Scientology
Headquarters/Contact Information
Scientology Headquarters: Church of Scientology International, 6331 Hollywood Boulevard Suite 1200, Los Angeles, California.
Demographics
There are an estimated 25,000 Americans who identify themselves as Scientologists.
Polity Structure
Scientology follows a hierarchical polity, in which members move up and down the ladder as determined by the Scientology leadership. These church levels are divided into larger organizations, or “orgs,” the highest one being the “Sea Org.” These are church members who have chosen to dedicate their lives to the faith, and formulate the majority of the church’s leadership. From there, each church is smaller in size and focuses on increasingly smaller constituencies – each church and org bases their advancement and hierarchical structure on collecting stats or statistics in order to verify performance. The staff of these churches is lower in status than the Sea Org, and below them laypersons to the religion, whose requirements are to adhere to the church’s teachings, not reveal classified information about the church and attract others to the church.
Brief Historical Overview
In 1950, famed science fiction author wrote and published the book Dianetics – The Modern Science of Mental Health, a self-help psychotherapy book that stressed the importance of ‘auditing’ to help cope with past traumas. Following this, however, Hubbard chose to turn the central tenets of Dianetics into a religion known as Scientology, which established itself in 1952 in Camden, New Jersey. The movement started to gain momentum within the United States and spread to other nations throughout the world, including England, South Africa and Australia. The IRS granted the Church tax-exempt status in 1957, but was soon investigated by the FDA and met with skepticism by others. Throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s, the United States government revoked the Church’s tax-exempt status, performed FBI raids on church property, and more. In 1982, the Religious Technology Center (RTC) was founded to provide an authority for technology related to Scientology. Finally, in 1993, the IRS provided full tax exemption for Scientology. Throughout the past few decades, Scientology has become most well-known for the many celebrities and movie stars who have come out to express their membership and support for Scientology, including John Travolta and Tom Cruise.
Authoritative Writings
The major authoritative writing for Scientology is the aforementioned book Dianetics, which describes the self-help system that formed the basis for the religion itself. This book overviews the philosophical views of Scientology, including the connection between body and mind in a metaphysical sense, and the ability to master the ‘reactive mind’ through a process known as ‘auditing,’ which Hubbard claimed to provide a greater sense of happiness in one’s life. The other major writings are all by Hubbard, and are known as the Basic Books: they include the works Science of Survival, Self Analysis, Advanced Procedure and Axioms, Handbook for Preclears, A History of Man, and Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought, among others. These provide all of the primary principles of Scientology, and are considered the major canon of the religion.
Major Theological Distinctives
Scientology’s major theological distinctive involve the belief that every human being has an immortal being inside them (known as a thetan), which has had numerous lives in the past and comes from another planet. There is no God or higher power in Scientology, just the existence of the thetan that lives within the person themselves. The past lives and memories of this thetan often cause subconscious unhappiness and dissonance in one’s lives, which is the church’s explanation for anxiety, depression and all number of psychological ailments. Through the process of auditing, the Scientologist adherent can become more in touch with the thetan and unlock these memories, allowing them to cross the Bridge to Total Freedom (the name for the personal development path of the Scientologist). The eventual goal is to reach a state known as clear, in which the ‘reactive mind’ (the part of the consciousness reacting to these thetans) does not affect the person’s mind and behavior anymore.
Major Institutions & Ministries
The sole institution and ministry for Scientology is the Church of Scientology, which was endorsed and created by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Worship Practices
Worship and devotion are largely absent from Scientologist life, but the majority of this worship that remains is done through attendance in Scientology churches or orgs, led by staff members and which hold religious services. Showing devotion to the religion largely involves living according to the ethical and moral practices set forth by the religion, which are said to be along the Way to Happiness. Auditing is another worship practice, which involves regular counseling sessions with Scientologist staff and Sea Org members using a device known as an ‘e-meter.’ The role of this e-meter is to register the energy flow of the person being audited in order to check for thetans and the negative effects of engrams. Auditors are trained to interpret the signals provided on the e-meter, in order to track the member’s progress toward reaching the aforementioned state of Clear. The goal is to eliminate the aforementioned engrams along the member’s ‘time track’ (the history of the past lives their thetan has lived) in order to clear the effects of the reactive mind (which is where the engrams come from). Scientology adherents go through pregnancy and labor through a process known as ‘silent birth,’ in which the mother and all others around the site must remain quiet in order to make the birth as calm and loving as possible. Scientologist holidays include the birthday of L. Ron Hubbard, Auditor’s Day in September, and the May Anniversary of the first edition of Dianetics being published.
Subgroups
The primary subgroup of the Church of Scientology is the aforementioned Sea Org, which comprises approximately 5,000 of the Church’s most devoted followers. There is also the aforementioned RTC, which controls the trademarks and copyrights of the Church of Scientology, and is their primary arm of ligitation. The Rehabilitation Project Force (RFP) is a controversial subgroup that handles Sea Org members who have committed perceived injustices or violations of Church policy, providing therapy and/or punishments for these members.
Annotated Bibliography
Burnham, Kenneth E. "Reference: The Road to Total Freedom, a Sociological Analysis of
Scientology". Review of Religious Research 20 (1) (Autumn 1978): 119.
This article provides an insight into Scientology’s notion of the Bridge to Total Freedom, as well as attributes of thetans and auditing.
Church of Scientology. “What is Silent Birth?” Scientology Newsroom (2013). Retrieved from
http://www.scientologynews.org/faq/what-is-silent-birth.html.
This FAQ from the Scientology infrastructure provides an insider explanation for the attributes and reasoning of silent birth.
Cowan, Douglas E.; Bromley, David G. “The Church of Scientology” In Gallagher, Eugene V.;
Ashcraft, W. Michael (eds.) Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America. (Westport CT: Greenwood Press, 2006). pp. 169–196.
This text provides a comprehensive overview of Scientology religious doctrine, practices, history and controversy, making it a useful resource for this paper.
Cusack, Carole M. “Celebrity, the Popular Media, and Scientology: Making Familiar the
Unfamiliar” In Lewis, James R. Scientology. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 389–409.
This article discusses the celebrity element of Scientology, including what celebrities are included within the church’s ranks.
Hubbard, L. Ron. Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (Bridge Publications, 1950).
This is the primary religious and doctrinal text of Scientology, making it an important resource for understanding its ideas and philosophies.
Hubbard, L. Ron. The Scientology Handbook. (Los Angeles, Calif: Bridge Publications, 1994).
This resource is another primary source for Scientology doctrine, and also includes a list and discussion of the Basic Books which are their primary scriptures.
Lewis, James R., & Hammer, Olav. The Invention of Sacred Tradition (Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press, 2007).
This book provides insight into the litigation arm of the Church of Scientology, the RTC, and provides insight into its history and responsibilities.
Lucas, Phillip. New Religious Movements in the 21st Century (Routledge, 2004).
This resource provides needed context for Scientology’s interactions with 21st century government, as well as its tax-exempt status in 1993.
Melton, J. Gordon. The Church of Scientology. (Salt Lake City: Signature Press, 2000).
This book is another comprehensive encyclopedic resource about the principles and doctrines behind Scientology.
Neusner, Jacob. World Religions in America: An Introduction (Westminster John Knox Press,
2009).
This book lists Scientology among the religious entities recognized in America, and discusses its impact.
Wallis, Roy. The Road to Total Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of Scientology (Columbia
This resource goes into further detail about the Bridge to Total Freedom; reviewed in the Burnham text.
Wright, Lawrence. “The Apostate.” The New Yorker (February 14, 2011).
This resource offers needed demographics data for the Church, as little of that information is released to the public.
This article from The New Yorker describes the attempts by filmmaker Paul Haggis to combat the Church of Scientology. This also provides the estimated census date for Scientologists in America.
