Scientology Research Paper

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.

The Church of Scientology is a global organization with over 270 churches or missions worldwide. For decades, it has possessed followers with an almost fanatical devotion to their leader, L. Ron Hubbard. Since the advent of the Internet, the Church has begun to resort to various legal actions to maintain the secrecy of their “scriptures.”

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

The main principles of the religion’s belief systems is that Scientology addresses the spirit—not the body or mind—and believes that Man are far more than a product of his environment, or his genes. Scientology is something one does, not something you believe in.

L. Ron Hubbard stated to Lloyd Eshbach in 1949, "I’d like to start a religion. That’s where the money is." Five years later, the church of Scientology was born. Hubbard was a college dropout who had two failed marriages and claimed to have an honorable career as a US Navy officer despite never seeing combat. Eventually, he turned to writing science fiction in the late ‘40s since, you know, he was good at making up things.

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

There was been reports of abuse within the church, this abuse ranges from sexual abuse, physical abuse, and mental abuse. Due to multiple documentaries against the Church of Scientology, the public is more aware of this newer religion and very worrisome of them. Leah Remini in her documentary, Scientology and the Aftermath refers to Scientology as a cult. Remini, a member of the church for many years, has spent most of her time outside of the church trying to prevent people from staying in the church or joining it. Another documentary that also refers to Scientology as a Cult is Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.

But, they are notorious for keeping themselves and the public in the dark about any bad news by their belief of how important Scientology is. Tarnishing Scientology's image and hurting it the worst crime a member could be accused of in the religion. Real problems and issues caused by the church are over-looked by members because of their firm belief in the leader. Scientology slanders its critics to the point that it misleads its members. Any complaints, no matter how accurate, are seen as attacks in the eyes of their members. Scientology as a religion purports to be centered around the fundamental principles of science. However, it has historically resisted any actual scientific study. Their scientific beliefs devolved into "if the leader says it, it must be true" and that is well-documented throughout the churches history. As such, Scientology is stagnant and fundamentally flawed, because it has no room for

Scientology all began because of a man named Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, or L. Ron Hubbard for short. L. Ron born in 1911 in Nebraska at a young age had seen it all and had traveled everywhere, which all probably helped him to create Scientology. As a boy he was a quick learner and very knowledgeable at such a young age. He joined the boy scouts, and eventually became the youngest in the world to become an eagle scout, but L. Ron also started an interest in in subjects such as philosophy, science, and the pillars of western literature. His father was a United States Naval Officer so L. Ron traveled around the world at a young age this would lead him to meeting a Naval Officer who had studied under Sigmund Freud who introduced L. Ron to the theories

Scientology was founded in 1953 by a man named L. Ron Hubbard, his vision and goal was to have a religion that focused on “knowing how to know”. He then created a name to match the religion from taking the Latin word scio meaning “knowing in the fullest meaning of the word,” and the Greek word logos, meaning “study of.” Just like any other religion Scientology includes beliefs, maintains rules, celebrates holidays, and has a very similar foundation to any other religion. However, further studying into this religion there is some obvious differences within its church than others.

This is still only part of the requirement the Church of Scientology demands of its members. The religion also has a detailed and costly course list that each member must follow intensely called "The Bridge to total Freedom" to reach spiritual actualization. It is a series of steps that are laid out claiming that when a member reaches the top of the bridge, should be able to use their mind in an advanced manner to handle all types of health issues like cure cancer in themselves and to move objects with their mind. Each of these courses cost about $650.00 each, and Scientologist are expected to study from 9:00 am - 10:00 pm, seven days a week. The church claims that This amount of money is not an option for the member to consider if they want or don't want to spend.

Following the FDA’s lawsuit against the church, Scientology continued to receive criticism for its unique methods. Most people who invest money into therapy, in this case via the e-meter, do not want to admit that it did not work, so they will say it helped, as stated in Carol Travis’s “justification-of-effort” effect hypothesis. WITHIN CULT Because Scientology is such a new religion, not much has changed since its origin in the way of practices and beliefs. However, a major turning point for the religion came when L. Ron Hubbard died, leaving his baby in the hands of the rumored-to-be ruthless David Miscavige (Wright 193), who has been accused of physical abuse by over twenty scientology members (Wright 345).

I think it is a religion that focuses too much on self and not enough on others and the love of God. I think the teachings are too selfish based and not focused on what religion should truly be about. One problem that Hubbard had and was also seen in Tom Cruise, a follower of Scientology, is the refusal to take criticism. They would attack the character or opinion of the person criticizing them instead of offering proof or arguments to support their beliefs. Many critics have called Scientology a “cult”.

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.

Scientology has a concept of God, but more so they believe in a Supreme Being. They don't want their members to rely on faith alone, but rather on the training one does through the “Eight Dynamics” to eventually understand their relationship with the Supreme Being once they reach the eighth dynamic. Another aspect of the religion is the concept of “clear”. The term is described as a state of mind in which a person has no worries, erratic behavior, or insecurities. When what they refer to a being no longer having a “reactive mind” that person can become much more than themselves. This state of being “clear” they say is achievable, and many around the world have done so and it is the goal of man for more than 2500 years. Another concept that