Scientology

File:L Ron Hubbard.jpg

Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, circa 1970

Scientology is a body of teachings and related techniques developed by American science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard began Scientology in 1952 as a self-help philosophy, an outgrowth of his earlier self-help system, Dianetics, and later described it as a new religion. He said that it offered an exact methodology to help humans achieve awareness of their spiritual existence across many lifetimes and, simultaneously, to become more effective in the physical world. The name "Scientology" is also used to refer to the often controversial Church of Scientology, the largest organization promoting the practice of Scientology, which is itself part of a network of affiliated organizations that claim ownership and sole authority to disseminate Dianetics and Scientology.

Hubbard stated that a goal of Scientology is to rehabilitate the thetan (roughly equivalent to the soul) to regain its native state of "total freedom." Church spokespeople and practitioners say that Hubbard's teachings (called "Technology" or "Tech" in Scientology terminology) have saved them from many problems and enabled them to better realize their potential in business and in their personal lives. However, former members and outside observers—including journalists, lawmakers, and national governing bodies of several countries—have described the Church as an unscrupulous commercial enterprise that harasses critics and defectors and exploits its members. Although Scientologists are usually free to practice their beliefs, the organized church has often encountered opposition due to their strong-arm tactics against critics and members wishing to leave the organization. While a number of governments now view the Church as a religious organization entitled to the protections and tax relief that such status brings, others view it as a pseudoreligion, a cult, or a "transnational corporation, only one element of which is religious". More recently, in 2007 the European Court of Human Rights held that the Church of Scientology is entitled to recognition in Russia as a religious organization and that Russia's refusal of such registration "had been a violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the European Convention on Human Rights read in the light of Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion)". The judgment of this highest European court is valid for all 46 member states of the Council of Europe.

Beliefs and practices

Main article: Scientology beliefs and practices

The Church of Scientology says that Scientology is concerned with "the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others and all of life." By contrast, Dianetics is more narrowly focused on getting rid of the reactive mind, the "bank" of traumatic memories known as engrams which are said to inhibit one's success and happiness. Scientology also covers topics such as ethics and morality (The Way to Happiness), drug and chemical residues as they relate to spiritual wellbeing (the Purification Rundown), communication, marriage, raising children, work-related problems, education (Study Technology), and the very nature of life (The Dynamics).

Scientology practices are structured in sequential series or levels, reflecting Hubbard's belief that rehabilitation takes place on a step-by-step "gradient"; for example, that the negative effects of drugs must be addressed before other issues can be addressed. Scientologists follow a sequence of courses that culminate in the esoteric advanced strata of Scientology's teachings. This is described as a passage along "the Bridge to Total Freedom", or simply "the Bridge," in which each step of the Bridge promises a little more personal freedom in some particular area of life.

Some central tenets of Scientology:

• A person is an immortal spiritual being (termed a thetan) who possesses a mind and a body.
• The thetan has lived through many past lives and will continue to live beyond the death of the body.
• Through the Scientology process of "auditing", one can free oneself of "engrams" and "implants" to reach the state of "Clear", and after that, the state of "Operating Thetan". Each state is said to represent recovering the native spiritual abilities of the individual, and to confer dramatic mental and physical benefits.
• A person is basically good, but becomes "aberrated" by moments of pain and unconsciousness in his or her life.
• What is true for you is what you have observed yourself. No beliefs should be forced as "true" on anyone. Thus, the tenets of Scientology are expected to be tested and seen to either be true or not by Scientology practitioners.
• Psychiatry and psychology are destructive and abusive practices.

Believers in Scientology say that it offers "exact" methods of spiritual counseling to help people achieve awareness of their spiritual existence, while enhancing their effectiveness in the physical world. The exact nature of all of existence is said to be stated in Hubbard's Scientology and Dianetics Axioms.

According to the Church, the ultimate goal is to get the soul (thetan) back to its native state of total freedom, thus gaining control over matter, energy, space, time, thoughts, form, and life. This freed state is called Operating Thetan, or OT for short.

Auditing

A Scientology recruiter introduces an E-meter to a potential convert. Such introductory demonstrations are typically presented as "free stress tests".

Main article: Auditing (Scientology)

The central practice of Scientology is "auditing" (from the Latin word audire, "to listen"), which is a one-on-one communication with a trained Scientology counselor or "auditor". Most auditing uses an E-meter, a device that measures very small changes in electrical resistance through the human body when a person is holding onto metal cans and a small current is passed through them.

The auditing process is intended to help the practitioner (referred to as a preclear or PC) to unburden himself or herself of specific traumatic incidents, prior ethical transgressions and bad decisions, which are said to collectively restrict the preclear from achieving his or her goals and lead to the development of a "reactive mind". In one form of auditing the auditor asks the preclear to respond to a list of questions which are designed for specific purposes and given to the preclear in a strictly regulated way. Auditing requires that the preclear be a willing and interested participant who understands the questions, and the process goes more smoothly when he or she understands what is going on, in fact rule #19 of the Auditors' Code demands from an auditor make sure that the practitioner fully understands the question. Per Church policy, auditors are trained not to "evaluate for" their preclears; i.e., they are forbidden from suggesting, interpreting, degrading or invalidating the preclear's answers. The E-meter is used to help locate an area of concern.

Scientologists have said that they received benefits from auditing including improved IQ, improved ability to communicate, enhanced memory and are generally more happy.

During the auditing process, the auditor may collect personal information from the person being audited. Auditing records are referred to within Scientology as "PC (preclear) folders" and are said to be stored securely when not being added to during auditing sessions. The Auditors' Code states that an auditor promises never to use the secrets of a preclear divulged in session for punishment or personal gain. The Church maintains that its auditing records are kept confidential, although in one instance (16 December 1969) a staff of the organization authorized the use of auditing records for purposes of "internal security".. Supporters of Scientology assert that no actual violation of the Auditor's Code has been documented. However, a California court deciding on the theft of such files by a former member mentions cases of abuse suffered by former members at the hands of "the Church or its minions" based on such information.

ARC triangle

Main article: ARC (Scientology)

Another basic tenet of Scientology is the three related (and intrinsically spiritual) components that make up successful "livingness" and are the basis of understanding: affinity (emotional responses), reality (an agreement on what is real) and communication (the exchange of ideas). Hubbard called this the "ARC Triangle", noting that all three points are linked to each other. Scientologists utilize ARC as a central principle in their own lives, primarily based upon the belief that improving one aspect of the triangle increases the level of the other two.

Tone scale

Main article: Tone scale

The tone scale is a characterization of human mood and behavior by various positions on a scale. The scale ranges from -40 ("Total Failure") to +40 ("Serenity of Being"). Positions on the tone scale are usually designated by an emotion, but Hubbard also described many other things that can be indicated by the tone scale levels, such as aspects of a human's health, mating behavior, survival potential, or ability to deal with truth. The tone scale is frequently used by Scientologists to evaluate humans. According to Scientology, the lower the individual is on the tone scale, the more complex and convoluted one's problems tend to be, and the more care and judgment should be exercised regarding communication and interaction with that individual.

Past lives

In Dianetics, Hubbard proposed that the cause of "aberrations" in a human mind was an accumulation of pain and unconscious memories of traumatic incidents, some of which predated the life of the human. He extended this view further in Scientology, declaring that thetans have existed for tens of trillions of years (several orders of magnitude greater than what mainstream science generally estimates the age of the universe to be). During that time, Hubbard explains, they have been exposed to a vast number of traumatic incidents, and have made a great many decisions that influence their present state. Hubbard's 1958 book Have You Lived Before This Life contains descriptions of past lives given by individual Scientologists during auditing sessions. According to an early lecture of Hubbard's, it is, as a practical matter, both impossible and undesirable to recall each and every such event from such vast stretches of time.. As a result, Hubbard's three decade development of Scientology focused on streamlining the process to address only key factors. Hubbard stated that Scientology materials as described in books, tapes, and research notes include a record of everything that was found in the course of his research.

According to Hubbard, some of the past traumas may have been deliberately inflicted in the form of "implants" used by extraterrestrial dictatorships such as Helatrobus to brainwash and control humans. Scientology doctrine includes a wide variety of beliefs in complex extraterrestrial civilizations and alien interventions in Earthly events, collectively described by Hubbard as "space opera". There is a huge Church of Spiritual Technology symbol carved into the ground at Scientology's Trementina Base that is visible from passing aircraft or from satellite photography. Washington Post reporter Richard Leiby wrote, "Former Scientologists familiar with Hubbard’s teachings on reincarnation say the symbol marks a 'return point' so loyal staff members know where they can find the founder’s works when they travel here in the future from other places in the universe."

The upper levels of Scientology

See also: Operating Thetan and Space opera in Scientology doctrine

Scientologists who have achieved the State of Clear may continue onto the Upper or OT (Operating Thetan) Levels. These courses are available by Church invitation only after a review of the candidates character, ethics and contribution to the Aims of Scientology. The contents of these advanced courses are held in strict confidence within the Church and individuals who have read these materials may neither discuss nor disclose what they contain without jeopardizing their standing in the Church. Presently, there are eight such levels, OT I through VIII. Church management has promised to release a ninth OT level once certain expansion goals are met. [5] The highest level released to date, OT VIII, is only granted at sea, on the Scientology ship, theFreewinds, which was established to provide a "safe, aesthetic, distraction-free environment" where this OT level could be delivered.

Despite their confidentiality within the Church, excerpts and descriptions of these materials have been widely published in the press; this occured when the confidential teachings were submitted as evidence in court cases involving Scientology, thus becoming a matter of public record. In the confidential OT levels, Hubbard describes a variety of traumas commonly experienced in past lives, experiences that extend many millions of years into the past. He also explains how to reverse the effects of such traumas.

Xenu and Body Thetans

Main articles: Xenu, Galactic Confederacy, and Body Thetan

Among these advanced teachings, one episode revealed to those who reach OT level III is the story of Xenu and his Galactic Confederacy. Xenu (sometimes Xemu) is introduced as an alien ruler of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of people to Earth in spacecraft resembling Douglas DC-8 airliners, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Their souls then clustered together and stuck to the bodies of the living. The alien souls continue to do this today, causing a variety of physical ill-effects in modern-day humans. Hubbard called these clustered spirits "Body Thetans," and the advanced levels place considerable emphasis on isolating them and neutralizing their ill effects.

Scientologists have argued that the published accounts of the Xenu story and other teachings are distortions of their practice, presented out of context for the purpose of ridiculing their religion.

Silent birth and infant care

Main article: Silent birth

Hubbard stated that the delivery room should be as silent as possible during birth. This stems from his belief that birth is a trauma that may induce engrams into the baby. Hubbard asserted that words in particular should be avoided because any words used during birth might be reassociated by an adult later on in life with their earlier traumatic birth experience. Hubbard also wrote that the mother should use "as little anesthetic as possible".

In the 1960s Hubbard wrote that breastfeeding should be avoided if the mother is smoking or is lacking good nutrition herself . Hubbard compared common replacement formulas which he described as "mixed milk powder, glucose and water, total carbohydrate", with what he considered the "skim breast milk from ... overworked mother[s]" that "smoke and sometimes drink" and offered - as an alternative to commercial products - what he called the "Barley Formula", made from barley water, homogenized milk, and corn syrup or honey. Hubbard claims that "I picked it up in Roman days." He crafted the barley formula to, in his words, provide "a heavy percentage of protein" and called it "the nearest approach to human milk that can be assembled easily." The formula is still popular with many Scientologists, although health practitioners advice to only use pure ingredients.

Church ceremonies

Scientology, as practiced by members of the Church of Scientology, includes the social ceremonies for marriage, birth, and death, that are a part of most religions. The ceremonies are performed in front of the congregation by an ordained Scientology minister. Most, if not all, of the actual ceremonies used were written by L. Ron Hubbard and are collected in the book, Ceremonies of the Church of Scientology.

Funeral service

At a Scientology funeral service the minister speaks directly to the thetan (the individual as a spirit) and grants forgiveness for anything the deceased has done so he can begin life anew.

We do not contest your right to go away. Your debts are paid. This chapter of thy life is shut. Go now, dear [deceased], and live once more in happier time and place.

Origins

See also: Timeline of Scientology

Scientology's doctrines were established by Hubbard over a period of about 34 years, beginning in 1952 and continuing until his death in January 1986. Most of the basic principles were set out during the 1950s and 1960s. Now described as an "applied religious philosophy". Scientology was at first secular; Hubbard began to characterize Scientology's beliefs and practices as a religion in 1953, and by 1960 he had redefined it as a "religion by its basic tenets".

Hubbard appears to have drawn liberally from a wide variety of pre-existing ideas, though he provided little specific citation of, or commentary on, his sources. The Church of Scientology presents Hubbard's work as completely original, reflected in the fact that Scientologists refer to Hubbard himself as "Source". Scientology recapitulates and builds on ideas Hubbard introduced in Dianetics, an earlier system of self-improvement techniques laid out in his 1950 book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. In 1945 Hubbard was for several months in contact with Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis chapter in Los Angeles, a group headed by John W. Parsons. In a 1952 lecture series, Hubbard recommended a book of Crowley's and referred to him as "Mad Old Boy" and ironically as "my very good friend".. In later research the Sunday Times in UK (1969) found out that Hubbard's contact to O.T.O. had been an intelligence operation for the U.S. Government to prevent leaks of confidential information to O.T.O. (midst of the Cold War Parsons was working as a solid fuel rocket scientist in California). An influence acknowledged by Hubbard is the system of General Semantics developed by Alfred Korzybski in the 1930s, which was influential in the science-fiction subculture of the 1940s. Scientology also reflects the influence of the Hindu concept of karma, as well as the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and William Sargant. Sociologist David G. Bromley of Virginia Commonwealth University characterizes Scientology as "a 'quasi-religious therapy' that resembles Freudian 'depth psychology' while also drawing upon Buddhism, Hinduism, and the ancient, heretical offshoot of Christianity known as gnosticism".

Meaning of the word 'Scientology'

Although today associated almost exclusively with Hubbard's work, the word "Scientology" predates Hubbard's creation by several decades. Philologist Allen Upward used the word "scientology" in his 1901 book The New Word as a synonym for "pseudoscience", and this is sometimes cited as the first coining of the word. In 1934, the Argentine-German writer Anastasius Nordenholz published a book using the word positively: Scientologie, Wissenschaft von der Beschaffenheit und der Tauglichkeit des Wissens ("Scientology, Science of the Constitution and Usefulness of Knowledge"). Nordenholz's book is a study of consciousness, and its usage of the word is not greatly different from Hubbard's definition, "knowing how to know". However, it is not clear to what extent Hubbard was aware of these earlier uses. The word itself is a pairing of the Latin word scientia ("knowledge", "skill"), which comes from the verb scire ("to know"), and the Greek λογος lógos ("reason" or "inward thought" or "logic" or "an account of").

"Scientology would be a study of knowledge," Hubbard stated in 1952. In 1960 L. Ron Hubbard defined Scientology as: "a religion by its basic tenets, practice, historical background and by the definition of the word “religion” itself." In 1969 he wrote that "It is fundamentally an applied religious philosophy.".

In a lecture given on July 19 1962 entitled "The E-meter", Hubbard said:

So Suzie and I went down to the library, and we started hauling books out and looking for words. And we finally found 'scio' and we find 'ology'. And there was the founding of that word. Now, that word had been used to some degree before. There had been some thought of this. Actually the earliest studies on these didn't have any name to them until a little bit along the line and then I called it anything you could think of. But we found that this word Scientology, you see—and it could have been any other word that had also been used—was the best-fitted word for exactly what we wanted.

The Church of Scientology defines Scientology as "'the study of truth'. It comes from the Latin word 'scio' meaning 'knowing in the fullest sense of the word' and the Greek word 'logos' meaning 'study of'".

Membership

The Church of Scientology

Main article: Church of Scientology

File:Scientologycross.jpg

The official symbol of the Church of Scientology.

The Church of Scientology has said that is had as many as 10 million members as of 2006, though actual membership figures it has released indicate a far smaller total. Third party estimates of Scientology's worldwide membership range from less than 100,000 to approximately 500,000. According to a 2001 survey published by the City University of New York, 55,000 people in the United States would, if asked to identify their religion, have said Scientology.

The first Church of Scientology was incorporated in Camden, New Jersey as a non-profit organization in 1953. Nowadays the Church forms the center of a complex worldwide network of organizations dedicated to the promotion and implementation of L. Ron Hubbard's philosophies in all areas of life. This includes:

• Drug treatment centres (Narconon);
• Criminal rehabilitation programs (Criminon);
• Activities to reform the field of mental health (Citizens Commission on Human Rights);
• Projects to implement Hubbard's educational methods in schools (Applied Scholastics);
• A "moral values" campaign (The Way to Happiness);
• A political action committee, (Citizens for Social Reform) to promote social programs with legislators at the US federal and state levels;
• World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, or WISE, which licenses Hubbard's management techniques for use in businesses;
• A campaign directed to implement the 1948 United Nations document "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (sometimes with particular emphasis on the religious freedom elements).

Within the church, the staff is arranged in a hierarchical structure. Organizations providing higher level Scientology are safeguarded and run by the Sea Org

Scientology splinter groups

Main article: Free Zone (Scientology)

Although "Scientology" is most often used as shorthand for the Church of Scientology, a number of groups practice Scientology and Dianetics outside of the official Church. Such groups are invariably breakaways from the original Church. The Church takes an extremely hard line on breakaway groups, labeling them "apostates" (or "squirrels" in Scientology jargon) and often subjecting them to considerable legal and social pressure. Breakaway groups avoid the name "Scientology" so as to keep from being sued, instead referring to themselves collectively as the Free Zone or Ron's Org.

Scientology and celebrities

See also: Scientology and celebrities and List of Scientologists

A Scientology Centre on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.

The Church of Scientology has consistently attracted artists and entertainers, particularly Hollywood celebrities. L. Ron Hubbard saw to the formation of a special Church of Scientology which would cater artists, politicians, leaders of industry, sports figures and anyone with the power and vision "to create a better world". There are eight of what are refered to asCelebrity Centers across the world, though Hollywood is the largest and most important.

Publicity has been generated by Scientologists in the entertainment industry. Among the most well-known of these figures are the artists John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Beck, Jason Lee (actor), Isaac Hayes, Tom Cruise, and Katie Holmes.

Former Scientologists say the attention and care given to celebrity practitioners is vastly different from that of noncelebrity practitioners

Diana Canova, who experienced Scientology both before and during her period of TV stardom, expressed it in a September 1993 interview: "When I started, I wasn't in television yet. I was a nobody - I'd done some TV, but I was not one of the elite, not by a long shot - until I did Soap. Then it became…I mean, you really are treated like royalty."

Controversy and criticism

Main article: Scientology controversy

Official German warning leaflets from the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior on Scientology.

Of the many new religious movements to appear during the 20th century, Scientology has, from its inception, been one of the most controversial. The Church has come into conflict with the governments and police forces of several countries (including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany) numerous times over the years, though supporters note that many major world religions have found themselves in conflict with civil government in their early years.

Germany classes Scientology as a business, rather than a religious organization, and Belgium, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom, remain unconvinced that Scientology is a religion.

Main article: Scientology and the legal system

The ongoing controversies involving the Church and its critics include:

• Repeated claims of brainwashing and mind control.
• Scientology's disconnection policy, in which members are encouraged to cut off all contact with friends or family members critical of the Church.
• The death of Scientologists, including Lisa McPherson used by Scientology critics as "examples".
• Criminal activities by individual American Scientologists or committed for personal benefit (Reed Slatkin, Gabriel Williams, and others)
• Criminal activities committed on behalf of the Church or directed by Church officials (Operation Snow White, Operation Freakout, Fair Game and others).
• Sometimes conflicting claims about L. Ron Hubbard's life, in particular accounts of Hubbard discussing his intent to start a religion for profit, and of his service in the military.
• Scientology's litigious actions against its critics and enemies.
• Some critics charge Scientology with being a cult of personality, with much emphasis placed on the alleged accomplishments of its founder.

Scientology and other religions

Scientology teaches that it is fully compatible with all existing major world religions and that it does not conflict with other religions or other religious practices; the Church has however been questioned by other religious groups.

The Church of England complained in March 2003 to the Advertising Standards Authority about the Church's advertising poster promoting Narconon--the drug rehabilitation program based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard. The poster claimed "250,000 people salvaged from drugs." The Church of England Diocese of Birmingham challenged the claim. Upholding the complaint, the ASA considered that, "without clarification, readers were likely to interpret the claim '250,000 people salvaged from drugs' to mean that 250,000 people had stopped being dependent on street or prescription drugs because of Scientology. The Authority "accepted that more than 250,000 people had undertaken the Church's Drug Purification and Drug Rundown programmes, which were designed to free people from the effects of taking drugs," but "the Authority understood that, within Scientology, the concept of 'drug use' referred to a variety of behaviours that ranged from heavy use of street drugs to occasional ingestion of alcohol or prescription medicines and exposure to chemical toxins."

In May 2001, the Russian Orthodox Church criticized Scientologists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Unificationists and Mormons as being dangerous "totalitarian sects".

The Lutheran Church in Germany has at times criticized Scientology's activities and doctrines, along with those of several other religions. According to the U.S. State Department's 2004 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, "The Lutheran Church also characterizes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Christ, Christian Scientists, the New Apostolic Church, and the Johannish Church as 'sects,' but in less negative terms than it does Scientology."

The Roman Catholic Church has not made official doctrinal pronouncements specifically related to Scientology. Certain beliefs that are widely associated with Scientology, such as reincarnation, are specifically rejected by the Catholic Church as being incompatible with Catholic belief and practice. Scientology is also, according to a number of religious scholars, a form of gnosticism, which would make it hard to reconcile with Roman Catholicism and other denominations that regard gnosticism as a heresy.

Scientology's claim of religious compatibility to entry-level Scientologists is soon modified by the additional teaching that the various levels of spiritual prowess which can be reached through Scientology are more advanced than those attainable in other religions. Critics maintain that, within Scientology, "spiritual abilities" tends to be synonymous with "mystical powers" rather than with "inner peace". Hubbard himself cautioned against the unwise or improper use of powers in his book History of Man.

In its application for tax-exempt status in the United States, the Church of Scientology International states:

Although there is no policy or Scriptural mandate expressly requiring Scientologists to renounce other religious beliefs or membership in other churches, as a practical matter Scientologists are expected to and do become fully devoted to Scientology to the exclusion of other faiths. As Scientologists, they are required to look only to Scientology Scriptures for the answers to the fundamental questions of their existence and to seek enlightenment only from Scientology.

Hubbard sometimes identified himself with Maitreya (sometimes spelled Metteya), a prophesied Buddha of the future. This identification is made most strongly in his 1955-56 poem Hymn of Asia, which begins with the line "Am I Metteyya? [sic]" and emphasizes certain traits of Hubbard that the editors of the publication said matched traits predicted by the "Metteya Legend", such as Metteya appearing in the West, having golden hair or red hair (Hubbard was red-haired), and appearing in a time of world peril, with the earliest of the predicted dates for his return being 2,500 years after Gautama Buddha, or roughly 1950. According to sociologist Stephen A. Kent, however, the traits which the editors say are predicted by the "Metteya Legend" either are not actually present in the Buddhist texts or in some cases are contradicted by the texts: instead of coming at a time of world peril, for instance, the predictions about Maitreya say he will be born to royalty whose domain is "mighty and prosperous, full of people, crowded and well fed", and rather than having hair "like flames", Kent says that the texts predict curly black hair for the Maitreya.

The revealed beliefs in Scientology at higher levels become increasingly contradictory with other religions. The concept of past lives in Scientology is at odds with Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Beliefs concerning the origins and age of the Earth, the root of evil, and the nature of man make it impossible to uphold the beliefs of most other religions while also being a Scientologist. Hubbard claimed that Islam was the result of an extraterrestrial memory implant, called the Emanator, of which the Kaaba is supposedly an artifact. Mainstream religions, in his view, had failed to realize their objectives: "It is all very well to idealize poverty and associate wisdom with begging bowls, or virtue with low estate. However, those who have done this (Buddhists, Christians, Communists and other fanatics) have dead ended or are dead ending."

Critics claim that a select group of advanced practitioners eventually discovered that Hubbard had left little doubt in his writings and lectures about the dim view he took toward existing major religions. In some of the teachings Hubbard had intended only for this select group, he claimed that Jesus had never existed, but was implanted in humanity's collective memory by Xenu 75 million years ago, and that Christianity was an "entheta [evil] operation" mounted by beings called Targs (Hubbard, "Electropsychometric Scouting: Battle of the Universes", April 1952). Some critics have claimed that one of the highest levels, OT VIII, tells initiates that Jesus was a pederast (it is decidedly unclear whether the version of OT VIII in the Fishman Affidavit, where this claim originates, is genuine). Thus, critics claim, Hubbard makes clear his belief that advanced Scientologists are to identify Jesus and Christianity more as a force of evil than as a force for good.

Scientology as a state-recognized religion

The Church pursues an extensive public relations campaign supporting Scientology as a bona fide religion. The organization cites numerous scholarly sources supporting its position, many of which can be found on a website the Church has established for this purpose. Different countries have taken markedly different approaches to Scientology. Scientology is considered a legitimate religion in Thailand, Taiwan , and Australia, and thus enjoys and regularly cites the constitutional protections afforded in these nations to religious practice. Some countries, mostly in Europe, have regarded Scientology as a potentially dangerous cult, or at least have not considered local branches of the Church of Scientology to meet the legal criteria for being considered religion-supporting organizations.

Main article: R. v. Church of Scientology of Toronto

In Canada, the Church of Scientology is considered a religious non-profit organization; its application for charity status was rejected in 1999. In 1992, Scientology became the only religious organization convicted in criminal court on two counts of breach of the public trust (for an organized conspiracy to infiltrate government offices) following a trial by jury.

In Spain, the Church of Scientology has been refused registration as a religious entity, however authorities declared that the government would not interfere in any way with the activities of the Church of Scientology.

The United Kingdom government does not recognize Scientology as a bona fide religion, and the Church's application for charity status in the United Kingdom was rejected in 1999.

In the United States, Scientologists claim that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax exemption granted to the Scientology related businesses under IRS Tax Code section 501(c)(3) after extended litigation gives their religion a U.S. government stamp of authenticity. The US Government makes no claim to Scientology's legitimacy through tax-exempt status as this is also granted to non-religious entities, such as the Red Cross.

Scientology's tax-exempt status was lost in a 1967 IRS audit. As part of the effort to regain tax exemption during the late 1970s, Scientologists infiltrated the IRS and stole confidential documents in what was termed Operation Snow White. Eleven high-ranking Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard, served time in federal prison for acts surrounding this operation.. This was followed by internal restructuring worldwide to prevent the reccurence of such acts.

In the early 1990s, church leaders David Miscavige and Mark Rathbun visited with the IRS in Washington, DC to negotiate a settlement in an effort to gain tax-exempt status. On August 24, 1992, Scientology's Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) traded to the federal government a vault built at Trementina Base. Though CST had paid over $250,000 for the property in 1986 and had invested millions in development of the property according to the Federal Register record, CST traded it to the government, vault included, for a similar parcel of land in the same New Mexico county valued at only $28,000.

On October 1, 1993 the IRS formally announced that the Church of Scientology and its corporate entities had been granted tax exemption again. The settlement document was sealed by the IRS, but it was leaked to, and subsequently published by the New York Times. The New York Times also asserted in a March 9, 1997 article that, in its efforts to obtain tax-exempt status, Scientologists paid private investigators to obtain compromising material on the IRS commissioner.

As Scientology courses are tax-deductible, some people have wondered why religious courses for other religions are not allowed the same deduction. In the case of MICHAEL SKLAR; MARLA SKLAR v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL No. 00-70753, the Sklars argued they should be allowed a tax-deduction for their payments for courses their son took at a Jewish school. On January 29 2002 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the IRS's opposition. Judge Silverman concurred, saying:

An IRS closing agreement cannot overrule Congress and the Supreme Court. If the IRS does, in fact, give preferential treatment to members of the Church of Scientology—allowing them a special right to claim deductions that are contrary to law and rightly disallowed to everybody else—then the proper course of action is a lawsuit to put a stop to that policy."

In 1982, there was a similar ruling by the High Court of Australia, in Church of the New Faith v. Commissioner Of Pay-roll Tax. The court ruled that the government of Victoria could not deny the Church the right to operate in Victoria under the legal status of "religion", even though the state found that the Church practiced charlatanism. All three judges in the case found that the Church of the New Faith (Church of Scientology) was a religion. One judge said:

It follows that, whatever be the intentions of Mr. Hubbard and whatever be the motivation of the [Church of Scientology], the state of the evidence in this case requires a finding that the general group of adherents have a religion. The question whether their beliefs, practices and observances are a religion must, in the state of that evidence, be answered affirmatively. That answer, according to the conventional basis adopted by the parties in fighting the case, must lead to a judgment for the [Church of Scientology].

A second judge said,

Conclusion. The applicant has easily discharged the onus of showing that it is religious. The conclusion that it is a religious institution entitled to the tax exemption is irresistible." The third of the three judges concluded, "The conclusion to which we have ultimately come is that Scientology is, for relevant purposes, a religion. With due respect to Crockett J. and the members of the Full Supreme Court who reached a contrary conclusion, it seems to us that there are elements and characteristics of Scientology in Australia, as disclosed by the evidence, which cannot be denied.

In Germany Scientology is not considered a religion by the government, but a commercial business (even though this is being denied by the courts), and Scientology's attempts to be recognized as a religion by courts have been mixed.. Scientology is currently being monitored by some German intelligence agencies for anti-constitutional activities. Germany's "government and societal discrimination against minority religious groups" shows up as a Human Rights problem in the US State Department's 2006 Report on Human Rights Practice:

The government does not recognize several belief systems, such as Scientology, as religions; however, it does not prevent them from engaging in public and private religious activities. Federal and state authorities classified Scientology as a potential threat to democratic order, a status that led to employment and commercial discrimination against Scientologists in both the public and private sectors.

Germany's handling of Scientology has also been called into question before open hearings of the United Nations' Human Rights Committee.

While reporting that Germany's "government policy continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion", the US State Department's Religious Freedom Report 2005 noted a number of important issues regarding the treatment of some religious minorities including Scientologists.

In March 2007, it was reported that Scientology had opened a new headquarters in Berlin, and that German authorities were responding by increasing their efforts to monitor Scientology.

The Church has been subjected to considerable pressure from the state in Russia.

In Ireland, Scientology maintains a mission in Dublin. The Church of Scientology Mission of Dublin Ltd. is not listed with Ireland's Office of the Revenue Commissioners as an authorised charity for donation tax relief.

In Belgium, the minister of justice refused Scientology as a candidate for the status of recognized religion.

Scientology as a cult

In some instances, former members have claimed the Church used information obtained in auditing sessions against them. While such a claim would be actionable as extortion, blackmail or harassment within most legal jurisdictions, no such claim has to date been legally confirmed against Scientology based solely upon use or revelation of auditing records.

The Anderson Report, an official inquiry conducted for the state of Victoria, Australia, found that the auditing process involved a form of "authoritative" or "command" hypnosis, in which the hypnotist assumes "positive authoritative control" over the patient. "It is the firm conclusion of this Board that most scientology and dianetic techniques are those of authoritative hypnosis and as such are dangerous. ... the scientific evidence which the Board heard from several expert witnesses of the highest repute ... which was virtually unchallenged - leads to the inescapable conclusion that it is only in name that there is any difference between authoritative hypnosis and most of the techniques of scientology. Many scientology techniques are in fact hypnotic techniques, and Hubbard has not changed their nature by changing their names." Hubbard was an accomplished hypnotist, and close acquaintances such as Forrest Ackerman (Hubbard's literary agent) and A. E. van Vogt (an important early supporter of Dianetics) witnessed repeated demonstrations of his hypnotic skills. (See Scientology and hypnosis). Licensed psychotherapists have alleged that the Church's auditing sessions amount to mental health treatment without a license , but the Church disputes these allegations, and claims to have established in courts of law that its practice leads to spiritual relief. So, according to the Church, the psychotherapist treats mental health and the Church treats the spiritual being.

In France, the Church of Scientology was categorized as a sect (or cult) in the 2468 report of the Assemblée Nationale (the legislative body), in 1995. A more recent government report (1999) categorized the church as an "absolute sect" and recommended that all its activities be prohibited.

The federal government of Germany as well as its states, have to a greater or lesser degree and for varying periods placed Scientology and Scientologists under surveillance by the Verfassungsschutz intelligence agencies since the early 1970s, based on alleged anti-democratic tendencies. No criminal or civil charges have been brought as a result of this surveillance. Some German states and the ruling political party, the CDU (Christian Democratic Union), have passed rules or regulations limiting the participation of Scientologists in politics, business and public life. On Federal level Scientology lost a complaint against continued surveillance by the Federal Verfassungsschutz because the court held the opinion that there are indicators that Scientology is pursuing anticonstitutional activities. As of April 2007 the case was pending in appeal. In Berlin, the court prohibited the use of paid undercover agents. In Saarland, surveillance was stopped by the court as inappropriate because there is no local branch of Scientology and few members.

Allegations of Scientology's cult status may be attributed to its unconventional creation by a single authoritative and charismatic leader.

Scientology as a commercial venture

Main article: Scientology as a business

The Church of Scientology and its many related organizations have amassed considerable real estate holdings worldwide, likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as a large amount of other funds from the practice of auditing. Hubbard was accused in his lifetime of adopting a religious façade for Scientology to allow the organization to maintain tax-exempt status and to avoid prosecution for false medical claims. There have been numerous accounts from Hubbard's fellow science-fiction authors and researchers, notably Harlan Ellison, Neison Himmel, Sam Merwin, Sam Moskowitz, Theodore Sturgeon, Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, and Lyle Stuart, of Hubbard stating on various occasions that the way to get rich was to start a religion. This is referenced, among other places, in a May 1980 Reader's Digest article, which quotes Hubbard, "If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion." The Church says that "One individual once claimed L. Ron Hubbard made such a comment during a lecture in 1948. The only two people who could be found who attended that very lecture in 1948 denied that Mr. Hubbard ever made this statement" and that therefore it is an "unfounded rumor." The Church's statement does not address any of the other individuals who have stated that they personally heard Hubbard make such a statement, some saying that he said it on multiple occasions. The Church also suggests that the origin of the "rumor" was a quote by George Orwell which had been "misattributed" to Hubbard. However, Robert Vaughn Young, who left the Church in 1989 after twenty years, said that he had discovered the Orwell quote, and suggested that reports of Hubbard making such a statement could be explained as a misattribution of Orwell, despite having encountered three of Hubbard's associates from his science fiction days who remembered Hubbard making statements of that sort in person.

Scientology pays members commissions on new recruits they bring in, encouraging Scientology members to "sell" Scientology to others. In addition, Scientology franchises, or missions, pay the church roughly 10% of their gross income. Charges for auditing and other Church-related courses run to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Scientology maintains strict control over the use of its symbols, icons, and names. It claims copyright and trademark over its "Scientology cross," and its lawyers have threatened lawsuits against individuals and organizations who have published the image in books and on Web sites. Because of this, it is very difficult for individual groups to attempt to publicly practice Scientology on their own, without any affiliation or connection to the Church of Scientology. Scientology has sued a number of individuals who attempted to set up their own "auditing" practices, using copyright and trademark law to shut these groups down.

In conjunction with the Church of Scientology's request to be officially recognized as a religion in Germany, the German state Baden-Württemberg conducted a thorough investigation regarding the group's activities within Germany. The results of this investigation indicated that, at the time of publication, Scientology's main sources of revenue ("Haupteinnahmequellen der SO") were from course offerings and sales of their various publications. Course offerings--e.g. "The Ups and Downs of Life," "Hubbard's Key to Life," "Intensive Auditing," etc.--ranged from (German Marks) DM 182.50 to about DM 30,000--the equivalent today of approximately $119 to $19,560 US dollars. Revenue from monthly, bi-monthly, and other membership offerings could not be estimated in the report, but was nevertheless placed in the millions.

In June of 2006, it was announced that Scientology would be sponsoring a NASCAR race car. The Number 27 Ford Taurus driven by Kenton Gray displays a large Dianetics logo.

Scientology and psychiatry

Main article: Scientology and psychiatry

Scientologists regularly hold anti-psychiatry demonstrations they call "Psychbusts"

The Church of Scientology is one of a number of groups involved in the anti-psychiatry movement, and one of the few organizations that publicly oppose the study and application of psychology in addition to psychiatry.

This theme appears in some of Hubbard's literary works. In Hubbard's Mission Earth series, various characters praise and criticize these methods, and the antagonists in his novel Battlefield Earth are called Psychlos, a similar allusion.

From the Church of Scientology FAQ on Psychiatry:

What the Church opposes are brutal, inhumane psychiatric treatments. It does so for three principal reasons: 1) procedures such as electro-shock, drugs and lobotomy injure, maim and destroy people in the guise of help; 2) psychiatry is not a science and has no proven methods to justify the billions of dollars of government funds that are poured into it; and 3) psychiatric theories that man is a mere animal have been used to rationalize, for example, the wholesale slaughter of human beings in World Wars I and II.

Hubbard was critical of psychiatry's citation of physical causes for mental disorders, such as chemical imbalances in the brain. Hubbard's statements deny that psychiatry, through the scientific method, has shown some psychiatric disorders are related to anatomical and chemical cerebral anomalies. He said that psychiatrists deny human spirituality and peddle fake cures. He said that he was also convinced psychiatrists were themselves deeply unethical individuals, committing "extortion, mayhem and murder. Our files are full of evidence on them." Many of the areas in which his criticism is directed have since been discredited in mainstream psychiatry - electro-shock therapy, for example, is now only used under anesthesia and muscle relaxants, and lobotomy is a defunct procedure.

The Church says that psychiatry was responsible for World War I, the rise of Hitler and Stalin, the decline in education standards in the United States, the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, and the September 11 attacks. The Church's point of view on these issues is documented mainly by Church groups and publications such as CCHR and Freedom Magazine, as cited above.

Scientology's opposition to psychiatry has also undoubtedly been influenced by the opposition of numerous psychiatrists to the Church. After the publication of Dianetics, the American Psychological Association advised its members against using Hubbard's psychotherapy techniques with their patients until their effectiveness could be proven. Because of this critique, Hubbard said that psychiatrists were behind a worldwide conspiracy to attack Scientology and create a "world government" run by psychiatrists on behalf of Soviet Russia:

Our enemies are less than twelve men. They are members of the Bank of England and other higher financial circles. They own and control newspaper chains and they, oddly enough, run all the mental health groups in the world that had sprung up ... Their apparent programme was to use mental health, which is to say psychiatric electric shock and pre-frontal lobotomy, to remove from their path any political dissenters ... These fellows have gotten nearly every government in the world to owe them considerable quantities of money through various chicaneries and they control, of course, income tax, government finance — [Harold] Wilson, for instance, the current Premier of England, is totally involved with these fellows and talks about nothing else actually.

In 1966, Hubbard declared war on psychiatry, telling Scientologists "We want at least one bad mark on every psychiatrist in England, a murder, an assault, or a rape or more than one." He committed the Church to eradicating psychiatry in 1969, announcing "Our war has been forced to become 'To take over absolutely the field of mental healing on this planet in all forms.'" The Church founded the Citizens Commission on Human Rights that same year as its primary vehicle for attacking psychiatry.

In a 1982 bulletin entitled "Pain and Sex", Hubbard declares that "pain and sex were the INVENTED TOOLS of degradation", having been devised eons ago by evil beings "who have been on the [time] track a long time and are the sole cause of decline in this universe."

Celebrity Scientologists, notably Tom Cruise, have been extremely vocal in attacking the use of psychiatric medication. Their position has attracted considerable criticism from psychiatrists, physicians, and mental health patients and advocates who cite numerous scientific studies showing benefit from psychiatry.

Christopher Gillberg, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, alleged that the destruction of patient files in May 2005 by two of his colleagues and a university administrator had been prompted by the Church's criticism of his research. Gillberg said that Eva Kärfve, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Lund who in 2003 had obtained a court order to access his patient records relating to ADHD, was a Scientologist or was acting for the Church. The University professor opposed this access on the grounds of patient confidentiality. However, in July 2005 the lower criminal court in Gothenburg fined Gillberg for "misuse of office" and upheld Kärfve's right to see the remaining data.

Scientology versus the Internet

Main article: Scientology versus the Internet

In the 1990s Scientology representatives have undertaken extensive operations on the Internet to deal with growing allegations against Scientology on the Internet. The organization states that it is taking actions to prevent distribution of copyrighted Scientology documents and publications online by people whom it has called "copyright terrorists". Critics say that the organisation's true motive is to attempt to suppress the free speech of its critics.

In January 1995, Church lawyer Helena Kobrin attempted to shut down the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology by sending a control message instructing Usenet servers to delete the group on the grounds that:

(1) It was started with a forged message; (2) not discussed on alt.config; (3) it has the name "scientology" in its title which is a trademark and is misleading, as a.r.s. is mainly used for flamers to attack the Scientology religion; (4) it has been and continues to be heavily abused with copyright and trade secret violations and serves no purpose other than condoning these illegal practices.

In practice, this rmgroup message had little effect, since most Usenet servers are configured to disregard such messages when applied to groups that receive substantial traffic, and newgroup messages were quickly issued to recreate the group on those servers that did not do so. However, the issuance of the message led to a great deal of public criticism by free-speech advocates.

The Church also began filing lawsuits against those who posted copyrighted texts on the newsgroup and the World Wide Web, and pressed for tighter restrictions on copyrights in general. The Church supported the controversial Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. The even more controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act was also strongly promoted by the Church and some of its provisions (notably the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act) were heavily influenced by Church litigation against US Internet service providers over copyrighted Scientology materials that had been posted or uploaded through their servers.

Beginning in the middle of 1996 and for several years after, the newsgroup was attacked by anonymous parties using a tactic dubbed "sporgery" by some, in the form of hundreds of thousands of forged spam messages posted on the group. Although the Church neither confirmed nor denied its involvement with the spam, some investigators said that some spam had been traced to Church members. Former Scientologist Tory Christman, after she left the Church, confessed to having been part of the sporgery project, taking money supplied by the Office of Special Affairs to open up an Internet accounts at various ISPs under false names, accounts from which she later saw forged and garbled communications going out.

Scientific criticism of Scientology's beliefs

A 1971 ruling of the United States District Court, District of Columbia (333 F. Supp. 357), specifically stated, "the E-meter has no proven usefulness in the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of any disease, nor is it medically or scientifically capable of improving any bodily function.". Scientology publishes the following disclaimer in its books and publications: "The e-meter is an electronic instrument that measures mental state and change of state in individuals and assists the precision and speed of auditing. The E-Meter is not intended or effective for any diagnosis, treatment or prevention of any disease." and that it is used specifically for spiritual purposes.

See also

• Scientology bibliography
• Scientology filmography
• Scientology references in popular culture  
• Symbols of Scientology
• Confidence trick

• Scientology versus the Internet
• Homosexuality and Scientology
• List of groups referred to as cults
• Operation Clambake
• Religion

General references

• Scientology: Cult of Greed and power - Time Magazine article on Scientology
• Spirituality through therapy: Scientology, teaching that divinity lies within, appeals to our pop gods
• Frenschkowski, Marco (1999). "L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology: An annotated bibliographical survey of primary and selected secondary literature". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Kent, Stephen A. (1996). "Scientology's Relationship With Eastern Religious Traditions". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links

• Church of Scientology official home page
• What is Scientology ? A description of Scientology and its activities and answers to FAQs (by the Church of Scientology)
• Links about Scientology on dmoz Open Directory Project
• Michel Snoeck on Scientology® and L. Ron Hubbard® - An Introduction or A word about ‘KSW’
• Official Church site about L. Ron Hubbard
• International Freezone Association
• Information on Changes within the Church
• Xenu TV - "Exposing Scientology Through Streaming Video"
• The Secrets of Scientology
• Scientology Lies
• Rick Ross Scientology Information
• Scientology at The Rotten Library
• "Inside Scientology", Rolling Stone; 02/23/06 - in-depth Rolling Stone article on Scientology
• Scientology - Through the Door Survey interviews of over 100 Scientologists and former Scientologists.
• Related Groups - List of groups related to the Scientology organization.
• Operation Clambake on Scientology Xenu.net
• Beliefnet site on scientology.