Scientology?

Question

Could someone explain to me how scientology works? isn't it a type of religion? i know that tom cruise is a scientologist but im not exactly sure what sort of rituals are taken part in and what they believe..

Answer 1

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_evaluation_and_criticisms
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”, stacking them around volcanoes & blowing them up by dropping “h-bombs” into the volcanoes. Scientologists believe the souls of these aliens (these souls are "Body Thetans") were captured, brainwashed & released; they then attached themselves to our ancestors (and according to Scientology’s belief in Thetan immortality, they also attached to us during “past lives”) & 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://www.spaink.net/cos/essays/atack_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://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/07/01/sci_psy/index_np.html?pn=1
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.xenu.net/archive/personal_story/funkydonny.html

Answer 2

You can find out for yourself, there's a lot written about it.
But the short answer is that it is a cult at the moment. And the chances of it becoming a religion are pretty slim as there are far more organised systems of thought involved in major religions.
It boils down to standard self help stuff that actually often works for its adherents, especially if they are into self aggrandising, the story that is associated with it is just a standard dime novel science fiction story, and not a very good one.
Maybe someone has answered fully, but basically there's a volcano, spacemen, and a mother ship going to come along and save the thetans.

Answer 3

Scientology is a fairly average religion consisting of the same morals you will find in any religion. People tend to scapegoat it and point out the strange mythology... which by the way no Scientologists actually consider part of the religion.

Please do not judge the religion as a whole off one somewhat naive actor. If a person seriously thinks that Scientology is any less valid or sensible than any other religion I suggest they break out of the little box they're living in.

edit: though if you have any interest in becoming a Scientologist, I highly recommend you stay the hell away from the church of Scientology. Like the Catholic Church before the Reformation, it is corrupt and makes the religion as a whole look bad.

Answer 4

Here's some factual information 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.
It is also not a messianic religion. This means there is no worship of prophets or messiahs in Scientology. It is not faith based. A truth should be true 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 life.And to rehabilitate his native goodness, abilities and potential.
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.

Answer 5

Ok that's is a dificult one to answer.
Scientology works by observations done by self, about self, life and others. In many processes a guide gives you a series of questions and in anwsering those question the individual discover things. The trick is that the individual must find those answer for him self, no hint is given to him.
In fact it is a high crime in Scientology for anyone to tell anyone what to think or what to believe in. In Scientology it is YOU that do the exploring, YOU that do the observations and YOU come up with your own conclusion.
Scientology means “knowing how to know” and follows a tradition of 10,000 years in the study of life and the spirit. Scientology earliest ancestor is the Veda (the Veda means knowingness or sacred lore) continued with the Tao-The-king (also known as Taoism and it means “the way to solving the mystery which underlines all mysteries”) continued by the Dhyana (that means knowingness or lookingness), continued by the works of Gautama Sakyamuni also know as Gautama Buddha (a Buddha or Bodhi is one that has attained intellectual and ethical perfection by human means).

Is no secrect that if you look you find the thruth. The trick is that you have to look and confront. Take onwership for the observation and be resposible for it.

Answer 6

Well, if you think your fifty million, or was it billion, years old, than it's the religion for you. You don't think you have to sleep do you? Better get over that idea. And don't take aspirins as the detoxification program is pretty expensive. They have one thing to die for. If you have three thousand dollars they will sell you a lie detector and it will telll you when you are lieng to yourself. That's really neat. Was it Kalllil Kahbran who said, "To your own self be true and as sure as night follows day you can be false to no man." Woman either I suspect. I think it's better than an MRI for reading your brain. They've got a real neat book too that gives you questions to ask yourself that really heals the spirit, you saddness and things to know about yourself. It's just that they won't let it go there. They've been sending me advertisements for twenty or thirty years no matter how much I protest. You could probably get that book at a library somewhere in the world instead of some outrageous price.

Answer 7

began through L. Ron Hubbard as 'self aid process' known as Dianetics (he began out writing SiFi books after which wrote self aid books) ...it right into a grew to become "faith".....many humans (Christians, atheist, agnostics, former individuals, ect) say it's the superb 'textual content-ebook' illustration of a non-violent Cult (idea a few individuals have mentioned bodily and emotional abuse) the fundamental notion is: in the course of your and beyond lives you've gotten had bad stories that you just cannot don't forget, those repressed stories 'preserve you again'.... by way of precise counseling known as "Dianetics" (offered through the CoS. for a nominal price) you'll 'approach/manage' those unhealthy stories....as soon as there all sorted, you'll go beyond to a "prime simple of life" ....THE END....

Answer 8

its a cult... seriously.