Since its findings in 1954, Scientology has been under fire about some controversies about the way it dealt with the way people criticized the church, the mistreatment of some of its members and much more. Before we try to understand why there were such scrutiny about Scientology and the way that which it is ran, we must first find out understand, “what is Scientology?” and “Why does the media portray it as ‘bad’?”. Scientology was founded by L. Ron Hubbard in 1954, and one of its goals was “…to be a path leading to complete and certain understanding of one’s true spiritual nature and one’s relationship to self, family, groups, Mankind, all life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the Supreme Being.” (Scientology Website). Much like many religions, Scientology wants to address the body, but contrary to most religions, it does not wish to address the spirit or mind. Scientology holds all man to be good, and that his total spiritual salvation depends on himself, his fellow man and his ability to be one with the universe. Scientology does not ask its followers to believe in anything on just faith alone. Scientology wants its believes to believe on truth and experiencing the results. “Scientology is something that one does, not what one believes in.” (Scientology Website). Scientology is comprised of fundamental truths, which are: Man is an immortal spiritual being; His experience extends well beyond a single lifetime; His capabilities are unlimited, even
Scientology has claimed itself as a religion where “something one does, not something one believes in.” This newly founded and increasingly growing religion has established itself through its numerous beliefs and extensive practices, but also involves its members in ceremonies and holidays.
The beginning of the scientology community began in the year 1953 when they created The Church of Scientology (Hubbard, Ron). This religion today is still considered to be one of the newest religions to this current date because science is constantly changing in our world and we are always making new discovery’s that change are view of the world and help back up the scientology community. Scientology effects humans psychological and spiritual aspect of life (Hubbard, Ron). The practice and belief of Scientology is considered to be very taboo in the United States. The reason it is considered to be so Taboo is because it goes against one of the largest religion’s in the United States which is based off belief while scientology is being based
I had watched the South Park episode and thought the idea of the religion was absurd. Through my research I have realized Scientology is even more ridiculous than I thought. Not only does the religion contradict itself multiple times on whether or not it is a religion or not, but it also makes speaking out against it nearly impossible. I had to leave out over half of my research because I did not even want to explain some of the crazy procedures Scientology has used. I focused on the shunning of legitimate science because it made the religion sound a little less weird, still really weird just not so much. While spending hours watching their indoctrination materials I was constantly harassed to take a “free personality test, to discover my real self.” This was very annoying. Not only am I afraid that the Church of Scientology website gave my computer a virus, but I am also mildly concerned that somehow this religion will be spying on me. In conclusion Scientology is even more bizarre than I originally
Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Juliette Lewis, Jenna Elfman, and many more have one thing in common, these celebrities are all affiliated with the religion of Scientology. Scientology is a unique and controversial religion that offers a precise path leading to a complete and certain understanding of one's true spiritual nature and one's relationship to self, family, groups, mankind, all life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the Supreme Being. The Church of Scientology is a non denominational religion that was established in 1954. The founder of Scientology Lafayette Ronald Hubbard did not intrude on anyone faiths or beliefs, but based his religion on his thoughts and teachings that all human beings are immortal spiritual
The Church Of Scientology claims to offer a path of self-betterment and spiritual enlightenment through a precise protocol that heals the body and spirit. In reality, Scientology is an opportunistic organization that methodically targets, recruits, and exploits people, particularly highly vulnerable individuals. The Church of Scientology reaches out to these potential members through a robust collection of programs designed to help the general population. Though these programs have been defended as social programs that have little to no religious content, they are “front” programs for things such as drug abuse, self-help programs, psychiatry and mental health initiatives, and educational outreach. These front programs are touted as “salves for people’s emotional wounds,” but these same persons are recruited for the churches financial gain (Spohrer pg. 108). WikiLeaks has reported dozens of front companies attached to Scientology with topics ranging anywhere from office management to homeschool training programs. Three of the more well-known organizations are Narconon, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, and Practice Manage Consulting. Each one of these has its own way of preying on weakness and gaining both money and membership.
Scientologists believe that a “thetan,” or spirit, will never die and thus they will be able to fulfill their commitment. The Sea Organization is a large project created to “Clear the Planet.” Scientologists who join believe that after this planet is “cleared” there will be other planets in the universe in need of “clearing” (the term clearing meaning to convert to Scientology). Sea Organizations were given the nickname “Orgs” and they can be considered the churches of Scientology. Every single one of these Orgs must have a beautifully decorated, furnished and unused private office. These offices would be for the use of L. Ron Hubbard only. They must be present in all Orgs, even ones in need for space. The purpose of these Offices would be to accommodate Hubbard on the chance that he might visit. Hubbard was not expected to visit, but the offices would still need to be there for the chance that it still could happen. Thus, Scientologists cater to Hubbard’s needs so much that it is unnatural in any religion that claims to worship One God, as Scientology does. Furthermore, the beliefs of Scientologists may be questioned due to their ranking system. Scientology redefined the term “ethics” as a condition in the religion. This means that when one becomes a Scientologist, they are given their “ethics condition” and those assigned a low condition (which is anything below normal) need to work their way to the top. The conditions are as follows from highest
The church of Scientology has been the subject of controversy since its inception. Its methods and beliefs have attracted the attention of scholars from around the world. The church has been under government investigation and has endured a countless amount of lawsuits (Reitman 14). It is also a hot topic by the media with several endorsements by some of the most recognized Hollywood celebrities. However, the main topic of debate regarding the Church of Scientology is its status as a religion. Some members claim that the church has helped them overcome their struggles and that they are happier people, while others condemn it as a dangerous cult (Sweeney). The church of Scientology is a religious group whose purpose is to retain their
Scientology is a religious system based on the seeking of self-knowledge and spiritual fulfillment through graded courses of study and training (“Scientology”). Scientology was founded in 1954, by Lafayette Ronald Hubbard. A man who wrote and published Dianetics, which is the equivalent of the Bible in Christianity. The church’s beliefs and practices are based off of Dianetics, and the teachings of Hubbard. Scientologists say they believe that through religious training such as auditing and spending time at the church they will reach a state of clear, as well as recall past lives (Wright 2013). Auditing is when church members specifically know as auditors, to first listen and give counsel to members of the church, second help the members
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?
Many people have heard of the revolutionary new religious practice called Scientology. However, the majority of people who have heard of it, have little knowledge of the principles and practices behind the religion. In fact, there is a dark side behind Scientology, and much speculation that the religion is a brainwashing cult. Many people are opposed to the religion because of its secretiveness, its extreme methods of teaching and its alleged use of mind control.
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.
The Church of Scientology, founded in 1954, tested the limits of defining a religion. L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, founded the Church insisting that “The ultimate goal of Scientology is true spiritual enlightenment and freedom for all” (The Church of Scientology). His works seduced audiences by talking about the ability to achieve a perfect world. A world with the elimination of drugs, crime and angst. These ideals have attracted famous people like John Travolta and Tom Cruise. Scientology serves as a segway to this perfect free world. Hana Whitfield, a former Scientologist, claimed that Hubbard’s goal included “creating a religion where he could get income, but the government would not take it away
Scientology has a lot of kinds of beliefs. One of the basic beliefs that scientology has is that experience is saved in the brain as à series of memory traces named engrams. These engrams can cause negative behavior such as, self-dating. Engrams can keep happening if à person is going through hard times, for example: When à relative passes away, à person needs to stop thinking about the situation of someone’s death; otherwise, the engrams are going to reinforced and recur. One of the purpose of scientology is to make people clear when it comes to engrams,and also become more self-determining. Scientologists believe that engrams are not beneficial for people, so they try to prevent them by not thinking about hard situations that can recur. The
Scientologists also believe in salvation, and salvations occur when à person goes through the practices and techniques of scientology. According to theparthway.com “Salvation is the enlightenment of thetans (immortal souls) as to their true nature and abilities” this quote explains that, the goal is to become à person who can control their own selves such as, their emotions,thoughts,beliefs,etc.The ultimate goal for salvation is to recognize one’s self as an immortal spirit(Thetan).The way scientologists increase their salvation is through the increments of mental awareness, or clearness. When scientologists control life,thought,energy and time; they are known as operating thetan. When à scientologist is seen as minister or assistant of others
Scientology is similar to many religions that exist today, but they also separate themselves from any other religion as well. The book sheds light on all these similarities and differences starting on their founder, Ron L. Hubbard. Hubbard was a pulp science fiction writer who wrote out his own history with long dramatized inserts. He built scientology’s theology on myths he conjured up in his head and found himself believing them as well as millions other the religions claims. The idea itself is said to have occurred 75 million years ago in what Hubbard calls the Galactic Confederacy, where an evil lord named Xenu sent humans souls referred to as Thetans to earth in space planes to then inhabit human infant bodies. These Thetans were the evil