what IS scientology?

Question

what IS scientology?

Answer 1

It's a cult. Here's an overview that I hope will help you better understand (it's written entirely by me in my own words):

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. It doesn’t recognize legitimate conditions like autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or ANY neurological disorder / chemical imbalance at all, and the “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from members (often with harmful & deadly results). The “Church” blames the psychiatry for the Holocaust, as well as school shootings and even September 11th. It’s been suggested that Hubbard’s vehement opposition was born of the psychiatric community’s rejection of his “tech” as a valid treatment method, but it’s also possible that Hubbard chose psychiatry as a scapegoat. Organizations like Scientology are notorious for villainizing a specific out-group as it fosters cohesion within the organization.
http://www.anti-scientologie.ch/usa-scientology.htm
http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3137&IssueNum=136
http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/07/01/sci_psy/index_np.html?pn=1
http://perkinstragedy.org

L. Ron Hubbard, the man behind the creation of Scientology, was & still is a controversial figure. Biographies and lists of personal accomplishments differ greatly between Scientology and non-Scientology publications as the “church” tends to exaggerate and outright lie about his early life, his education, his travels, his achievements etc, preferring to paint a distorted, flattering picture. Several books and articles present facts which flatly contradict these church-published accounts (links to free online copies of these books are provided below), showing conclusively that he was NOT the brilliant, accomplished figure revered by Scientologists. During his autopsy, the sedative 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. It had also been said by many who knew Hubbard personally that at the end of his life he was “a psychopathic insane person screaming about BT's [Body Thetans]….”
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/Bare%20Faced%20Messiah.pdf
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/atack/contents.htm
http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/mom/Messiah_or_Madman.txt
http://skull.piratehaven.org/~atman/factnet/lrhbare.txt

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

Scientology is a religion created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Among its adherents are a number of celebrities, most notably Tom Cruise and John Travolta. To learn more, see the South Park episode dealing with it - and otherwise avoid Scientology at all costs.

Answer 3

Let me start by saying that I am not a scientologist and I'm not defending it from that point of view. I was however associated with the Church of Scientology for a short time while I took some classes there. My wife and I were going through some hard times and through a friend of ours (who is a scientologist) we enrolled in a communication class together at the Church. The class was interesting and truly helpful, in fact it was one of the most useful things I have ever done.

Scientology is a religion (yes, that's official) founded by L. Ron Hubbard. It differs from other religions in that it is not exclusive, meaning that you will find muslim-scientologists, christian-scientologists, taoist-scientologists, etc. One of their common sayings is "what's true is what's true for you" meaning that what you believe is what's true for you. The focus seems to be on self-empowerment and the casting off of tramatic events and the lasting effects these events have on our lives.

L Ron Hubbard was truly a genius of our times. In addition to founding his own religion, he was poet, author, musician, artist, scientist, and much more. If you can't appreciate scientology as a religion, at least realize that it is the work of a truly intelligent man. Essentially what Hubbard was trying to do was break life down into its simplest terms, into something that anyone could learn on a systematic basis. He came up with many tools for understanding people and why they do the things they do. I am not an expert on any of these but I did find them to be of great interest.

I can provide one example from my own experience in taking the communication class. Hubbard discovered that communication can be reduced to a formula:

1) Attention - if you don't have the attention of the person you are trying to communicate with, there is no point.

2) Intention - What it is that your trying to convey. This requires you to have a concrete concept to communicate. If your communication is ambiguous then it will fail to convey your intention

3) Duplication - The person receiving the communication duplicates it in their own mind, possible asking questions to clarify the point.

4) Acknowledgement - Something simple to let the person know that their communication has been received (often something as simple as saying "OK").

It sounds painfully simple and in truth there is a little more to it, but not much. The theory is that many disagreements are caused by a failure at some point in this process of communication. In my own experience I have found not only that the communication formula is correct but that understanding it has improved my relationships with other people on a broad scale.

There are many other interesting things to study within Scientology but this is the general idea: breaking things down to the smallest parts so that they can be easily understood. Scientology literally meant 'the science of knowing' and I believe it is aptly named.

OK, now that I have sung it's praises, it's time for the reality check. The core of Scientology has a great deal to offer but like all other religions, people get a little crazy. The people at the Church of Scientology that I had contact with were invasive, insistant, and relentless and it was this that eventually drove my wife and I away. They will call you, a lot. They will not take no for an answer. Well, that's not entirely true but you have to be very very clear with them. They called me almost daily to get me to enroll in another class, or attend some event and they would not hear that I wasn't interested. I finally had to tell them very firmly not to call me anymore and that when I was ready to enroll in another class I would. I would have too, but I moved to Mexico before I could.

In short, if you are curious about Scientology, you should go to a local church. I can honestly say it is one of the coolest things I have found. But be warned, scientologists are a little over the top. Proceed with caution and have a very firm idea what you want out of the process.

Hope this helps
Shane K.

Answer 4

Here's an explanation from the official Scientology website:
http://www.scientology.org/en_US/religion/index.html

And here's an article from Beliefnet on Scientology:
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8057_1.html

Answer 5

Scientology would be a study of knowledge.

Answer 6

It's a cult with a space opera back story. Avoid.

Answer 7

NOTHING BUT A CULT that screws with your mind, takes everything you have, stops you from seeing your friends and family and was started by an insane con man and crappy sci fi writer. STAY AWAY.

Answer 8

A "religion" Tom Cruise fanatically tries to convert everyone into.

Answer 9

A cult that steals your money.

Answer 10

A strange cult.

Answer 11

a science-fiction book written by L. Ron Hubbard
its also a large tax-shelter