501] thomas has suggested that free zone scientologists have split into “purists” who emphasize loyalty to hubbard’s teachings and those who are more open to innovation.[502] residents the free zone usually emphasizes that scientology as a religion is distinct from the church of scientology as an organization, criticizing the latter’s actions rather than their beliefs, they often guarantee that they are rightfully called the true heirs of hubbard’s teachings[504], arguing that scientology’s main focus is on the individual personal development, and that this does not require a leader or membership with us.503 some free zone proponents argue that audits should be more accessible than those conducted by the church,[503] and criticize the church’s lavish spending on organization buildings.[ 505]
The church remains hostile to the free zone,[506] considering it heretical.[507] he calls non-members new people who either practice scientology or simply adopt elements of its technology are “squirrels”[508], and their activities are “squirrels”.[284] the term “squirrels” was developed by hubbard and originally referred only to non-scientologists using his technology .[503] the church also claims that any effective use of its technology by non-members is risky as it can be misused.[509] free zone scientologists have also accused the church of “squirrelling”,[499] changed hubbard’s words in various posthumous publications[510].Lewis suggested that the free zone was fueled by some ecclesiastical politics, even hubbard’s tendency to expel high-ranking members who he felt could rival his secrets and the ecclesiastical “suppressive person” policy that prevented rapprochement with former members. >
Free zone groups
The term “free zone” was first introduced in 1984 by bill robertson, one of hubbard’s early associates.[512] that same year, robertson founded the ron organization, a loose federation of scientology groups operating outside the church.[513] rona’s organization, headquartered in switzerland, has subsidiaries in belgium and france, the russian federation and other former parts of the ussr.[514] robertson has confessed to having passed on messages from hubbard after the latter’s death, through which he discovered levels of ot above the eight then offered by the church.[515] although its founding members had previously been part of the church, during its formation most of those who joined had not previously participated in the church.[516] another non-church group was the advanced ability center founded by david mayo before santa barbara. Finally the church managed to close it.[514] in 1920, the scientology center in haifa, israel, broke away from the church.[514]
In addition to these firms, there are also modest groups of scientologists outside the church who meet informally.[514]
498] some avoid the creation of public complexes and communities, fearing legal retribution from the position of the church[517]. There are practitioners in the free zone who love transportation, which thomas calls “a very personalized form of scientology”[220], encouraging innovation with hubbard’s technology.[518]
Urban described the church of scientology as “the most controversial different religion in the world” [39], while lewis called it perhaps the most consistently controversial” of the popular new religious movements. [521] according to urban’s reviews, the church has had a “documented history of extremely problematic behavior ranging from spying against state internal organs to shocking attacks on church critics and mistreatment of its own members.”[522]
The first point of contention was his challenge to the psychotherapeutic establishment. Another was a recent 1991 time magazine article criticizing an organization that responded with a major lawsuit that was dismissed by law as unfounded in early 1992. Released status in 1993. ] And germany).[526][527][528][529][530] it was the usual mostmost-controversial religious movement in history, filing an unlimited number of lawsuits against governments, organizations, and individuals.[531]
Journalists, courts, and government bodies of clearly defined countries that the church scientology is an unscrupulous business enterprise that harasses its experts and brutally exploits its members. A huge number of investigations have been directed against the organization by various groups, from the media to government agencies. , Include:
– Criminal behavior of members of the organization, in particular getting into the government of the united states of america.[527]- organized persecution of people who are considered enemies of the church of scientology.[527] – the scientology shutdown policy, which requires some members to avoid friends or family members who are “hostile” to the church of scientology. Organization.[532][533]- death of scientologist lisa mcpherson while she was in the organization’s care. (Robert minton sponsored a multi-million dollar lawsuit against scientology over mcpherson’s death. In may 2004, mcpherson’s estate and the church of scientology reached a confidential agreement.) Criticizes the scientology organization.[535]- allegations that organization leader david miscavige beats and demoralizes employees, and that physical abuse by the boss versus employees working for them is a common occurrence in the device.[536][537] scientology spokesman tommy davis denied these claims and presented witnesses to refute them. / >
Stephen a. Kent, professor of sociology, said that “scientologists see themselves as holders of doctrines and callings that can save the world, if not the entire galaxy.”[541] as the doctrine of scientology puts it: “the entire painful future of this planet, of every member of the strong half of humanity, young lady and child on it, so that your own destiny for the next endless trillions of years depends on what you do here and now with scientology and you.”[542] kent described the scientology system of ethics as “a new kind of morality that has been of exceptional benefit [to the church of scientology]…Simply put, the goal of scientology ethics is to eliminate adversaries, and then to eliminate the interests of citizens in things other than scientology.”437]
Many former members say about the firm and the many negative effects of its teachings on them in particular, celebrities like leah remini. Remini announced her withdrawal from the church of scientology, saying that she still has friends with us who she can no longer talk to.[543]
Hubbard’s motives
Hubbard’s critics often see attacks on his life history as a drug to delegitimize dianetics and scientology.[544] a common criticism of hubbard was that he relied on pre-existing sources and claims that he became motivated by financial causes.[545] hubbard was accused in his lifetime of using religion as an outsider, for scientology, in order to maintain tax-exempt status and avoid prosecution for false medical claims. Irs quoted a statement, often attributed to hubbard, about everything that the way to get rich is to start a religion.[142] many of hubbard’s science fiction colleagues, including sam mervyn, lloyd arthur eshbach, and sam moskovich, recall hubbard bringing up this topic in conversation.[546][547][548]
Hubbard developed into a climate that was very critical of organized religion and habitually quoted anti-religious sentiments in his early lectures. Scholar marco frenchkowski (university of mainz) stated that it was not easy for hubbard “to come to terms with the spiritual side of his own movement. Hubbard didn’t dream of founding a religion: he discovered that something he was talking about was actually a religion. Usually, this happened when he had to pour in obvious memories from past lives. He had to defend himself in front of his friends about this.” Concerned about how to present scientology to the outside world,” but rejects the notion that the religious format was purely a pretext; frenchkowski points to many passages from hubbard’s writings that document his struggle with this moment.[549] frenchkowski suggests that it was a biographical error to suggest that hubbard only became interested in scientology as a religion in 1954. He emphasizes that hubbard discussed religion and the concept of god even in the years before the rise of scientology, and did not “throw into religion”, but rather “opened the site in the course of work, with pre-clears”.[160]
In drawing parallels to such identity struggles in some religious movements, among them theosophy and transcendental meditation, frenchkowski sees in hubbard’s lectures “the case of a man whose background was non-religious, but who, nevertheless, discovers that such ideas one way or another, they vacillate between “science” (in a completely popular sense), “religion” and “philosophy”. , And that these desires somehow fascinate so many comrades that the images begin to form a separate movement. Hubbard experiments with conventional religious language in a short work written in 1953 entitled “the factors,” “the basic expression of scientology cosmology and metaphysics,” reprinted in this scientology literature. An integral part of the metamorphosis of scientology into a religion, written when, when the nature of the new movement was unclear.[550]
the church of scientology will say that hubbard’s idea of founding a religion for his own benefit is an unsubstantiated rumor.[551] the organization also suggests that the source of the rumors was a remark by george orwell that was erroneously attributed to hubbard. Robert won young, who left the organization in 1989 after only being a spokesperson for two decades, has suggested that reports that hubbard made such a claim can be explained as misattribution, despite the fact that he met three of hubbard’s associates from his science fiction who remembered hubbard making such claims. Statements of this kind personally.[528]
It was young who, by a lucky chance, came up with the “orwell quote”: “but i thought for a century that there might be a lot of finance for creating a new religion, and we will talk about after some time.” It appears in a letter from eric blair (known on earth as george orwell) to his friend jack common dated february 16, 1938, and is published in george orwell’s collected essays, journalism and letters, vol. 1.[553] in 2006, rolling stone’s janet reitman also attributed this statement to hubbard as a remark to science fiction writer lloyd eshbach and recorded in eshbach’s autobiography.[554]
Criminal behavior
Most of the controversy surrounding scientology stems from the criminal convictions of key members of the scientology organization.
In 1978, several scientologists, even wife l.Ron hubbard’s mary sue hubbard (who at the time was a deputy in the company) were convicted of carrying out food in what was at the time the largest domestic espionage incident in the culture of the united states with the name “operation snow white”. This included breaking in, wiretapping, and stealing documents from the offices of federal prosecutors and the tax authority.[555] l. Ron hubbard was convicted in absentia by the french authorities for engaging in fraud and sentenced to four years in prison.[18] the head of the french church of scientology was convicted in the same trial and sentenced to a regular year of probation. Criminal acts of scientology against various critics of the organization. In “operation freakout”, agents of the organization attempted to take down paulette cooper, the author of the scientology scandal, an early book critical of the movement. Among these documents was a plan to accuse gabe cazares, the mayor of clearwater, florida, of staging an accident. The nine people associated with the case were primarily prosecuted on charges of theft, theft with a hack, conspiracy and other crimes.
In 1988, scientology president heber jench and ten other members of the organization. Various allegations, including unlawful association, coercion, fraud, and pathological labor laws.[558]
In october 2009, the church of scientology was found guilty of organized fraud in france.[559] the verdict was confirmed by the court of appeal at the end of winter 2012. And the supreme court of cassation in october 2013[560][21]
In 2012. Fraud and extortion platform.[561][562][563] in the early spring of 2016 in recent months, the church of scientology was cleared of all charges, and demands to close its belgian branch and european headquarters were rejected.[564]
Organized persecution
scientology has historically been hostile to its critics; the leaders of the organization said that scientology is not yet a religion of coasters.[565] journalists, politicians, former scientologists, and a variety of anti-cult groups have leveled allegations of wrongdoing against scientology since the 1960s, and scientology has pursued these critics—with a bare minimum—for retribution in the form of lawsuits and public counter-charges of personal wrongdoing. . Many critics of scientology have also reported being threatened and harassed in family life.[566][567]
According to a 1990 los angeles times article, church members need to conduct private detectives, even old and current lapd, as this provides the organization with a degree of protection in case investigators use tactics that could embarrass the organization. In one instance, the organization described its tactics as being “sanctioned by the lapd”, a claim vigorously contested by police chief daryl gates. An officer involved in this particular case of surveillance and harassment was suspended for six months.[443] i” was shouted at, spied on, broke into my hotel at midnight, called me a “fanatic”. Stellar scientologists, brainwashed – that’s how i felt – in a mock torture chamber in a nazi vein and pursued along the avenues of los angeles by sinister strangers. >
During an audit, the auditor collects and records his information from the client.[569]
While the church of scientology claims to protect the confidentiality of audit records, the company has history of attacks and mental abuse of former members through information taken from the records. For example, the guardian’s office order dated december 16, 1969 (go 121669) to mary sue hubbard expressly authorized the use of audit records for the purpose of “internal security”. Former participants report that they were involved in reviewing information obtained from audit sessions to see if it could be used for smear campaigns against critics.[571][572]
Compulsory abortion allegations
Originally, the sea org operated on ships into the ocean, where it was indisputably not allowed to raise children aboard ships. Have an abortion. [437] [test failed]
In 2003. The times of india reported that “forced abortions, beatings, starvation are considered in this church as a means of discipline”.[573 ]
A former high-ranking source reports that about 1,500 abortions” have been performed by women in the marine company since the rule that members could not stay in the company came into force at the end of the 80s if they decide to have children.” The source noted that even if members who have worked in the sea org for, say, 10 years, still decide to have children, they are fired with a severance pay of no more than $1,000.”[574]
Many former members said they were pressured into having the instrument perform an abortion.
Longtime member astra woodcraft reportedly “left scientology for good when the church tried to force her to have an abortion.”[ 575 [576] former sea org member karen pressley said that fellow scientologists often asked her for loans so they could have an abortion and get sea org. Scientology employee claire headley stated that she was forced to have (two) abortions in order to keep her case and was subjected to violations of personal permits and freedoms in order to obtain forced labor.[580] laura ann decrescenzo reported that she was “forced to have an abortion” when she was a minor. Or faced with the fact that the leadership of the organization declared him a “suppressive person.”[582] in march 2010, former scientologist janette lang stated that she had become pregnant at the age of twenty by her own boyfriend while present in the organization,[583] and her boyfriend’s scientology leaders “forced them to terminate the pregnancy.”[584] “we fought for a week, i was devastated, i felt insulted, i fell out of my memory and in the end, i gave up. It was my child, my body and my selection and others that scientology took from me,” lang said. .[584][585]
Australian senator nick xenophon addressed the australian parliament in the last month of november 2009 about statements he received from former scientologists.[586] he said he was told that members of the organization forced pregnant employees to have abortions.[586] “i am deeply concerned about this logistics and all the damaging impact that the camera can have on its followers,” said senator xenophon and demanded that the australian senate launch an investigation into the field of scientology.[586] according to letters submitted by senator xenophon, the organization “ordered” its members to have abortions. In forcing pregnant women within the organization to have abortions.[588] “aaron says women who got pregnant were taken to offices and harassed to have an abortion. Where they refused, they faced demotion and hard labor. Aaron says one employee used a hanger for work and had an abortion on her own for fear of reprisals.” Said senator xenophon.[589] carmel underwood, the next former scientologist, said that to date she has been under “extreme pressure” to have an abortion,[590] and that she was later placed in a disappearance program after refusing.”[591] underwood was the executive director of the scientology chapter in sydney, australia.[580] mike ferris, head of scientology new zealand, told the media that there are no forced abortions in scientology.[592] scientology spokeswoman virginia stewart also rejected these contracts and stated that “the church of scientology considers family and children of paramount importance and does not yet condone or force anyone to undergo any medical procedure.”[593]
Statements of human trafficking and other crimes against women
Several women have taken legal action against the church of scientology alleging complaints including human trafficking, rape, forced labor and child abuse.[594] in 2009, mark and claire headley sued the church of scientology, alleging gun trafficking.[595]
Scientology, litigation, and the internet
In the 1990s, the mickiewicz organization took action against the increased search engine criticism of scientology and the online distribution of documents caused by scientology. May).[597] many of the lawsuits were dismissed, but the main one on the list resulted in $2 million in losses, bankrupting the network. In bankruptcy, the can name and logo are available to the scientologist. With the help of scientology, the new cult awareness network is set up, in which it is announced that the porn bunny acts as an information and networking center for non-traditional religions, directing callers to scholars and other experts.[599][600]
in 1993, the church of scientology filed a lawsuit in america against former church member stephen fishman, fishman issued a court filing that included a couple of dozen pages of previously secret esotericism detailing aspects of scientology cosmogony. Eventually her litigation, usually heavily guarded and used only at the most advanced “ot levels” of scientology, made its way onto the internet.[601] this leads to a battle between the church of scientology and its remote critics over the right to disclose this material or keep it confidential.[601] the church of scientology was forced to issue a press release acknowledging the existence of this cosmogony in exchange for allowing its critics to “mangle and misuse our articles for commercial purposes.”[601]
In january 1995 church of scientology lawyer helena kobrin attempted to shut down the alt.Religion.Scientology newsgroup by sending a control message instructing the usenet servers to remove the group. In practice, this rmgroup message had little effect, as many usenet servers are configured to ignore such messages when sent to groups receiving significant traffic, and new group messages were quickly sent to recreate the command on those servers that did not receive. However, the publication of the message caused violent public criticism from the side of the defenders of freedom of speech. Among the criticisms expressed, one suggestion is that scientology’s true motive is to suppress the free speech of its critics. Using tactics that many call sporgeria, similar to the millions of fake spam messages presented in the team. Some investigators have stated that some spam has been tracked to members of the church of scientology. Former scientologist tory christman later claimed that the office of special affairs made a concerted effort to eliminate scientology’s alt-religion through this sort of means; attempt failed.[610]
On january 14, 2008, a church of scientology video of an interview with tom cruise was leaked online and uploaded to youtube.[614] calling the church of scientology’s actions a form of internet censorship, anonymous members coordinated the chanology project, which includes a series of denial of service attacks on scientology websites, pranks, and black faxes to scientology centers. 616][617][618][619]
On january 21, 2008, anonymous announced their plans in a youtube video titled “message to scientology” or in a press release announcing “war” against the church of scientology and the field of religious technology. In a press release, the group stated that attacks on the church of scientology would continue in order to protect freedom of speech and end what they considered the financial exploitation of members of the organization.[621]
28 january 2008 an anonymous video appeared on youtube calling for protests outside the church of scientology february 10, 2008[622][623] the date was chosen because it was lisa mcpherson’s birthday.[624] according to an anonymous email sent to the press, about 7,000 people protested in more than 90 cities around the country.[625] many protesters wore masks based on the character v from v for vendetta (influenced by guy fawkes) or otherwise concealed themselves, in part to protect themselves from reprisals from the church of scientology. Since then, many more protests have followed in cities around the world. , To exclude self-serving edits from the position of scientologists.[629][630] the thread was also banned by “many anti-scientology editors”. The committee concluded that both sides were “playing politics and resorting to ‘battlefield tactics’ while articles about living people were the ‘worst casualties’.”[629]
Controversy about legal status
The legal status of scientology or organizations associated with scientology varies by jurisdiction.[29][30][631] scientology has been officially recognized as a tax-exempt religion in australia[31], portugal[632] and spain[633]. In 1993, scientology was exempted from taxes in the united states. The organization is a cult in chile and an “anti-constitutional sect” in germany,[34] and remains a cult (french sect) by some french authorities.[35]
The church of scientology affirms that scientology is a genuine religious a movement that has been misrepresented, slandered and persecuted. The organization has conducted an extensive public relations campaign to have scientology recognized as a tax-exempt religion across continents when it exists.[639][640][641]
Its harsh tactics against film critics and members who want to leave the organization. A minority of governments consider it a religious organization eligible for tax exemption, while other governments variously classify it as a business, cult, pseudo-religion, or criminal organization.[643][644]
in 1957 the us internal revenue service (irs) granted tax-exempt status to the church of scientology of california, along with other local chapters of the organization.[33] however, in 1958, the irs began testing the appropriateness of this status. In 1959, hubbard moved to england and remained there until the mid-1960s. [16] the ban was based on anderson’s report, which found that the auditing process involved “command” hypnosis, where the hypnotist performs “positive authoritative adjustments on the patient. On this point the report says[645]
The board has firmly decided that most scientology and dianetics techniques are based on authoritative hypnosis and whether such techniques are dangerous… Scientific evidence which the board has heard from several witnesses -professionals with the best reputation…Leads to the inevitable conclusion that the name alone makes any difference between authoritative hypnosis and most scientology methods. Many scientology techniques are actually hypnotic, and hubbard did not change their nature by changing their names.
The australian church was forced to operate with the name new faith church. As a result, the name and experience of scientology became illegal in the popular states. Many years of litigation followed, aiming to overturn the ban. In 1983, the high court of australia ruled unanimously that the church of scientology “clearly counts as a religion and deserves tax exemption”. -Exempt status, claiming that his activities were commercial and carried out in the interests of hubbard, and not for charitable or religious purposes.[33]
Scientology in religious studies
Hugh b. Urban writes that “scientology’s efforts to define itself as a religion have made it an ideal model for reflection on how religion is understood and posed.”[647]
Frank k. Flynn, an associate professor of religious studies at washington university in st. Louis, wrote, “it is quite clear how scientology places its offerings as typical forms of ceremonial and festive worship, never its own unique form of spiritual life.”[648] next is flynn. States that religion requires “belief in something transcendent or absolute, practices (rites and lists of behavior) that “reinforce those beliefs, and a community that can be met by both beliefs and practices,” all of which are found in scientology.[ 643] also, the world’s religions in the states states that “scientology retains the same elements as many other religions, including myths, scriptures, doctrines, worship, sacred practices and rituals, moral and ethical expectations, a community of believers, clergy and clergy . [649]
Sociologist stephen a. Kent, while acknowledging that a number of his colleagues accept scientology as a religion, writes: a religion, i find it much more effective to view it as a multifaceted transnational corporation, one element of which remains religious » [highlighted in english].[6][38] donna batten, in gale’s encyclopedia of american law, writes: “conviction should not be expressed in conventional terms so that it falls under the control of the first amendment. For example, scientology is a belief system according to which a person is, in fact, an unfettered and immortal spirit. Who sincerely lives in the body does not confirm the existence of a higher being, but qualifies as a religion according to the broad definition proposed by the supreme court.[650]
The material contained in the ot levels has been characterized by critics as poor scientific fiction, the very moment others claim to have a structural similarity to gnostic thought and ancient hindu beliefs about creation and cosmic struggle.[651]
Overall orientation hubbard’s philosophy owes much to will durant, author the popular 1926 classic a history of philosophy; dianetics is dedicated to durant.[652] hubbard’s view of the mechanically functioning mind, specifically, finds close parallels in durant’s communication on spinoza.[652] in hubbard’s own commentary, scientology is “a western anglicized continuation of many early forms of wisdom.”[653] ankerberg and weldon mention the sources of scientology, including “the vedas, buddhism, judaism, gnosticism, taoism, early greek civilization and the teachings of jesus, nietzsche and freud.”[654]
Hubbard admitted that freudian thought was the “major forerunner” of scientology. W. Vaughn mccall, professor and chairman of georgia regents university, writes: “both freud’s theory and hubbard’s suggest that there are unconscious mental processes that can be shaped by early life experiences and that they affect most later behavior and thinking.” Both schools of thought propose a “threefold structure of the mind.”[655] the psychology of sigmund freud, popularized in the 1930s and 1940s, made a key contribution to the dianetic healing model and was unequivocally recognized as such by hubbard in similar early writings.[656] hubbard never forgot, when he was twelve years old, under what circumstances he met the commander. Joseph cheeseman thompson, a us navy officer who studied with freud[657], and in a letter to the american psychological association in 1949, stated that he was conducting research based on freud’s early work.[658]
In dianetics, hubbard cites hegel as a negative influence—an object lesson in “confused” writing.[659] according to mary a. Mann, scientology is considered nondenominational and accepts some people regardless of their religious background, ethnicity, or level of education.[660] another influence was alfred korzybski’s general semantics. Hubbard was friends with rival science fiction writers a. E. Van vogt and robert heinlein, who both wrote korzybski-inspired science fiction such as vogt’s world of null-a. Hubbard’s view of the reactive mind has clear and widely recognized parallels with korzybski’s thought; and by the way, korzybski’s “anthropometer” may have been all that inspired hubbard’s invention of the e-meter. Scientology 8-8008, for example, standards include philosophers from anaxagoras and aristotle to herbert spencer and voltaire, physicists and arithmeticists, including euclid and isaac newton, and, among other things, the founders of religions such as buddha, confucius, jesus and muhammad – but there is little evidence in hubbard’s writings that he studied these figures very deeply.[656]
As noted, elements of eastern religions are evident in scientology[658], specifically, the concept of karma is found. In hinduism and jainism. In addition to redirecting to hindu texts, scientology is based on taoism and buddhism.[663] according to the community encyclopedia, scientology “shows a similarity to buddhism and a striking similarity to first-century gnosticism.”[664][665]
J. Gordon melton writes that scientology is rooted in esoteric thought. He noted the importance of understanding the appeal of scientology as a relevant esoteric tradition. He claims that scientology represents a “significant revision” and a great revival” of the esoteric tradition. Melton says that scientology can also be traced back to gnosticism, manichaeism, freemasonry and theosophy.[666]
As of 2016, it is estimated that no more than 40,000 scientologists are being created;[72] this was an estimate given 7 years ago by high-ranking church defector jeff hawkins.[667 ] they are mostly located in the us, europe, south africa, and australia.[300] by the early 21st century, the church claimed to have 8 million members.[55] some commentators argue that the compilation number was cumulative, but not collective, and was the total number of people who had some approach to the church since its inception, some of whom had only one or two auditing sessions.[668] the church has also claimed to be the fastest growing religion on earth[669] and several other religious groups have also claimed such a heavy title, including mormons, modern pagans and bahá’ís,[670] but this is clearly not true.[671][][ 672 ][643][673][674] due to its worldwide dispersion, it is difficult to find the number of free zone scientologists. In 2021, thomas suggested that the free zone was growing,[517] and lewis saw that the residents of the free zone could one day outnumber the members of the church.[213] new york city found 45,000 scientologists in the united states in 1990 [671], and at the end of 55,000 in 2001 [675], although in 2008 this number was reported to have fallen to 25,000 [676] [ 677]. Lewis saw that the “sustainable growth model” he observed in the 2000s seemed to “suddenly stop” by the early 2010s. In the united states, the top level of scientology is seen in the western states, especially in the people who border the pacific ocean than further east. The canadian census identified 1,215 scientologists in 1991 and 1,525 in 2001 [427], but in 2021 their number decreased to 1,400 [679]. According to the australian census, there were 1488 scientologists in 1996, 2032 in 2001 [680], and in 2016 there were less than 1700 [681][682][683]. The new zealand census identified 207 scientologists in 1991 and 282 in 2001.[427] andersen and wellendorf estimated that in 2009 there were between 2,000 and 4,000 scientologists in denmark,[684] the most recent estimate is that there were between 500 and 1,000 active church members in sweden[685]. The german government estimated between 5,000 and 6,000 members of the german church in 2008,[419] while observers say that, in france, between 2,000 and 4,000.[419] the 2021 census in england and wales recorded 1,800 scientologists.[686]
Internationally, church members are exclusively middle class.[687] in australia, it is believed that scientologists are wealthier and more likely to work in leadership and professional positions than the average citizen. Scientology focuses on individualistic and liberal economic values;[689] religious scholar susan j. Palmer has observed that scientologists exhibit “a capitalist ideology that promotes individualistic values.”[690] a poll of danish scientologists found that almost all voted for normal or conservative parties on the danish right-wing political spectrum and had a negative view of socialism. While attaching great importance to individual freedom, those interviewed believed that the state and its rules oppressed people and considered the danish welfare system to be excessive. When interviewing members of the church in the united states, westbrook found that most identified themselves as apolitical, republican, or libertarian; less than 10 percent supported the democratic party.[693]
Conversion
Most people who join the church browse with the help of friends and family.[694 ] the church also provides free “personality tests” or “stress tests”, usually using an e-meter, to increase the flow of potential converts. He hopes that when non-scientologists buy one service from the church and feel the benefit of it—”a win in church terminology—they will be more likely to buy additional services from the church[696]. Other recruitment methods include conferences and classes introducing the subject to non-scientologists.[418] the church has also stated that the notorious cases of ridicule of scientology in media merchandise have led to an increase in the number of people taking a personal interest in it.[361]
Church own statistics published in 1998. , Demonstrate that 52.6% of those who joined church activities did so through their family and friendship relationships with established members of the church.[697] 18% mainly came through personality tests, 4.8% through outside videos, and 3.1% through lectures.[698] westbrook’s conversations with church members revealed that most people who joined the church initially came with “advertised practical benefits.”[699] westbrook found that a variety of participants deepened their participation after what they considered spiritual experiences, such as exteriorization or past life recollection, in the initial couple of weeks of participation.[700]
Perception and influence
Scientology has influenced various therapeutic and spiritual groups formed since the 1960s.[514] much of past life therapy was influenced by dianetics[514] in those years as werner erhard’s training therapy system “erhard’s seminars” was also based on scientology.[514] paul twitchell, who founded eckankar, was also an employee of the church of scientology and plagiarized some of hubbard’s writings. The doomsday process church was founded in the 1960s by former scientologists.[701] in 1986, harry palmer, who had previously run a scientology franchise mission in elmira, new york, within ten years, founded his personal group, the avatar course.[514]
Barrett noted that the whole thing about scientology is written as in support, not at all.[480] all of this literature has been highly polarized. Scientology has attracted negative publicity since its inception,[703] and criticism of the church has come from established bodies, journals, and anti-cult groups[417]. Most material critical of the church was written by former members such as cyril vosper, bent corydon, and john atack[480]. Many critics of the church have used the internet, for example, to exchange leaked old testament documents[704]. The church has tried to sue numerous websites, including the usenet group alt.Religion.Scientologist, for distributing hubbard’s work.[705] urban noted that scientologists have long argued that their movement is becoming a mandatory religious movement that is being distorted, vilified and persecuted by media witch hunters and mccarthy-style government attacks.[478]
Several human rights organizations have expressed concern about the position of the french and german governments towards scientologists.[206] feelings between the church and the german government are often hostile[706]. The german government has banned church members from working in the public sector, out of fear that the church is a danger to democracy.[206] the us state department has criticized germany’s treatment of scientologists in available international religious freedom reports, and at least one german scientologist has been granted asylum in the united states of america because of his beliefs.[706] conspiracy theories have circulated in france alleging that the church controls the american state government or that the page is a front for us imperialism, possibly controlled by the central intelligence agency.[707] french scientologists reported being fired or denied employment because of their beliefs,[708] and bombs were thrown at french scientology centers; in 2002, causing permanent injury to a scientologist.[709]
Media, popular culture and academia
Scientology media interest[710], although the church’s relationship with the media has been turbulent[711]. In established writings, hubbard frequently described journalists in negative terms, such as calling them “chaos merchants.”[712] he discouraged scientologists from talking to journalists, a trend that westbrook claimed contributed to the movement’s negative media portrayal. [713] many journalists with negative views of the church were concerned about potential human rights violations.[714]
Hubbard had invaluable experience with scientists rather than journalists, and the church sometimes views scientists as potential allies in their own affairs. Public relations and legal issues[712]. Theoretical research on scientology for a few decades has been comparatively limited in comparison to the interest it has received from magazines and the public.[710] this is due to the secrecy of the church[715], its reputation for litigiousness[716] and the lack of academic input on documentary material about the organization[479]. Early studies included roy wallis’s “the path to total freedom” (1976) and harriet whitehead’s “repudiation and reformulation” (1987). Research intensified at the dawn of the 21st century,[718] and in 2014, the first scientific conference on this issue was held in antwerp, belgium[719]. Several scholars who have studied the movement have related that the church paid great attention to their work, calling them and sending representatives to enroll in their talks on the subject.[710] some critics of scientology have also been hostile to scholars who study it, accusing the videos of being its apologists.[720]
Scientology documentaries typically focus on allegations of the church’s brainwashing.[721] popular examples include louis theroux’s 2015 documentary my scientology film[722] and leah remini’s documentary series scientology and consequences, based on her experience as a member of the church.[453][723] paul thomas anderson’s 2012 screen the master features a religious organization called the cause that bears similarities to scientology. Comedy series have also criticized scientology.[727] most notable was the 2005 south park episode trapped in the closet, which highlighted xenu’s story and claimed that the church was “an international scam”. There were also theatrical notions about the church, including cathy shackelberg’s 2017 one-man show squeeze my cans about her former existence in the church.[711]
Scientology and religious groups scientology and sexual orientationreferences
^ June 18-december 24, 1950quotes
^ A b c d behar, richard (may 6, 1991). “A thriving cult of greed and luxury.” Time. New york: time warner. ^ Kent, stephen (2001). “Brainwashing programs in you/children of god and scientology.” In blocks, benjamin; robbins, thomas (ed.). Misunderstanding cults: the search for objectivity in a controversial field. University of toronto press. Pp. 349-358. Isbn 978-0-8020-4373-3. Archived from the original on december 5, 2020. Retrieved july 3, 2020 ^ a b c anderson, c.W. (1965). Report of the commission of inquiry into scientology (pdf) (report). Melbourne: victoria. P. 179. Anderson report. Archived from the original (pdf) on july 5, 2010. Retrieved june 30, 2020 and by the way this is a dangerous medical cult^ a b c edge, peter w. (2006). Faith and possibility: an introduction. Ashgate publishing. Isbn 978-0-7546-3048-7. Retrieved july 3, 2020 ^ a b c hunt, john; de puig, louis; espersen, ole (february 5, 1992). European council, recommendation 1178: sects and recent religious movements (report). Strasbourg: council of europe. Checked june 30 this year. It’s a cool, cynical, manipulative affair for himself and his family and nothing else. A. (August 10, 2018). “The art of pr-warfare: scientology, the media, and legitimation training today”. Religious studies/sciences religieuses. Publishing house sage. 47(3): 373-395. Doi: 10.1177/0008429818769404. S2cid 149581057. ^ Urban, hugh b. (2015). New age, neo-paganism, and new religious movements: alternative spirituality in contemporary america. Berkeley: university of california press. P. 144. Isbn 978-0-520-28117-2. Retrieved july 3, 2020 ^ [1-2] [three quarters] [five or six-seven, eight] [9] [10] ^ cowan