| Scientology is a system of beliefs and teachings, originally established as a secular philosophy in 1952 by author L. Ron Hubbard, and subsequently reoriented from 1953 as an "applied
religious philosophy".
It is most prominently represented by the Church of
Scientology, claimed by its critics to be a commercial organization with a long history of defending its teachings by use of
copyright and trade secret
law, and sometimes using high pressure sales techniques to extract money from its members.
Its history of using its full commercial weight in litigation against private
individuals has attracted criticism as not being in keeping with the image of a religion.
Scientology as a religion
Scientology is considered a religion in the United States and Australia, and thus its practice enjoys the constitutional protections afforded to
religious practice (First Amendment to the United States Constitution; Australian Constitution, s 116). Some European countries do not consider the Church of Scientology to be a bona fide religious
organization, but a commercial enterprise, or a cult (see the list of alleged cults). The nature of
Scientology is hotly debated in many countries, regardless of the official position (see: Scientology controversy).
The Church of Scientology pursues an extensive
public relations campaign arguing that Scientology is a bona
fide religion. The organization has a number of sources supporting this position, often cited by its spokespersons. As an
example, they note the following studies on the religious doctrines of Scientology conducted by prominent experts of religion
from various faiths:
- Scientology - An Analysis and Comparison of its Religious Systems and
Doctrines (http://www.bonafidescientology.org/append/02/index.htm) by Bryan R. Wilson, Ph.D., Emeritus
Fellow, Oxford University, England
- Scientology - The Marks of Religion (http://www.bonafidescientology.org/append/03/index.htm) by Frank K. Flinn, Ph.D., Adjunct
Professor in Religious Studies, Washington University,
Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
- Scientology - Its Cosmology, Anthropology, System of Ethics &
Methodologies (http://www.bonafidescientology.org/append/04/index.htm) by
Régis
Dericquebourg, Professor, Sociology of Religion, University of Lille III, Lille, France
- Scientology - An Analysis and Review of a New Religion (http://www.bonafidescientology.org/append/05/index.htm) by M. Darrol Bryant, Ph.D., Professor
of Religion and Culture, Renison College, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
- Scientology - And Contemporary Definitions of Religion in the Social
Sciences (http://www.bonafidescientology.org/append/06/index.htm) by Alejandro Frigerio, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of Sociology, Catholic University of Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Scientology - A True Religion (http://www.bonafidescientology.org/append/07/index.htm) by Urbano Alonso Galan, Doctor
in Philosophy and Licenciate in Theology, Gregorian University and, Saint Bonaventure Pontifical
Faculty, Rome, Italy
- Scientology - The Relationship Between Scientology and Other
Religions (http://www.bonafidescientology.org/append/08/index.htm) by Fumio Sawada, Eighth Holder of the Secrets
of Yu-itsu Shinto
Critics usually dismiss these studies as biased, contending that the studies were
commissioned by Scientology to produce exactly the results that Scientology wants the public to hear.
On the other hand, there are also some academic papers that Scientologist contend were commissioned by critics, which do not
come to the conclusion that Scientology is a religion:
In the U.S., in October of 1993 the Internal Revenue Service, after reviewing voluminous information on the Church's financial and
other operations, recognized (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/ir-97-50.txt) the Church as an "organization operated
exclusively for religious and charitable purposes." The Church states that the tax exemption is proof that it is a religion. This
subject is examined in the Wikipedia article on the Church of
Scientology.
In 1982, the High Court of Australia ruled that the State Government of Victoria could not declare that the Church of Scientology was not a religion (Church of the New Faith v. Commissioner Of Pay-roll Tax (Vict.)
1983, 154 CLR 120 (http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/high_ct/154clr120.html)). The Court addressed the
issue of belief, rather than possible charlatanism: "Charlatanism is a
necessary price of religious freedom, and if a self-proclaimed teacher persuades others to believe in a religion which he
propounds, lack of sincerity or integrity on his part is not incompatible with the religious character of the beliefs, practices
and observances accepted by his followers."
Origins of Scientology
Scientology was expanded and reworked from Dianetics [1] (http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/Wolf/pg6.htm) an earlier system of self-improvement techniques originally set out in the
1950 book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of
Mental Health. Immediately prior to this work, Hubbard was intensively involved with the occultist Jack Parsons in performing the occult rites developed by Aleister Crowley. Some critics have pointed out the many similarities in
Hubbard's writings to the doctrines of Crowley [2] (http://www.xenu.net/archive/lrhbare/lrhbare08.html).
By the mid-1950s, Hubbard had relegated Dianetics to being a sub-study of Scientology,
although it is still promoted and delivered by Scientology organizations. The chief difference between the two is that Dianetics
is explicitly secular, focused on the individual's present life and dealing with physical and mental or emotional problems,
whereas Scientology adopts a more overtly religious approach [3] (http://victorian.fortunecity.com/finsbury/124/last.htm) focused on dealing with spiritual
issues spanning multiple past lives as well as the present day.
Hubbard was repeatedly accused of adopting a religious facade for Scientology in order for the organization to maintain
tax-exempt status and avoid prosecution for false medical claims; these accusations have
dogged the Church of Scientology to the present day, bolstered by numerous accounts from Hubbard's fellow science-fiction authors
that on various occasions he stated that the way to get rich was to start a religion [4] (http://www.bible.ca/scientology-1million-start-a-religion.htm).
The word scientology has a history of its own. Although nowadays associated almost exclusively with Hubbard's work, it
was coined by the philologist Alan Upward in 1907 as a synonym for "pseudoscience". [5] (http://www.instinct.org/texts/bluesky/bs3-4.htm) 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, or Scientology, Science of the Constitution and
Usefulness of Knowledge. [6] (http://www.scientologie.de/scientologie/index.htm) 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 whether Hubbard was aware of these earlier usages. The word itself is a pairing of the Latin word scio ("know" or "distinguish") and the Greek λόγος lógos ("reason itself" or "inward thought"). It seems plausible
that Hubbard's meaning derived, like that of Nordenholz, from a simple translation of these root words.
Beliefs and practices
Main article: Scientology
beliefs and practices
Scientology's doctrines were established by Hubbard over some 33 years from 1950 through
to his death in January 1986, issued in the form of thousands of lectures, books, essays,
and policies. Most of the basic principles of Scientology were set out during the first 15 years of its existence, with Hubbard
devoting much of his later life to the more esoteric upper levels (or "Advanced Technologies") of the Scientology belief system.
The church describes his actions as improving and expanding on the workability and use of these principles.
The central beliefs of Scientology are that a person is an immortal spiritual being (referred to as a thetan) who possesses a mind
and a body, and that the person is basically good. The life one should lead is one of
continual spiritual and ethical education, awareness, and improvement, so that he/she can be happy and achieve ultimate
salvation, as well as being more effective in creating a better world. Scientology claims to offer specific methodologies to
assist a person to achieve this.
Another basic tenet of Scientology is that there are three basic interrelated (and intrinsically spiritual) components that
are the very makeup of successful "livingness": affinity, reality (or agreement), and communication, which equate to
understanding. Hubbard called this the "ARC triangle". Scientologists utilize ARC to enhance their lives, primarily based upon
the belief that raising one aspect of the triangle increases the other two.
In an attempt to clarify the concept of conscious, subconscious, and unconscious minds, Hubbard wrote that the mind of man is
structured in two parts: the "analytical mind" and the "reactive mind". He described the analytical mind as the positive,
rational, computing portion, while the "reactive mind", according to Hubbard, operates on a stimulus-response basis.
Scientologists believe the reactive mind is the root of an individual's travail, as well as the root of mankind's inhumanity and
inability to create lasting, prosperous, sane societies.
The central methodology of Scientology is called "auditing", (from the Latin root aud-, to listen), which is one-on-one
communication with a Scientology-trained "auditor". The auditor assists a person to have realizations about himself and unravel
the reactive portion of his mind, ie, emotional "charge", specific traumatic incidents, his own ethical transgressions, and bad
decisions of his past that tend to lock him into a life not totally under his own control.
The Church states that the goal of Scientology is a world without war, criminals, and insanity, where good decent people have
the freedom to reach their goals.
The Church of Scientology
Main article: Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology was first incorporated in the United
States as a nonprofit organization in 1954. Today it forms the center of a complex worldwide network of corporations dedicated to the
promotion of L. Ron Hubbard's philosophies in all areas of life. This includes drug treatment centers (Narconon), criminal rehab programs (Criminon), activities to reform the field of mental health (Citizens
Commission on Human Rights), projects to implement workable and effective educational methods in schools (Applied Scholastics), a
campaign to return moral values to living (The Way to Happiness), an organization to educate and assist businesses to succeed
(World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, or WISE), and a crusade directed to world leaders as well as the general public to
implement the 1948 United Nations document, "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights".
The Church of Scientology has been, and remains, a highly controversial organization. Countries have taken markedly different
approaches to Scientology. The United States government regards Scientology as a religion, and thus considers the activities of
the Church of Scientology to be protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution; other countries,
notably in Europe, have regarded Scientology as a potentially dangerous cult and have significantly restricted its activities at various times, or at least have not
considered that the branches of the Church of Scientology met the legal criteria for being considered religion-supporting organizations. In
Germany for instance, they are not seen as a religion by the government but as a financial organization. Scientology has also
been the focus of criticism by anti-cult campaigners and has
aroused controversy for its high-profile campaigns against psychiatry and
psychiatric medication.
The many legal battles fought by the Church of Scientology since its inception have given it a reputation as one of the most
litigious religious organizations in existence. (See also: Scientology and the legal system)
Independent Scientology groups
Main article: Free Zone
Although "Scientology" is most often used as shorthand for the Church of Scientology, a number of groups practice Scientology and Dianetics outside of the fold of
the official Church. Such groups are invariably breakaways from the official Church and usually argue that it has corrupted L.
Ron Hubbard's principles or has otherwise become overly domineering. 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.
Free Zone groups are extremely heterogeneous in terms of doctrine—very unlike the official Church. Some Free Zoners
practice more or less pure Scientology, based on Hubbard's original (Church-published) texts and principles but without the
supervision or fee system of the official Church. Others have developed Hubbard's ideas into radically new forms, some of which
are barely recognizable as being related to Scientology.
Controversy and criticism
Main article: Scientology controversy
Of the many new religious movements to appear during
the 20th century, Scientology has been one of the most controversial almost
since its inception. The Church of Scientology has come into conflict with the governments and police of several countries
(including the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany) numerous times over the years.
Another point of controversy is Scientology's infiltration of the United States Internal Revenue Service in what Scientology termed "Operation Snow White". Eleven high-ranking Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard,
served time in federal prison for their involvement in this infiltration.
The ongoing controversy involving the Church of Scientology and its critics involves:
- Criminal activities by the Church of Scientology and its members.
- Claims of "brainwashing" and mind control.
- Scientology's disconnection policy.
- Accounts of L. Ron Hubbard discussing his intent to start a religion to make money
- Differing accounts of L. Ron Hubbard's life, (critics charge Scientology with being a cult of personality, with much emphasis placed on the alleged accomplishments of its
founder)
- Deaths of Scientologists due to mistreatment by Scientology.
- Scientology's harassing and litigious actions against its critics and enemies.
Scientology vs. the Internet
Main Article: Scientology vs. the
Internet
Leaders of Scientology have undertaken extensive operations on the Internet to deal with growing allegations of fraudulence
and exposure of unscrupulousness within Scientology. The organization states that it is taking actions to prevent distribution of
copyrighted Scientology documents and publications online; however, its critics
(and many Internet users) claim the organization is attempting to suppress free speech. In January 1995 Scientology lawyer
Helena Kobrin attempted to
silence the discussions taking place on the alt.religion.scientology newsgroup by issuing
a control message intended to remove the newsgroup from all Usenet servers, and started
to sue people for posting copies of its scriptures on the group, acts that resulted in thousands of Internet users around the
world taking a closer look at Scientology. From mid-1996 and for several years after, the newsgroup was subject to another form
of attempted suppression, in the form of hundreds of thousands of spam messages
posted on the group. Although the church neither confirmed nor denied that it was behind the spam, some investigators claimed
that some of the spam had been traced to church members. Scientology's response to criticism was to issue a statement insisting
that their actions were actually an assault against hate speech, making
numerous claims about hate and violence directed against Scientology.
Further reading
- Bare-Faced Messiah, The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard by Russell Miller (N.Y.: Henry Holt & Co., 1987) ISBN 0-8050-0654-0 online book (http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/bfm/bfmconte.htm)
- L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman? by Bent Corydon and L. Ron Hubbard Jr. a.k.a. Ronald DeWolf.(Secaucus, NJ: Lyle Stuart,
1987) ISBN 0-8184-0444-2 online book (http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/mom/Messiah_or_Madman.txt)
- A Piece of Blue Sky, by Jon Atack (Lyle Stuart, 1990), ISBN 081840499X online book (http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/apobs/)
- The Fishman Affidavit (article), Fishman Affidavit (http://www.xs4all.nl/~kspaink/fishman/home.html) (external link).
External links
Official Scientology sites
Other pro-Scientology sites
Current news and discussions
Article from The New York Times on Tom Cruise and his involvement with the church
Critical links
|
