what is scientology?

Question

can anybody explain to me what scientology is? just basics

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 Level 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://www.spaink.net/cos/essays/atack_ot3.html
http://sf.irk.ru/www/ot3/spaink-ot3.html
http://xenu.net/archive/leaflet/Xenu-Letter.pdf
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/OTIII/

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://lisatrust.bogie.nl/scientology/essays/jeff-hubbard.htm

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.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/s/scientology/pignotti/
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/24/Tampabay/The_unperson.shtml
http://www.xenu.net/archive/personal_story/funkydonny.html

Answer 2

In response to Gandalf above, who always slags off others answers every time he posts the same answer, what I'd like to know is: If Scientology was/is so marvelous then why are you an x member? If you don't need money to take part then it seems stupid to leave something that you rave about! And yes, I have spoken to an actual scientologist before you ask.

Answer 3

It is a belief system created by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, which he invented on a bet.

Basically, it states that you are a zero-dimensional being called a "thetan", that you have always existed, and that the current universe is a "game" all these thetans are playing, but forgot it was a game, so now is caught up into it, thinking it is real.

Starting with dianetics, Hubbard began laying down some principles on how to remove the "engrams" that have built up within the thetan using something he called an "e-meter" (short for "engram meter"). He built up his pretend religion very carefully so it could spring board into scientology.

What is so surprising is that so many people actually believed him. Of course, he won the bet, that he could actually invent a new religion that sounded so plausible that people would actually buy into it! (He IS, after all, a sci-fi author!).

Answer 4

That question gets asked almost every day. Why not read thru the old ones if you are really interested? Or is this an effort to boost someones best answers?

I love seeing these though. The answers are so funny. Most of them refer to South Park or could be another south park cartoon script. And others are long cut-n-paste answers by fanatics who have never had any contact with scientology at all.

Me? Im an ex-scientologist. I took a couple of their cheaper courses for a couple of years. Personal Communications, and Better Studying. Great stuff, I use it all the time.

They believe in God but not in relying on God. They dont believe in using prayer, or believing in miracles, or "turning your life over to God for guidance". The services are non-denominational and have to rituals or anything to believe in. Mostly just well wishing for people going thru disasters, sending them food and clothing, volunteering for disaster teams. They dont pass a plate.

Other than that their idea of fixing your life is to take control of it yourself. Lots of self help courses. Besides the ones I took there are ones for detoxing from drugs and alcohol, or fighting peer pressure, or 1-on-1 counseling for deeper things that might be blocking you in life (that last bit can get expensive but its about the same as any 1-on-1 hourly rate)

Answer 5

It is a cult that offers higher levels of enlightenment in exchange for money...a lot of money. That is why the only people who get to the top of scientology food chain are the rich, like Tom Cruise, John Travolta and other Hollywood actors who can afford to buy their way to the top.

Here's some interesting reading from someone who's been there and done that: http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/tsos/sos-19.html

Answer 6

Scientologists believe that 75,000,000 years ago, Earth was called Teegeeack and enjoyed life as one of 76 planets controlled by the galactic overlord Xenu.

I'm not clear on the exact details; but somehow Teegeeack was destroyed by Xenu, and we are now the reincarnated souls of the previous aliens that inhabited Teegeeack and is what is now called Earth.

I loved the following description behind the logic of being a Scientologist...

" Even Scientologists themselves seem to know how ludicrous they are, so their recruiters disguise themselves as "Free Stress Testers" and most of their doctrine isn't available until you pay for it.

This is a brilliant idea that all nutbar cults should adopt. Think about it: when Scientologists pay $10,000 to find out their faith is based on outer space monsters living in their bodies and forcing them to behave irrationally, it'd be a total waste of money at that point to admit how stupid that is.

Only an idiot would buy themselves a religion-but only a MASSIVE idiot would buy themselves a religion, then not believe in it."

To be fair though; as ludicrous as it sounds... I've heard Christianity described in a manner that sounds just as insane...

Answer 7

The short answer is: it's a fake religion invented by a hack science fiction writer.

For more information, look here...:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology

Answer 8

Watch the "Trapped in the Closet" episode of South Park. They give a pretty comprehensive explanation.

Answer 9

It's a religion made up by a science fiction writer. Basically, he wanted to see how gullible people were, so he wrote stories that were completely unbelievable to any reasonable person. In fact, some were almost as laughable as the stories in the Bible. People started to accept his stories as truth, and now it's a religion as legitimate as any other.

Answer 10

Check out their own website. Try it. Think for yourself. That is where you find out for yourself. www.scientology.org

Answer 11

it's just a "religion" founded by L. Ron Hubbard and in some countries they're considered as business not a belief (for example in germany)