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'''Scientology''' is a system of beliefs and teachings, originally established as a secular ] in ] by author ], and subsequently reoriented from ] as an "applied ] philosophy."
NOTE: please do not remove without a discussian first, i am trying to summarize the article and reintroduce facts taht hard core scientologists have tried to have removed (ronny the rod material). I am willing to discuss if you think this is to favorable, but i am trying to maintain POV.


It is most prominently represented by the '']''. The Church of Scientology is also claimed by its critics to be a commercial organization with a long history of defending its teachings by use of copyright and trade secret law, and sometimes using high pressure sales techniques to extract money from its members. Its history of using its full commercial weight in litigation against private individuals has attracted criticism as not being in keeping with the image of a religion.
Scientlogy is a enlightened way of thinking based on the teachings of the "prophet" L. Ron Hubbard. The basis of the religion is that Jesus is a child molesting public representative for an evil intergalactic empire, and satan is a liason to the great and benevolent galactic federation.


==Scientology as a religion==
The evil intergalactic empire has a vested interest in keeping humans from discovering their true and near limitless power. Only through Scientology, their esoteric knowledge of demon battling and large donations of money to the "Church", can one attain this level of natural power.


Scientology is recognized as a ] in the ] and ] (], s 116). Some ]an countries officially view Scientology as a ] and have denied it the status of a religion. The nature of Scientology is hotly debated in all of these countries, regardless of the official position.
But, bear in mind, that because of a very convoluted explaination, earth is the only planet in the universe upon which the more powerful abilities cannot manifest. But you don't learn this until you have been mislead through hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations.


In the US, in ] the Internal Revenue Service, after reviewing voluminous information on the Church's financial and other operations, the Church as an "organization operated exclusively for religious and charitable purposes".
Also, the church of scientology reserves the right to use black ops against hostile nations and persons, and freely exercises this right.


In ], the ] ruled that the State Government of ] could not declare that the Church of Scientology was not a religion (''''). The Court addressed the issue of belief, rather than possible charlatanism: ''"Charlatanism is a necessary price of religious freedom, and if a self-proclaimed teacher persuades others to believe in a religion which he propounds, lack of sincerity or integrity on his part is not incompatible with the religious character of the beliefs, practices and observances accepted by his followers."''
During the 1950's and 1960's, after founding the helpful and holy religion of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard cruised around the world on his Sea Org ship as a homosexual activist. The Sea Org was composed of former members of the United States Navy who were "outed" during and after World War 2 for simply being gay, an injustice that continues to this day. L. Ron Hubbard, or "Ronny the Rod" as he was called by his male lovers, brought these gay men onto his Sea Org ship and with the help of Dianetics, his therapeutic book of miracle working, and numerous phallic shaped E-meters, he released their body thetans and brought them into a higher state of being.


The ] has expended great amounts of time, effort, and resources in a wide-ranging public relations to campaign to declare to the world that Scientology is a ''bona fide'' religion. The organization has compiled a sizable number of sources that it points to as "proof" that it is a religion, and spokespersons for Scientology often waste little time highlighting them. As an example, the organization notes the following studies on the religious doctrines of Scientology conducted by prominent experts of religion from various faiths:
During this time, Ronny is also known to have starred in several pornographic films, including Daddy, Don't Touch Me There!, Body Thetans Bare #35, Xenu, I'll Be With You, and a more seriously-themed film called How To Scam a Bunch of Idiots Out of Money By Starting Your Own Religion. After Hubbard's hot adventures aboard the Sea Org, he decided to take a step back from the stressful and busy life as a gay male activist, especially with the Federal Government pressing down on him for various illegal activities.


* by Bryan R. Wilson, Ph.D., Emeritus Fellow, Oxford University England
Sometime during his carousing during the 1970s, Hubbard contracted the sexually transmitted virus HIV. He died of AIDS in 1983, as a broken, lonely man.
* by Frank K. Flinn, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor in Religious Studies, Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
* by Régis Dericquebourg, Professor, Sociology of Religion, University of Lille III, Lille, France
* by M. Darrol Bryant, Ph.D., Professor of Religion and Culture, Renison College, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
* by Alejandro Frigerio, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology, Catholic University of Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
* by Urbano Alonso Galan, Doctor in Philosophy and Licenciate in Theology, Gregorian University and, Saint Bonaventure Pontifical Faculty, Rome
* by Fumio Sawada, Eighth Holder of the Secrets of Yu-itsu Shinto

Critics usually dismiss these studies as biased, contending that the studies were commissioned by Scientology to produce exactly the results that Scientology wants the public to hear.

The Church of Scientology is also quick to highlight the tax exemption granted to the organization by the ] in October of 1993 as proof that it is a religion. This subject is examined in the Misplaced Pages article on the ].

==Origins of Scientology==

Scientology was expanded and reworked from ] an earlier system of ]s originally set out in the ] book, '']''. By the mid-], Hubbard had relegated Dianetics to being a sub-study of Scientology, although it is still promoted and delivered by Scientology organizations. The chief difference between the two is that Dianetics is explicitly secular, focused on the individual's present life and dealing with physical problems, whereas Scientology adopts a more overtly religious approach focused on dealing with spiritual issues spanning multiple past lives as well as the present day. Hubbard was repeatedly accused of adopting a religious facade for Scientology in order for the organization to maintain ]-exempt status and avoid prosecution for false medical claims; these accusations have dogged the Church of Scientology to the present day.

The word ''scientology'' has a history of its own. Although nowadays associated almost exclusively with Hubbard's work, it was coined by the philologist Alan Upward in ] as a synonym for "]." In ], the Argentine-German writer Anastasius Nordenholz published a book using the word positively: ''Scientologie, Wissenschaft von der Beschaffenheit und der Tauglichkeit des Wissens,'' or ''Scientology, Science of the Constitution and Usefulness of Knowledge''. Nordenholz's book is a study of consciousness, and its usage of the word is not greatly different from Hubbard's definition, "knowing how to know". However, it is not clear whether Hubbard was aware of these earlier usages. The word itself is a pairing of the ] word ''scio'' ("know" or "distinguish") and the ] λόγος ''lógos''
("reason itself" or "inward thought"). It seems plausible that Hubbard's meaning derived, like that of Nordenholz, from a simple translation of these root words.

==Beliefs and practices==

''Main article: ]''

Scientology's doctrines were established by Hubbard over some 33 years from ] through to his death in January ], issued in the form of thousands of lectures, books, essays, and policies. Most of the basic principles of Scientology were set out during the first 15 years of its existence, with Hubbard devoting much of his later life to the more esoteric upper levels (or "Advanced Technologies") of the Scientology belief system. The church describes his actions as improving and expanding on the workability and use of these principles.

The central beliefs of Scientology are that a person is an immortal ] (referred to as a ''thetan'') who possesses a ] and a ], and that the person is basically good. The life one should lead is one of continual spiritual and ethical education, awareness, and improvement, so that he/she can be happy and achieve ultimate salvation, as well as being more effective in creating a better world. Scientology claims to offer specific methodologies to assist a person to achieve this.

Another basic tenet of Scientology is that there are three basic interrelated (and intrinsically spiritual) components that are the very makeup of successful "livingness": affinity, reality (or agreement), and communication, which equate to understanding. Hubbard called this the "ARC triangle." Scientologists utilize ARC to enhance their lives, primarily based upon the belief that raising one aspect of the triangle increases the other two.

In an attempt to clarify the concept of conscious, subconscious, and unconscious minds, Hubbard wrote that the mind of man is structured in two parts: the "analytical mind" and the "reactive mind." He described the analytical mind as the positive, rational, computing portion, while the "reactive mind", according to Hubbard, operates on a stimulus-response basis. Scientologists believe the reactive mind is the root of an individual's travail, as well as the root of mankind's inhumanity and inability to create lasting, prosperous, sane societies.

The central methodology of Scientology is called "auditing", (from the Latin root ''aud-'', to listen), which is one-on-one communication with a Scientology-trained "auditor". The auditor assists a person to have realizations about himself and unravel the reactive portion of his mind, ie, emotional "charge", specific traumatic incidents, his own ethical transgressions, and bad decisions of his past that tend to lock him into a life not totally under his own control.

The Church states that the goal of Scientology is a world without war, criminals, and insanity, where good decent people have the freedom to reach their goals.

==The Church of Scientology==

''Main article: ]''

The ''']''' was first ] in the ] as a ] in ]. Today it forms the center of a complex worldwide network of corporations dedicated to the promotion of L. Ron Hubbard's philosophies in all areas of life. This includes drug treatment centers (]), criminal rehab programs (Criminon), activities to reform the field of mental health (Citizens Commission on Human Rights), projects to implement workable and effective educational methods in schools (Applied Scholastics), a campaign to return moral values to living (The Way to Happiness), an organization to educate and assist businesses to succeed (World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, or WISE), and a crusade directed to world leaders as well as the general public to implement the 1948 United Nations document, "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

The Church of Scientology has been, and remains, a highly controversial organization. Countries have taken markedly different approaches to Scientology. The United States government regards Scientology as protected under the ]; other countries, notably in ], have regarded Scientology as a potentially dangerous ] and have significantly restricted its activities at various times. In Germany for instance, they are not seen as a religion by the government but as a financial organization. Scientology has also been the focus of criticism by ]s and has aroused controversy for its high-profile campaigns against ] and psychiatric medication.

The many legal battles fought by the Church of Scientology since its inception have given it a reputation as one of the most litigious religious organizations in existence. Details of Scientology's legal actions can be found in the Misplaced Pages article on '''].'''

===Independent Scientology groups===

''Main article: ]''

Although "Scientology" is most often used as shorthand for the ], a number of groups practice Scientology and Dianetics outside of the fold of the official Church. Such groups are invariably breakaways from the official Church and usually argue that it has corrupted L. Ron Hubbard's principles or has otherwise become overly domineering. The Church takes an extremely hard line on breakaway groups, labeling them "]s" (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 ]d, instead referring to themselves collectively as the ''']'''.

Free Zone groups are extremely heterogeneous in terms of doctrine—very unlike the official Church. Some Free Zoners practice more or less pure Scientology, based on Hubbard's original (Church-published) texts and principles but without the supervision or fee system of the official Church. Others have developed Hubbard's ideas into radically new forms, some of which are barely recognizable as being related to Scientology.

==Controversy and criticism==

''Main article: ]''

Of the many ]s to appear during the ], Scientology has been one of the most controversial almost since its inception. The Church of Scientology has come into conflict with the governments of several countries (including the ], the ] and ]) numerous times over the years. Critical arguments against Scientology, as well as accusations of ] behavior, can be found in the article on ''']'''. This section includes examinations of:

*Criminal activities by the Church of Scientology and its members
*Claims of "brainwashing" and ]
*Scientology's ] policy
*Accusations of L. Ron Hubbard starting a religion to make money
*Deaths of Scientologists
*Scientology's actions against its critics and enemies

Another point of controversy is Scientology's infiltration of the United States ] in what Scientology termed "]". Eleven high-ranking Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard, served time in federal prison for their involvement in this infiltration.

==Scientology vs. the Internet==

''Main Article: ]''

Leaders of Scientology have undertaken extensive operations on the Internet to deal with growing allegations of fraudulence and exposure of unscrupulousness within Scientology. The organization states that it is taking actions to prevent distribution of ]ed Scientology documents and publications online; however, its critics (and many Internet users) claim the organization is attempting to suppress free speech. In January 1995 Scientology attempted to silence the discussions taking place on the '']'' ] by issuing a control message intended to remove the newsgroup from all ] servers, and started to sue people for posting copies of its scriptures on the group, acts that resulted in thousands of Internet users around the world taking a closer look at Scientology. From mid-1996 and for several years after, the newsgroup was subject to another form of attempted suppression, in the form of hundreds of ] messages posted on the group. Although the church neither confirmed nor denied that it was behind the spam, some investigators claimed that some of the spam had been traced to church members.

Scientology's response to criticism was to issue a statement insisting that their actions were actually an assault against ], making numerous claims about hate and violence directed against Scientology. The history of the ongoing Internet conflict is examined in the entry ''']'''.

==See also==

*]

==External links==

===Official Scientology sites===
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

===Other pro-Scientology sites===
*
*
*
*

===Current news and discussions===
*
* '']'' ()

===Critical links===
* ()
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

]
]

Revision as of 16:40, 22 December 2004

Scientology is a system of beliefs and teachings, originally established as a secular philosophy in 1952 by author L. Ron Hubbard, and subsequently reoriented from 1953 as an "applied religious philosophy."

It is most prominently represented by the Church of Scientology. The Church of Scientology is also claimed by its critics to be a commercial organization with a long history of defending its teachings by use of copyright and trade secret law, and sometimes using high pressure sales techniques to extract money from its members. Its history of using its full commercial weight in litigation against private individuals has attracted criticism as not being in keeping with the image of a religion.

Scientology as a religion

Scientology is recognized as a constitutionally protected religion in the United States and Australia (Australian Constitution, s 116). Some European countries officially view Scientology as a cult and have denied it the status of a religion. The nature of Scientology is hotly debated in all of these countries, regardless of the official position.

In the US, in 1993 the Internal Revenue Service, after reviewing voluminous information on the Church's financial and other operations, recognized the Church as an "organization operated exclusively for religious and charitable purposes".

In 1982, the High Court of Australia ruled that the State Government of Victoria could not declare that the Church of Scientology was not a religion (Church of the New Faith v. Commissioner Of Pay-roll Tax (Vict.) 1983, 154 CLR 120). The Court addressed the issue of belief, rather than possible charlatanism: "Charlatanism is a necessary price of religious freedom, and if a self-proclaimed teacher persuades others to believe in a religion which he propounds, lack of sincerity or integrity on his part is not incompatible with the religious character of the beliefs, practices and observances accepted by his followers."

The Church of Scientology has expended great amounts of time, effort, and resources in a wide-ranging public relations to campaign to declare to the world that Scientology is a bona fide religion. The organization has compiled a sizable number of sources that it points to as "proof" that it is a religion, and spokespersons for Scientology often waste little time highlighting them. As an example, the organization notes the following studies on the religious doctrines of Scientology conducted by prominent experts of religion from various faiths:

Critics usually dismiss these studies as biased, contending that the studies were commissioned by Scientology to produce exactly the results that Scientology wants the public to hear.

The Church of Scientology is also quick to highlight the tax exemption granted to the organization by the IRS in October of 1993 as proof that it is a religion. This subject is examined in the Misplaced Pages article on the Church of Scientology.

Origins of Scientology

Scientology was expanded and reworked from Dianetics an earlier system of self-improvement techniques originally set out in the 1950 book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. By the mid-1950s, Hubbard had relegated Dianetics to being a sub-study of Scientology, although it is still promoted and delivered by Scientology organizations. The chief difference between the two is that Dianetics is explicitly secular, focused on the individual's present life and dealing with physical problems, whereas Scientology adopts a more overtly religious approach focused on dealing with spiritual issues spanning multiple past lives as well as the present day. Hubbard was repeatedly accused of adopting a religious facade for Scientology in order for the organization to maintain tax-exempt status and avoid prosecution for false medical claims; these accusations have dogged the Church of Scientology to the present day.

The word scientology has a history of its own. Although nowadays associated almost exclusively with Hubbard's work, it was coined by the philologist Alan Upward in 1907 as a synonym for "pseudoscience." In 1934, the Argentine-German writer Anastasius Nordenholz published a book using the word positively: Scientologie, Wissenschaft von der Beschaffenheit und der Tauglichkeit des Wissens, or Scientology, Science of the Constitution and Usefulness of Knowledge. Nordenholz's book is a study of consciousness, and its usage of the word is not greatly different from Hubbard's definition, "knowing how to know". However, it is not clear whether Hubbard was aware of these earlier usages. The word itself is a pairing of the Latin word scio ("know" or "distinguish") and the Greek λόγος lógos ("reason itself" or "inward thought"). It seems plausible that Hubbard's meaning derived, like that of Nordenholz, from a simple translation of these root words.

Beliefs and practices

Main article: Scientology beliefs and practices

Scientology's doctrines were established by Hubbard over some 33 years from 1952 through to his death in January 1986, issued in the form of thousands of lectures, books, essays, and policies. Most of the basic principles of Scientology were set out during the first 15 years of its existence, with Hubbard devoting much of his later life to the more esoteric upper levels (or "Advanced Technologies") of the Scientology belief system. The church describes his actions as improving and expanding on the workability and use of these principles.

The central beliefs of Scientology are that a person is an immortal spiritual being (referred to as a thetan) who possesses a mind and a body, and that the person is basically good. The life one should lead is one of continual spiritual and ethical education, awareness, and improvement, so that he/she can be happy and achieve ultimate salvation, as well as being more effective in creating a better world. Scientology claims to offer specific methodologies to assist a person to achieve this.

Another basic tenet of Scientology is that there are three basic interrelated (and intrinsically spiritual) components that are the very makeup of successful "livingness": affinity, reality (or agreement), and communication, which equate to understanding. Hubbard called this the "ARC triangle." Scientologists utilize ARC to enhance their lives, primarily based upon the belief that raising one aspect of the triangle increases the other two.

In an attempt to clarify the concept of conscious, subconscious, and unconscious minds, Hubbard wrote that the mind of man is structured in two parts: the "analytical mind" and the "reactive mind." He described the analytical mind as the positive, rational, computing portion, while the "reactive mind", according to Hubbard, operates on a stimulus-response basis. Scientologists believe the reactive mind is the root of an individual's travail, as well as the root of mankind's inhumanity and inability to create lasting, prosperous, sane societies.

The central methodology of Scientology is called "auditing", (from the Latin root aud-, to listen), which is one-on-one communication with a Scientology-trained "auditor". The auditor assists a person to have realizations about himself and unravel the reactive portion of his mind, ie, emotional "charge", specific traumatic incidents, his own ethical transgressions, and bad decisions of his past that tend to lock him into a life not totally under his own control.

The Church states that the goal of Scientology is a world without war, criminals, and insanity, where good decent people have the freedom to reach their goals.

The Church of Scientology

Main article: Church of Scientology

The Church of Scientology was first incorporated in the United States as a nonprofit organization in 1953. Today it forms the center of a complex worldwide network of corporations dedicated to the promotion of L. Ron Hubbard's philosophies in all areas of life. This includes drug treatment centers (Narconon), criminal rehab programs (Criminon), activities to reform the field of mental health (Citizens Commission on Human Rights), projects to implement workable and effective educational methods in schools (Applied Scholastics), a campaign to return moral values to living (The Way to Happiness), an organization to educate and assist businesses to succeed (World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, or WISE), and a crusade directed to world leaders as well as the general public to implement the 1948 United Nations document, "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

The Church of Scientology has been, and remains, a highly controversial organization. Countries have taken markedly different approaches to Scientology. The United States government regards Scientology as protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution; other countries, notably in Europe, have regarded Scientology as a potentially dangerous cult and have significantly restricted its activities at various times. In Germany for instance, they are not seen as a religion by the government but as a financial organization. Scientology has also been the focus of criticism by anti-cult campaigners and has aroused controversy for its high-profile campaigns against psychiatry and psychiatric medication.

The many legal battles fought by the Church of Scientology since its inception have given it a reputation as one of the most litigious religious organizations in existence. Details of Scientology's legal actions can be found in the Misplaced Pages article on Scientology and the legal system.

Independent Scientology groups

Main article: Free Zone

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

Free Zone groups are extremely heterogeneous in terms of doctrine—very unlike the official Church. Some Free Zoners practice more or less pure Scientology, based on Hubbard's original (Church-published) texts and principles but without the supervision or fee system of the official Church. Others have developed Hubbard's ideas into radically new forms, some of which are barely recognizable as being related to Scientology.

Controversy and criticism

Main article: Scientology controversy

Of the many new religious movements to appear during the 20th century, Scientology has been one of the most controversial almost since its inception. The Church of Scientology has come into conflict with the governments of several countries (including the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany) numerous times over the years. Critical arguments against Scientology, as well as accusations of cult behavior, can be found in the article on Scientology controversy. This section includes examinations of:

  • Criminal activities by the Church of Scientology and its members
  • Claims of "brainwashing" and mind control
  • Scientology's disconnection policy
  • Accusations of L. Ron Hubbard starting a religion to make money
  • Deaths of Scientologists
  • Scientology's actions against its critics and enemies

Another point of controversy is Scientology's infiltration of the United States Internal Revenue Service in what Scientology termed "Operation Snow White". Eleven high-ranking Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard, served time in federal prison for their involvement in this infiltration.

Scientology vs. the Internet

Main Article: Scientology vs. the Internet

Leaders of Scientology have undertaken extensive operations on the Internet to deal with growing allegations of fraudulence and exposure of unscrupulousness within Scientology. The organization states that it is taking actions to prevent distribution of copyrighted Scientology documents and publications online; however, its critics (and many Internet users) claim the organization is attempting to suppress free speech. In January 1995 Scientology attempted to silence the discussions taking place on the alt.religion.scientology newsgroup by issuing a control message intended to remove the newsgroup from all Usenet servers, and started to sue people for posting copies of its scriptures on the group, acts that resulted in thousands of Internet users around the world taking a closer look at Scientology. From mid-1996 and for several years after, the newsgroup was subject to another form of attempted suppression, in the form of hundreds of spam messages posted on the group. Although the church neither confirmed nor denied that it was behind the spam, some investigators claimed that some of the spam had been traced to church members.

Scientology's response to criticism was to issue a statement insisting that their actions were actually an assault against hate speech, making numerous claims about hate and violence directed against Scientology. The history of the ongoing Internet conflict is examined in the entry Scientology vs. the Internet.

See also

External links

Official Scientology sites

Other pro-Scientology sites

Current news and discussions

Critical links

Categories: