What are your views on Scientology?

Question

Is it a religion or is it a cult? How do you define what and what isn't a religion?

Please, only sensible answers, I'm not in the mood for silly buggers this morning (or this afternoon!)

And is there any Scientologists out there on Y!A?

Answer 1

It is most certainly a cult. I can give you an overview so you can get a general idea and then give you several links to visit if you care to further your own personal research. By the way, I can link you to a site that very thoroughly describes what a cult is and what the qualifying criteria is:
http://www.cultinformation.org.uk/faq.html#cult

To understand why I'm assuring you that Scientology is a cult, I suggest clicking on the link I'm about to provide and then reading my overview for a better overall understanding.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070417053947AAZZTLc

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 members (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 these links for more information: http://www.lisamcpherson.org/
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/24/Tampabay/The_unperson.shtml
http://www.factnet.org/Books/SocialControl/scs.html#toc http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/s/scientology/pignotti/

Answer 2

As you have seen, dear questioner, there are Scientologists on Yahoo Answers. I also note that guys like "Zero Cool" are cutting & pasting their own agenda and searching / ranting on any questions associated with Scientology. Have you ever wondered why they rant and rail against Scientology and yet don't do so on other religious sites? Curious, huh? I agree with Michael that Scientology is based on the concept of help and making the able more able. Accusing the organizations of being a "cult" (look that word up for its actual meaning) or saying it's for money or blah blah blah is to miss the point completely. Tom Cruise is a good example of a man who's not afraid of media nonsense and states what he believes. I wish more people were honest and forthright. Thanks for this question. It's unfortunate the "silly buggers" got on your communication line. :)

In my opinion, you would define a religion by its involvement in spirituality and its recognition of a higher power. Belief that you are just a piece of dirt who lives for 60 or so years and then becomes fertilizer is not appealing.

Answer 3

Yes I'm a Scientologist !
And if you want to know my views on Scientology......well , it works for me. I stick with only those thruths that I personally can observe and experience
and I searched thro many religions and spiritual philosophies to find them.

As for this cult vs religion business.... the word CULT has deliberately been redefined in the last 50 years or so by western interests to give it a specific negative twist that it actually does not have, if you bother to look it up in a good dictionary. The root of this word comes from the word TO
CULTIVATE.

Scholastic criteria/definition for a religion :
1. A belief in some Ultimate Reality, such as a supreme or eternal truth that transcends the here and now of the secular world;
2. Religious practices directed towards understanding, attaining or communing with this Ultimate Reality; and
3. A community of believers who join together in pursuing this Ultimate Religion.
Based on these criteria, ever scholar who has examined Scientology has concluded that it has the required elements of a religion.

Regardless I personally couldn't care less about the various "labels" that get assigned to various concepts and conditions. I care about what works to improve life and living for myself and my fellow man and like I said..... it works for me.

P.S. I've never seen a lable do anything .

Answer 4

Hello Michael,

I commend you on all you are doing for your community.

A man or woman who has forgotten how to help is definitely on their way out. And one who fight against those who are helping are so far gone they can no longer see the truth.

Scientology is for able people to learn how to sort their lives out for themselves. It gives a person the ability to help.

I have studied and used Scientology for the past 7 years. Through the training, courses and counselling I have found I can be more myself. My understanding and love of people, the planet and God, Eternal Lifeforce or Infinity has increased dramatically. Any one who denies the fact that there is a greater force than the human body is pretty confused.

I volunteer every week teaching phonics and english at a social bettertment group(which is not a Scientology group).

I know it is not a cult, I have left and rejoined staff before, without problem. I will go back on staff again soon. I went to a bush fire zone in Victoria last year as a Scientologist and let a team of 18 in total. We were dressed in our Scientology Volunteer uniforms(yellow shirts and jackets), I had been instructed by my seniors not to display books or promote Scientology but to just get done what needs doing. We assisted fire fighters relax, helped serve meals, cleaned around the camp, set up tents, unloaded trucks and many other tasks around the Country Fire Authority Encampment. We were welcomed by the camp Commandant and left on good terms after 60 hours on site. Then we set up in the beer garden of a local hotel and continued to assist fire fighters and local people. We went to community meeting and from there to elderly residents houses to clean their gutters and remove flamable material from near their houses.

I trust that has given you some idea, of my point of view.

Answer 5

I don't know much about their ideas but I do notice that they only show interest in very, very rich people, and that it's all about money: money for their "courses", money for "treatment" to "get clear"-- money, money, money. I also know that Mr. Hubbard was a second-rate science fiction writer and that "Dianetics" was taken from a novel no one would publish. Scientology was already around in the 70's. About 15 yrs ago they were banned here in Spain as a scam organization (not even a cult, just a con), but mysteriously in the last yr or so they've opened offices here again.
They certainly show no interest in poorer followers.

Answer 6

Counterfeit Christianity is probably the best description I can give for a cult. Counterfeit Christianity is an imitation of real Christianity. Bible terms like "Jesus Christ, Resurrection, Salvation, and Atonement" are used by the Cult, but the various cult groups have assigned entirely different meanings to these terms.
Like counterfeit money which is sometimes difficult to detect, so it is difficult to detect counterfeit Christianity, since it looks like the real thing. Experts examining counterfeit money often hold it up to a strong light and look for identifying marks. Counterfeit Christianity also has identifying marks, which can be seen when, held up to an even stronger light, the light of God's word, the bible.
We are at an advantage if we know what to expect from a cult. Cultists are very well trained to appear "Christian", and indeed believe they are the true churches, and you need the deliverance! Therefore, be bold and ask the question, "do you believe the group you represent is the only true church on the face of the earth?"
If they reply that they are, or if they are evasive, making remarks like "Well, every church has a measure of truth but...", you have made an early detection of a Cultist.
Every true Christian, if asked the same question, regardless of his denomination, would reply that the true church is comprised of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, and HE (not some organization) is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, (John 14:6). No legitimate denomination would claim that they alone and their members have salvation exclusively, but the cults (the counterfeits) do.

Scientology believes in reincarnation and that personal salvation in one's lifetime is freedom from the cycle of birth and death associated with reincarnation. They believe that religious practice of all faiths is the universal way to wisdom, understanding, and salvation. On the other hand, the Bible teaches that there is only one way of salvation and that is through Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.

When one looks at the teaching of Scientology in comparison with the Bible, he will see that the two have little if anything in common. Scientology will only lead you away from God and eternal life, and the Bible will lead you to God and eternal life. There is nothing to gain by associating with scientology and everything to lose.

Answer 7

L.Ron.Hubbard is a lunatic.... or a genius! He concocted this book and then made everyone believe that what this once fictional book says is now true. And then starts making up rules and levels.

He actually said that the best way of making money is to create ur own religion... and then presto.... soon after created it! I mean seriously... if you honestly think that people are posessed by demonic spirits and that aliens are your salvation... oh yes.... then you have the galactic confederacy and barbaric practices such as the silent birth process.... i mean... this guy is a lunatic if he thinks that you can go through that much pain without speaking a word! I could go on, but honestly, its a waste of time, and so is this so called religion! Actually, its not a religion, its a joke... or a sci fi movie in the making..... honestly, i feel like someone is about to jump out and scream something like "the prank's on you!" btw its evening over here (Perth- Australia)

Answer 8

I don't think human beings should define what a religion is just because they don't take it seriously. Technically, I think scientology is totally false but I'm not going to go around saying it isn't a religion because I barely even understand it enough to make many judgments about it. Frankly, I reallly don't care if its a religion or not.

Answer 9

I agree with Mia. It's no more cultish than Christianity with its umpteenth denominations and fighting amongst each other. You hear Christians give hate speeches all the time against homosexuals, women wanting abortions, people of faith other than their own.....the worst I've heard from a Scientologist is when Tom Cruise said he thought Brooke Shields wasn't using good judgement by promoting Prozac in her book...he said this after he was SPECIFICALLY asked his opinion on it... so my views on it would be that it's certainly no worse than any of the other Western religions..

Answer 10

You can see information of what Scientology is and does on the following information

Answer 11

Cult. Religion attempts to follow a god. Scientology attempts to follow made up aliens.