I know nothing about Scientology. What's this about?

Question

NOTE: I'm certainly NOT interesting in becoming this, just like to learn about the religions of others.

Answer 1

Part of Speech: noun
Definition: a controversial belief system developed by L. Ron Hubbard, based on a person being an immortal spiritual being whose survival depends on him/herself and his/her attainment of brotherhood with others and the universe
Etymology: literally 'knowing how to know'
Usage: trademark

Answer 2

I want to clarify that the story of Xeno is just a fable and no Scientologist believe it to be true. In fact most Scientologist I have meet haven't even heard the story. Scientology is much like Buddhism but instead of meditation the use auditing with the same goal and better results. In Scientology what is true for you is what you yourself observe to be true. So u can believe in Jesus, Mahoma or Buddha. It doesn't matter as lond as it is your own decision.
Here is a link from the US Navy that explains Scientology.
http://www.chaplaincare.navy.mil/Scientology.htm
Here is a couple of links from college studies.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~nurelweb/papers/irving/scient.html
http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/Richardson/index.htm
http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/Berglie/
Also there is a lot of good info in belief.com
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8057_1.html

Answer 3

This is what Scientologists ACTUALLY believe:

Xenu was an alien ruler of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of people to Earth in spacecrafts resembling Douglas DC-8 airliners, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Their souls then clustered together and stuck to the bodies of the living. The alien souls continue to do this today, causing a variety of physical ill-effects in modern-day humans. L. Ron Hubbard (a science-fiction writer and the creator of Scientology) called these clustered spirits "Body Thetans," and the advanced levels in Scientology place considerable emphasis on isolating them and neutralizing their ill effects.

To rid ourselves of "Body Thetans", we have to go through "auditing" with a member of the “church” who uses an "e-meter" to measure our “reactive mind” in order to clear our mind of “engrams” (past negative experiences stored in our unconscious mind) so that we can become “clear”...... and we have to pay lots and lots and lots of money to take courses on Scientology to advance to higher “levels” in the “church”. The “church” has also taken a very hostile stance towards psychiatry and psychiatric drugs irrespective of the fact that some people require medication to remain adequately functional in everyday life and has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from member (with deadly results).

Scientology is undeniably a cult.

Every cult can be defined as a group having all of the following five characteristics:

1. It uses psychological coercion to recruit, indoctrinate and retain its members
2. It forms an elitist totalitarian society.
3. Its founder leader is self-appointed, dogmatic, messianic, not accountable and has charisma.
4. It believes 'the end justifies the means' in order to solicit funds & recruit people.
5. Its wealth does not benefit its members or society.

Are Cults Harmful?

To remain within the strict mental and social confines of a cult for even a short time can have the following disastrous effects:

Loss of choice and free will. Diminished intellectual ability, vocabulary and sense of humor. Reduced use of irony, abstractions and metaphors. Reduced capacity to form flexible and intimate relationships. Poor judgment. Physical deterioration. Malnutrition. Hallucinations, panic, dissociation, guilt, identity diffusion and paranoia. Neurotic, psychotic or suicidal tendencies.

Watch this very revealing video that will, in about 4-5 minutes, show you EXACTLY what Scientology is all about: http://theunfunnytruth.ytmnd.com/

Answer 4

The only way you find out is by going there.

First it's reading and learning the principles of Dianetics by L Ron Hubbard

There there is buy a machine (a sort of galvonic skin responce meter) that checks you for nasty bugs (shade of Star Wars little lipds that generate the force).

Then you gotta train.

THey like you to move in to their apartments and pay them rent.

Answer 5

Nothing, Try Christianity

Answer 6

Sounds like brainwashing

Answer 7

www.xenu.net
L Ron Hubbard wanted to make money so he started a religion.

Answer 8

a total crock. recommend reading this http://www.xenu.net/ or watching this http://www.scientomogy.com/southpark_scientology.php

Answer 9

The Church of Scientology.
A do-it-yourself salvation, science fiction group that masquerades as the true Church, lightly sprayed with a thin veneer of Christianity. Seeks to destroy through litigation and character assassination those who speak out against the group

According to texts published by the Church of Scientology and its web page pertaining primarily to its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, always referred to as L. Ron by Scientologists, experienced early in his life the many facets of the human mind. At the age of 12, he learned from Commander Joseph C. Thompson, who was the first military official to study under Sigmund Freud in Vienna, Austria, the theory of psychoanalysis.
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was born in 1911. His father worked for the Navy which meant Hubbard moved quite often during his early years. Some of his childhood was spent in the British West Indies where he would pick up a phrase that is still heard today inside Scientology. The British colonialists would disdainfully refer to the locals as "worthy Oriental gentlemen" or wogs. Hubbard later used the phrase "wog" to describe anyone who isn't a Scientologist.
Hubbard attended college at George Washington University for 2 years.
Later in life, Hubbard would make claims about his educational background which were at great odds with his college records.
Hubbard supported himself by writing fiction. He gradually began to specialize in science fiction for pulp magazines and books but also wrote westerns, fantasies and adventure stories. Writing for the pulps was neither prestigious or profitable. The magazines paid a penny a word for their stories, perhaps contributing to the excessive verbiage of Hubbard's writing style
In World War II he had an undistinguished career in the Navy, later severely inflating his accomplishments. Scientology perpetuates many of the myths about Hubbard's military involvement. Near the end of his service Hubbard was at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, suffering from ulcers and minor pains. Hubbard enhanced this to being "crippled and blinded" and later claimed to have healed himself using the precursor practices to dianetics.
After the war Hubbard settled in for a time with Jack Parsons, a follower of occultist Aleister Crowley. Hubbard would later call Crowley his "dear, old friend" in a Scientology audiotaped lecture.
Hubbard left Parson's estate with Parson's girlfriend, Sara Northrup. Hubbard married Sara in 1946, making Hubbard a bigamist having not bothered to divorce his current wife Margaret who was unaware of these new adventures.
To fellow writers, Hubbard once reportedly stated that "writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wanted to make a million dollars, the best way to do it would be start his own religion." Soon Hubbard was to do just that as his self help book, "Dianetics, the Modern Science of Mental Health" gave way to Scientology.
Hubbard was also influenced by his many world journeys to exotic locales, thus gaining an appreciation for Eastern philosophies rooted in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. His studies in mathematics, engineering, and nuclear physics at George Washington University generated a scientific background to his beliefs in the human mind, although his studies did not earn him a degree. As a naval officer during World War II, he suffered injuries that he claims, left him blind and crippled. During his recovery, he once again examined Freudian psychoanalytical theory and Eastern philosophies. He credits the eventual cure of his disabilities to his findings about the human mind during this time, findings that became the central elements of a religious doctrine he later called Dianetics. 2 His dabbling in the occult world and magjic also broadened his ideas. Hubbard was involved with occultist Jack Parsons in performing rites developed by Aleister Crowley
An article on Dianetics was featured in the May 1950 issue of the popular magazine Astounding Science Fiction. The appearance of the article, coupled with the publication of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health prompted a popular interest, particularly by those seeking an alternative to expensive sessions of psychotherapy, in the doctrine of Hubbard. In response to public demand, he founded the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation in late 1950.
The biography of L. Ron Hubbard portrayed officially by the Church of Scientology is often ridiculed by critics for alleged inaccuracies. For example, sociologist Roy Wallis cites court transcripts contradicting claims of Hubbard's status as a George Washington University student in his book The Road to Total Freedom. In an unusual twist, Wallis' book includes an appendix written by sociologist-and Scientologist-Jerry Simmons, which refutes much of what Wallis claims. There are, in fact, many who have challenged the accuracy of the official bibliography. One doesn't have to look very hard on the Internet for examples. Paulette Cooper, a well-known Scientology apostate published her book entitled The Scandal of Scientology on-line. It devotes a full chapter to identifying claimed discrepancies and accuracies in the official biography.
The Church of Scientology often retaliates against what it says are false claims about Mr. Hubbard's biography. For example, in response to a series of articles published by the Boston Herald (whose link was unavailable at the time of the creation of this web page), they distributed a pamphlet entitled The Boston Herald: Merchant of Sensationalism. 5 This rebuttal claims to address the inaccuracies of the articles-particularly those pertaining to the life of L. Ron Hubbard and the beliefs of Scientology.

Answer 10

ask wikipedia not me!