Question:
Can you explain to me what Scientology is?
JadeSpade
2008-09-20 12:00:23 UTC
I looked up some stuff about it and i'm not sure if i should categorize it as a religion. Some of the things just sound like a way of life and other things don't. But i don't know enough about it to give my opinion of it. I don't really thinks it's a cult either. Can anyone explain to me what it is and what their teachings are?

I have also read something about aliens along with them (something about Xenu), can anyone explain that to me?
Fourteen answers:
Charles & Willa
2008-09-20 12:16:32 UTC
It is sort of a hodgepodge of religion, psychology, and science fiction. Some of its aspects in the area of self help may be benificial, but can be found elsewhere without the other BS and baggage. ,as well as the cost.

The worst thing is the cost. You have to commit to counseling sessions and classes amounting to thousands of dollars. They are against all psychoactive drugs ,prescription and otherwise.

They do believe in aliens ,but i don't know the details. They are cultish, possibly a cult ,depending on your definition of cult.

PPl are put thru sessions where they are interrogated while hooked to a primitive version of a polygraph , .Their reactions to the questions are recorded. The goal is to free themselves of emotional baggage thru progressive sessions, but at great expense. Traditional psychotherapy is much cheaper. Other similar self help methods are MOL free. When they are "cleared" of one level ,they go on to the next one ,to work on more involved issues.

That's all I know.
anonymous
2008-09-20 12:13:20 UTC
L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, told his friends that the best way to get rich would be to invent a new religion. Then HE DID. In his religion, you advance spiritually by paying the 'church' exhorbitant amounts of money to get 'clear'.



He wrote an entertaining story about how souls came to earth. People believed it. He said that a planet in a distant galaxy was too crowded, if i remember right, so some souls needed to be sent here. They were flown here in a spaceship that looked a heckuva lot like a DC-10. They went deep inside volcanos where they were programmed to believe they were people with earth cultures, etc., and forget their origins. Then they left the volcanos and looked fo bodies to inhabit.



Some of those bodies turned out to be whackos like Tom Cruise! The only way to figure out who you really are is to pay Scientology tons of money.



It's a cult, made by a guy who said he was going to make a cult.



There's some stuff on YouTube about it.
anonymous
2008-09-20 12:08:22 UTC
what I know is that the basic belief of scientology is that long ago an evil alien called "Xenu" killed aliens by throwing their bodies into volcanoes on earth--and he then trapped their souls into human bodies--and at the same time erased their memories of being from another planet--and all of human history was just an illussion implanted in our minds by "Xenu". something along those lines--

and some of the ways of life they believe in is that you should not use any kind of medication or drugs and never to see a pyschiatrist.
anonymous
2008-09-22 00:06:22 UTC
Scientology is a cult started by Sci-Fi writer L. Ron Hubbard, who was at one time a disciple of Aleister Crowley. They use a process called "auditing" on their followers, which is really just a mild form of hypnosis.
Chelz
2008-09-20 12:08:01 UTC
Look at xenu.net.



It was established by a sci-fi writer, compulive liar, and drug addict. Not exactly a great example. They also force members to sever ties with family or friends who are not Scientologists - sounds like a cult. And advocate the harm of any persons (including harm to their property and loved ones) who speak out against them.
Affinity Warrior
2008-09-20 21:26:45 UTC
Scientology is a religious applied philosophy.



Scientology states that man is a Spiritual being and to represent this life force it selected the Greek symbol for though: “Theta”.



http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ncBcbVtEwUc



SANITY

A sane man plans for the future.

A neurotic worries about the present.

An insane is stuck in the past.



KNOWLEDGE

A sane man Differentiates, he values each datum by itself.

A neurotic Associates irreverent data, two datum’s are never alike, each datum should be weighted by itself. All criminals justify their crimes by using logic or associating irreverent data. Two apples might look alike but the true observer knows that each apple is unique in form and color. Full knowingness is Differentiation, Logic is a step down.

The insane identifies, it believes that this equals that. Nurse = Vietcong, Bed = bunker, cup = grenade



THE MIND

THE ANALYTICAL MIND

The analytical mind is clear; it doesn’t have any hidden influences and is fully accessible by the Thetan. This is the mind that Theta uses to store memory and make decisions.



THE REACTIVE MIND

The reactive mind is collection of bad mental image picture that include pain, unconsciousness and command value. The reactive mind is the hidden influence that aberrates reason. The reactive mind is the cause for all human aberration, insanity or evil purpose.



AUDITING

Scientology’s approach to solve human aberration: Auditing.

- “Communication is the Universal Solvent.”

- “All problems of the mind are created by the mind.”

- “The mind can solve all the problems of the mind”



Auditing is a verbal therapy that uses questions to help the individual address what is bothering him. So the person by his own volition can solve his own problems. The big difference between Auditing and Psychoanalysis is that the Psychoanalyst evaluates for the person and tells him what to think. In Auditing you just ask and listen and let the person make his own mind about things.



There are no suggestions involved in Auditing, all conclusion are done by you by your own intelligence. Auditors are bound the Auditor’s Code to never evaluate for the preclear (preclear is a person receiving Scientology processing). Never get in a relationship with the preclear. All information released during auditing is protected by law and not even the police can gain access to that information. Enforcing this code of conduct is the Scientology Ethics Officer and Scientology law. Any violation to the Auditors code is considered a high crime in Scientology and will result removal of any Auditing Certificates and/or expulsion from the church. I have seen this happen and is a very serious matter.



Any friend or family member can audit you for free. Or you can take the courses and get your Auditing with other students. Taking Scientology courses is no more expensive than taking courses at your community college. Scientology also offers correspondence courses for a little as $30.00.



Professional auditing is also offered by highly trained specialists. An auditing team is composed of the Auditor, Ethics Officer, Quality Assurance (the person that tells the Auditor what to do), Corrections (the people that constantly train the Auditor on how to do the process) and the rest of the administration of a Church of Scientology. These are not one on one services, these are a whole team working to better you. It is expensive because is expensive to create, train and maintain the team.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=kwK1byq0ndQ



How Scientology evolved?



Scientology evolved from Dianetics when it was discovered that man is a spiritual being. Scientology differs from Dianetics in that Dianetics deals with the mind and the rehabilitation of mental image pictures and Scientology deals with the rehabilitation of the human spirit itself.



http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=FhrlHU0W9UI



We don’t ask for your faith in Scientology. There is no faith needed, when you can observe and experience it working by your self.



http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=XUXR0XgmDNg



“Self confidence alone is security. Your ability is your security. There is no security but you. Let's make the best possible you." L Ron Hubbard

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=dziK04-9qqQ



Cult status?

All great religions have been misunderstood, persecuted and attacked. Jesus was sentenced to death by a lynching crowd; his only crime: to teach Love and forgiveness. Christians were KILLED for centuries for their beliefs and they were accused of performing cannibalistic rituals (didn’t they ate and drink the body of Jesus?).



Scientology is a worldwide religion that claims 10 millions of members. It has centers in almost every mayor capital in the world: Washington, London, Berlin, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Sydney, Tel Aviv Israel and Moscow to name a few. And for a church that is barely 40 years old this is great. Scientology is not a small sect based in a small town in Texas isolated from the rest
piscesisblue25
2008-09-23 08:45:21 UTC
I think the best way to find out is read some books on Scientology OR go to a local Scientology church and find out for yourself. There is alot of misinformation out there.
anonymous
2008-09-20 12:04:18 UTC
Sci-Fi author L. Ron Hubbard came up with a great scam to make money. Invent a new religion. It worked like a charm. Here endeth the lesson.



Additional info: He knew people are gullible because he'd seen them give money to Christian evangelists.
anonymous
2008-09-20 12:10:42 UTC
Scientology is 10 pounds of bullshit in a 5 pound bag.



No seriously, its just a way to scam people out of money, and its legitimized by calling it a religion. Hmmm, that's basically what every religion is though, so i guess you could call it one.
Jade | My Brain is My Shepherd
2008-09-20 12:03:26 UTC
They believe aliens saved the earth long ago. It is too strange to fathom anyone actually falling for it....considering it was established by a sci-fi writer.
Michael
2008-09-20 12:15:50 UTC
Ducks, crackers and old hub caps!



Makes about as much sense as anything they would tell you!
2008-09-20 12:03:26 UTC
Tom Cruise, aliens, money, and insanity. That's all there is to it.
anonymous
2008-09-20 12:08:33 UTC
Scientology beliefs and practices

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_beliefs_and_practices



Scientology Litigation and Lawsuits

http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/dianetics_litigation.html



Testimonies of supporters and critics of Scientology and Dianetics

http://home.snafu.de/tilman/mystory/



Fair Game (Scientology)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Game_%28Scientology%29

In 1965 Hubbard formulated the "Fair Game Law", which states how to deal with people who interfere with Scientology's activities. These problematic people, called suppressive persons, could be considered "fair game" for retaliation:



A Suppressive Person or Group becomes fair game. By FAIR GAME is meant, may not be further protected by the codes and disciplines or the rights of a Scientologist.[4]



Later in December of that year, Hubbard reissued the Fair Game policy with additional clarifications to define the scope of Fair Game. He made it clear that the policy applied to non-Scientologists as well. He declared:



The homes, property, places and abodes of persons who have been active in attempting to: suppress Scientology or Scientologists are all beyond any protection of Scientology Ethics, unless absolved by later Ethics or an amnesty ... this Policy Letter extends to suppressive non-Scientology wives and husbands and parents, or other family members or hostile groups or even close friends.[5]



Hubbard made it clear elsewhere in his writings that the policy would be applied to external organizations, including governments, that were guilty of having interfered with Scientology's activities. He told Scientologists:



If the Internal Revenue Service (in refusing the FCDC [Founding Church of Scientology, Washington DC] non-profit status) continues to act up or if the FDA does sue we can of course Comm Ev [Committee of Evidence] them and if found guilty, label and publish them as a Suppressive Group and fair game ... [N]one is fair game until he or she declares against us.[6]



The policy was further extended in an October 1967 Policy Letter (HCOPL 18 Oct 67 Issue IV, Penalties for Lower Conditions), where Hubbard defined the "penalties" for an individual deemed to be in a "Condition of Enemy":



ENEMY — SP Order. Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed.[7]



When a man named Peter Goodwin in Hampshire, England purchased a high-level Scientology course for £250 and resold it to friends for £50, Hubbard personally issued an Ethics order which "withdrew any future help from Goodwin and his associates, (presumably for eternity), and threatened the most dire retaliations."[8]



An Ethics Order dating from March 6, 1968, issued by L. Ron Hubbard aboard his boat the Royal Scotsman, lists twelve scientologists who were accused of distributing altered versions of upper level technology. Hubbard writes "They are fair game. No amnesty may ever cover them. [...] Any Sea Org member contacting them is to use Auditing Process R2-45."[9][10]



Cover up of pedophile child sexual abuse by Scientology

http://sexual.taxexemptchildabuse.net/



http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/L._Ron_Hubbard

L. Ron Hubbard's life is embroiled in controversy, as is the history of Scientology . His son, L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. claimed in 1983 "99% of what my father ever wrote or said about himself is totally untrue."



Some documents written by Hubbard himself suggest he regarded Scientology as a business, not a religion. In one letter dated 10 April, 1953, he says calling Scientology a religion solves "a problem of practical business", and status as a religion achieves something "more equitable...with what we've got to sell". In a 1962 official policy letter, he said "Scientology 1970 is being planned on a religious organization basis throughout the world. This will not upset in any way the usual activities of any organization. It is entirely a matter for accountants and solicitors." A Reader's Digest article of May 1980 quoted Hubbard as saying in the 1940s "Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion." [Hubbard] began making statements to the effect that any writer who really wished to make money should stop writing and develop [a] religion, or devise a new psychiatric method. Harlan Ellison Harlan Ellison's version is that Hubbard is reputed to have told [John W.] Campbell John W. Campbell, "I'm going to invent a religion that's going to make me a fortune. I'm tired of writing for a penny a word." Sam Moskowitz, a chronicler of science fiction, has reported that he himself heard Hubbard make a similar statement, but there is no first-hand evidence".



In a 1983 interview, L. Ron, Jr. said "according to him and my mother" he was the result of a failed abortion and recalls at six years old seeing his father performing an abortion on his mother with a coat hanger. In the same interview, he said "Scientology is a power-and-money-and-intelligence-gathering game" and described his father as "only interested in money, sex, booze, and drugs".



One controversial aspect of Hubbard's early life revolves around his association with Jack Parsons Jack Parsons, an aeronautics professor at Caltech California Institute of Technology



The California Institute of Technology is a private [i], coeducation [i]al university lo ...



and an associate of the British occultist Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley. Hubbard and Parsons were allegedly engaged in the practice of ritual magick Magick



Magick, in the broadest sense, is any act designed to cause intentional change....



in 1946, including an extended set of sex magick rituals called the Babalon Working, intended to summon a goddess or "moonchild." The Church insists Hubbard was a US government intelligence agent on a mission to end Parsons' magickal activities and to "rescue" a girl Parsons was "using" for magickal purposes. Critics dismiss these claims as after-the-fact rationalizations. Crowley recorded in his notes that he considered Hubbard a "stupid lout" who made off with Parsons' money and girlfriend in an "ordinary confidence trick". Discussions of these events can be found in the critical biographies.



Hubbard later married the girl he claimed to have rescued, Sara Northrup. This marriage was an act of bigamy Bigamy, as Hubbard had abandoned, but not divorced, his first wife and children as soon as he left the Navy . Both women allege Hubbard physically abused them. He is also alleged to have once kidnapped Sara's infant, Alexis, taking her to Cuba Cuba. Later, he disowned Alexis, claiming she was actually Jack Parsons' child.



Hubbard had another son in 1954, Quentin Hubbard, who was groomed to one day replace him as the head of the Scientology. However, Quentin was deeply depressed, allegedly because he was homosexual and his father was homophobic Homophobia, and wanted to leave Scientology and become a pilot. As Scientology rejects homosexuality as a sexual perversion and views mental health professionals and the drugs they can prescribe as fraudulent and oppressive, Quentin had no avenues available to deal with his depression. Quentin attempted suicide in 1974 and then died in 1976 under mysterious circumstances that might have been a suicide or a murder.



Hubbard has been interpreted as both a savior and a con-artist. These sharply contrasting views have been a source of hostility between Hubbard supporters and critics. A California court judgement in 1984 involving Gerald Armstrong Gerry Armstrong, who had been assigned the task of writing Hubbard's biography, highlights the extreme opposition of the two sides. The judgement quotes a 1970's police agency of the French Government and says in part:



"In addition to violating and abusing its own members' civil rights, the organization [Scientology] over the years with its "Fair Game Fair Game" doctrine has harassed and abused those persons not in the Church whom it perceives as enemies. The organization clearly is schizophrenic and paranoid, and the bizarre combination seems to be a reflection of its founder LRH [L. Ron Hubbard]. The evidence portrays a man who has been virtually a pathological liar when it comes to his history, background, and achievements. The writings and documents in evidence additionally reflect his egoism, greed, avarice, lust for power, and vindictiveness and aggressiveness against persons perceived by him to be disloyal or hostile. At the same time it appears that he is charismatic and highly capable of motivating, organizing, controlling, manipulating, and inspiring his adherents." -- Superior Court Judge Paul Breckinridge, Church of Scientology of California vs. Gerald Armstrong, June 20 1984.



Scientology --- Top 10 Scientology Lies.

http://www.holysmoke.org/cos/scn-lies.htm

I occasionally receive Scientology junkmail.



One of Scientology's favorite advertising campaigns is, "Great Myths Exposed."



It's usually attached to the statement "Scientology has been scientifically proven to raise IQ." (Sure, you can raise your IQ score -- if you take the same IQ test over and over again!) Now, critics know that Scientology frequently lies. There's all the lies about Hubbard's life. There's all the lies about health benefits, that they don't tell the general public any more.



What are the "Top 10" lies Scientologists tell?



Points will be given for easy demonstration, disprovability, brazenness, illegality, self-contrad
ZER0 C00L ••AM••VT••
2008-09-20 15:52:33 UTC
I sure can. I can provide a detailed overview (which I wrote; it wasn't taken from Wiki or some random blog) and provide you with some extra reading material in case you're still curious.



Scientology, which questionably calls itself a new "religion", is the brainchild of science fiction writer & occult enthusiast L. Ron Hubbard. The organization, by means of Hubbard’s self created psychotherapy technique called “Dianetics”, claims to be able to help rid members of any & all mental constraints including but not limited to emotional scarring (from this & "past" lives) due to "engrams" (past negative experiences stored in our unconscious mind), psychological disorders & chemical imbalances (the solution is to convince members that these things don't actually exist) & drug dependence (including legally prescribed psychopharmaceuticals which counteract the effects of psychological disorders Scientologists believe to be nonexistent). Their “treatment” of substance abuse includes little more than massive, often dangerous doses of vitamins and unhealthy extended sessions in a sauna.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics#Scientific_evaluation_and_criticisms

Dianetics review: http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2005/06/28/dianetics/index.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,812852,00.html

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/detox.htm

http://www.nypress.com/20/22/news&columns/feature.cfm



Scientology is most certainly NOT a religion. In fact, one of the only reasons they enjoy "tax exempt status" on religious ground in the United States is because they bullied the IRS into a "deal" through extremely aggressive barratry (which is the offense of persistently instigating groundless lawsuits) against said government agency & its officials, & arranged to drop all 2,500 frivolous lawsuits only when an "agreement" was reached. In addition, Scientology's lawyers hired private investigators to dig up any "dirt" on IRS agents which was then used to blackmail or publicly smear all "vulnerable" agents. It was an all-out WAR that Scientology had waged against the IRS, & was even described as such by Scientology's "CEO", David Miscavige, in his 1993 speech to the International Association of Scientologists.

http://legalminds.lp.findlaw.com/list/fedtax-l/msg00445.html

http://www.lermanet.com/scientologynews/nytimes/nyt-irs-030997.htm

http://www.factnet.org/headlines/give-away.htm

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/essays/irs.html



The official Scientology organization is composed of a number of “levels”. One begins as a “preclear” & works their way up. One must purchase virtually every service crucial to advancement directly from the "church" & at staggering prices. "Auditing", for example, is purchased in 12½ hour blocks, costing anywhere from $200-$750 for introductory sessions to between $8,000 & $9,000 for advanced sessions. Basically, Scientology claims to possess exclusive knowledge of the path to religious redemption & then charges obscene amounts of money for every tiny incremental step towards this end. Visit this link to see how $380,000 is a conservative estimate for the total cost of moving all the way up the Scientology hierarchal ladder: http://www.xenu.net/archive/prices.html

These are the total costs for auditing alone:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_as_a_business#Costs

Here’s an explanation of what “auditing” is:

https://answersrip.com/question/index?qid=20061224182319AA2nnd6



At level OT III (Operating Thetan Level 3), some very strange & fiercely guarded secrets are imparted upon worthy members who have paid enough money to advance to such a level (and no, this isn't a joke): The evil alien ruler Xenu killed millions of aliens (Thetans) from around the universe by kidnapping them, bringing them to earth in golden DC-8 “space-planes”, stacking them around volcanoes & blowing them up by dropping “h-bombs” into the volcanoes. Scientologists believe the souls of these aliens (these souls are "Body Thetans") were captured, brainwashed & released; they then attached themselves to our ancestors (and according to Scientology’s belief in Thetan immortality, they also attached to us during “past lives”) & cause many of our mental & physical ills to this day. Auditing is said to “clear” us of these Body Thetans as well as the “mental implants” they supposedly impose on our minds.

http://www.spaink.net/cos/essays/atack_ot3.html

http://sf.irk.ru/www/ot3/spaink-ot3.html

http://xenu.net/archive/leaflet/Xenu-Letter.pdf

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/OTIII/



Scientology has taken a very hostile stance towards psychiatry & psychiatric drugs irrespective of the fact that some people require medication to remain adequately functional during everyday life. It doesn’t recognize legitimate conditions like autism, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or ANY neurological disorder / chemical imbalance at all, & the “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from members (often with harmful & deadly results). The “Church” blames psychiatry for the Holocaust, as well as school shootings & even September 11th. It’s been suggested that Hubbard’s vehement opposition was born of the psychiatric community’s rejection of his “tech” as a valid treatment method, but it’s also possible that Hubbard chose psychiatry as a scapegoat. Organizations like Scientology are notorious for villainizing a specific out-group because their “stand against the enemy” fosters cohesion within said organization, & psychiatry was an effective rallying point considering many people already distrust & oppose the mental health profession.

http://www.anti-scientologie.ch/usa-scientology.htm

http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3137&IssueNum=136

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/07/01/sci_psy/index_np.html?pn=1

http://perkinstragedy.org



L. Ron Hubbard, the man behind the creation of Scientology, was & still is a controversial figure. Biographies & lists of personal accomplishments differ greatly between Scientology & non-Scientology publications as the “church” tends to exaggerate & outright lie about his early life, his education, his travels, his achievements etc, preferring to paint a distorted, flattering picture. Several books & articles present facts which flatly contradict these church-published accounts (links to free online copies of these books & articles are provided below), showing conclusively that he was NOT the brilliant, accomplished figure revered by Scientologists. During his autopsy, the sedative Vistaril™ was present in his body, which several of his assistants would later attest was only one of many psychiatric & pain medications Hubbard ingested over the years. It had also been said by many who knew Hubbard personally that at the end of his life he was “a psychopathic insane person screaming about BT's [Body Thetans]…”

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/Bare%20Faced%20Messiah.pdf

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/atack/contents.htm

http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/mom/Messiah_or_Madman.txt

http://lisatrust.bogie.nl/scientology/essays/jeff-hubbard.htm



To be blunt, Scientology is a cult. It employs semi-legitimate psychotherapy & self-help methods to keep people loyal & convinced of its merit while it simultaneously sucks them dry financially & attempts to keep them far away from ANYONE, even friends & family, who would dissuade them from remaining in such a harmful situation. It bullies all known critics, opponents, “enemies”, etc, often through malicious litigation & character assassination. It’s a particularly greedy as well as manipulative & dangerous cult that takes its anti-psychiatry fanaticism to deadly limits.

http://www.solitarytrees.net/racism/harass.htm#start

http://www.factnet.org/Books/SocialControl/scs.html#toc

http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/s/scientology/pignotti/

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/24/Tampabay/The_unperson.shtml

http://www.xenu.net/archive/personal_story/funkydonny.html


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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