Church of Scientology 101

Megastar Tom Cruise has been a member of the Church of Scientology since his original recruitment back in 1986. However it was not until the summer of 2005 and the marketing campaign for his movie The War of the Worlds, along with his highly publicized engagement to actress Katie Holmes that his association with the religion became truly vocal, attacking users of anti-depressants and declaring the benefits of Scientology.

Cruise's outbursts have created an increased awareness of the Church of Scientology, as well as increased interest. Sales of the founding book of Scientology Dianetics, have reportedly increased dramatically, and Scientology for a time became a popular keyword on search engines.

But Tom Cruise is not the only celebrity to be involved in the Church. Since its origins in the 1950's the Church of Scientology has actively sought celebrities to become members of their organization, believing that celebrities would bring them both a wider audience and a wider acceptance as a true Church. Some celebrity Scientologists would include John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston, Isaac Hayes, Kirstie Alley and even Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson.

The Foundation of Scientology

The fundamental philosophy behind Scientology was first developed in 1950, in a book written by L. Ron Hubbard called Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.

L. Ron Hubbard was born in Nebraska on the 13th of March, 1911. In the 1930's and 40's Hubbard became well-known as an author of fantastic adventure tales, mostly science fiction or fantasy in nature. One of his more well-known books, published later in his career is Battlefield: Earth, which was released in movie form in 1998 (to less than flattering reviews). Hubbard is also well-known for his Writers of the Future contest, one of the most famous and respected contests for up and coming science fiction writers.

The philosophy behind Dianetics and Scientology is that the mind is divided into two parts: the analytical mind and the reactive mind. The analytical mind is the conscious mind, the mind that we think in normally. The reactive mind is the unconscious and it remembers all events that have disturbed a person either physically or psychologically in this or previous lives.

These recordings of traumatic events are known as engrams, a sort of psychological scar. These engrams are seen as the cause of all of humanity's mental disorders and psychosomatic illnesses by Hubbard.

While the analytical mind is unable to see these engrams directly, they greatly impact his thinking. In order for a person to reach their full potential, these engrams must be removed through a process known as auditing. Once all engrams have been removed, a person is "clear." In the original Dianetics "clear" was the highest state a man could achieve.

In 1951, one year after publishing his handbook Dianetics, Hubbard formed the religious philosophy of Scientology. It did not become a true church, however, until 1955 and the opening of the Founding Church of Scientology in Washington, DC.

Other Principles of Scientology

Beyond the splitting of the mind into two parts, Hubbard later went on to say that man is not a mind or a body at all, but these are only peripheral aspects of the true man: a spritual being, a soul. Hubbard called this integral being a "Thetan", from the Greek letter Theta.

A person does not have a Thetan, however. A person is a Thetan. This is key to Scientology. Beyond the "clear" state, where one has removed all engrams, it is possible for a person to become what is called an OT, an Operating Thetan.

It is believed by the Church of Scientology that all pain and suffering in life is derived from pain and suffering in previous lives. One can go all the way back to a cosmic level event that happened millions of years ago that impacted every person in the galaxy. This is the cause of all pain and suffering in sentient beings in our galaxy. One must work one's way all the way back to this in order to be truly free of all psychic scars on one's mind.

The primary practice of the Church of Scientology is a process known as auditing, using a machine created by Hubbard known as the E-Meter. These auditing sessions are designed to allow the Scientologist to rid themselves of this pain and suffering from their own and past lives.

Those who operate these machines are called Auditors, and are ordained members of the Church of Scientology. This is the most basic element of membership in the Church.

Criticisms of the Church of Scientology

Besides seeming to many to be one of the more flaky religions out there, Scientology has also garnered much criticism as being a cult, interested only in making money for the higher-ups of the Church. Many countries such as England, France and Australia have restricted the Church of Scientology. The United States in 1993 after a long legal battle with the Church of Scientology granted them full church authorization and tax-free status, however this is rare for the Church around the world.

Much of the criticism of the Church is based on the fact that the auditing and religious seminars that make up the core of the tradition are quite expensive, oftentimes costing tens of thousands of dollars. Scientology churches appear to be lavish luxury resorts rather than what we would traditionally consider a church. The heart of the organization makes its home base on a cruise ship which considers Caracao its home port.

This has caused many to wonder about the authenticity of the Church's claim to be helping people rather than simply being a money-making organization. On top of this, many have claimed to have been horribly mistreated by Scientologists. Kidnapping, torture and brainwashing are all accusations that have been made against the Church.

These claims have decreased in number over the years, but they still remain. In the early 1990's, a non-profit organization known as the Cult Awareness Network (CAN), distributed material warning against specific cult groups, as well as information on cults in general. One of the cult groups mentioned was the Church of Scientology.

The Church of Scientology sued CAN for slander and libel, saying that they were spreading lies about the Church. The Cult Awareness Network was unable to pay the incredibly high legal fees to combat one of the richest organizations in the world, and eventually went bankrupt.

After causing CAN to go bankrupt, the Church of Scientology purchased the organization, and the Cult Awareness Network became a subsidiary of it, doing the same work but without mentioning Scientology.

Today the Church continues to grow. While outbursts such as that of Tom Cruise have brought more attention to the group, it has also in some ways decreased its credibility. The future of Scientology is uncertain. Today it remains as it has been since its first founding in 1955 a fringe group, on edges and possibly exceeding the boundaries of popular society. But as long as there are a few people out there who believe in the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard it shall continue to exist, and only the future can know for certain what shall become of the Church of Scientology.