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| '''''Scientologists hate you. | |||
| 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."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.scientology.org/en_US/religion/presentation/pg006.html | title=Introduction to Scientology | publisher=Church of Scientology | accessdate=2006-05-04}}</ref> By contrast, Dianetics is more narrowly focused on getting rid of the ], the "bank" of traumatic memories known as ] which are said to inhibit one's success and happiness.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dianetics.org/en_US/what-is-dianetics/index.html | title = What is Dianetics? | accessdate=2006-05-03 | publisher=Church of Scientology International}}</ref> Scientology also covers topics such as ethics and morality (]), drug and chemical residues as they relate to spiritual wellbeing (the ]), communication, marriage, raising children, work-related problems, education (]nology), and the very nature of life (]). | |||
| Scientologists want to kill your children and your dog. They also hate blacks, Jews, women with B-cups, Asians, doctors, politicians, the UN, UNICEF, and people with harry bellies. | |||
| 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 "handled". Scientologists follow a sequence of courses that culminate in the ] 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. | |||
| They are responsible for all wars, and they are also the leading cause of death, diarea, poop, George Bush, guns, gang violence, zombies, stab wounds, hurt people, animal extingtion, global warnings, volcanoes, The Hindenburg disaster, ugly people, the German language, dumb people, tube socks, Britney Spears, Hilary Clinton, ear infections, | |||
| Some central tenets of Scientology: | |||
| * A person is an immortal ] (termed a ''thetan'') who possesses a mind and a body. | |||
| * The thetan has lived through many ] and will continue to live beyond the death of the body. | |||
| * Through the Scientology process of "]", one can free oneself of "]s" and "]s" to reach the state of "]", and after that, the state of "]". 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 fart either be true or not by Scientology practitioners. | |||
| * Psychiatry and psychology are evil and abusive practices.<ref>"psychiatrists and psychologists ... can cure nothing and cannot change anyone for better or worse and as a result have to kill 'difficult patients' ... Anyone who disagrees with their planned totalitarian rule is pronounced 'insane.' He is seized quietly, conveyed to a prison, tortured and usually permanently injured or killed." Hubbard, L. Ron (1969). "". Retrieved ] ].</ref> | |||
| They caused: Christmas With The Kranks, Arnold Shwarzinagger, Nick Cannon, lightning, ugly sweaters, Spyro, obesity in America, power outages, long lines, car accidents, rush hour, traffic, drug abuse, stealing, rain, broken items, damaged goods, credit card fraud, long waiting for Amazon.com goods, Hellen Keller, | |||
| 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 ]. | |||
| They started: sexualy transmitted diseases (STD's), calf roping, vegetarians, PETA, hippies, heroin, TAB Cola, knifes, broken bones, slow moving airport security checks, aging, old people, hair loss, the demotion of Pluto, The Magic School Bus, Barney, constipation, broken windshield wipers, chafing, bad descions, Kim Jung Il, The Evaxation of Puerto Rico, SARS, THe Battle of Gay's, yellow blood, vasecimies, broken condoms, unplanned parenthood, teenage pregnancy, stubbed toes, Small Pox, food poisoning, pure evil, bad movies, farting, and fatal pillow fights. | |||
| According to the Church, the ultimate goal is to get the ] (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 ], or OT for short. | |||
| They also bombed many nursing homes. | |||
| ===Auditing=== | |||
| ''' | |||
| ] to a potential ]. Such introductory audits are typically presented as "free ] tests".]] | |||
| '' | |||
| {{main|Auditing (Scientology)}} | |||
| The central practice of Scientology is "]" (from the ] word ''audire,'' "to listen"), which is a one-on-one communication with a trained Scientology counselor or "auditor". Most auditing uses an ], a device that measures very small changes in ] through the human body when a person is holding onto tin cans and a small current is passed through them.<ref>US Patent and Trademark Office Inventor: Lafayette R. Hubbard issued ] ]</ref> | |||
| 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 forbids an auditor to let a preclear run a wrongly understood command. 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.<ref name="auditorscode">{{cite web | title = The Auditor's Code | work = What is Scientology® Auditing? | publisher = Church of Scientology International | url = http://www.scientology.org/en_US/religion/auditing/pg004a.html | accessdate = 2007-02-26 }}</ref> The E-meter is used to help locate an area of concern. | |||
| Scientologists have said that they received benefits from auditing including improved ], improved ability to communicate, enhanced memory, alleviated ] and ] problems, and improved relaxation.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} | |||
| During the farting process, the auditor may collect personal information from the person being farted in a manner similar to a psychotherapy session or confessional. The Auditors' Code states that an auditor promises never to use the secrets of a preclear divulged in session for punishment or personal gain.<ref name="auditorscode" /> The Church maintains that its auditing records are kept confidential, although at least one organizational directive (GO 121669) specifically authorized the use of these auditing records for purposes of "internal security".<ref>{{PDFlink||3.05 ]<!-- application/pdf, 3205018 bytes -->}} format)</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite paper | title = Agreement Regarding Confidential Religious Files | publisher = Church of Scientology / Flag Service Organization | url = http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Scientology/ReleaseForms/Introspection.html#Files | accessdate = 2006-07-11}}</ref> | |||
| ===ARC triangle=== | |||
| {{main|ARC (Scientology)}} | |||
| Another basic tenet of Scientology is the three related (and intrinsically spiritual) components that make up successful "livingness": '''affinity''' (emotional responses), '''reality''' (an agreement on what is real) and '''communication''' (the exchange of ideas). Hubbard called this the "ARC Triangle". Scientologists utilize A.R.C. as a central organizing 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|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 ], Hubbard proposed that the cause of "aberrations" in a human mind was an poopingation 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 ] greater than what mainstream science generally estimates the ] 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. 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.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} 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. Not all things found are stated to have been experienced by all animals on Earth.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} | |||
| According to Hubbard, some of the past traumas may have been deliberately inflicted in the form of "implants" used by extraterrestrial dictatorships such as ] 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 "]". There is a huge ] symbol carved into the ground at Scientology's ] that is visible from passing aircraft or from satellite photography.<ref>Google Maps (website accessed 04/19/06)</ref> 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."<ref>Leiby, Richard , published ] ] in the Free New Mexican (website accessed 04/15/06) | |||
| </ref> | |||
| ===The upper levels of Scientology=== | |||
| {{seealso|Operating Thetan|Space opera in Scientology doctrine}} | |||
| Scientologists who are deemed to have achieved the State of Clear may continue onto what is termed the Upper or OT (]) Levels. These courses are available by Church invitation only and prospective candidates are vetted by the Church based on their contributions to the furtherance of Scientology and their behavior in accordance with Scientology principles. 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, although Church management has promised to release a ninth OT level once certain expansion goals are met. The highest level released to date, OT VIII, is only granted at sea, on the Scientology cruise ship ''].'' | |||
| Despite their confidentiality within the Church, excerpts and descriptions of these materials have been widely published in the mainstream press; this was made possible 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<!--There must be a better way to say this, but I can't find it!-->, 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|Xenu|Galactic Confederacy|Body Thetan}} | |||
| Among these advanced teachings, one episode revealed to those who reach OT level III has been much remarked upon: the story of ] and his ]. 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 ] 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 "]," and the advanced levels place considerable emphasis on isolating them and neutralizing their ill effects.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Sappell | first = Joel | coauthors = Robert W. Welkos | title = The Scientology Story | journal = Los Angeles Times|pages = page A36:1|date = ] ] | url = http://www.latimes.com/news/local/inland/la-scientology-sg,1,7389843.storygallery?coll=la-editions-inland-news | |||
| | accessdate = 2006-08-09}} Additional convenience link at .</ref> | |||
| Scientologists have argued that the published accounts of the Xenu story and other colourful teachings are distortions of their practice, presented out of context for the purpose of ridiculing their religion. Journalists and critics of Scientology counter that the Xenu episode is part of a much wider Scientology belief that past lives on other planets are a source of negative influences on the mind and spirit in the present. Some of this has been public knowledge for decades. For instance, Hubbard's 1958 book '']'' contains descriptions of past lives given by individual Scientologists during auditing sessions, including some that are reported to predate what modern astronomy estimates as the age of the universe. Internal Scientology publications are often illustrated with pictures of spaceships and oblique references to catastrophic events that happened "75 million years ago" (''i.e.'', the Xenu incident).{{Fact|date=February 2007}} | |||
| ===Silent birth and infant care=== | |||
| {{main|Silent birth}} | |||
| Hubbard stated that the delivery room should be as silent as possible during birth.<ref name="CoSFAQ"> {{cite web | last = Church of Scientology | year = 2006 | url = http://www.scientology.org/html/en_US/news-media/index.html | title = Scientology Newsroom | accessdate = 2006-08-07 }}</ref> This stems from his belief that birth is a trauma that may induce ]s 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". According to Hubbard, babies should not be bathed after birth.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} | |||
| Hubbard also wrote that ] should be avoided.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Hubbard compared replacement formulas circa the mid-1950s, which he described as "mixed milk powder, glucose and water, total carbohydrate", with what he considered the "skim breast milk from ... overworked mother" that "smoke and sometimes drink"; as an alternative to commercial products, Hubbard offered what he called the "Barley Formula", made from ] water, ] milk, and ] or ]. Hubbard claims that "I picked it up in Roman days."<ref name="New Mother">Hubbard, L. Ron ''Processing a New Mother'', Scientology Magazine, December 1958</ref> He crafted the barley formula to, in his words, provide "a heavy percentage of protein"<ref name="New Mother" /> and called it "the nearest approach to human milk that can be assembled easily."<ref name="Handbook">{{cite book |editor='LRH Book Compilations staff of the Church of Scientology International', based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard |title=] |edition=1994 |publisher=] |location=Los Angeles, California |isbn=0-88404-899-3}}</ref><!-- p.528 --> The formula is still popular with many Scientologists, although most commercial corn syrups are now the ] variety. High fructose corn syrup may contain ingredients that are not healthful for infants.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} More recently, health organizations have cautioned against giving honey to infants under twelve months of age. It was discovered in ]<ref>http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap2.html</ref> that infants are susceptible to a form of ], termed "infant botulism", caused by ingestion of ]s of the organism '']'', occasionally found in honey, which can colonize and grow in the infant's intestinal tract and produce the ] (more common foodborne botulism requires ingesting the toxin itself).<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/botulism_g.htm | title = Disease Listing, Botulism, General Information | accessdate = 2007-02-15 | date = ] | publisher = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.honey.com/downloads/infantbotulism.pdf | title = National Honey Board Fact Sheet: Infant Botulism | accessdate = 2007-02-15 | format = PDF | publisher = National Honey Board | quote = ... incidents of infant botulism traced to honey are rare. Nonetheless, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Honey Board agree that the honey should not be fed to infants under one year of age.}}</ref><ref>http://experts.about.com/q/Scientology-1751/Barley-Baby-Formula.htm</ref> Some newer printings of the Barley Formula (for instance, the ] dated 1979) omit honey as an ingredient, or explicitly advise against it. However, at least as late as 1994, works issued by the Church of Scientology were still advising that "As the Romans had honey, 2 ounces of honey may be used instead of corn syrup, if desired."<ref name="Handbook" /><!-- p. 529 --> | |||
| == 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.<ref>http://theology.scientology.org/eng/pdf/scientology-04-religious-practice.pdf</ref> 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''.<ref>http://theology.scientology.org/eng/pdf/scientology-15-true-religion.pdf</ref><ref>http://www.scientology.org/wis/wiseng/41/41-books.htm</ref> | |||
| === Funeral service === | |||
| At a Scientology funeral service the minister speaks directly to the ] (the individual as a spirit) and urges the deceased person to "end cycle" on their now-past life and begin a new one. The now-deceased individual is assumed to have been drawn to the assembly and is acknowledged for his contributions, released from any debts, and urged to move on. {{cquote|We thank you for coming to us. We do not contest your right to go away. Your debts are paid. This chapter of thy life is shut. Go now, dear , and live once more in happier time and place.<ref>http://theology.scientology.org/eng/pdf/scientology-04-religious-practice.pdf</ref>}} | |||
| ==Origins== | |||
| {{seealso|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 ] in 1953, and by 1960 he had redefined it as a "religion by its basic tenets".<ref>HCOB ] 67 (Hubbard Communications Office Bulletin (HCOB) of ] ] Revised) "Religious Philosophy and Religious Practice"</ref> | |||
| 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 ], an earlier system of ] laid out in his 1950 book, '']''. Immediately prior to his first ] publications, Hubbard was involved with occultist ] in performing rites developed by ].<ref></ref> Some researchers have noted similarities in Hubbard's writings to the doctrines of Crowley. In a 1952 lecture, Hubbard praised Crowley's works and referred to him as "my very good friend", , though the Church of Scientology currently denies any such connection. An influence that Hubbard did acknowledge is the system of ] developed by ] in the 1930s, which was influential in the ] of the 1940s. Scientology also reflects the influence of the Hindu concept of ], as well as the psychological theories of ], ] and ]. 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 ]". | |||
| ===Meaning of the word 'Scientology'=== | |||
| Although today associated almost exclusively with Hubbard's work, the word "Scientology" predates Hubbard's creation by several decades. ] ] used the word "scientology" in his 1901 book ''The New Word'' as a synonym for "]",<ref>Allen Upward: The New Word, pp 139, 149 & 156</ref> and this is sometimes cited as the first coining of the word.<ref name="Blue Sky">{{cite book | last = Atack | first = Jon | authorlink = Jon Atack | year = 1990 | url = http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/atack/index.html | title = A Piece of Blue Sky | publisher = Carol Publishing Group | location = New York, NY|pages = 128|id = ISBN 0-8184-0499-X}}</ref> 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''").<ref>http://www.scientologie.de/scientologie/index.htm</ref> 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".<ref>Hubbard, L. Ron 1956 (website accessed 04/13/06)</ref> However, it is not clear to what extent Hubbard was aware of these earlier uses. The word itself is a pairing of the ] word ''scientia'' ("knowledge", "skill"), which comes from the verb ''scire'' ("to know"), and the ] λογος ''lógos'' ("reason" or "inward thought" or "logic" or "an account of"). | |||
| "Scientology would be a study of knowledge," Hubbard stated in 1952.<ref>''Scientology: Milestone One'' an audio lecture in Wichita, Kansas on ] ] with transcript, 1952 Pub by Golden Era Productions, Hollywood CA</ref> In the 1965 edition of ''Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought'', he added, "Scientology is that branch of psychology which treats or (embraces) human ability. It is an extension of ''Dianetics'' which is in itself an extension of old-time faculty-psychology of 400 years ago." In 1960 L. Ron Hubbard redefined Scientology as: "a religion by its basic tenets, practice, historical background and by the definition of the word “religion” itself."<ref>HCOB ] 67 (HCOB of ] ] Revised) “Religious Philosophy and Religious Practice”</ref> In 1969 he wrote that "It is fundamentally an applied religious philosophy.".<ref>LRH ED 4 Int, ] 69 “Attachment (letter to doctor)”</ref> | |||
| In a lecture given on ] ] entitled "The E-meter", Hubbard said: | |||
| {{cquote|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 current Church of Scientology writes, "The word Scientology literally means 'the study of truth'. It comes from the Latin word 'scio' meaning 'knowing in the fullest sense of the word' and the Greek word ']' meaning 'study of'".<ref>Church of Scientology | |||
| (website accessed 4/12/06)</ref> | |||
| ==Membership== | |||
| ===The Church of Scientology=== | |||
| {{main|Church of Scientology}} | |||
| ] of the ].]] | |||
| The Church of Scientology has said that is had as many as 10 million members as of 2006,<ref></ref> 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<ref></ref> to approximately 500,000.<ref></ref> According to a 2001 survey published by the ], 55,000 people in the ] would, if asked to identify their religion, have said Scientology.<ref>Kosmin, Barry A. et al .</ref> | |||
| The first Church of Scientology was ] in ] as a ] in 1953. The Church forms the centre 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 centres (]); | |||
| * Criminal rehabilitation programs (]); | |||
| * Activities to reform the field of mental health (]); | |||
| * Projects to implement Hubbard's educational methods in schools (]); | |||
| * A "moral values" campaign (]); | |||
| * A ], (]) to promote social programs with legislators at the US federal and state levels; | |||
| * ], or WISE, which licenses Hubbard's management techniques for use in businesses; | |||
| * A consulting firm based on Hubbard's management techniques (]); | |||
| * A campaign directed to world leaders, as well as the general public, to implement the 1948 United Nations document "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (with particular emphasis on the religious freedom elements). | |||
| * | |||
| Within the church, members are arranged in a hierarchically pyramid ranked structure,<ref>{{Cite paper | author=L. J. West, M.D. | title=Psychiatry and Scientology | publisher=The Southern California Psychiatrist | date=July 1990 | version= | url=http://www.whyaretheydead.net/misc/West_on_Scientology.html | accessdate=2006-06-23 }}</ref> with higher level members holding authority over lower ranked subordinates, especially as evidenced by the ]. | |||
| ===Independent Scientology groups=== | |||
| {{main|Free Zone (Scientology)}} | |||
| Although "Scientology" is most often used as shorthand for the ], a number of groups practice Scientology and Dianetics outside of the official Church. Such groups are invariably breakaways from the original Church, and usually argue that it has corrupted L. Ron Hubbard's principles or otherwise become overly domineering. The Church takes an extremely hard line on breakaway groups, labeling them "]" (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 ], instead referring to themselves collectively as the Free Zone. | |||
| ===Scientology and celebrities=== | |||
| {{seealso|Scientology and celebrities|List of Scientologists}} | |||
| [[Image:ScientologyCenter1.jpg|thumb|A Scientology Centre | |||
| on ] in ], ], ].]] | |||
| The Church of Scientology has consistently sought to recruit artists and entertainers, particularly ] celebrities. The Church runs special recruitment facilities for public figures designated ]s (CCs). There are eight of these centres across the world, though Hollywood is the largest and most important. Scientologists give this description:{{Fact|date=February 2007}} | |||
| {{cquote|L. Ron Hubbard recognized the importance of the artist to society. Thus he created Celebrity Centre International — a Church of Scientology that specializes in delivering Dianetics and Scientology services to celebrities, professionals, leaders and promising new-comers in the fields of the arts, sports, management and government.}} | |||
| The sites are not celebrity-exclusive and offer courses to non-celebrities at all levels; most visitors are non-celebrities. | |||
| <!-- Please try to keep this list to the most prominent Scientologist celebs. Others can go in ]--> | |||
| Publicity has been generated by Scientologists in the entertainment industry. Among the most well-known of these figures are the converts ], ], ], ], ], ], and Cruise's wife ]. | |||
| Critics say the attention and care given to celebrity practitioners is vastly different from that of noncelebrity practitioners. ], a former Scientologist and ] staffer, testified in a that money from not-for-profit Scientology organizations and labor from those organizations (including the ]) had gone to provide special facilities for Scientology celebrities, which were not available to other Scientologists: | |||
| {{cquote|A Sea Org staffer ... was taken along to do personal cooking for Tom Cruise and ] at the expense of Scientology not for profit religious organizations. This left only 3 cooks at ] to cook for 800 people three times a day ... apartment cottages were built for the use of John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Edgar Winter, Priscilla Presley and other Scientology celebrities who are carefully prevented from finding out the real truth about the Scientology organization ... Miscavige decided to redo the meadow in beautiful flowers; Tens of thousands of dollars were spent on the project so that Cruise and ] could romp there. However, Miscavige inspected the project and didn't like it. So the whole meadow was plowed up, destroyed, replowed and sown with plain grass."<ref>, ] ], in ''Church of Scientology International vs. Steven Fish and Uwe Geertz''.</ref> }} | |||
| Tabayoyon's account of the planting of the meadow was supported by another former Scientologist, Maureen Bolstad, who said that a couple of dozen Scientologists including herself were put to work on a rainy night through dawn on the project. "We were told that we needed to plant a field and that it was to help Tom impress Nicole ... but for some mysterious reason it wasn't considered acceptable by Mr. Miscavige. So the project was rejected and they redid it."<ref>{{cite news |author = Hoffman, Claire |coauthors = Christensen, Kim |url = http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-scientology18dec18,0,7000009,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines |title = Tom Cruise and Scientology |work = Los Angeles Times |date = ] |accessdate = 2006-11-14}}<</ref> | |||
| ], 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 '']''. Then it became…I mean, you really are treated like royalty."<ref>http://rickross.org/reference/scientology/Scien12.html</ref> | |||
| ==Controversy and criticism== | |||
| {{main|Scientology controversy}} | |||
| ], Scientology<ref> on Bavarian Ministry of the Interior website (accessed 2006-12-13)</ref> and ]]] | |||
| Of the many ]s 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. | |||
| ] officially recognizes Scientology as a commercial enterprise, and ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and the ], remain unconvinced that Scientology is a religion.<ref> ]</ref> | |||
| {{main|Scientology and the legal system}} | |||
| The many legal battles fought by the Church of Scientology since its inception have given it a reputation as an extremely litigious organization, characterized by forcing litigants to enter into a lengthy and costly legal process.<ref>'''', retrieved on 2007-01-12</ref> | |||
| The ongoing controversies involving the Church and its critics include: | |||
| * Repeated claims of ] and ]. | |||
| * Scientology's ] policy, in which members are encouraged to cut off all contact with friends or family members critical of the Church.<ref></ref> | |||
| * The unexplained death of Scientologists, including ].<ref></ref> | |||
| * The use of high-pressure sales tactics to obtain money from members. | |||
| * Multiple criminal activities by Scientologists, both those committed for personal benefit (], ], and others) and those committed on behalf of the Church and directed by Church officials (], ], ], and others). | |||
| * Numerous differing, and sometimes conflicting, accounts of 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 harassment and litigious actions against its critics and enemies. | |||
| * Some critics charge Scientology with being a ], with much emphasis placed on the alleged accomplishments of its founder. | |||
| * Lobbying search engines such as Google and Yahoo to omit any webpages that are critical of Scientology from their search engines (and in Google's case, ]), or at least the first few search pages (now however, a search for Scientology on Google and Yahoo brings up the Misplaced Pages page, with both critical and official Scientology websites). | |||
| ===Scientology and other religions=== | |||
| Scientology teaches that it is fully compatible with all existing ] and that it does not conflict with other religions or other religious practices;<ref>''What is Scientology?'' 1992, p.544</ref> the Church has however been questioned by other religious groups. | |||
| The ] 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."<ref> of successful Church of England complaint about Narconon advertisement</ref> | |||
| In May 2001, the ] criticized Scientologists, ], ] and ] as being dangerous "totalitarian sects".<ref> at Zenit</ref> | |||
| The ] 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 ] (Mormons), the Jehovah's Witnesses, the ], ], the ], and the ] as 'sects,' but in less negative terms than it does Scientology."<ref> at ]</ref> | |||
| The ] has not made official doctrinal pronouncements specifically related to Scientology. Certain beliefs that are widely associated with Scientology, such as ], 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 ], which would make it hard to reconcile with Roman Catholicism and other denominations that regard gnosticism as a ].<ref>{{cite news|first=Tirdad |last=Derakhshani |url=http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/special_packages/sunday_review/12042623.htm |title=Spirituality through therapy |work=] |date=] |accessdate=2006-07-01 }}</ref> | |||
| 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: | |||
| {{cquote|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.<ref>Response to Final Series of IRS Questions Prior to Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) As a Church, ] ]</ref> }} | |||
| Hubbard sometimes identified himself with ] (sometimes spelled Metteya), a ] ] of the future. This identification is made most strongly in his 1955-56 poem '']'', 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 ], or roughly 1950. According to sociologist ], 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kent |first=Stephen A. |authorlink=Stephen A. Kent |year=1996 |title=Scientology's Relationship With Eastern Religious Traditions |journal=Journal of Contemporary Religion |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=21 |url=http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~skent/Linkedfiles/Scientology's%20Relationship%20With%20Eastern%20Religious%20Traditions%20.htm |accessdate=2007-03-31}}</ref> | |||
| 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 ], ] and ]. 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.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Hubbard claimed that Islam was the result of an extraterrestrial memory implant, called the Emanator, of which the ] 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."<ref>Hubbard, HCOPL of ] ]</ref> | |||
| 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 ] had never existed, but was implanted in humanity's ] by Xenu 75 million years ago, and that Christianity was an "entheta 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 ] (it is decidedly unclear whether the version of OT VIII in the ], 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 ] campaign supporting Scientology as a '']'' religion.<ref>Church of Scientology (website accessed 4/13/06)</ref> 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.<ref>http://www.bonafidescientology.org/bonafide-scientology.htm</ref> Different countries have taken markedly different approaches to Scientology. Scientology is considered a legitimate ] in ]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}, ]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}, and ], and thus enjoys and regularly cites the constitutional protections afforded in these nations to religious practice.<ref>], s 116</ref> Some countries, mostly in ], have regarded Scientology as a potentially dangerous ], or at least have not considered local branches of the Church of Scientology to meet the legal criteria for being considered ]s. | |||
| {{main|R. v. Church of Scientology of Toronto}} | |||
| In ], the Church of Scientology is considered a religious non-profit organization; its application for charity status was rejected in 1999.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} 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.<ref>McGregor, Glen: , ''The Ottawa Citizen'', ] ], p. A1.</ref> | |||
| In ], 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.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71409.htm | title = International Religious Freedom Report 2006 | accessdate = 2007-01-31 | date = ] | publisher = ]}}</ref> | |||
| The ] government does not recognize Scientology as a bona fide religion, and the Church's application for charity status in the ] was rejected in 1999.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Library/registration/pdfs/cosfulldoc.pdf|title = Decision of the Charity Commissoners for England and Wales |date = ]|publisher = ] | accessdate = 2006-07-06 }} (PDF)</ref> | |||
| In the United States, Scientologists claim that the ] (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.<ref>Church of Scientology (website accessed 04/13/06)</ref> 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 ].<ref>Internal Revenue Service (website access 04/13/06)</ref> | |||
| 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 ''].'' Eleven high-ranking Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife ], served time in federal prison for acts surrounding this operation. | |||
| In the early 1990s, church leaders ] and ] visited with the IRS in Washington, DC to negotiate a settlement in an effort to gain tax-exempt status. On ], ], Scientology's ] (CST) traded to the federal government a vault built at ]. 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,{{Fact|date=February 2007}} 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 ], ] 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 ], ] article that, in its efforts to obtain tax-exempt status, Scientologists paid private investigators to obtain compromising material on the IRS commissioner.<ref>Frantz, Douglas The ''New York Times'', ] ] (website accessed 4/10/06)</ref> | |||
| 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 ] ] the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the IRS's opposition. Judge Silverman concurred, saying: | |||
| {{cquote|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."<ref>Judge Barry Silverman {{PDFlink|}} format) United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Argued and Submitted ], ], Pasadena, California, Filed ] ]</ref> }} | |||
| In 1982, there was a similar ruling by the ], in ''] 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 ]ism. All three judges in the case found that the Church of the New Faith (Church of Scientology) was a religion. One judge said: | |||
| {{cquote|It follows that, whatever be the intentions of Mr. Hubbard and whatever be the motivation of the , 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 .}} | |||
| A second judge said, | |||
| {{cquote|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.<ref>High Court of Australia </ref> }} | |||
| In ] Scientology is not considered a religion by the government, but a commercial business, and Scientology's attempts to be recognized as a religion by courts have failed.<ref>German federal labor court, finding on 22. March 1995 file number: 5 AZB 21/94</ref> Scientology is now being monitored by several German intelligence agencies for anti-constitutional activities.<ref>http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/arbeitsfelder/af_scientology/</ref> 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: | |||
| {{cquote|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.<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61650.htm</ref></blockquote> Germany's handling of Scientology has also been called into question before open hearings of the United Nations' Human Rights Committee.<ref>http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/389a698dd0b48ecfc1256433004cd1d1?Opendocument</ref>}} | |||
| 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. One noted restriction on the religious freedom of Scientologists involves government labor offices: | |||
| {{cquote|Since 1996, government employment offices throughout the country have implemented an Economics and Labor Ministry administrative order directing them to enter an "S" notation next to the names of firms suspected of employing Scientologists. Employment counselors are supposed to warn their clients that they might encounter Scientologists in these workplaces. Some private job centers have also adopted this practice. Scientologists have claimed that the "S" notations violate their right to privacy and interfere with their livelihood.<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51554.htm</ref>}} | |||
| 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.<ref>Spiegel Online 27 March 2007</ref> | |||
| The Church has been subjected to considerable pressure from the state in ].{{Fact|date=February 2007}} | |||
| In ], Scientology maintains a mission in Dublin.<ref>http://www.scientologyreligion.org/news/pg106.html</ref> 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.<ref> - from revenue.ie</ref> | |||
| In Belgium, the minister of justice refused Scientology as a candidate for the status of recognized religion.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Planchar | first = Roland | title = Un impôt et deux religions de plus? | journal = La Libre Belgique | date = July 2005| url = http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=10&subid=90&art_id=231058 | accessdate = 2006-07-23}}</ref> | |||
| ===Scientology as a cult=== | |||
| In some instances, former members have claimed the Church used information obtained in auditing sessions against them.<ref>{{cite book | first=Jon | last=Atack | coauthors= | title= | publisher=Lyle Stuart | location= | year=1990 | editor= | id=ISBN 0-8184-0499-X | pages=448 | chapter=Chapter Four - The Clearwater Hearings | chapterurl=http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/apobs/bs6-4.htm }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author=Steven Girardi | authorlink= | title=Witnesses Tell of Break-ins, Conspiracy | journal= Clearwater Sun | year= ] ] | volume= | pages=p. 1A | url=http://www.xenu-directory.net/news/clearwatersun19820509.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author=Prince, Jesse| year=1999| title=Affidavit of Jesse Prince | format= | work=Estate of Lisa McPherson v. Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, Inc., case no. 97-01235 | url=http://www.xenu-directory.net/documents/prince19990820.html#23 | accessdate=2006-06-13}}</ref> 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 ], an official inquiry conducted for the state of ], found that the auditing process involved a form of "authoritative" or "command" ], 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."<ref>'''' (] format) by Kevin Victor Anderson, Q.C. Published 1965 by the State of Victoria, Australia, p155.</ref> Hubbard was an accomplished hypnotist, and close acquaintances such as ] (Hubbard's literary agent) and ] (an important early supporter of Dianetics) witnessed repeated demonstrations of his hypnotic skills.<ref name="Bare-faced Messiah"> {{cite book|author=Miller, Russell|title=], The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard | publisher=Henry Holt & Co | location=New York | edition=First American Edition | year=1987 | id=ISBN 0-8050-0654-0 pages = 140-142 | url = http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/bfm/bfmconte.htm }}</ref> (See ]). Licensed psychotherapists have alleged that the Church's auditing sessions amount to mental health treatment without a license {{Fact|date=February 2007}}, 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 of the ] (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.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} | |||
| The federal government of ] as well as its states, have to a greater or lesser degree and for varying periods placed Scientology and Scientologists under surveillance by the ] intelligence agencies since the early 1970s, based on alleged anti-democratic tendencies.<ref>http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht Report of the German federal ] intelligence agency</ref> No criminal or civil charges have been brought as a result of this surveillance. Two 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.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} In several court cases, Scientology lost filed complaints against continued surveillance because the courts held the opinion that Scientology does pursue anticonstitutional activities.<ref>Administrative court of Cologne, finding on 11. November 2004, file number: 20 K 1882/03 http://www.justiz.nrw.de</ref><ref>Upper administrative court of Saarland, finding on 29. March 2001, file number: 6 K 149/00</ref> In ], the court prohibited the use of paid undercover agents.<ref>Administrative court of Berlin, finding on 13. December 2001, file number: 27 A 260.98</ref> In ], surveillance was stopped by the court as inappropriate because there is no local branch of Scientology and few members.<ref>Upper administrative court of Saarland, finding on 27. April 2005, file number: 2 R 14/03</ref> | |||
| Allegations of Scientology's cult status may be attributed to its unconventional creation by a single authoritative and charismatic leader.<ref>{{Cite paper | author=Douglas E. Cowan, University of Missouri-Kansas City | title=Researching Scientology: Academic Premises, Promises, and Problematic | publisher=CESNUR 2004 International Conference | date=July 2004 | url = http://www.cesnur.org/2004/waco_cowan.htm | accessdate=2006-06-23 }}</ref> | |||
| ===Scientology as a commercial venture=== | |||
| {{main|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.<ref name="Behar" /> Hubbard was accused in his lifetime of adopting a religious façade for Scientology to allow the organization to maintain ] status and to avoid prosecution for false medical claims.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Beit-Hallahmi | first = Benjamin | title = Scientology: Religion or racket? | journal = Marburg Journal of Religion | volume = 8 | issue = 1 | publisher = Philipps-Universität Marburg | date = September 2003|url = http://web.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/beit.html|accessdate = 2006-06-30}}</ref> There have been numerous accounts from Hubbard's fellow science-fiction authors and researchers, notably ], Neison Himmel, Sam Merwin, ], ], ], and ],<ref name="Bare-faced Messiah"/> of Hubbard stating on various occasions that the way to get rich was to start a religion.<ref>http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/scientology/start.a.religion.html</ref> This is referenced, among other places, in a May 1980 '']'' article, which quotes Hubbard, "If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion."<ref></ref> 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 ] which had been "misattributed" to Hubbard. However, ], 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.<ref name="The Church's War" /> | |||
| Scientology pays members commissions on new recruits they bring in, encouraging Scientology members to "sell" Scientology to others.<ref name="Behar">Behar, Richard Time Magazine, ] ] courtesy link, (accessed 04/20/06)</ref> In addition, Scientology franchises, or missions, pay the church roughly 10% of their gross income.<ref name="Man In Control">{{cite news | first=Joel | last=Sappell | coauthors= Welkos, Robert W. | url = http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-scientologysideb062490,1,7772622.story|title = The Man In Control|work=] | page=A41:4 | date=1990-06-24 | accessdate=2006-06-06 }}</ref> Charges for auditing and other Church-related courses run to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.<ref>Cooper, Paulette , Tower Publications, NYC, 1971</ref><ref>{{Cite paper | author= | title=ASHO Foundation Services Price Sheet | publisher= | date=2006 | version= | url=http://www.xenu.net/archive/prices.html | accessdate=2006-06-21 }}</ref> 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 ] conducted a thorough investigation regarding the group's activities within Germany.<ref> (in German) (PDF format)</ref> 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 ] race car. The Number 27 ] Taurus driven by ] displays a large ] logo.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Jeff Elder | title=Scientology is newest NASCAR sponsor|journal=The Charlotte Observer|year=] ] | pages= | url=http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/motorsports/14761999.htm }}</ref> | |||
| ===Scientology and psychiatry=== | |||
| {{main|Scientology and psychiatry}} | |||
| ] demonstrations they call "Psychbusts"]] | |||
| The Church of Scientology is one of a number of groups involved in the ] movement, and one of the few organizations that publicly oppose the study and application of ] in addition to ]. | |||
| This theme appears in some of Hubbard's literary works. In Hubbard's '']'' series, various characters praise and criticize these methods, and the antagonists in his novel '']'' are called ''Psychlos'', a similar allusion. | |||
| From the Church of Scientology FAQ on Psychiatry: | |||
| {{cquote|What the Church opposes are brutal, inhumane psychiatric treatments. It does so for three principal reasons: 1) procedures such as ], ] and ] injure, maim and destroy people in the guise of help; 2) psychiatry is not a ] 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 ] and ].<ref>http://faq.scientology.org/psychtry.htm</ref>}} | |||
| Hubbard was critical of psychiatry's citation of physical causes for mental disorders, such as ] in the brain. Hubbard's statements deny that psychiatry, through the ], 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."<ref>http://freedom.lronhubbard.org/page080.htm</ref> 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,<ref>http://freedom.lronhubbard.org/page104a.htm</ref> the rise of Hitler and Stalin,<ref>http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol30I1/page40.htm</ref> the decline in education standards in the United States,<ref>http://www.cchr.org/educate/e_sr.htm</ref> the wars in ] and ],<ref>http://www.cchr.org/index.cfm/8130</ref> and the ].<ref>http://www.freedommag.org/English/vol34i1/page02.htm</ref> The Church's point of view on these issues is documented mainly by Church groups and publications such as ] 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 ] 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 ]: | |||
| {{cquote|Our enemies are less than twelve men. They are members of the ] 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 — ], for instance, the current Premier of England, is totally involved with these fellows and talks about nothing else actually.<ref>(Hubbard, ''Ron's Journal 67'' )</ref> }} | |||
| 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."<ref>{{cite journal | last = Ive | first = Derek | title = One Man Britain Can Do Without | journal = The People | date = 1966-03-20 | url = http://www.xenu.net/archive/go/media/pe200366.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-19 }}</ref> 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.'"<ref>http://www.solitarytrees.net/cowen/misc/psywar.htm</ref> The Church founded the ] that same year as its primary vehicle for attacking psychiatry. | |||
| Around the same time, Hubbard said that psychiatrists were an ancient evil that had been a problem for billions of years. He cast them in the role of assisting Xenu's genocide of 75 million years ago. 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 psychiatrists "who have been on the track a long time and are the sole cause of decline in this universe."<ref>Hubbard, HCO Bulletin of ] ]</ref> | |||
| Celebrity Scientologists, notably ], have been extremely vocal in attacking the use of psychiatric medication.<ref>http://xenutv.bogie.nl/cruise/index.html</ref> Their position has attracted considerable criticism from psychiatrists, physicians, and mental health patients and advocates who cite numerous scientific studies showing benefit from psychiatry. | |||
| ], professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the ], ], 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.<ref>http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/329/7457/72</ref> Gillberg said that Eva Kärfve, an associate professor of ] at the ] who in 2003 had obtained a court order to access his patient records relating to ], was a Scientologist or was acting for the Church. The University 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.<ref>http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/331/7510/180-f </ref> | |||
| ===Scientology versus the Internet=== | |||
| {{main|Scientology versus the Internet}} | |||
| Scientology leaders have undertaken extensive operations on the Internet to deal with growing allegations of fraud{{Fact|date=February 2007}} and exposure of unscrupulousness within Scientology. The organization states that it is taking actions to prevent distribution of ]ed Scientology documents and publications online by people whom it has called "copyright terrorists".<ref>{{cite book | last = Grossman | first = Wendy | title = Net.Wars | origyear = 1997 | origmonth = October | url = http://www.nyupress.org/netwars/ | accessdate = 2006-06-11 | publisher = New York University Press | location = New York | id = ISBN 0-8147-3103-1 | pages = 77-78 | chapter = Copyright Terrorists | chapterurl = http://www.nyupress.org/netwars/textonly/pages/chapter06/ch06_.html}}</ref> Critics say that the organisation's true motive is to attempt to suppress the free speech of its critics. | |||
| In January 1995, Church lawyer ] attempted to shut down the ] '']'' by sending a control message instructing ] servers to delete the group on the grounds that: | |||
| {{cquote|(1) It was started with a forged message; (2) not discussed on ]; (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.<ref>http://www.xs4all.nl/~kspaink/cos/rnewman/usenet/rmgroup</ref>}} | |||
| In practice, this ] had little effect, since most Usenet servers are configured to disregard such messages when applied to groups that receive substantial traffic, and ]s 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 ], and pressed for tighter restrictions on copyrights in general. The Church supported the controversial ]. The even more controversial ] was also strongly promoted by the Church and some of its provisions (notably the ]) were heavily influenced by Church litigation against US ] 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 "]" 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 ], after she left the Church, confessed to having been part of the sporgery project, taking money supplied by the ] to open up Internet accounts at various ISPs under false names, accounts from which she later saw forged and garbled communications going out.<ref></ref> | |||
| ===Scientific criticism of Scientology's beliefs=== | |||
| Many of Hubbard's practices have been criticised by the scientific community as being ]. The background story of Xenu is ridiculed as it is scientifically implausible, and some technologies employed by Scientologists, including the e-meter, have no verified effect. Further, Hubbard's medical and dietary advice, still commonly accepted by Church members, is both built upon no firm scientific background and is decades-old, meaning that it may have been rendered obsolete by contemporary scientific studies regardless of its origins. | |||
| ], as depicted by the BBC's ]]] | |||
| Journalists and critics of Scientology note that Xenu is part of a much wider Scientology belief in past lives on other planets, some of which has been public knowledge for decades. For instance, Hubbard's 1958 book '']'' documents past lives described by individual Scientologists during auditing sessions. These included memories of being "deceived into a ] decked out as a beautiful red-haired girl", being run over by a ] ] driving a ], being transformed into an intergalactic ] that perished after falling out of a ], and being "a very happy being who strayed to the planet Nostra 23,064,000,000 years ago". In comparison, ] have established the ] at 13.7 billion (13,700,000,000) years, to within about 1% error. | |||
| A 1971 ruling of the United States District Court, District of Columbia (333 F. Supp. 357), specifically stated, "the ] 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."<ref>{{cite paper | title = UNITED STATES of America, Libelant, v. An ARTICLE OR DEVICE "HUBBARD ELECTROMETER" or "Hubbard E-Meter," etc., Founding Church of Scientology et al., Claimants|version = No. D.C. 1-63|date = ] ] | url = http://www.lermanet.com/case2.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-10}}</ref> As a result of this ruling, Scientology now publishes disclaimers in its books and publications declaring that "By itself, the E-meter does nothing"<ref></ref> and that it is used specifically for spiritual purposes. | |||
| Hubbard's advice that ] should be avoided{{Fact|Mar 2007|date=February 2007}} is in contravention of common medical advice, which stresses its importance for the health of both the mother and the child.<ref>AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS PEDIATRICS Vol. 100 No. ] ], pp. 1035-1039</ref> Hubbard's "Barley Formula" is potentially unsafe for infants; apart from safety issues, the formula would lack vital nutrients, ] antibodies, and other components of human ]. Hubbard had no qualifications to give pediatric advice and his claims regarding the care of babies and infants are disputed by the majority of doctors and health care professionals. Patricia Devine, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist who directs the Labor and Delivery Unit at ], said "There's absolutely no scientific evidence that taking away at the time of delivery will have any effect on outcome for the baby or mother."<ref>Gina Shaw (reviewed by Ann Edmundson, MD) Thursday, ] ], FoxNews (originally published by ]) </ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
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| {{Col-end}} | |||
| ==General references== | |||
| <div class="references-small"> | |||
| * - Time Magazine article on Scientology | |||
| * | |||
| * {{cite paper | author=Frenschkowski, Marco | title= L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology: An annotated bibliographical survey of primary and selected secondary literature | date=1999| url=http://www.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/frenschkowski.html }} | |||
| * {{cite paper | author=Kent, Stephen A. | title= Scientology's Relationship With Eastern Religious Traditions | date=1996 | url=http://www.ami.com.au/~bradw/cos/Theology/Theology/eastern.htm }} | |||
| </div> | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| {{reflist|2}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{sisterlinks|Scientology}} | |||
| * | |||
| * A description of Scientology and its activities and answers to FAQs (by the Church of Scientology) | |||
| * {{PDF|}} | |||
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| * or A word about ‘KSW’ | |||
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| * - "Exposing Scientology Through Streaming Video" | |||
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| * - in-depth Rolling Stone article on Scientology | |||
| * Survey interviews of over 100 Scientologists and former Scientologists. | |||
| * - List of groups related to the Scientology organization. | |||
| * | |||
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Revision as of 22:43, 1 April 2007
Scientologists hate you.
Scientologists want to kill your children and your dog. They also hate blacks, Jews, women with B-cups, Asians, doctors, politicians, the UN, UNICEF, and people with harry bellies.
They are responsible for all wars, and they are also the leading cause of death, diarea, poop, George Bush, guns, gang violence, zombies, stab wounds, hurt people, animal extingtion, global warnings, volcanoes, The Hindenburg disaster, ugly people, the German language, dumb people, tube socks, Britney Spears, Hilary Clinton, ear infections,
They caused: Christmas With The Kranks, Arnold Shwarzinagger, Nick Cannon, lightning, ugly sweaters, Spyro, obesity in America, power outages, long lines, car accidents, rush hour, traffic, drug abuse, stealing, rain, broken items, damaged goods, credit card fraud, long waiting for Amazon.com goods, Hellen Keller,
They started: sexualy transmitted diseases (STD's), calf roping, vegetarians, PETA, hippies, heroin, TAB Cola, knifes, broken bones, slow moving airport security checks, aging, old people, hair loss, the demotion of Pluto, The Magic School Bus, Barney, constipation, broken windshield wipers, chafing, bad descions, Kim Jung Il, The Evaxation of Puerto Rico, SARS, THe Battle of Gay's, yellow blood, vasecimies, broken condoms, unplanned parenthood, teenage pregnancy, stubbed toes, Small Pox, food poisoning, pure evil, bad movies, farting, and fatal pillow fights.
They also bombed many nursing homes.