Can you briefly describe what scientologists believe in?

Question

Without any big words?
My mind handles big words horribly when I'm reading quickly.
Anyway, I'm only interested because I just watched that South Park episode that said, "THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE", and I got pretty creeped out.

ZER0 C00L: Thank you so much. That was exactly what I was looking for.
Well, not exactly, but that helped a LOT.
And thanks for all the links.

Answer 1

Actually this is the briefest, simplest explanation I could write without leaving anything out. There are a few big words, but this general overview has helped a lot of people better understand Scientology's origins, intentions, etc.

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 $200-$750 for introductory sessions to between $8,000 & $9,000 for advanced sessions. Basically, Scientology claims to possess exclusive knowledge of the path to religious redemption & then charges obscene amounts of money for every little baby step towards this end. 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, epilepsy, 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 said 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 & articles 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

Hilarious! Maybe you should cut back on the meds. Scientology does not believe we evolved from monkeys. Or that Man is an animal. Where did you get this idea from? Here’s a factual description of this religion for you (From an actual Scientologist) which may help to sort you out (but probably not): Scientology is an applied religious philosophy. By “applied” is meant that it is for use in life and living. You actually use it in your day to day life to change and improve existing conditions. It is a practical religion. All religions if you study them have a basic philosophy, 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 acknowledges the principle of God or the Supreme Being but does not try to define or describe this principle, leaving it up to the individual. It is also not a messianic religion. This means there is no worship of prophets or messiahs. It is not belief or faith based. In Scientology a truth is true for you according to your 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. Scientology believes or considers that Man is basically good. This is different from many religions that promote that he his natively evil or bad unless “made” good. The whole purpose of Scientology knowledge application and procedure is to increase an individual’s understanding and awareness of himself and to rehabilitate his native abilities and potential. When you do this there sphere and zones of his positive influence increases and moves outward into his life , his family and friends, his groups and Mankind of which he is part . How this result is achieved is the “technology” of Scientology, which was developed by L Ron Hubbard from discoveries he made after extensive research into the field of the mind and the human spirit. Some of this knowledge was already existing in the ancient texts like the Veda or Vedic Hymns going back 10,000 years. New and additional discoveries were made about the nature of the human spirit and fully recorded and codified . Hubbard published 18 basic books from 1950 to 1953 to fully communicate these basic [rinciples and the path of his research. He completed all his research before his death in 1986 and left all his materials and copyrights to the Church of Scientology’s Religious Technology Centre along with most of his personal estate when he died. The Church of Scientology is currently established iand operating internationally in over 160 countries world wide. However it is still a new religion, less than 55 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 3,000 tape recorded public lectures.

Answer 3

Hard to explain since the only ones who know what they are really about are the ones a part of that cult. Just as in the first answer, the fees are high. Unless that money is going towards a guaranteed seat in heaven, it's a scam.... any "religion" you have to pay to be a part of is a scam.

Answer 4

yes, south park told it as it is. Though according to the scientologists, you are only 'creeped out' since you haven't paid for all your auditing sessions that would allow you to accept the truth.

Answer 5

deception.