Scientology begins

Identification Religious organization

Date Established in 1954

A controversial organization since its founding, Scientology is a wholly original religion that was created during the 1950s..

Since science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard founded the Church of Scientology in 1954, the organization has been a controversial movement that survives on the boundaries of religion, psychology, and science and yet does not fall fully into any of these categories. As is the case with many religious cults, the membership of Scientology is composed of different layers of commitment and is difficult to define. While the total number of members of the church appears to be small, the organization has exercised an influence disproportionate to its size.

The basic text of Scientology is Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, a book written by Hubbard in 1950. The text describes a concept called “engram,” a term Hubbard coined to refer to unconscious memories of pain. According to Hubbard, engrams are forms of “wrong awareness” that cause people to act in irrational, self-defeating ways.

Engrams

Hubbard’s writings describe a therapeutic technique called “auditing,” which he claimed can bring engrams to the conscious level so that they can be “cleared.” This therapeutic technique requires human auditors and a machine called the Hubbard Electrometer. The human auditors act as therapists and the machine functions as a kind of lie detector for registering emotional reactions to particular words. Scientologists believe that when all one’s engrams are “disempowered,” one reaches a state of “clear.” All physical and emotional pain is then released from the life.

A more advanced concept of a state of “clear” called Operating Thetan (OT) appeared in Scientology as early as the mid-1950s. A person who achieves OT is believed to be capable of operating independently of his or her body. This refers to attaining a form of magical power. This concept of OT has provided Scientology with a category for organizing its membership. The status of individual followers in the organization is defined by the levels of OT they have attained.

Scientology offers training courses in auditing to its followers and outside participants. It thus functions like a therapeutic group. Its identity as a religious organization is marginal. While its organization is very much the same as many new religions, this group rarely uses traditional theological language or categories. Nonetheless, it has a recognizable theology that renders its religious and supernatural image in the public.

Criticism

Scientology has drawn hostile criticism since its beginning years. Its relation with society has always been in tension. The ethics of Scientology includes a “Table of Conditions” that prescribes desirable and undesirable interpersonal relationships. Two categories of people are defined as offenders. They are those who attempt to suppress Scientology and those who maintain contact with the suppressors. Scholars have commented that the Conditions have been used as a means to defend its organization and demand loyalty from its followers.

Scientology does not accuse longer-established religious traditions of having incomplete revelations or inadequate theologies. In contrast to most other religious cults, Scientology allows its members to be involved in any of the established religious traditions and thus maintain dual memberships. Despite this stance, controversy has always been a part of the history and identity of Scientology.

Members of the medical and scientific professions have criticized its claim that psychiatry and psychology are inherently harmful and the principles of Scientology are more helpful for overcoming mental illness and addiction. Many believe that this is preventing members from receiving medical help that they may need, leading to the possibility of hurting themselves or others. Another issue is that members of the church are charged for auditing sessions and study materials and often must pay thousands of dollars to advance through the OT levels, yet many countries recognize the church as a tax-exempt religious entity rather than a business. The church's pursuit of wealthy celebrities and popularity in Hollywood further contributes to Scientology's image of being out for a profit.

Furthermore, it was once the case that the more science-fiction-like aspects of the religion, such as the idea that people's souls come from other planets and that members can eventually gain psychic powers, were not revealed to members until they reached a high OT level (at which point they had already paid the church a significant amount of money). Some felt that hiding these fairly central tenets of the religion from new and prospective members was deceptive. However, with the advent of the Internet, the church has had greater difficulty maintaining secrecy about these beliefs.

Many former Scientologists have been publicly critical of the church. High-profile ex-Scientologists such as director, screenwriter, and producer Paul Haggis and actor Jason Beghe have given numerous interviews about their reasons for leaving the organization, both citing Scientology's policy of "disconnection" from non-Scientologist friends and family as a major issue; Haggis also criticized the church's support of California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state. Others, such as Kate Bornstein, a writer and activist, and Jenna Miscavige Hill, niece of church head David Miscavige, have written memoirs about their time in the church and the alleged exploitation and abuse they witnessed or experienced. The 2015 documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief interviewed eight former Scientologists, who alleged that the church had harrassed and spied on former members, imprisoned and abused current members, and prevented celebrity members from leaving the organization by threatening blackmail. The church responded by smearing the personal character of the interviewees and blocking the film's broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland by threatening lawsuits. Some non-Scientologist critics also commented that the film provided a one-sided view coming from a small number of people, although it was generally well received.

Impact

Despite its controversial status, Scientology has survived more than fifty years. It has remained active into the twenty-first century, with a number of famous members and widespread official recognition as a religion. Over time it has become less litigious—as of 2015, no high-profile court cases had been brought by the church against critics since 1999—though its response to criticism remains fairly hostile.

Bibliography

Corydon, Bent. L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman. Rev. ed. Fort Lee: Barricade, 1996. Print.

Garrison, Omar V. The Hidden Story of Scientology. New York: Citadel, 1974. Print.

Hill, Jenna Miscavige, and Lisa Pulitzer. Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape. New York: Morrow, 2013. Print.

Lamont, Stewart. Religion Inc.: The Church of Scientology. Edinburgh: Harrap, 1986. Print.

Reitman, Janet. Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion. New York: Houghton, 2011. Print.

Urban, Hugh B. The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2011. Print.

Wright, Lawrence. Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief. New York: Vintage, 2013. Print.