Scientology
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, founded in 1950 (Hubbard. What is. 3), "is an applied religious philosophy" (Hubbard. What is. 4), which is a branch of psychology (Fundamentals. 7). Developed by Lafayette Ron Hubbard, Scientology was created "from discoveries resulting from Hubbard's research into the mind and life" (Fundamentals. 11). Hubbard claimed that "Scientology is for the betterment of man" (Fundamentals. 117), and that Scientology can be used by an average person to bring better order to their life (Fundamentals. 8). Hubbard claimed that Scientology "improves the health, intelligence, ability, behavior, skill and appearance of the average person" (Fundamentals. 8). One of the most fundamental ideas in Scientology is the belief that the individual man is divisible into three parts (Hubbard. What is. 5-6): The Mind, the Body and the Thetan. Hubbard believed that the Thetan, or personality of a person, "is separable from the rest of the mind at will, and without causing bodily death or mental derangement" (Fundamentals. 5-6).
Hubbard was born in Tilden, Nebraska in 1911 (Malko 29). It is known that Hubbard was raised on a Montana cattle ranch by his grandfather (Malko 30), however little else is known about the first thirty years of his life (Malko 29). Hubba...
... middle of paper ...
...es wage war on internet battlefield." Scientology Unmasked. Online. Internet. http://www.bostonherald.com/scientology/sci32a98.html. March 2, 1998.
- - -. "Church wields celebrity clout." Scientology Unmasked. Online. Internet. http://www.bostonherald.com/scientology/sci35a98.html. March 5, 1998.
- - -. "Inside the Church of Scientology." Scientology Unmasked. Online. Internet. http://www.bostonherald.com/scientology/sci31a98.html. March 1, 1998.
- - -. "Judge found Hubbard lied about achievements." Scientology Unmasked. Online. Internet. http://www.bostonherald.com/scientology/sci3198.html. March 1, 1998.
- - -. "Sacred teachings not secret anymore." Scientology Unmasked. Online. Internet. http://www.bostonherald.com/scientology/sci314a98.html. March 4, 1998.
Wallis, Roy. The Road to Total Freedom. New York: Columbia University Press, 1977.
Howard Allan Stern was born January 12, 1954 in New York, New York to parents Ray and Ben Stern. For the first 15 years of his life, Stern lived in Roosevelt, Long Island, NY. Sterns love for radio was inherited from his father, who owned part of a recording studio. Stern displayed a love of performing from an early age. Encouraged by his mother, Stern would create puppet shows for his friends, and then perform them in his basement. The shows of course would have Sterns personal touch of being outrageous. Sterns social life growing up was not the best. Roosevelt having a large African American population made it hard for Stern to fit in and he the target of school fights. The Stern family moved to Rockville Centre, in 1969, when Stern was 15.
Jesse Moncell Bethel was born in New York City, New York on July 8, 1922. He was born to Jesse M. Bethel and Ethel Williams. His father left the home when he was only six months old and his mother died when he was only three and a half years old. Being an orphan now, he was raised by his grandmother in Arkansas. He then moved to Oklahoma where his family sharecropped cotton and cornfields. Bethel attended elementary school while in Oklahoma and later graduated from Booker Washington High School there too. Bethel attended Tillotson College in Austin, Texas. He graduated there with a Bachelors of Science degree in chemistry. He later attended graduate school in 1944 at the University of California Berkley.
Chicago’s transition from fur – trading outpost to a capitalist town, was a cultural revolution that Hubbard helped bring forward. By knowing Chicago’s history, it’s said to also know the Gurdon Hubbard story. Hubbard was born on August 22, 1802 in Vermont; his father, Elizur, was one of Windsor’s five lawyers and his mother was from Puritan stock. After his father lost their money they were forced to move to Montreal, where Elizur was able to make a decent living. When Hubbard was sixteen he signed to be a clerk for the American Fur Company headed to Michigan. He became friends with another clerk named John Harris Kinzie, whose father (John Kinzie) was a trader in Chicago. Hubbard made his first entry to Chicago on October 1, 1818. One day he and others had made preparations to cross the portage, where it convinces Hubbard the need for a canal critical since it was very muddy and filled with insects and animals. Hubbard later on, became head of Deschamp’s trading posts after the old man retired and later at Danville, where he established his headquarters in
LSD has proved that the mind contains much higher powers and energies, beyond the average 10% of the brain that a typical human uses. These powers and energies, under the right circumstances, can be taken advantage of to benefit humankind spiritually, creatively, therapeutically, and intellectually. LSD has given humans the option to chemically trigger mental energies and powers. Arguments that LSD is potentially a dangerous discovery and mind control should be strictly prohibited by the government hold much validity, although there are benefits and arguments of personal freedom of neurology to consider. Whether LSD reflects negativity as a weapon and mind control drug, or radiates euphoria as a mind-expanding chemical and sacrament, the choice to engage in such an experience should be through personal reasoning.
We can distinguish among other religions of such history – Scientology is a complete transformation on a human being. Scientology came about because of Man's increased knowledge of energy (Hubbard, 2007). This movement is a based on the self revelation of the human inner spirit to heal and take on new forms of living. Auditing plays an important role for all Scientologists who learn to believe that our lives need to be controlled in order to develop a higher spirituality. The idea is to confess all of our past endeavors and be cleared path to the "ideal being". The core belief of the religion is that humans are immortal alien beings who have forgotten their true nature. In order to rediscover their inner selves -- the thetans -- Scientologists undergo practices such as auditing (Yapp, 2006). Recognized as a form of technology, the human being is taught to free itself from the barriers and recognize it's true self because of such religious
The setting in which Lorraine Hansberry was raised was a crucial to the development of several of her plays, particularly A Raisin in the Sun. On May 19, 1930, Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois to Carl and Nannie Hansberry. Both of her parents were known for their work in regards to civil rights and social equality. Also, her great grandfather William Hansberry, a slave that could read and write that was freed when...
Johnny Cash was born and raised in Arkansas. He was the son of a poor Southern Baptist sharecropper who moved his family to new farms when Johnny was only three (“Johnny
The history of Scientology shows its persistence to keep their members with the promise of spiritual enlightenment. Scientology was founded in the mid-twentieth century by renowned science-fiction author L Ron Hubbard. (Sweeney) The basic foundation of the church stems from the ideas of his best-selling book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. (Anderson) Dianetics was published on May 9, 1950, and the date would become recognized among Scientologists as a religious holiday. Hubbard claimed that the discovery of the science of dianetics is “a milestone for Man comparable to his discovery of fire and superior to his inventions of the wheel and the arch” (Reitman 58). The book’s ideas encourage humanity to rid the individual of any of their mental weaknesses (18). It went on to make its way up the bestseller list by the summer o...
Cults can be dangerous as manipulative strategies are used to control large groups of people into behaviour they may not usually be comfortable with. A cult is a counterculture that is an extremist group usually lead by religion and a charismatic leader (Winner 2011:417). Counterculture is the rejection of popular norms and values and replaces them with extreme views on violence, family and loyalty (Winner 2011:417). Cult leaders often preach about religious history as they take it very seriously. Usually, these religious views guide the bizarre behaviour and conformity within the cult. Anthropologists see cults as a way for people to find self-identity and belonging within a group which they are not receiving from outside of the group.
Cults have existed throughout history since the beginning of time. A cult is defined in Webster’s dictionary as a “system of religious worship with a devoted attachment to a person, principle, etc.” Over the past thirty years numerous religious cults have caused “ tens of thousands to abandon their families, friends, education’s, and careers to follow the teaching of a leader they will never meet”(Beck 78).
“A cult is a group of religious and dedicated members directed toward a particular belief or figure” (Thriving Cults). Cults are often misjudged and mistreated because what they believe in is strange or different than what the rest of the world believe in. Lesser known cults are often persecuted for what a few evil and corrupted cults did, but they never stop and look and see if the cult is a truly peaceful group. People in cults are often persecuted for being devoted to the cause of the cult they joined. “Certain people lack the inner resources and inner abilities to fully understand the world going on around them. They do not enjoy feeling lost, feeling abandoned, or hopeless” (Church of Reality). “They have no real conception of themselves and a weak and uncertain sense of self-identity or self worth” (Campus Cults). Sometimes we feel that we lose the purpose of living and we need something to fall back to. “Naturally, we follow the advice of people or groups who seem to ...
Fine lines proceed to subsequently blur the separation between a religion and a cult. Throughout history, the label cult has consistently succeeded in disparaging numerous religions including Christianity. To bring a standstill to the confusion amidst all personages, the narrow slash between these two matters need to be entirely divulged and established. Distinctions separating a religion and a cult are elucidated primarily by their treatment of individuals and relations. Variances can be seen through examples of behaviors, the “Moonies” cult, and the works of the Christian religion.
Manson was born in 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio, an unwanted child to a 16 year old prostitute mother. He had a life filled with rejection and abandonment which begun early on. He never knew his father, and his mother would leave him alone for days, sometimes weeks. Leaving him...
Society strives to feel a sense of belonging. We want to be a part of something that shares the same beliefs as us. We spend our time trying to place ourselves in a group to satisfy these needs, whether it is in a hobby club, a group of friends, or religion. Some people go to more extreme measures and find this in what we call a cult. According to Henslin, a cult is a new or different religion whose teachings and practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion. (2013:405) Cults are often identified with the ideas of mass murder, deviant behaviors, unusual beliefs, and extremely devoted members. Cults are also highly known for their leaders. The leaders of cults usually are the ones that portray the image for the entire group. Successful cults take a strong-minded and, according to Max Weber, charismatic leader.
Cults entice people whom by nature want to belong to a group and make it hard for them to leave by altering their thought processes. Those in the psychology field have defined what makes up a cult, have determined what draws individuals in and have recognized the effects that a cult can have on