so what scientology about?

Question

I'm not looking to convert, sorry. I'm just curious about it. I saw some other questions and answers but I was overwhelmed by the amount of information so I thought I'd just ask for myself. I like to be informed about religions even if I don't myself follow them. I find there is something useful to be learned from many of them. I truly know nothing about scientology, so I thought I'd ask. Also I wonder if its values tend to favor any stances towards issues in todays society. I am ignorant, I don't pretend not to be, but merely curious, I have nothing against scientology or scientologists.

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
http://www.nypress.com/20/22/news&columns/feature.cfm

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

This isn't a joke they BELIEVE THIS:

An intergalactic villian called Xenu used Earth as a place where he committed massive genocide by putting his citizens into volcanos (his galaxy was getting overcrowded).

The souls of these dead wanted to leave but Xenu for whatever reason, didn't want that so he cought the souls and forced them back and now they are here on earth influencing humans... >_>

Yea they actually believe that stuff, (the ones that have spent 10000$ for 'counselling', the others are out of the kept secret)

Answer 3

began via L. Ron Hubbard as 'self support procedure' referred to as Dianetics (he began out writing SiFi books after which wrote self support books) ...it right into a grew to become "faith".....many persons (Christians, atheist, agnostics, former contributors, ect) say it's the best 'textual content-ebook' illustration of a non-violent Cult (idea a few contributors have pronounced bodily and emotional abuse) the fundamental suggestion is: in the course of your and beyond lives you may have had poor studies that you just are not able to bear in mind, those repressed studies 'keep you again'.... via designated counseling referred to as "Dianetics" (furnished via the CoS. for a nominal cost) you'll 'procedure/manage' those dangerous studies....as soon as there all looked after, you'll go beyond to a "prime undeniable of life" ....THE END....

Answer 4

Scientology was a money-making scheme concocted by the late L. Ron Hubbard.
.

Answer 5

Scientology is about money and control. It tries to present itself as a self-help course, but soon you get sucked into it and it takes over your life, and your wallet. They make you sign a contract forbidding you to visit a psychiatrist because of their insane crusade against psychology. They believe a ridiculous science-fiction story made up by a washed-up pulp fiction author. And if you try to leave, they actively encourage members to attack you.

If you want to find out about it, look it up on Wikipedia or got to http://xenu.net . But don't go to the Church of Scientology itself, because they'll only tell you lies. It's a VERY dangerous cult.

Answer 6

It was started by L Ron Hubbard who was quoted by reader's digest prior to starting Scientology that if he ever wanted to be rich, he'd start a religion. It is a SciFi writer's big HAHA to idiots all over the world who made him rich. Oh, and its a cult :)

Answer 7

It's a poor copy of The Church of the SubGenius, without the humor or style. L Ron Hubbard stole the idea from J.R. "Bob" Dobbs in 1956. Hubbard was a failure as a sci-fi writer, so he made up a religion based on his crappy books. Battlefield Earth is their book of Revelation.
Somehow it makes celebrities feel good about being so disgustingly rich.

Answer 8

Here’s a factual description for you (From an actual Scientologist) also no problem about converting.... it's not that kind of "denominational" religion. I didn't "convert" either.

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 chandge 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 of the Veda or Vedic Hymns going back 10,000 years. New and additional discoveries were made 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. So it’s not possible to fully answer you question on this forum.

Answer 9

No problem. They dont convert people. According to the anti-scientologist sites something like 53% of them are christian.

I hung around a scientology center for a couple of years. I took 2 of their cheaper courses. One on Communications and one on Studying. About the same price as college courses that I later took but I think the scientology ones were better. I still use it all the time. I didnt see or hear any of the horrible stuff that is said about them. In fact, I had more trouble with the baptists.

They are big on do-it-yourself. Its very non-denominational. Any religion can take courses. They believe in God but it tends to stop there. They dont go in for "turning your life over to God" or praying for help. Their courses and counseling are all do-it-yourself stuff to make you personally more powerful in your life.

The church runs alot of help programs. Applied Scholastics, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, Concerned Businessmen's Association of America, Foundation for Religious Freedom, Narconon, Criminon. The programs all have great track records. They also send teams to all natural disasters.

While I dont recommend it for a life long ambition (comparable to telling a christian to become a priest) I do think its a good option if someone needs to get themself together abit before moving on with their life.

Answer 10

Money. As I understand it was science fiction at first. They have weird ideas a friend of mine used to be one and he believes there are no victims and only volunteers. Even if you are raped, robbed and murdered you are to blame and the perpetrator was just doing what you wanted done. Weird.
BB

Answer 11

you can check them out on the web I have seen their web site it tells all about what they believe and I tell you it is truly crazy there is nothing wrong with learning about others belifs just be carful that they dont such you in