More About Scientology

    • How Did the Church of Scientology Start?

    • The first official Church of Scientology was founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1953 in the city of Camden, New Jersey. He was assisted by his wife, Mary Sue, and several other of his disciples. By that point, however, the belief system had already been largely developed. The founding of said beliefs can be traced to up to three years previously, to the publication of Dianetics.

      The Church is founded on a set of beliefs about mind, body, and spirit that are referred to collectively as Scientology. This set of beliefs contains large elements of Hubbard’s previous self-help regimen, Dianetics, which had enjoyed sizable commercial success when published in 1950.

    • Who was its founder?

    • L. Ron Hubbard was an American fiction writer from the state of Nebraska, known prior to the creation of his religion for his emphasis on science fiction. He received a measure of education from The George Washington University, enrolling in 1930 in the civil engineering program. His academic record was decidedly poor, however, and he was discharged from the school the following year.

      From that point on he was primarily engaged in fiction writing exploits. He served as a naval officer during World War II, but not to very much acclaim, being removed thrice from leadership positions as well as being the subject to a disciplinary hearing. He was discharged honorably in 1950 with a promotion and half dozen merits to his name, despite his failure as a commander.

      He spent the rest of his life focusing on Dianetics and Scientology, returning only briefly to the realm of science fiction during the latter years of his life.

    • Why is the church dangerous?

    • The Church of Scientology, while claiming to be a religion and functioning as such, behaves strikingly like a business and cult. The “fair game” policy, for example, is responsible for the harassment of numerous scientology critics over the years. As L. Ron Hubbard said, concerning suppressive peoples (those who are not in support of scientology):

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

      While this is bad enough in itself, Scientology has also been implicated in numerous fatalities among its members, including the famous case of Lisa McPherson, whose tragic death is remembered at her website (http://www.lisamcpherson.org/).

      There have been numerous recorded cases of litigation against people who had attempted to paint the church in a manner that they did not specifically endorse, including Scientology’s attempts at silencing a Time magazine article that referred to them as a greedy and dangerous cult.

    • What does the church believe?

    • The Scientologist belief system is relatively complex, and requires a short summary to properly elucidate the concepts within. It is originally based on Dianetics, Hubbard’s popular self-help book, but can be considered an extension of it. There is no principle book that Scientologists go to for guidance, rather, the religion stresses the need to read and listen to all books and lectures, a costly proposition.

      At the core of this system is the belief that all people have what is essentially a soul, referred to as a thetan. Thetans are said to be essentially immortal, living through past lives and living long past the death of the body they currently inhabit. For a person to unlock their true power and ability as an ancient, immortal, and powerful thetan, they must go through the process of auditing and remove any and all negative influences and barriers.

      Scientology has many references to conflicts occurring in space among alien species, but many of these beliefs are classified until after a certain point in the religious hierarchy has been attained, through the very long and expensive process of Scientology education.

    • Who runs the Church today?

    • The Church today is comprised of several companies including the Religious Technology Center and the Church of Scientology International. The current leader of the Religious Technology Center, charged with proper administration of copyrighted scientology materials, is David Miscavige. Miscavige took over from Hubbard in 1987, and is the de facto leader of the church to this day. Heber Carl Jentzsch is the current president of the Church of Scientology International, but does not command either the power or general recognition that Miscavige has.

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