Scientology
Beliefs and practices and associated movement / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a cult, a business, a religion, a scam, or a new religious movement.[11] Hubbard initially developed a set of ideas that he called Dianetics, which he represented as a form of therapy. An organization that he established in 1950 to promote it went bankrupt, and Hubbard lost the rights to his book Dianetics in 1952. He then recharacterized his ideas as a religion, likely for tax purposes, and renamed them Scientology.[7][12][13] By 1954, he had regained the rights to Dianetics and founded the Church of Scientology, which remains the largest organization promoting Scientology. There are practitioners independent of the Church, in what is referred to as the Free Zone. Estimates put the number of Scientologists at under 40,000 worldwide.
Key Scientology beliefs include reincarnation, and that traumatic events cause problematic "engrams" in the mind that can be removed only through an activity called "auditing". A fee is charged for each session of "auditing". Once an "auditor" deems an individual free of "engrams", typically after several years, they are given the status of "clear". Scholarship differs on the interpretation of these beliefs: some academics regard them as religious in nature; other scholars regard them as merely a means of extracting money from Scientology recruits. After attaining "clear" status, adherents can take part in the Operating Thetan levels, which require further payments. The Operating Thetan texts are kept secret from most followers; they are revealed only after adherents have typically given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Scientology organization.[14] Despite its efforts to maintain the secrecy of the texts, they are freely available on various websites, including at the media organization WikiLeaks.[15][16] These texts say past lives took place in extraterrestrial cultures.[17] They involve an alien called Xenu, described as a planetary ruler 70 million years ago who brought billions of aliens to Earth and killed them with thermonuclear weapons. Despite being kept secret from most followers, this forms the central mythological framework of Scientology's ostensible soteriology.[18] These aspects have become the subject of popular ridicule.
From soon after their formation, Hubbard's groups have generated considerable opposition and controversy, in several instances because of their criminal activities.[19] In the 1970s, Hubbard's followers engaged in a program of criminal infiltration of the U.S. government, resulting in several executives of the organization being convicted and imprisoned for multiple offenses by a U.S. Federal Court. Hubbard himself was convicted in absentia of fraud by a French court in 1978 and sentenced to four years in prison.[20] In 1992, a court in Canada convicted the Scientology organization in Toronto of spying on law enforcement and government agencies, and criminal breach of trust, later upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal.[21][22] The Church of Scientology was convicted of fraud by a French court in 2009, a judgment upheld by the supreme Court of Cassation in 2013.[23]
The Church of Scientology has been described by government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgments as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit-making business.[30] Numerous scholars and journalists have observed that profit is the primary motivating goal of the Scientology organization.[31] Following extensive litigation in numerous countries,[32][33] the organization has managed to attain a legal recognition as a religious institution in some jurisdictions, including Australia,[34][35] Italy,[33] and the United States.[36] Germany classifies Scientology groups as an anti-constitutional sect,[37][38] while the French government classifies the group as a dangerous cult.[39][40]
The sociologist Stephen A. Kent views the Church of Scientology as "a multifaceted transnational corporation, only one element of which is religious".[41] The historian of religion Hugh Urban described Scientology as a "huge, complex, and multifaceted movement".[42]
Government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgments have described Scientology both as a dangerous cult and as a manipulative profit-making business. These institutions and scholars state that Scientology is not a religion.[43][44][45]
Scientology has experienced multiple schisms during its history.[46] While the Church of Scientology was the original promoter of the movement, various independent groups have split off to form independent Scientology groups. Referring to the "different types of Scientology", the scholar of religion Aled Thomas suggested it was appropriate to talk about "Scientologies".[47]
Urban described Scientology as representing a "rich syncretistic blend" of sources, including elements from Hinduism and Buddhism, Thelema, new scientific ideas, science-fiction, and from psychology and popular self-help literature available by the mid-20th century.[48] The ceremonies, structure of the prayers, and minister attire suggested by Hubbard reflect his own Protestant traditions.[49]
Hubbard claimed that Scientology was "all-denominational",[50] and members of the Scientology organization are not prohibited from active involvement in other religions.[51] Scholar of religion Donald Westbrook encountered members who also practiced Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, and the Nation of Islam; one was a Baptist minister.[50] In practice, however, Westbrook noted that most Church members consider Scientology to be their only commitment, and the deeper their involvement became, the less likely they were to continue practicing other traditions.[50]
Debates over classification
Debate as to whether Scientology should be regarded as a cult, a business, or a religion has continued over many years.[52] Many Scientologists consider it to be their religion.[53] Its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, presented it as such,[54] but the early history of the Scientology organization, and Hubbard's policy directives, letters, and instructions to subordinates, indicate that his motivation for doing so was as a legally pragmatic move to minimize his tax burden.[6] In many countries, the Church of Scientology has engaged in extensive litigation to secure recognition as a tax-exempt religious organization,[55] and it has managed to obtain such a status in a few jurisdictions, including the United States, Italy, and Australia.[44][56] The organization has not received recognition as a religious institution in the majority of countries in which it operates.[57]
An article in the magazine TIME, "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", described Scientology as "a ruthless global scam".[1] The Church of Scientology's attempts to sue the publishers for libel and to prevent republication abroad were dismissed.[58] Scholarship in psychology and skepticism supports this view of Scientology as a confidence trick to obtain money from its targets.[6][59] The scholar Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi also observes that "the majority of activities conducted by Scientology and its many fronts and subsidiaries involve the marketing of secular products."[6] In a report by the European Parliament, it was observed that the group "is a cool, cynical, manipulating business and nothing else."[5]
Scholars and journalists note that profit is the primary motivating goal of Hubbard's Scientology groups.[31] Those making this observation have often referred to a governing financial policy issued by Hubbard that is to be obeyed by all Scientology organization staff members,[60] which includes the following [uppercase in original]:[61]
Make sure that lots of bodies move through the shop...A. MAKE MONEY. ... J. MAKE MONEY. K. MAKE MORE MONEY. L. MAKE OTHER PEOPLE PRODUCE SO AS TO MAKE MONEY...However you get them in or why, just do it.
— L. Ron Hubbard in HCO Policy Letter 9 March 1972RA Issue I "Income Flows and Pools : Principles of Money Management"
Some scholars of religion have referred to Scientology as a religion.[62] The sociologist Bryan R. Wilson compares Scientology with 20 criteria that he associated with religion and concludes that the movement could be characterised as such. [63] Wilson's criteria include: a cosmology that describes a human reality beyond terrestrial existence, ethics and behavior teachings that are based on this cosmology, prescribed ways for followers to connect with spiritual beings, and a congregation that believes in and helps spread its teachings.[64] Allan W. Black analysed Scientology through the seven "dimensions of religion" set forward by the scholar Ninian Smart and also decided that Scientology met those criteria for being a religion.[65] The sociologist David V. Barrett noted that there was a "strong body of evidence to suggest that it makes sense to regard Scientology as a religion",[66] while scholar of religion James R. Lewis comments that "it is obvious that Scientology is a religion".[67] The scholar Mikael Rothstein observes that the Scientology "is best understood as a devotional cult aimed at revering the mythologized founder of the organization".[68]
Numerous religious studies scholars have described Scientology as a new religious movement.[69] Various scholars have also considered it within the category of Western esotericism,[70] while the scholar of religion Andreas Grünschloß noted that it was "closely linked" to UFO religions,[71] as science-fiction themes are evident in its theology.[72] Scholars have also varyingly described it as a "psychotherapeutically oriented religion",[73] a "secularized religion",[74] a "postmodern religion",[75] a "privatized religion",[76] and a "progressive-knowledge" religion.[77] According to scholar of religion Mary Farrell Bednarowski, Scientology describes itself as drawing on science, religion, psychology and philosophy but "had been claimed by none of them and repudiated, for the most part, by all".[78]
Government bodies and other institutions maintain that the Scientology organization is a commercial business that falsely claims to be religious,[79] or alternatively a form of therapy masquerading as religion. [80] The French government characterises the movement as a dangerous cult, and the German government monitors it as an anti-democratic sect.[37][38][39][40]
The notion of Scientology as a religion is strongly opposed by the anti-cult movement.[81] Its claims to a religious identity have been particularly rejected in continental Europe.[56] Grünschloß writes that labelling Scientology a religion does not mean that it is "automatically promoted as harmless, nice, good, and humane".[82]
Etymology
The word Scientology, as coined by Hubbard, is a derivation from the Latin word scientia ("knowledge", "skill"), which comes from the verb scīre ("to know"), with the suffix -ology, from the Greek λόγος lógos ("word" or "account [of]").[83][84] Hubbard claimed that the word "Scientology" meant "knowing about knowing or science of knowledge".[85] The name "Scientology" deliberately makes use of the word "science",[86] seeking to benefit from the "prestige and perceived legitimacy" of natural science in the public imagination.[87] In doing so, Scientology has been compared to religious groups like Christian Science and the Science of Mind, which employed similar tactics.[88]
The term "Scientology" had been used in published works at least twice before Hubbard.[85] In The New Word (1901), poet and lawyer Allen Upward first used scientology to mean blind, unthinking acceptance of scientific doctrine (compare scientism).[89] In 1934, philosopher Anastasius Nordenholz published Scientology: Science of the Constitution and Usefulness of Knowledge, which used the term to mean the science of science.[90] It is unknown whether Hubbard was aware of either prior usage of the word.[91][92]
As the 1950s developed, Hubbard saw the advantages of having his Scientology movement legally recognised as a religion.[93] In an April 1953 letter to Helen O'Brien, his US business manager, he proposed that Scientology should be transformed into a religion: "We don't want a clinic. We want one in operation but not in name...It is a problem of practical business. I await your reaction on the religion angle".[94] In reaction to a series of arrests of his followers, and the prosecution of Hubbard's Dianetics foundation for teaching medicine without a license, in December 1953 Hubbard incorporated three organizations – Church of American Science, Church of Scientology, and Church of Spiritual Engineering.[95][96] In 1959, Hubbard purchased Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, Sussex, United Kingdom, which became the worldwide headquarters of the Church of Scientology and his personal residence. With the organization often under heavy criticism, it adopted strong measures of attack in dealing with its critics.[97]
In 1966, the organization established the Guardian's Office (GO), an intelligence unit devoted to undermining those hostile towards Scientology.[98] The GO launched an extensive program of countering negative publicity, gathering intelligence, and infiltrating organizations.[99] In "Operation Snow White", the GO infiltrated the IRS and numerous other government departments and stole tens of thousands of documents pertaining to the Church, politicians, and celebrities.[100] In July 1977, the FBI raided Church premises in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles revealed the extent of the GO's infiltration into government departments and other groups.[101] Eleven officials and agents of the Church were indicted; in December 1979, they were sentenced to between 4 and 5 years each and individually fined $10,000.[102] Among those found guilty was Hubbard's then-wife, Mary Sue Hubbard.[100] Public revelation of the GO's activities brought widespread condemnation of the Church.[102]
In 1967, Hubbard established a new group, the Sea Organization or "Sea Org", the membership of which was drawn from the most committed members of the Scientology organization.[103] By 1981, the 21-year-old David Miscavige, who had been one of Hubbard's closest aides in the Sea Org, rose to prominence.[55] Hubbard died at his ranch in Creston, California, on January 24, 1986, and David Miscavige succeeded Hubbard as head of the Church.[104][105]
In 1993, the Internal Revenue Service dropped all litigation against the Scientology organization and recognized it as a religious institution.[106]
Hubbard lies at the core of Scientology and his writings remain the source of its doctrines and practices.[107] Sociologist of religion David G. Bromley describes Scientology as Hubbard's "personal synthesis of philosophy, physics, and psychology".[108] Hubbard claimed that he developed his ideas through research and experimentation, rather than through revelation from a supernatural source.[109] He published hundreds of articles and books over the course of his life,[110] writings that Scientologists regard as scripture.[111] In Scientology Hubbard's work is regarded as perfect, and no elaboration or alteration is permitted.[112] Hubbard described Scientology as an "applied religious philosophy", because, according to him, it consists of a metaphysical doctrine, a theory of psychology, and teachings in morality.[113] Hubbard incorporated a variety of hypnotic techniques in Scientology auditing and courses.[114] This is employed as a means to create dependency and obedience in followers.[115]
Hubbard said that of the beliefs that:[116][117][118]
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war; where the world can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.
Hubbard developed thousands of neologisms during his lifetime.[112] The nomenclature used by the movement is termed "Scientologese" by members.[119] Scientologists are expected to learn this specialist terminology, the use of which separates followers from non-Scientologists.[112] The Scientology organization refers to its practices as "technology", a term often shortened to "Tech".[120] Scientologists stress the "standardness" of this "tech", by which they express belief in its infallibility.[121] The Church's system of pedagogy is called "Study Tech" and is presented as the best method for learning.[122] Scientology teaches that when reading, it is very important not to go past a word one does not understand. A person should instead consult a dictionary as to the meaning of the word before progressing, something Scientology calls "word clearing".[123]
According to Scientology texts, its beliefs and practices are based on rigorous research, and its doctrines are accorded a significance equivalent to scientific laws.[124] Blind belief is held to be of lesser significance than the practical application of Scientologist methods.[124] Adherents are encouraged to validate the practices through their personal experience.[124] Hubbard put it this way: "For a Scientologist, the final test of any knowledge he has gained is, 'did the data and the use of it in life actually improve conditions or didn't it?'"[124] Many Scientologists avoid using the words "belief" or "faith" to describe how Hubbard's teachings impacts their lives, preferring to say that they "know" it to be true.[125]
Auditing
The central practice of Scientology is an activity known as "auditing". It takes place with two Scientologists — one is the "auditor" who asks questions, and the subject is termed the "preclear". The stated purpose is to help the subject to remove their mental traumas (ostensible recordings in the mind which Hubbard termed "engrams").[126] Scholarship in clinical psychology indicates that the purpose of auditing is to induce a light hypnotic state and to create dependency and obedience in the subject.[114] When deemed free of engrams they are given the status of "clear", and then continue doing further auditing until they are deemed to have reached the level Operating Thetan. Hubbard assigns vitality, good health and increased intelligence to those who are given the status of "clear", having removed the source of their "psychosomatic illnesses".[126] The further status of Operating Thetan (OT) is posited as complete spiritual freedom in which one is able to do anything one chooses, create anything, go anywhere — an idea which has appealed to many.[127]
The scholar Hugh Urban describes the supernatural powers promoted as being gained by an Operating Thetan as:[128]
The liberated thetan could even freely create a personal paradise, populating it with heavenly beings and infinite pleasures at will. ... As such, the thetan who truly realized his power to create and destroy universes would in effect be "beyond God". ... The thetan has been deceived into worshipping such a God by mainstream religion and so forgotten its own godlike power to create and destroy universes.
— Hugh Urban in The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion
Undertaking a full course of auditing with the Church of Scientology is expensive,[129] although the prices are not often advertised publicly.[130] It can easily cost $400,000 to do the entirety of Scientology's "Bridge to Total Freedom".[131] In a 1964 letter, Hubbard stated that a 25-hour block of auditing should cost the equivalent of "three months' pay for the average middle class working individual."[130] In 2007, the fee for a 12 and a half hour block of auditing at the Tampa Org was $4000.[132] The Scientology organization is often criticized for the prices it charges for auditing,[132] and examinations of the group have indicated that profit is the group's primary purpose.[133] Hubbard stated that charging for auditing was necessary because the practice required an exchange, and should the auditor not receive something for their services it could harm both parties.[132]
During auditing, a device called an electropsychometer (E-meter) is used.[134] Scientology's primary road map for guiding a person through the sequential steps to attain Scientology's concepts of "clear" and OT is The Bridge to Total Freedom, a large chart enumerating every step in sequence.[135] The steps past "clear" are kept secret from most Scientologists and include the founding myth that seeks to explain Scientology doctrine.[136][137]
Soul
Hubbard taught that there were three parts of man: the spirit, mind, and body.[138] The first of these is a person's inner self which he calls a "thetan".[139] It is akin to the idea of the soul or spirit found in religious traditions.[140] Hubbard stated that "the thetan is the person. You are YOU in a body."[141] Hubbard referred to the physical universe as the MEST universe, meaning "Matter, Energy, Space and Time", which includes your body.[142] Scientologists believe that thetans can exteriorize; leave their body.[143] The thetan is considered an immortal being who has been reincarnated many times over.[144] Someone who has died is said to have "dropped the body".[145]
Scientology refers to the existence of a Supreme Being, but practitioners are not expected to worship it.[146] No intercessions are made to seek this being's assistance in daily life.[147]
Space opera and the Wall of Fire
The mythological framework which forms the basis for what Scientologists view as the system's path to salvation is the story of Xenu.[148] Reflecting a strong science-fiction theme within its theology,[72] Scientology's teachings make reference to "space opera", a term denoting events in the distant past in which "spaceships, spacemen, [and] intergalactic travel" all feature.[149]
Hubbard wrote about a great catastrophe that took place 75 million years ago.[77] According to this story, 75 million years ago there was a Galactic Confederacy of 76 planets ruled over by a leader called Xenu. The Confederacy was overpopulated and Xenu transported millions of aliens to earth and killed them with hydrogen bombs.[150] The thetans of those killed were then clustered together and implants were inserted into them, designed to kill any body that these thetans would subsequently inhabit should they recall the event of their destruction.[151] After the massacre, several of the officers in Xenu's service rebelled against him, ultimately capturing and imprisoning him.[152] Hubbard claimed to have discovered the Xenu myth in December 1967, having taken the "plunge" deep into his "time track".[153] Scientology teaches that attempting to recover this information from the "time track" typically results in an individual's death, caused by the presence of Xenu's implants, but that because of Hubbard's "technology" this death can be avoided.[154]
The Scientology organization says that learning the Xenu myth can be harmful for those unprepared for it,[156] and the documents discussing Xenu are kept secret from most members.[157] The teachings about Xenu were later leaked by ex-members,[158] becoming a matter of public record after being submitted as evidence in court cases.[159][160] They are now widely available online.[161] Members who have been given the teachings routinely deny these teachings exist.[162] Hubbard however talked about Xenu on several occasions,[163] the Xenu story bears similarities with some of the science-fiction stories Hubbard published,[164] and substantial themes from the Xenu story are in Hubbard's book Scientology – A History of Man.[165]
The Operating Thetan levels
The degrees above the level of Clear are called "Operating Thetan" or OT.[166] Hubbard described there as being 15 OT levels, although had only completed eight of these during his lifetime.[167] OT levels nine to 15 have not been reached by any Scientologist.[168] In 1988 the Scientology organization stated that OT levels nine and ten would only be released when certain benchmarks in its expansion had been achieved.[169] The Church of Scientology has gone to considerable length to try to maintain the secrecy of the texts, but they remain widely available on the internet. This is partly due to litigation involving Scientology, whereby the Fishman Affidavit was leaked to the public.[7] Materials have also been passed on to other sources and made available by publishers such as the media organization WikiLeaks.[16]
To gain the OT levels of training, a member must go to one of the Advanced Organisations or Orgs, which are based in Los Angeles, Clearwater, East Grinstead, Copenhagen, Sydney, and Johannesburg.[170] Conservative estimates indicate that getting to OT VIII would require a minimum of payments to the Scientology organization of $350,000 to $400,000.[171] OT levels six and seven are only available at Clearwater.[172] The highest level, OT eight, is disclosed only at sea on the Scientology ship Freewinds, operated by the Flag Ship Service Org.[173][174] Scholar of religion Aled Thomas suggested that the status of a person's level creates an internal class system within the Scientology organization.[175]
The Scientology organization claims that the material taught in the OT levels can only be comprehended once its previous material has been mastered and is therefore kept confidential until a person reaches the requisite level.[176] Higher-level members typically refuse to talk about the contents of these OT levels.[177] Those progressing through the OT levels are taught additional, more advanced auditing techniques;[178] one of the techniques taught is a method of auditing oneself,[179] which is the necessary procedure for reaching OT level seven.[172]
Ethics
Scientology has its own unique definitions for ethics and procedures for justice. According to scholar Stephen Kent, "The purpose of Scientology ethics is to eliminate opponents, then eliminate people's interests in things other than Scientology. In this "ethical" environment, Scientology would be able to impose its courses, philosophy, and "justice system"—its so-called technology—onto society."[180]
Symbology
Hubbard created many symbolism concepts, including the eight dynamics, the ARC and KRC triangles, the "S and double triangle" symbol, the Scientology cross, and many others.
Scientology celebrates seven calendar events including L. Ron Hubbard's birthday, Auditor's Day, and New Year's. There is a Sunday service which is primarily of interest for non-members and beginners. Weddings and funerals are also held.[68]
Psychiatry, psychology, psychosis
Scientology is vehemently opposed to psychiatry and psychology, and wants to replace them with its own methods.[181] The clinical and academic psychiatry community rejected Hubbard's theories in the early 1950s.[182] Hubbard and his early Dianetics organization were prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license in the early 1950s.[183]
Hubbard taught that psychiatrists were responsible for a great many wrongs in the world, saying that psychiatry has at various times offered itself as a tool of political suppression and that psychiatry was responsible for the ideology of Hitler, for turning the Nazis into mass murderers, and the Holocaust.[184] The Scientology organization operates the anti-psychiatry group Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), which operates Psychiatry: An Industry of Death, an anti-psychiatry museum.[184] Though Hubbard had stated psychosis was not something Scientology dealt with, after noticing many Scientologists were suffering breakdowns after using his techniques he created the Introspection Rundown, a brutal and inhumane method to allegedly solve psychotic episodes.[19]: 208–9 The rundown came under public scrutiny when in 1995 Scientologist Lisa McPherson suffered a mental breakdown and was removed from the hospital and held in isolation at a Church of Scientology for 17 days before she died.[185]: Part 2
Views on Hubbard
Scientologists view Hubbard as an extraordinary man, but do not worship him as a deity.[186] They regard him as the preeminent Operating Thetan who remained on Earth in order to show others the way to spiritual liberation,[112] the man who discovered the source of human misery and a technology allowing everyone to achieve their true potential.[187] Church of Scientology management frames Hubbard's physical death as "dropping his body" to pursue higher levels of research not possible with an Earth-bound body.[145]
Scientologists often refer to Hubbard affectionately as "Ron",[188] and many refer to him as their "friend".[189] The Scientology organization operates a calendar in which 1950, the year in which Hubbard's book Dianetics was published, is considered year zero, the beginning of an era. Years after that date are referred to as "AD" for "After Dianetics".[190] They have also buried copies of his writings preserved on stainless steel disks in a secure underground vault in the hope of preserving them against major catastrophes.[187] The Church of Scientology's view of Hubbard is presented in their hagiographical biography of him,[191] seeking to present him as "a person of exceptional character, morals and intelligence".[192] Critics of Hubbard and his organization claim that many of the details of his life as he presented it were false.[193]
Every Scientology Org maintains an office set aside for Hubbard in perpetuity, set out to imitate those he used in life,[194] and will typically have a bust or large framed photograph of him on display.[195]