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.
forefront of time, never waning and never dying out. It has evolved overtime to include interesting ways of worship and faith basis. From the standard worship of God, or he who is all powerful, to the ideological notion that our bodies are occupied by alien spirits who were brought to earth long ago and killed off due to overpopulation of their planet, religion has definitely come a long way. One such interesting religious practice that I’d like to discuss, is the snake-handling Pentecostal Christians of the Appalachian Mountains. Furthermore, I will discuss the relevancy to the groups’ stereotype and attempt to showcase how it’s virtually nonexistent in today’s society as it used to be by comparing and contrasting Mary Lee Daugherty’s piece
In order to break the cultural norms of psychics, con artists, paranormalist and faith healers, James Randi debunks frauds by criticizing religion. As a debunker, Randi emphasizes that trusting fakers give them superiority to control a spectator’s
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...
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
Smith, Huston. World’s Religions: A Guide to our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994.
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).
Cross, Anne. “A Confederacy of Fact and Faith.” Alien Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of Extraterrestrial Content. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2007.
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.
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.
Plainly in need of a second opinion, I sought the advice of Scientology's Brisbane branch. Disastrously, the results were nearly identical. Confirmation!
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.
Smart, Ninian. "Blackboard, Religion 100." 6 March 2014. Seven Dimensions of Religion. Electronic Document. 6 March 2014.
Lifton, R., foreword, Cults In Our Midst, by Margaret Thaler Singer & Lalich (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995).
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
Barbour, Ian G. Religion in an Age of Science. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990. Print. (BL 240.2 .B368 1990)