The Church Of Scientology : An Opportunistic Organization

The religion of Scientology is a very controversial topic all over the world and is even considered a cult by many. Those who chose to participate in the beliefs and practices of this faith form their own unique culture with other like-minded individuals. The purpose of my research is to gain insight into the world of Scientology by closely examining the lifestyles and opinions of its followers. What are the lives of Scientologists like and how does it affect them psychologically?

There are many groups that hide behind religion in order to get these benefits. Scientology is one group that refers to themselves as a “New Religion.” They protect themselves with this right in order to get away with their actions. There have been many reports accusing Scientology of exploiting members physically and financially. They get away with these illegal activities by lying. Lying is something that the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, has presented as acceptable in the religion, which isn’t tolerated in many real religions. However, if the Charter was to address groups like Scientology with more severity, they would not be able to hide anymore. No longer would they get away with their crimes, but these groups, and so-called religions, will actually face the consequences. In addition, freedom of religion is misused when these groups go against their religion. This refers to religious movements that state they are preaching a religion. In reality, they are going against the basic principles of that religion to do what they feel is right. For instance, many cults like the KKK are based off Christianity, but they don’t follow Christian principles. They do this so that they can have the benefits of being a non-profit religious group, like tax exemptions, but then take advantage of this label to perform hate crimes and get away with them. For this reason, it is

I had watched the South Park episode and thought the idea of the religion was absurd. Through my research I have realized Scientology is even more ridiculous than I thought. Not only does the religion contradict itself multiple times on whether or not it is a religion or not, but it also makes speaking out against it nearly impossible. I had to leave out over half of my research because I did not even want to explain some of the crazy procedures Scientology has used. I focused on the shunning of legitimate science because it made the religion sound a little less weird, still really weird just not so much. While spending hours watching their indoctrination materials I was constantly harassed to take a “free personality test, to discover my real self.” This was very annoying. Not only am I afraid that the Church of Scientology website gave my computer a virus, but I am also mildly concerned that somehow this religion will be spying on me. In conclusion Scientology is even more bizarre than I originally

Given that, over the past fifty years the Church of Scientology has endured many government investigations, scandals, street protest and lawsuits pertaining to the controversial doctrine and practices of Scientology. There has also been allegations against the church for human trafficking, holding people against their will and blackmailing members once they have left the church. In many countries, Scientology has been accused of being a dangerous cult that brainwashes its followers and confiscates their assets. Furthermore, “Greece has banned the religion of Scientology in their country, and France and Germany are calling it a totalitarian organization and a money making scheme” (Reitman 2011). All things considered, the United States has endorsed Scientology as a religion and granted it a tax exempt status. Actually, since than the Church of Scientology has not released any public information about its membership or finances. That being the case no wonder people have their suspicion regarding this

Scientologists believe that a “thetan,” or spirit, will never die and thus they will be able to fulfill their commitment. The Sea Organization is a large project created to “Clear the Planet.” Scientologists who join believe that after this planet is “cleared” there will be other planets in the universe in need of “clearing” (the term clearing meaning to convert to Scientology). Sea Organizations were given the nickname “Orgs” and they can be considered the churches of Scientology. Every single one of these Orgs must have a beautifully decorated, furnished and unused private office. These offices would be for the use of L. Ron Hubbard only. They must be present in all Orgs, even ones in need for space. The purpose of these Offices would be to accommodate Hubbard on the chance that he might visit. Hubbard was not expected to visit, but the offices would still need to be there for the chance that it still could happen. Thus, Scientologists cater to Hubbard’s needs so much that it is unnatural in any religion that claims to worship One God, as Scientology does. Furthermore, the beliefs of Scientologists may be questioned due to their ranking system. Scientology redefined the term “ethics” as a condition in the religion. This means that when one becomes a Scientologist, they are given their “ethics condition” and those assigned a low condition (which is anything below normal) need to work their way to the top. The conditions are as follows from highest

According to official Scientology website (www.scientology.org), Scientology is a religion that offers a precise path leading to a complete and certain understanding of one’s true spiritual nature and one’s relationship to self, family, groups, mankind, all life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the supreme being. A cult can be defined as group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. Scientology is a cult. My essay will raise points to support my thesis.

Zoё Slaughter Professor Jason Fisette Philosophy 210 19 October 2017 The Controversy of Abuse in Scientology There has never been a religion more controversial or widely debated as Scientology. In part, this image has been supported over the decades through the indirect machinations of Scientologists themselves; their desire to prevent media attention has seemingly garnered more scrutiny, and their interest in seclusion only furthers the idea of cultic secrecy. These examples are heightened as allegations by defectors and court scandals arise. Though Scientology is a relatively new religion, due to an extensive public rumor mill, it has managed to cause more commotion than have many other much older religions.

Behind the scenes of Church of Scientology tried to hide to the public comes to light. The many of physical abuse in the organization was for starters “Medication.” Scientology has a way of doing things that they think is right because David Miscavige or L. Ron Hubbard said so. “The Purification Program” started when Miscavige believe that if you take high dosage called “Niacin” 5000 mg per day, it would remove any drugs and toxins from your body (Scoobe 2013). Scientologists needed to stay at sauna for a few hours or months because they had this negative energy that it needed to get rid of, but it had it’s own side effects. One of the members of Scientology in that time claim gray poses were coming out of her body, but none of the carers did

The church of Scientology has been the subject of controversy since its inception. Its methods and beliefs have attracted the attention of scholars from around the world. The church has been under government investigation and has endured a countless amount of lawsuits (Reitman 14). It is also a hot topic by the media with several endorsements by some of the most recognized Hollywood celebrities. However, the main topic of debate regarding the Church of Scientology is its status as a religion. Some members claim that the church has helped them overcome their struggles and that they are happier people, while others condemn it as a dangerous cult (Sweeney). The church of Scientology is a religious group whose purpose is to retain their

Many people have heard of the revolutionary new religious practice called Scientology. However, the majority of people who have heard of it, have little knowledge of the principles and practices behind the religion. In fact, there is a dark side behind Scientology, and much speculation that the religion is a brainwashing cult. Many people are opposed to the religion because of its secretiveness, its extreme methods of teaching and its alleged use of mind control.

It’s not unknown that The Church of Scientology has been a contentious subject of conversation for decades. The controversial religion was originally discovered by a gentleman named L. Ron Hubbard in 1954 through the establishment of ideas in which he believed would act as an antidote to mental health concerns called Dianetics. After an unsuccessful attempt resulting in bankruptcy, Hubbard branched his ideas into the basis of a new found religion called Scientology ("The Beliefs and Teachings of Scientology”). To Hubbard’s advantage, Scientology expeditiously accelerated in growth, becoming one of the fastest expanding religions in the 20th century. Scientology pledged a “light at the end of the tunnel” to those wandering through dark times, and created a pathway to a faultless understanding of one’s true spiritual fulfillment through a system of self-knowledge in relation to one’s own life, community, and mankind. Due to the Scientology’s controversial beliefs, abnormal practices, and aberrant church-member relationships, the religion poses as a superlative model of church rebelling against society’s social norms.

Scientology.org, “Through application of Scientology principles and technology in an auditing session, a person is able to remove barriers and unwanted conditions and so become more himself. As a person progresses, he reaches out to help others in the ways he has been helped.” What some religions call this a confession, Scientology calls it an audit. The goal of auditing is: “1. helping individuals rid themselves of any spiritual disabilities. 2. Increasing spiritual abilities…here they are asked a series of questions from an auditor. They are trained to ask some of the more detailed and intimate parts of their lives and everything is written down and recorded and stored.” (Burxton). When the church claims to help individuals is in fact a

The documentary ‘Going Clear’ is focused on the Church of Scientology. Some of the important figures in the documentary included Paul Haggis, Lawrence Wright, Sara Goldberg, Spanky Taylor, and Marthy Rathbun (Going Clear). In this documentary, these former scientologists were interviewed about their personal experiences, where they revealed information about what actually happened behind the doors of the Church. The documentary was based on Lawrence Wright’s book, ‘Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief’ and was a compilation of the opinions of several former scientologists about the true colors of Scientology and Hubbard’s history (Going Clear).

Referred to as the religion of the here and now, Scientology focuses on an exact path that will lead to a true understanding of ones spiritual being as well as the relationship with ones self and others. The religion maintains that one is ultimately a spirit who just so happens to have a mind that inhabits a body. With scio meaning “knowing in the fullest sense of the word” in Latin and logos meaning the “study of” in Greek, Scientology refers to “knowing how to know.” Scientology does not focus on ones body or mind however on the spirit only. The religion itself focuses on many different essential

Scientology has exploded throughout the media with Actress Leah Remini creating a show called, Scientology and the Aftermath that put the religion of Scientology into a bad light. As more people come out about their experience within Scientology, the movement of the church has been forced into the public eye. Besides the news coverage from the media, Scientology seems to focus on the concepts created by L. Ron Hubbard. The main goal of Scientology hints towards the idea of finding true spiritual enlightenment.4 Many people try to find enlightenment within their lifetime. With the goal revolving around this idea will allow the public to consider or accept the religion. Acceptance with society will garner people’s attention in the attempt to learn more. Looking slightly deeper into what Scientology represents and beliefs held by the followers. L. Ron Hubbard developed the idea of “dianetics can alleviate unwanted sensations and emotions, irrational fear and psychosomatic illnesses (illnesses caused or aggravated by mental stress.”5 Developing the idea of dianetics will interest the people who do not believe in faith but science. The main belief within Scientology will expand the religious movement with the science community and possibly the psychology community. With the movement expanded into different communities will allow the religion to branch out into the world. Bringing together people from different backgrounds. If the idea of finding enlightenment and using dianetics