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 members with the promise of spiritual enlightenment. Its controversial history, beliefs, and practices reveal the church’s commitment to keep its members.
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...
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...re due to its confidentiality. With such information, the debate on whether Scientology is a religion or a cult could soon come to a close.
Works Cited
Anderson, Kevin V. "Report of the Board of Enquiry Into Scientology." The Anderson Report. State of Victoria Australia, 21 Feb. 1997. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
Anonymous. “History of Scientology.” Religion Facts. 20 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
Bainbridge, William Sims. Stark, Rodney. “Scientology: To Be Perfectly Clear.” Sociological Analysis. 41. 2. 1980: 128-135. JSTOR. Web. 10 Nov. 2013
Reitman, Janet. Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. Print.
"Scientology 101." ABC News. ABC News Network, 23 Aug. 2006. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
Sweeney, John. “BBC Panorama: The Secrets of Scientology.” Youtube. Youtube, Jan 1. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Within the past twenty years scientology has dominated celebrity culture. The religion has increased its celebrity following, and as a consequence has been put in the spotlight. Scientology is a fairly new religion that was founded in the 1950s by L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard started his career as a science fiction writer, but one day when he was under anesthesia at the dentist he had an epiphany that inspired Scientology. He believed he knew all the answers to the universe, and he wrote Dianetics, which has become a guide book for the religion (Christian Century). Scientology focuses on the soul and clarity of the mind. In scientology the soul is called a thetan, and followers are required to “undertake the path of mental liberation with the help of another person, a spiritual counselor called an auditor” (Molloy). Auditing how scientologists free and overcome problems from past lives that their thetan inhabited. Molloy says, that scientology has roots in Buddhism and Hinduism because of the connection to past lives and liberation of the soul. L. Ron Hubbard set out to make a thriving religion that would grow and prosper.
This is especially important given Scientology is a tiered religion, which opens more of its secrets up as a member moves throughout its ranks. Some of Scientology’s beliefs, such as Xenu, are extremely hard to palate for the uninitiated, so Scientology is right to hold that off for its more senior members but with the vast information found within the internet, now anybody can read such information meant only for Operating Thetans. But given Scientology’s love for suing people, this level of information raises questions of copyright law versus freedom of speech and religion, with both sides arguing that it’s their right to use the information as they choose (Urban, 2011).
On the morning of August 12, 1995, Arnie Lerma’s house was raided by lawyers of the Church of Scientology two armed Federal Marshals. A...
Marc Galanter, M.D., Richard Rabkin, M.D., Judith Rabkin, PH.D., and Alexander Deutsch, M. D. (1979). The “Moonies”: A psychological Study of Conversion and Membership in a Contemporary Religious Sect. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136(2).
Scientology was founded in 1954 based on the religious teachings of L. Ron Hubbard an American science fiction author. At first Hubbard's books were looked at as a new way to accomplish mental healing. The practicing of Scientology is f...
He first became involved with the organization in 1990 with his first wife Mimi Rogers. Cruise battled dyslexia as a child and claims that scientology helped him overcome the battle. He campaigned for Scientology to become a recognized religion in Europe and promoted various programs that introduce people to Scientology. He even received the Scientology Freedom Medal of Valor in 2004. Scientology is well known for its opposition to drugs made to help with psychic type patients. His views have caused many media troubles as they are not popular and have even caused conflicts with co-workers such as Steven Spielberg. A documentary in 2015, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, casted a spotlight on Cruise’s support for and role in Scientology (Biography). Another notable Scientologist in the film industry is John
Overall, I find that Scientology is merely another scam that was probably created for profit. Everything that I have read about it tells me that this was something thought up based on just another outlook on life. Everybody has their own opinions, but Hubbard's Religion just got widely accept due to his credentials and his popularity if you will. When you create something that is understandable yet unprovable and still therapeutic, how can someone with a weak mind deny it? I believe that's how such a wide amount of suffering people tend to accept Scientology as an Alt. Religion.
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.
Cults are dangerous institutions that have existed for many years, corrupting and reforming the minds of innocent people into believing outrageous doctrines that eventually result in disaster. Horrifying cases involving men such as Charles Manson, Jim Jones and David Koresh have bewildered people and raise the question: how could individuals be easily susceptible to the teachings of these men, so influenced that masses go as far as to commit the unthinkable? Individuals who are in a vulnerable position in search for an identity are attracted to cults because they offer a sense of belonging. In addition, isolation from society contributes to the functioning of a cult for it creates an atmosphere where submissiveness and obedience runs high. These two factors seem to hold true for one of the most notorious cults currently established in the United States and Canada. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or, FLDS, is an international polygamist sect that incorporates belonging and isolation along with a dangerous mentality that have resulted in the abuse of women and children in the name of God.
Plainly in need of a second opinion, I sought the advice of Scientology's Brisbane branch. Disastrously, the results were nearly identical. Confirmation!
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).
Many books have been written that discredit the religion of Scientology including Paulette Cooper's book titled The Scandal of Scientology which outlines all of what she believes to be faults in the Scientology religion. Being a biased source I turned from that book to an article printed four years after the death of the founder of Scientology Lafayette Ronald Hubbard. Titled "The Scientology Story "it was a series in The Los Angeles Times that was written to walk through Scientology from the beginning and simply explain the facts. In this unbiased account of Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard, there are many discrediting facts and ideas about the religion that were found. It is these very facts that I will be listing that many of Scientology's greatest critics use to defend themselves (in the case of those in the medical professions ), or to explain why the religions ideas are simply not valid or untrue.
Excalibur, one of L. Ron Hubbard’s first works in 1938, first introduces the idea of Scientology. While the work was not published, the central belief that man is far more than a product of his environment is first introduced here (Rontthephilospher). Following Excalibur in 1948, L. Ron Hubbard published his first of
Gruss , Edmond . Cults and The Occult . Rev. ed . Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing CO. , 1980 . 3. Print.
Scientology was founded in 1952 by L. Ron Hubbard. The Church of Scientology has been known to use manipulations such as isolation and lawsuit to keep members in line. Many consider the Church of Scientology to be a church and not a cult because it is recognized by the IRS, but numerous countries refuse to recognize it as a church including, the United Kingdom, Greece, Canada, Germany, and France. Reverend Sun Myung Moon founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity in 1954. After 7 years in the church his followers were told they could choose their marriage partners and he became famous for his mass marriage ceremonies. In 1970s, Moon renamed the cult the Unification Church and relocated it to New York City. The cult still exists even though Moon died in 2010.