what is scientology?

Question

what is this scientology thingy, a new religion? and i heard it costs you a lot. what do they do? and how has scientology evolved?

Answer 1

Scientology, which questionably calls itself a new "religion", is the brainchild of science fiction writer & occult enthusiast L. Ron Hubbard. The organization claims to be able to help rid members of any & all mental constraints including but not limited to emotional scarring (from this & "past" lives) due to "engrams" (past negative experiences stored in our unconscious mind), psychological disorders & chemical imbalances (the solution is to convince members that these things don't actually exist) & drug dependence (including legally prescribed psychopharmaceuticals which counteract the effects of psychological disorders Scientologists believe to be nonexistent).

The official Scientology organization is composed of a number of “levels”. One begins as a “preclear” & works their way up. One must purchase virtually every service crucial to advancement directly from the "church" & at staggering prices. "Auditing", for example, is purchased in 12½ hour blocks, costing anywhere from $750 for introductory sessions to between $8,000 & $9,000 for advanced sessions. Visit this link to see how $380,000 is a conservative estimate for the total cost of moving all the way up the Scientology hierarchal ladder: http://www.xenu.net/archive/prices.html
These are the total costs for auditing alone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_as_a_business#Costs
Here’s an explanation of what “auditing” is: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061224182319AA2nnd6

At level OT III (Operating Thetan 3), some very strange & fiercely guarded secrets are imparted upon worthy members who have paid enough money to advance to such a level (and no, this isn't a joke): the evil alien ruler Xenu killed a lot of aliens (Thetans) from around the universe by kidnapping them, bringing them to earth in golden DC-8 “space-planes” & blowing them up inside volcanoes with hydrogen bombs. Scientologists believe the souls of these aliens (these souls are "Body Thetans") were captured, brainwashed & released; they then attached themselves to our ancestors (who passed them all the way down to us) & cause many of our mental & physical ills to this day. Auditing is said to “clear” us of these Body Thetans as well as the “mental implants” they supposedly impose on our minds. http://sf.irk.ru/www/ot3/spaink-ot3.html http://xenu.net/archive/leaflet/Xenu-Letter.pdf

Scientology has taken a very hostile stance towards psychiatry & psychiatric drugs irrespective of the fact that some people require medication to remain adequately functional in everyday life. The “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from member (with deadly results). Suspiciously, it was discovered upon Hubbard’s death that the anti-anxiety drug hydroxyzine (Vistaril™) was present in his body, which several of his assistants would later attest was only one of many psychiatric & pain medications Hubbard ingested over the years. http://www.clambake.org/archive/ronthenut/16.gif
(visit this link to read about the uses of hydroxyzine: http://www.drugs.com/mtm/v/vistaril.html )

To be blunt, Scientology is a cult. It employs semi-legitimate psychotherapy & self-help methods to keep people loyal & convinced of its merit while it simultaneously sucks them dry financially & attempts to keep them far away from ANYONE, even friends & family, who would dissuade them from remaining in such a harmful situation. It’s a particularly greedy as well as manipulative & dangerous cult that takes its anti-psychiatry fanaticism to deadly limits. See this link for more information: http://www.lisamcpherson.org/

Answer 2

It was created by a psychologist who believed that the mind controlled everything. This is true. If you believe you are successful, you will be successful. Books were written, but the sales of the books were miserable.

People did not need books to make them better, they needed an organization they could join where others would tell them what to do to become a better person.

So the man who wrote scientology, created a church. Now it is a big money-making business. No different than any other religion. A small group of people telling people who are afraid of life, what to do, what to think.

Answer 3

"Scientology is the "official name Church of Scientology, religio-scientific movement developed in the United States in the 1950s by the author L. Ron Hubbard (1911-86). Its forerunner was Dianetics, a form of psychotherapy originated by Hubbard and later incorporated into Scientology." - Encyclopaedia Britannica

Answer 4

Here's factual description for you:
Scientology is an applied religious philosophy. When I say "applied" I mean you actually use it in your life to change or improve existing conditions. It is a very practical religion.
All religions if you learn about them have a basic philosphy, but they also have certain dogma, rituals and observances, and a certain faith or belief is required. There is nothing wrong with this, but Scientology is not that kind of religion. It does not intrude on anyones faiths of beliefs in the area of God , the Supreme Being, or the Infinite. This area is left totally up to the indivdual as pasrt of his life. It does not conflict.
You can have no specific religious beliefs and still benefit from it.
And it is only true for you according to your own observation and experience with it.
It is also not a messianic religion. This means there is no worship of messiahs in Scientology. There are no “beliefs” as such because a truth should be according to ones own observation and experience.
The dictionary definition that applies:
Religion: The spiritual or emotional attitude of one who recognises the existence of superhuman power or powers.

The most basic principle of Scientology is that YOU are your own immortal soul, that this is not a "thing" you HAVE but what YOU actually are.
The whole purpose of Scientology is to increase an individual's understanding and awareness of himself. and lifeAnd thereby his native abilities .
When you do this the sphere and zone of his positive influence increases and moves outward into his life, his family ,his friends, his groups and mankind which he is part of.

How this result is achieved is the "technology" of Scientology, which was developed by L.Ron Hubbard after his extensive research and the discoveries he made, about the human spirit. The basic religious philosophy and knowledge of Scientology is very old, going back 10,000 years at least to the Veda or Vedic Hymns from the East. L. Ron Hubbard researched and made new discoveries about the human spirit. He developed technology from these discoveries to apply to increase spiritual awareness and ability.
He completed his research before his death in 1986 and left all of his results and copyrights
to the Church of Scientology along with most of his considerable personal estate, when he died.

He published a book in 1951 to communicate the basic principles he discovered called: " Scientology The Fundementals of Thought"
There are currently over 10 million Scientologists in more than 163 countries world wide. However we are a new religion, only 53 years old.
The true story of Scientology as a religion goes like this:
1. A philosopher developes a philosophy about life and death.
2. People find it interesting.
3. People find it works.
4. People pass it along to others.
5. It grows.

This is just an overview.
L. Ron Hubbard explained fully the theology and technologies of Scientology in more than 500,000 pages of writings, including dozens of books and over 2,000 tape-recorded public lectures. So it's not possible to fully answer your question on this forum,
but I hope this helps.

Answer 5

Ron Hubbard, a successful science fiction writer, figured out how he could make a whole lot more money while avoiding taxes, so he made up his scientology, and called it a religion. He ropes people into taking free psychological tests, then shows them how they desperately need certain personal development courses to keep them from doing soemthing crazy like committing suicide or something. From those courses he ropes them into others, saying they need help. Each of those courses costs a whole lot of money. And he doesn't pay a cent of taxes!

Answer 6

You won't get REAL answers on here. You should check out http://scientology.org to find the answers.

On here there are just a bunch of Yo Yo's waiting for someone to ask a Scientology questions so that can pound on it.

Answer 7

It's this cult that a science fiction writer names L. Ron Hubbard started up. It is popular in Hollywood among a lot of the femine actors like Tom Cruise and John Travolta. They supply them with wives to help their public image while they give a lot of money to the "church" in return.

You would end up taking a bunch of classes about your inner child and learning about the space ship and stuff like that.

Answer 8

A scam cult. You actually have to pay hundreds to thousands of dollars just to be a member. They also use brainwashing techniques like making you sit still in a chair for hours without moving. Disturbing behavior. But the naive will always deceive themselves.

Answer 9

This is one crazy cult. My sister was a Scientologist before she joined another cult (the Mormons) and she asked to borrow $5000 off my credit card to pay them! They put her into some major debt.

Answer 10

BS thats what it is.
A pyramid scheme developed by some guy named L Ron Hubbard I think.

Basically you pay dues in order to learn more about the religion while the guy on top becomes rich.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPol_m8wm8Y

This basically sums it up.

Answer 11

It is a religion that has its roots deep in the church of satan, with a large helping of science fiction thrown in for good measure. It is largely a cash cow for the church leaders and token celebrities.

Oddly enough it is very similar to christianity:
People pay tons of money to belong (tithing if you will)
The belief system is a completely unprovable fantasy
Both systems use threats (hell for christians, lawsuits for scientologists) to keep their flock in line.