A Multi National Organization, And Religion

Given that, over the past fifty years the Church of Scientology has endured many government investigations, scandals, street protest and lawsuits pertaining to the controversial doctrine and practices of Scientology. There has also been allegations against the church for human trafficking, holding people against their will and blackmailing members once they have left the church. In many countries, Scientology has been accused of being a dangerous cult that brainwashes its followers and confiscates their assets. Furthermore, “Greece has banned the religion of Scientology in their country, and France and Germany are calling it a totalitarian organization and a money making scheme” (Reitman 2011). All things considered, the United States has endorsed Scientology as a religion and granted it a tax exempt status. Actually, since than the Church of Scientology has not released any public information about its membership or finances. That being the case no wonder people have their suspicion regarding this

Though most organized religions have been traditionally founded on a belief system, Scientology seemingly was founded on a reaction to one. In 1950, L. Ron Hubbard wrote a book titled Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. The

Behind the scenes of Church of Scientology tried to hide to the public comes to light. The many of physical abuse in the organization was for starters “Medication.” Scientology has a way of doing things that they think is right because David Miscavige or L. Ron Hubbard said so. “The Purification Program” started when Miscavige believe that if you take high dosage called “Niacin” 5000 mg per day, it would remove any drugs and toxins from your body (Scoobe 2013). Scientologists needed to stay at sauna for a few hours or months because they had this negative energy that it needed to get rid of, but it had it’s own side effects. One of the members of Scientology in that time claim gray poses were coming out of her body, but none of the carers did

Scientology is a form of religious beliefs and practices created in 1954 by Ron Hubbard. It was designed as a program called Dianetics. The organization quickly entered bankruptcy and Hubbard lost the rights to Dianetics. He then recharacterized the subject as a religion and renamed it Scientology, retaining almost everything. Within some time, he managed to regain the rights to Dianetics and kept both issues under the Church of Scientology. Scientology is a religious based on the seeking of self-knowledge and spiritual fulfillment through graded courses for which you need to study and train. They believe that people are immortal spiritual beings that are in a physical body. Scientology believes that "Man is good, that he is seeking to survive, (and) that his survival depends on himself and his attainment of brotherhood with the universe," as stated in the Church of Scientology. But the

The Church of Scientology began in the year 1953 and is one of the world's newest religions. In this essay I will address three questions: Who was L Ron Hubbard? What is the doctrine of Scientology? How does Scientology qualify as a religion?

Although it can’t be. The church of scientology considers Tom Cruise to be their Messiah. They give celebrities better treatment even sometimes to where it can be at a disadvantage or unfair for the other church members. The website of Scientology says that “scientology is unique in that it does not force anyone to believe in anything”. If scientology actually was a church or a religion scientology would have started a long time ago. Technology has not been around forever so therefore Scientology could never be the real

Scientology, founded in 1950 (Hubbard. What is. 3), "is an applied religious philosophy" (Hubbard. What is. 4), which is a branch of psychology (Fundamentals. 7). Developed by Lafayette Ron Hubbard, Scientology was created "from discoveries resulting from

Most people today have a limited understanding of Scientology and tend to believe that it is not a bona fide religious ideology. However, it is actually similar to most religions and by looking at the concepts that it puts across one is probably to acknowledge that it is actually very complex. Scientology is a modern religion and it can be best understood by comparing it with an older religion such as Christianity. Conservative Christians feel that this religion stand against most values promoted in the Christian world and that it would be difficult and almost impossible for a person to respect both of these religious ideologies.

It’s not unknown that The Church of Scientology has been a contentious subject of conversation for decades. The controversial religion was originally discovered by a gentleman named L. Ron Hubbard in 1954 through the establishment of ideas in which he believed would act as an antidote to mental health concerns called Dianetics. After an unsuccessful attempt resulting in bankruptcy, Hubbard branched his ideas into the basis of a new found religion called Scientology ("The Beliefs and Teachings of Scientology”). To Hubbard’s advantage, Scientology expeditiously accelerated in growth, becoming one of the fastest expanding religions in the 20th century. Scientology pledged a “light at the end of the tunnel” to those wandering through dark times, and created a pathway to a faultless understanding of one’s true spiritual fulfillment through a system of self-knowledge in relation to one’s own life, community, and mankind. Due to the Scientology’s controversial beliefs, abnormal practices, and aberrant church-member relationships, the religion poses as a superlative model of church rebelling against society’s social norms.

Scientology was founded in 1954 by science-fiction writer, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, commonly known as L. Ron Hubbard or LRH. Scientology has obtained nearly 11 million followers worldwide. This new religion promotes itself by advocating self-improvement techniques constructed by Hubbard. A Scientologist’s spiritual goal is to reach one’s full potential. This process is carried out through the practice of Dianetics and auditing. Since the 1950’s, Scientology has gained attention for its high celebrity involvement, including A-list stars such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Celebrity Scientologists act as beneficiaries of the church. They draw in new members and increase the religion’s status. However, many former celebrity Scientologists have left the group, and have spoken out about its dangers. Numerous individuals who have escaped or left Scientology reported allegations of abuse within the organization including physical violence, involuntary confinement, and violation of child labor laws. Scientology has been accused of separating families and banning familiar contact with non-Scientologists. Those who leave the organization are given the title “S.P.,” which stands for “suppressive person.” Scientologists are forbidden to have contact with any individual who has been labeled an S.P. Scientology has only been recognized as a religion in the U.S. since it received tax exempt status in 1993. However, this was largely due to the 1,200 law

He was not born into a particularly wealthy family. He went to war when he was in his 30’s. He fought in World War II, and claimed he got severely injured and that he “broke his back” and “went temporarily blind” according to his late wife Sara Northrup, (according to military war records he suffered from no such injuries). (Wright “Going”) After Hubbard had left the military, he wrote a book about how he healed himself at war from his (made-up) injuries and the practices he used to do it, otherwise known as Dianetics. The book made the bestseller list and stayed there for weeks, (Wright “Going”). People paid around $500 a person (equivalent to $5065.50 in 2016) to see Hubbard speak about his book. Many people, including Sara Northrup, his wife felt he was robbing people of money,(Wright “Going”). By 1952 Dianetics began to lose its popularity, and Hubbard had begun to crave the need for money (Wright “Going”). As a consequence, Hubbard created a religion called Scientology that incorporated the teachings of Dianetics. He made Scientology that for a price one could achieve a clear mind. Hubbard built an empire off of Scientology. Toward the end of his life, he was said to be worth $600 million dollars. (Wright “Going”) Hubbard used his influence on the members to get whatever he wanted. He had messengers, and a whole crew that provided him practically free labor. When he was accused of tax fraud in 1960’s by the International Revenue Service (IRS) he was able to flee with an whole group of people that were the ship’s crew practically free of charge. This group was/is called the sea organization, and they are technically the church’s clergy. (Wright “Going”) The Sea Org. would maintain Hubbard’s ship while he said he was on a “spiritual journey” in which he traveled all over the Mediterranean (late 60’s to early 70’s), during which he was still having the church send him thousands a week. He later returned to the

I believe the word religion itself is almost tied to the word tradition, and invokes the idea of historic, ancient because of how far major religions can trace their creation. Scientology itself came into existence or founded in December of 1953 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. I found it interesting just how much power Scientology seems to wield even though it is considered a minority religion. The body of scientology itself is majority Caucasian although I was unable to find a statistic that gave each individual ethnicity percentage. In my search for this data though I actually found what you could call a humble brag on Scientology’s part. Now, they claim these are statistical facts but I advise any who read this to take it with a grain of salt.

Unlike Christian Science, “in Scientology there is no belief in the Holy Bible, God, or Jesus Christ.” (“The Differences Between Scientology and Christian Science”). Christian Science and Scientology are not the same in anyway yet people still confuse the two.

L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology once said, “Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion” (Hubbard). Scientology is a relatively new religion compared to other religions that date back thousands of years.

The Church of Scientology is recognized as a religious institution. However, the church’s status as a religion is often debated due to the fact it fits the requirements to be a cult as well. Religious institutions and cults differ by a few major components. Such as, cults are run by a singular person, while religions are community run, and cults are frequently isolated and coercive, while religions are commonly integrated into modern life. Religion is, “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices” and “the service and worship of God or the supernatural” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). A cult is more focused on the worship of their establisher and is a “great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (such as a film or book)” that incorporates, “ a system of religious beliefs and rituals” into the devotion (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Scientology is structured solely around the worship of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the “religion”. Hubbard wrote books and created ideas that are worshiped by scientologists. Through Hubbards ideas and works of literature he created a dystopia like cult. With his six book on “knowing how to know” is the “God” of Scientology. Hubbard wanted his creation to be acknowledged as a religious institution and therefore receive all benefits that religions do. One of these benefits is tax exemption on properties. In order to receive tax exempt status the church of scientology fought for years.