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Revision as of 21:00, 1 October 2005 by 81.15.146.91 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Free Zone is a term that encompasses the various groups and individuals who practice Scientology-derived beliefs and techniques in an environment free from the control of the official Church of Scientology. Such practitioners range from those who closely adhere to the original teachings of Hubbard to those who have changed what they practice to be hardly recognisable as Scientology at all.
In spite of the controversy surrounding the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, members of the Free Zone believe that the auditing process and other techniques used in Dianetics and Scientology offer genuine benefits.
The Usenet newsgroup alt.clearing.technology is one of many discussion groups used by members of the Free Zone to discuss their practices. There are also several Yahoo! groups used by the individuals who consider themselves part of the free zone.
The name Free Zone was originally used only by the organization founded by "Captain" Bill Robertson in 1982 (now known as Freie Zone e.V or the Free Zone Association), but is now frequently applied to all non-CoS Scientologists.
The Church of Scientology and the Free Zone
The Church of Scientology views "rogue" Scientologists with even more disdain than it does those who dismiss Hubbard's teachings outright. It lumps all practitioners and believers of unsanctioned forms of Scientology as "squirrels" — a Scientology term which Hubbard coined to describe those who alter Scientology "technology" or practice it in a nonstandard fashion. This word is comparable in meaning to "heretic". In practice, orthodox Scientologists use it as a general term to describe all Scientologists who practice outside the Church regardless of their adherence to the technology or not. This usage is at variance to Hubbard's original meaning of the word. A lot of "squirrels" are former Church members who left the Church for various reasons -- the Church frequently states that they were dismissed for "unethical activities", but many observers say that because of the different meaning "ethics" has in Scientology, this merely translates to a generalized accusation that they did something the Church viewed as bad for Scientology.
The Church of Scientology has taken steps to suppress the Free Zone and shut it down when possible. It has used copyright and trademark laws to attack various Free Zone factions. Because of this, the organizations that comprise the Free Zone have avoided the use of officially trademarked Scientology words, including the word "Scientology" itself.
Many Free Zone advocates claim that everyone has the right to freely practice according to the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, whether sanctioned by the Church of Scientology or not. In support of their thinking, they cite Hubbard himself:
- "Dianetics is not in any way covered by legislation anywhere, for no law can prevent one man sitting down and telling another man his troubles, and if anyone wants a monopoly on dianetics, be assured that he wants it for reasons which have to do not with dianetics but with profit." —L. Ron Hubbard, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (1950)
Others invoke a human right to freely follow and practice one's chosen religion.
Some Scientologists who are former or inactive members of the Church consider the Church to be a "squirrel group" because, in their opinion, the Church has altered and does not strictly apply the writings of L. Ron Hubbard.
Controversy over the origins of the word Scientology has given the Free Zone a way to contest Scientology's trademarks. The Free Zone has publicized a German book published in 1934 entitled Scientologie by Dr. A. Nordenholz (as opposed to Hubbard's Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought, published in 1953), which they use as the basis of their challenge to Scientology's trademark claims. Because Scientologie was not written by Hubbard, they argue, the Church of Scientology is exerting unfair control over its practice, and it is attempting to enforce a monopoly. So far, legal efforts to challenge Scientology have failed; some believe this is due to the fearsome tactics used by Scientology's lawyers (see Scientology and the legal system for more details).
External links
==International Organizations== (alphabetical)
- FreeZone America
- Freezone AO International
- Free Zone Churches Worldwide
- Freie Zone e.V
- International Freezone Association
- Tribute to Mary Sue Hubbard
Regional Organizations
- Australian & New Zealand Freezone Association
- Freezone Scientology in Austria
- Freezone Germany
- Czech Freezone
Other links
- Freezone meters
- The Compleat Aberree The Aberree - a 1950s publication on Dianetics, Scientology, and related topics
- Freezone pages on Beliefnet
- The Freezone Online
- Freezone Successes
- Clearbird
Criticism of the Free Zone
- "The Truth About Tommy Thompson" - Founder of ICAUSE (a Freezone Group)
- "Freezone Survivors Association"