What exactly is scientology?

Question

I was reading the last book in the Shopoholic series, and Becky the main character was pretending to be in labor, and the midwives were asking her why she didn't feel any pain and she said she was a Scientologist.

So... what exactly is scientology?

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). Their “treatment” of substance abuse includes little more than massive doses of vitamins and extended sessions in a sauna.
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
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/detox.htm

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 tiny incremental 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, & the “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from members (often with harmful & deadly results). The “Church” blames psychiatry for the Holocaust, as well as school shootings & 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 because their “stand against the enemy” fosters cohesion within said organization, & psychiatry was an effective rallying point considering many people already distrust & oppose the mental health profession.
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 & lists of personal accomplishments differ greatly between Scientology & non-Scientology publications as the “church” tends to exaggerate & outright lie about his early life, his education, his travels, his achievements etc, preferring to paint a distorted, flattering picture. Several books & 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 bullies all known critics, opponents, “enemies”, etc, often through malicious litigation & character assassination. It’s a particularly greedy as well as manipulative & dangerous cult that takes its anti-psychiatry fanaticism to deadly limits.
http://www.solitarytrees.net/racism/harass.htm#start
http://www.factnet.org/Books/SocialControl/scs.html#toc
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/24/Tampabay/The_unperson.shtml
http://www.xenu.net/archive/personal_story/funkydonny.html

Answer 2

There are several techniques that can be aplied a person to reduce pain and discomfort.

Find a birthing centre that will enable you to choose a comfortable as possible birth without noisy doctors nurses and machines. They should have these available is the birth isn't smooth.

I would say see a doctor and get a full physical checkup, you know blood test, respiratory and all the usual doctor checks. Make sure everything is in order.

Then go to a naturopath who knows about or specialises in pregnancy and from your doctor tests get your diet, vitamins, etc sorted out.

Go and check out professional yoga classes, gyms, exercise classes that are trained in pregnacy related exercises and find one that suits you.

Read Dianetics and apply what you learn about, pregnacy and giving a child the best chances by eliminating uneeded problems related to pregnacy and environment.


Do The Pregnacy Rundown at a Church of Scientology. This will go over all the upsets, disagreements, problems, fears and any negative emotion related to pregnancy or childbirth.

http://www.scientology.org/html/opencms/cos/scientology/en_US/news-media/index.html

SCIENTOLOGY: Scio (Latin), knowing in the fullest sense of the word, and logos, (Greek), study of. Thus, Scientology means knowing how to know. Scientology is the study and handling of the spirit in relation to itself, universes and other life. The emphasis is squarely on an exact application of its principles toward the improvement of one’s life and the world in which he lives.

http://www.scientologytoday.org/Common/question/index.htm#fact

Answer 3

I tried it. I took the first two trainings. Better communicating, and better studying. I didnt get into the more expensive ones on clearing drugs or escaping peer pressure since (A) they were more expensive and (B) I didnt feel I needed them. The course prices were less than college courses and I felt they were much more useful. I had no problem leaving (I had more problem leaving the baptists and they wanted more of my money than the Scientologists did) :)

I did learn some pain handling techniques when I was there. They show them to anyone who bangs their knee or gets a headache. Works well. I still use them with myself and my kids.

Everybody I saw there seemed very open and happy. But of course thats enough to scare some people.

Answer 4

Here's a factual description 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 anyone’s faiths of beliefs in the area of God , the Supreme Being, or the Infinite. This area is left totally up to the indivdual as part of his life.
It is also not a messianic religion. This means there is no worship of prophets or messiahs in Scientology. It is not belief or 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 3,000 tape-recorded public lectures. So it's not possible to fully answer your question on this forum.

However it sounds like the author of the Shopoholic series
doesn't know much about Scientology either.
I've been a Scientologist for about 36 years and given birth to 2 kids . Each time was by far the most physically painful experience of my life. So it appears that she may have the wrong concept on what Scientology is.

Answer 5

A new religion started in 1952 by Ron Hubbard. Most people view it as a cult. They have a lot of weird practices, like evaluating people by tone scales, and believe that past lives influence our present state.

Answer 6

It is a cult. It is evil. It is dangerous. How do I know this? By what they have done to people I know, things which have occurred in my city and through a lot of research.

The following links are news stories about a girl with schizophrenia, whose parents refused to allow her to take her medication because they were Scientologists. She had a severe psychotic episode because she wasn’t on her meds and killed her father and sibling, almost killing her mother too.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,22069705-28737,00.html

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22045262-5001021,00.html

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/scientology-denied-daughter-help/2007/07/09/1183833431861.html

Did you know Scientologists believe they have the right to torture or kill ‘Suppressive Persons’ (SP) people who oppose Scientology?
“ENEMY: SP Order. Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed.”
http://www.fairgamed.org/fairgame.htm

Scientology also has its own navy, called ‘Sea Org’. Sea Org members sign billion year contracts and are punished for perceived transgressions by being thrown over board (sometimes tied hand and food and blindfolded) and are thrown from various heights according to their ‘transgression’. Alternatively they may be locked in a chain-locker. ‘A chain-locker is "a dark hole where the anchor chains are stored; cold, wet and rats,”’

http://www.xenu.net/archive/so/index.html

Answer 7

Sounds like a book written by a Scientologist.

Scientology believe that Xenu 20 million years ago brought was a tyrant of the universe and took people from his population that he seemed to be a burden on his society and traveledin exact replicas of the Douglas DC-8, but with rocket jets, across the galaxy far far away to earth and killed them with hydrogen bombs, and that these ghosts are alien spirits that exist today and are connecting themselves to your body and drawing out your emotions.

Check out the link.

Answer 8

It's a dangerous, manipulative cult. They believe that we came from outer space seventy five million years ago and we are inhabited by aliens that they will help rid us of. And while they're there they'll rid you of ,your money, your home, your sanity and health. If it ain't nailed down they'll relieve you of it!

Answer 9

idk...as far as i know it is really weird and a lot of celebrities are it...i find it a little weird that they aren't allowed to show pain in childbirth...like tom cruise didn't want katie holmes to make any noises when she was having suri (thats what i heard on the news)

Answer 10

Whatis your life status and how much money do you have? to
make a long story short "CULT".

God Bless