Scientology, fact or fiction?

Question

I just watched a Pamorama episode about scientology and they portrayed it as almost cult like. The people from the scientologists who were policing the filming were brash and over bearing and wouldn't let the journalist have his say. Is this the real scientology? With them trying to get it recognised as a religion in the UK should we be worried?

Answer 1

Cult. Definitely a cult.

Scientology, which questionably calls itself a new "religion", is the brainchild of science fiction writer & occult enthusiast L. Ron Hubbard. The organization, by means of Hubbard’s self created psychotherapy technique called “Dianetics”, 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).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics#Scientific_evaluations
Dianetics review: http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2005/06/28/dianetics/index.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,812852,00.html

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 millions 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 during everyday life. They don’t recognize legitimate conditions like autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc, and the “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from member (often with harmful & 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 started by a science fiction writer who used to take excursions on boats out in the ocean with young boys. A child molesting science fiction writer, would you want to join that club? Yes, they are a cult, and regardless of the population of their celebrity following, they are way off center. Celebrity endorsement does not mean it's right, safe or normal. The majority of celebs join up for drug rehabilitation or a "spin doctor" to get them out of some ruckus they have caused. It is a clique just like any other strange group of people. For the love of Mike, they think our emotions come from dead aliens who were dropped into a volcano by an evil alien dictator who flew them all in a space ship hovering over the earth - sound like a science fiction author to you? Some of the members are very good people, and would probably be anyway if they had sought their drug rehabilitation elsewhere, but they give credit to their "church" rather than their own generosity for their fellow man/woman. Yes, be very, very afraid.

Answer 3

I had a friend who lookedinto Scientology, but it wasn't for her. She could not get away from them. They used the same tactics as Hitlers Brown Shirt squads did in 1930's Germany to get and keep people in line. It is a cult of the worst order.

Answer 4

Trying to find out about a religion by watching a TV show , particularly a "News" program is a dodgey proposition.
Most news is designed to create "worry, alarm and or contraversy" whether any exists or not..The stories are written before the journalists even arrive on the scene in many cases and the footage is cut and edited to fit with the "story". Panorama in no exception.
I could tell you what Scientology is, since I do know about it after 35 years of being one (I was staff with the London Church from 1972 to 1981). The UK is lagging behind in terms of religious recognition and has quite a history of problems with religious tolerance in general.
But it's best to find out for yourself from the source. Especially if watching this TV show has caused you to worry.Though I can't come up with anything that you should be worried about.
What you will get from this forum is mostly tainted with same media and internet disinformation however.

Just for the record here are some actual facts about it:

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.

Answer 5

That's how Scientology works. You should see how they 'defend' themselves when one of the ex-followers takes them to court.

Answer 6

You should be worried when any religion tries to worm it's way into you lifestyle and begin telling you what it decided is what you should believe is right or wrong.

Answer 7

Complete fiction made up by a man that eventuality went mad.

Answer 8

a Dangerous cult...

http://usminc.org/scientology.html

Answer 9

A fact that practices it's own fiction.

Answer 10

Funny, but true information about $cientology:
http://www.zipperfish.com/free/yaafm11.php

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Answer 11

Abso-F%$kin'-lutely be scarred.

PLEASE Watch these two video you won't regret it....

SCIENTOLOGY KILLS:
http://theunfunnytruth.ytmnd.com/

SCIENTOLOGY BELIEFS/VERY FUNNY:
http://www.zipperfish.com/free/yaafm11.php