According to (http://www.scientology.org/) “Scientology is a religion in its highest meaning, as it helps bring man to total freedom and truth.” The Church of Scientology was founded in 1954 by an American author and humanitarin named L. Ron Hubbard. He was born on March 13, 1911, in Nebraska. L. Ron Hubbard was a son of a naval commander. He moved to Montana at the age of two. His family traveled much over the country. He was tutored by his mother, who had attended teacher’s college and learnt to read and write at a very young age while still at home.
While still a young boy, he made a friendship with a tribe of Blackfoot Indians who lived near his Montana home. This rare opportunity made him to be able to learn much about the customs, culture and legends of the tribe. At the age of six, he was made given a blood brother of the Blackfoot Indians which was a rare honor. Hubbard moved with his family to Washington In 1923, and joined the Boy Scouts. He became the youngest Eagle Scout ever the age of 13. The same year, the he traveled to Washington, D.C. through the Panama Canal. On the way, he made another influential friendship with Naval Commander Joseph C. Thompson who had been sent by the US Navy Marine Corps to study under Sigmund Freud. Joseph C. Thompson taught Hubbard much about Freudian theory.
Hubbard embarked on a journey to Asia In 1927. At the age of 19, he had traveled more than 250,000 miles. This included China, Guam, Philippines, and Japan. While travelling, he established a friendship with Old Mayo, a Beijing magician. He spent time at Buddhist lamaseries in China. He also and spent time with nomadic bandits of Mongolian descent. Hubbard learnt and experinced alot during his travels in Asia and was discouraged with what he saw. (www.aboutlronhubbard.org)
In 1929, Hubbard returned to the U S and continued with his formal education. He graduated from the Woodword School for Boys in Washington, D.C. he later enrolled in the mathematics and engineering program at George Washington University. During his study, he theorized that subatomic particles could assist in understanding on how the human mind worked, and realised the great significance of controlling mankind in light of atomic studies. He was also disappointed with the understanding of the psychologists he consulted with. Hubbard described it as blunt.
As a result of his many travels, studies, and experiences, he was determined to discover how the human mind works. He left college before graduating and started researching laboratory. He became one of the most famous authors of the 1930s. Hubbard wrote over 200 novels and short stories in the genres of mystery, science fiction, adventure, and western.
He served in World War II. He observed the bloodshed and its effects on man’s mind and it made him more determined to get the answers to the human mind. He was hospitalized and while recovering, he experimented with the idea that mental blocks can hinder medical treatments from being successful. He found out that the theory was working on numerous patients. After the war, He continued to test his hypotheses on people from all over the U S. He helped over 400 hundred people regain healthi with the procedures he developed, including himself. These procedures were called Dianetics.
In 1949, he published his first article on Dianetics and it appeared in the Explorers Club Journal. He also presented his findings to the American Psychiatric Association and American Medical Association, but both were not interested in his work. Hubbard and his friends felt that the medical establishment felt their way of life threatened by Dianetics and were not motivated to help others but they were greedy. Hubbard later presented his findings to the public.
In 1950, he published a book which sold over 17 million copies. He later wrote six books in 1951 on Dianetics technology and also lectured all over the country. He started new research on human spirit. These become his focus forthe next three decades of study and writing. It is during this period that Scientology was born.
In 1954, Scientologists founded the first Church of Scientology in Los Angeles. L. Ron Hubbard founded the subject but early Scientologists founded the church. He moved to England in 1959 where he established worldwide head quarters of the church of scientology. In 1960s he developed administrative principles for scientology organisations. In 1966 he resigned as the chief executive director of the church. He died in 1986 (http://www.religionfacts.com/scientology/history.htm)
The main symbol of scientology is made of: a letter S representing scientology, an upper triangle which its sides represent three closely related factors which are responsibility, knowledge and control.the third one is lower triangle which represents reality affinity and communication. Another Scientology symbol is an eight-pointed cross which represents the Eight Dynamics of Existence. The cross also symbolizes the transition from materialism to spirituality and the crossing of that barrier
Scientology holds that man is good but not evil. It says that it’s their experince that makes people do evil things but it is not their nature that causes them to do so. People can mistakenly try to solve problems by thinking only about their own personal interests and ignore how they affect others. This creates interpersonal problems. Scientology includes belief in God, but does not offer details or doctrine about God. During Hubbard’s explorations, he noted the prevalence and importance of belief in a Supreme Being to all peoples. God is the Eighth Dynamic, also known as Infinity.
L. Ron Hubbard research concluded that human being is made up of three parts: the body, the mind and the thetan.The body includes the brain. The purpose of the brain is to carry messages.The mind consists essentially of pictures. It is the accumulation of experiencesof life, memories, conclusions, decisions and perceptions.The thetan is the soul, the true essence of a human being. Scientology does not include an official belif on life after death.
Scientology does not help people by solving problems for them. It believes in increasing intelligence and ability of the individual so as to improve his/her own life.according to scientology an individual is not a body but a spirit.mr Hubbard chose to replace the term soul with thetan which is a greek word meaning thought and life. Thetan is the person himself. Hubbard believed an individual has the ability to leave his body and can exist indepedent of his flesh.
Some of the scientology concepts that help a person understand life better are: the eight dynamics of life. The first dynamic is the urge to survive as one self. The second is the urge to survive through family, sex and bringing up of the children. The third is the urge to survive in groups. The fourth is the urge to survive as mankind. The Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth are the urges to survive through other life forms such as plants and animals, the spiritual universe, the physical universe and Infinity or Supreme Being.
Another concept is affinity, reality and communication. The three factors are greatly important in interpersonal relations. Affinity is the degree of affection or lack of it for someone or something.reality is agreement on the things of life held between individuals.communication is intercahange of ideas or objects between two or more people. The concept is that when one corner goes up, the other two also go up.
The main religious practice of Scientology is spiritual counseling called auditing. It is a form of personal counseling intended to help an individual to look at his/her own existence and help toimprove his ability. By viewing his own existence, the individual tries to walk the right route to higher state of awareness. Auditing is done by use of an E- meter which helps identify areas of spiritual distress or travail by measuring the mental state or change of state of the individual being audited.
Another important practice is education in Scientology principles.which is called Scientology training. Scientology teaches that auditing allows one see how something have happened, while training teaches a person why. Knowledge about the laws of life is vital in maintaining personal freedom gained through auditing. If an individual understands life, he/she can handle it.
The main purpose of auditing is to graduate individuals to a higher level of spiritual existence. The purpose is to revive the individual as a spiritual being and free him/her from depending on the material universe (http://www.volunteerministers.org/)
Scientology has had a fair share of controversies. Scientology church maintains strict control over the use of its symbols, names and texts. It holds copyright and ownership rights over its cross. It has also taken legal actions against individuals and/or organizations that have used short texts of Scientology prints or on web sites. Individuals or groups who practice Scientology without the consent of the church have been sued for violating copyright and trademark law.
Scientology uses attack the attacker policy and has a reputation for hostile action toward anyone that criticizes it in a public. Executives within the church have proclaimed that it is not a forgiving religion. Most of Scientology’s critics have also reported they were subject to threats and harassment in their lives.
Much of the controversy surrounding Scientology is reflected in the long list of legal incidents associated with the organization, including the criminal convictions of core members of the Scientology organization.Allegations of criminality has been made against scientologists.In 1978, a number of Scientologists were convicted ofmasterminding the largest incident of domestic espionage in the history of the United States. This involved infiltrating, wiretapping and stealing documents from the offices of Federal attorneys.
The Church of Scientology has been frequently accused by critics of employing brainwashing and intimidation tactics to influence people members to donate large amounts of money. They have also accused of staff and members to submit completely to the organization. The Church of Scientology has also been criticized for their practice of disconnection in which their members are directed tocut all contact with family members or friends who criticize the faith (http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/celebrities_con.html)
Over the time, scientology has managed to attract a number of celebrities. Including tom cruise, john travolta, Katie Holmes, Kelly Preston, Jason lee, Catherine bell, will smith including others. Scientology has impacted on these celebrities lifes.
Scientology helps arrange celebrities’ marriages and divorces when Scientology sees them beneficial to Scientology.Scientology arranged Tom Cruise’s entire divorce from Mimi Rogers at no charge. They knew Cruise is dyslectic and had difficulty in reading and so convinced him to let them handle his bookkeeping and the divorce from Mimi Rogers. Doing this divorce was important to Scientology because Rogers was against Scientology and thus it was in Scientology’s interest to distance Cruise from her. In boosting the divorce for Cruise, Scientology managed to influence Mimi Rogers and convinced her to accept about $10 million for the settlement.
Scientology also helped Lisa Marie Presley to arrange her marriage to Michael Jackson. The idea was to convert Michael Jackson to a Scientologist so he would become a recruiter into Scientology. While she was working on Michael Jackson, Presley unfortunately was already married to a Scientologist member. Scientology hurriedly planned a divorce, so the Jackson recruiting plan could continue.
Scientology celebrities have become psychotic during and after Scientology’s practices and initiations. They include John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Tom Cruise and Mimi Rogers.
Tom Cruise became psychotic during a secret Scientology initiation where one is told that rather than being one person, he/she is made of thousands of aliens from all over the universe trying to control your body. After finishing this initiation, Tom appeared sick with black circles under his eyes. He said he wanted to ditch Scientology for ever. He just wanted to go back to Hollywood and his home. David Miscavige ordered Cruise could not be let go. Scientology worked on Cruise until he finally returned to Scientology.
