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Template:Distinguish2 R2-45 is a name given by L. Ron Hubbard to a process of Scientology auditing which he described in his 1954 book The Creation of Human Ability as "AN ENORMOUSLY EFFECTIVE PROCESS FOR EXTERIORIZATION BUT ITS USE IS FROWNED UPON BY THIS SOCIETY AT THIS TIME" (capitalization as in the original). In Scientology doctrine, exteriorization refers to the separation of the thetan (soul) from the body.

According to the author Stewart Lamont, Hubbard defined R2-45 as a process by which exteriorization could be produced by shooting a person in the head with a .45 revolver. Hubbard delivered a series of lectures called the Philadelphia Doctorate Course from December 1-19, 1952 in which, says Lamont, he demonstrated R2-45 by firing a Colt 45 into the floor of the podium. Decades later, Hubbard's estranged son Ronald DeWolf would claim to have been present at a meeting where his father fired a pistol into the floor, allegedly illustrating R2-45. Dewolf recalled "I thought he was kidding and that it was a blank, but it wasn’t; there was a hole in the floor. It was for real; he meant it."

Hubbard referred to R2-45 in a 1959 lecture, in which he said that "even cops or gangsters" could make a "Clear" out of a person "by taking a Webley 38 or Smith & Wesson, or Colt or something like that and doing R2-45." An extract from this lecture was published on the Internet in 2009 by WikiLeaks.

Some critics of Scientology and ex-Scientologists have alleged that R2-45 was invoked by Hubbard to authorize killing individuals regarded by Scientology as antagonistic. There is no evidence that it has ever been put into practice and Hubbard did not explicitly define R2-45 in writing. Representatives of the Church of Scientology have said that Hubbard's description of R2-45 "was coined as a joke — is not authorized, and I am afraid occasionally ‘misfires' as a joke when taken literally".

The journalist and author Tony Ortega has suggested that R2-45 may have been used neither as a murder order nor as a joke, but as a means of intimidation. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) carried out a lengthy investigation of Scientology in the 1960s, and as part of that interviewed two prominent ex-Scientologists who said they had been sent "R2-45" letters. According to FDA records dating from 1970 that Ortega published in 2015, one of the two said that he had received a letter suggesting that he use "a 45 caliber pistol to exteriorize himself", while the other "stated he also received letters indicating he should apply technique R2-45 to himself". The FDA inspector noted that "his particular technique is a route whereby an individual places a 45 caliber pistol to his head and disassociates himself from his body."

While no "R2-45 letters" have been published, an order to use R2-45 on specific individuals was published in a prominent Scientology magazine. On March 6, 1968, Hubbard issued an internal memo titled "RACKET EXPOSED," in which he denounced twelve people as "Enemies of mankind, the planet and all life," and ordered that "Any Sea Org member contacting any of them is to use Auditing Process R2-45." The memo was subsequently published in the Church of Scientology's internal journal, The Auditor.

See also

• Fair Game (Scientology)
• Suppressive Person
• Scientology controversies

References

1. Hubbard, L. Ron (1954). The Creation of Human Ability. p. 120.
2. Lamont, Stewart (1986). Religion Inc. : the Church of Scientology. London: Harrap. p. 25. ISBN 9780245543340.
3. Wheeler, Dennis. "Son of Scientology". The News-Herald. July 7-13, 1982
4. Hubbard, "Rationale of Create Series", November 20, 1959. Lecture #19 of Melbourne Advanced Clinical Course, published by Bridge Publications.
5. "Scientology cult recording: R2-45 is the act of shooting a person with a firearm, 20 Nov 1959". WikiLeaks. April 13, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
6. Robert Rawitch, Robert Gillette (1978-08-28). "Scientology Critics Assail Aggressiveness of Church". Los Angeles Times. A number of former Scientologists who are now critics of the church assert that R2-45 is meant to authorize killing its antagonists with a .45-calibre pistol. Church spokesman Jeffrey Dubron, of the principal American Church of Scientology in Los Angeles, says "it was only a joke." See official online archive.
7. Bess, Donovan (September 29, 1969). "Scientology: Total freedom and beyond". The Nation.
8. "A Sci-Fi Faith". TIME. 1976-04-05. Retrieved 2007-01-01. Hubbard once spoke darkly of handling enemies via "Auditing Process R2-45," meaning a .45 bullet through the head, but this was just a joke, say his followers, and there are no accusations of any such terminal excommunications.
9. Ortega, Tony (January 20, 2015). "Scientology's first 'Clear': L. Ron Hubbard intended to return as his daughter Diana's son". The Underground Bunker. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
10. Ortega, Tony (March 17, 2015). "More proof that Scientology used the 'R2-45' method to intimidate enemies". The Underground Bunker. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
11. Wallis, Roy (1976). The Road to Total Freedom. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04200-0.
12. The Auditor, issue #37. (Undated but copyrighted 1968)

• Scientology beliefs and practices
• Scientology-related controversies