Church of Scientology

The Church of Scientology is a religion founded in 1953 by American L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986), as an evolution of Dianetics. The Church claims a membership of eight million people, while critics say that it is dramatically less. Among its members, Scientology has a number of celebrities and movie stars including Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, John Travolta, Chaka Khan and Isaac Hayes, many recruited through Scientology's Celebrity Centre in Hollywood. The Church is considered controversial by some, who brand it as a cult.

Hubbard devised the word using "scientia" (knowledge), and the Greek λόγος "logos" (word), "the study of knowledge." He stated it to be a knowledge of life, and clarity of mind through training in, and counseling using, the principles of the subject; that Scientology empowers individuals by increasing their mental acuity, powers of observation, and reasoning ability in part by the removal of mental and spiritual blocks and in part through the knowledge of the subject itself.

Beliefs

Scientology doctrines consist of a very large corpus, in excess of forty millions words, and practical applications derived therefrom. A very small percentage of these works are unpublished, being tightly guarded from the general public by the Church, and only able to be seen by the general public once they have completed lower levels of pastoral counseling. The pastoral counseling and the study of the materials are intended to guide individuals in a heuristic journey of increasing insights into the truth concerning the actual condition of mankind and its true potential, and to provide the skills to gradually bring about the latter. Scientologists see the religion as a way for individuals to increase understandings, abilities, and freedoms, and bring about predictable, subjective improvements in their life that increase their value to society.

Hubbard described the envisioned end result of Scientology: "A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology."

Scientology does not descend directly from any of the major world religions, but acknowledges the common elements of other religions and has received endorsements from religious leaders. For instance, the current Holder of the Secrets of a council of thirteen Shinto Buddhist sects, some dating back over fourteen centuries, published a formal recognition of Scientology as a learned path and the council has since encouraged Shinto monks to study Scientology.

Practices

Scientologists practice a form of psychological counseling called auditing. This usually takes place between an experienced auditor and a subject (although higher level Scientologists practice self-auditing). In an auditing session, the subject is asked questions by the auditor while holding a metal can in each hand. These are hooked up to a device called a electropsychometer (or E-Meter for short). The E-Meter allows the auditor to understand the mental state of the subject, see how that mental state changes when being asked or answering questions and to "locate areas of spiritual distress or travail". Critics and skeptics argue that the E-Meter is nothing more than a measure of galvanic skin response, and that the E-Meter is priced very highly - costing up to $3,380, while a device that is technically equivalent can be built for a fraction of the cost. Critics also decry the way that the Church has removed E-Meter auctions from Ebay.

Auditing is used for the purpose of "help[ing] another examine specific areas of their existence so they can rid themselves of unwanted spiritual conditions and increase awareness and ability" . Progressing up 'The Bridge' requires frequent auditing sessions, and Scientology members also practice 'co-auditing', where a pair audits one another.

History

Having experienced rapid growth, Scientology set up churches and missions in most of the countries of the world and has translated many of its materials into many languages to accommodate non-English speaking parishioners.

The Church derives its income mainly from donations for services, and secondarily, from the sale of books, course packs and insignia. In recent years, Scientology ministers have provided assistance at national and international disaster scenes.

Bainbridge and Stark (1980) note that by 1980 Scientology claimed to have raised over 16,000 members to a superhuman level of mental functioning known as "clear." They argue that "clear" has been transformed from a postulated objective state of being into a well-buttressed social status in the highly stratified social structure of the cult. Four strategies invented by the Hubbard encourage members to play the role associated with the "clear" status. The Scientology processes supposedly able to make people clear are examples of modern magic - mental and symbolic exercises undertaken to accomplish the impossible - and therefore are highly subject to empirical disconfirmation. Despite the momentary success of the cult's strategies to protect its magic, Bainbridge and Stark suggest that Scientology may be forced to promise supernatural rewards obtainable only in a world beyond the senses. These generalized opinions, however, are not based on actual observation of Scientologists or a proper study and understanding of the different levels attainable in the Church, as given in the Classification and Gradation Chart.

Status in Europe

Germany

In late 2007, the interior ministers of Germany's 16 states announced plans to give the domestic intelligence agency the task of preparing the necessary information to ban the organization, which has been under observation for a decade on allegations that it "threatens the peaceful democratic order" and is "unconstitutional". Germany considers Scientology a commercial enterprise that takes advantage of vulnerable people. In 2007, it initially refused to allow the producers of a movie starring Scientology member Tom Cruise as Germany's most famous anti-Hitler plotter to film at the site where the hero was executed, although it did not expressly state Scientology as its reason. It later allowed the filming.

The Church has about 6000 members in Germany and operates eighteen churches and missions there; it remains "under observation" (as it has been since 1997) by the federal and seven state Offices for the Protection of the Constitution (OPCs), out of concern that Scientology's teachings and practices are opposed to the democratic constitutional order or violate human rights. The states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, and Hamburg are particularly involved. The federal OPC's 2006 annual report concluded that the original reasons for initiating observation of Scientology in 1997 remained valid, although it noted that Scientology had not been involved in any criminal activity. Scientologists contended that OPC observation was harmful to the Church's reputation and continued to seek redress through the German courts.

The Catholic Church in Germany and, especially, the Evangelical Church have been public opponents of Scientology. Evangelical "Commissioners for Religious and Ideological Issues" have been particularly active in this regard.

In 2001, the federal government prohibited firms bidding on government training contracts from using the "technology of L. Ron Hubbard" in executing contracts, and some states and private businesses adopted variations of this anti-Scientology policy. In 2005, Scientologists continued to complain of societal and official discrimination. Since March 2005, applicants for German citizenship in Bavaria have been required to fill out a questionnaire regarding their affiliation with organizations under observation by the state OPC, including Scientology. The Church documented two cases involving persons whose naturalization requests were denied, allegedly because of membership in the Church.

Since the 1990s, four of the major political parties- the Christian Democratic Union, the Christian Social Union, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and the Free Democratic Party (FDP)-have banned Scientologists from party membership. Scientologists have unsuccessfully challenged these bans in courts. The U.S. State Department has pointed to the danger of suppressiong the religiousrights of the Scientologists.

Belgium

In Belgium in September 2007, a state prosecutor recommended that the Church stand trial for fraud and extortion, following a 10- year investigation that concluded the group should be labeled a criminal organization. A Belgian parliamentary committee report in 1997 labeled Scientology a sect and investigations were launched into the group's finances and practices, such as the personality tests conducted on new members. Investigators have studied how far Scientology went in recruiting converts after numerous complaints were filed with police by ex-members alleging they'd been the victims of intimidation and extortion.

The United Kingdom

L. Ron Hubbard first visited the UK in September 1952, and set up a Scientology office in London briefly afterwards. Before that, readers of Dianetics had set up an organisation named the Dianetic Federation of Great Britain, which was supplanted by Hubbard setting up the Church. Hubbard's right to remain in the UK expired, and he then returned in 1955. In 1956, after a negative review by a University of London professor psychiatry, Hubbard was expelled by the government - Sir John Charles of the Ministry of Health stated of Hubbard:

It seems quite clear that this man is a charlatan and that neither he nor his association are likely to be of any benefit to this country.

Hubbard eventually setup in Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, West Sussex. During the 1960s and 70s, the UK Government worked to prevent Scientologists from entering the UK, which led to an important European court decision, United Kingdom v. Van Gend en Loos. In 1980, the policy banning Scientologists from entering the UK was rescinded.

The rest of Europe

The Church of Scientology has been recognized as a religion in the following European countries: Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Albania; and recognized as a religion through administrative and judicial decisions, including decisions by the highest court in: Italy, Denmark, Austria, Germany, UK and Norway. Courts have determined that Scientology must be treated the same as other religions throughout Europe, including decisions concerning Scientology rendered by the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission on Human Rights which establish binding precedent in all 46 European countries that have signed and ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. In addition to the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission on Human Rights decisions, Scientology has also been recognized as a religion through numerous judicial and administrative rulings in many European countries

Controversy and criticism

L. Ron Hubbard, the Church of Scientology and its beliefs, policy and practices have been subject of a great deal of criticism and controversy, often leading to court cases, official inquiries and media coverage, as well as splinter groups such as the Freezone movement which has the beliefs and practices of Scientology, while rejecting the policies and administration of the Church.

The Church is criticized for its attitude towards ex-Scientologists, which internal Scientology policy labelled as Fair Game. The Fair Game policy states that those who the Church considers suppressive "[m]ay be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed". The Church argues that the Fair Game policy has been rescinded, but many critics of Scientology argue that it is still in effect - pointing to the treatment of BBC journalist John Sweeney and others.

Recently, a lot of criticism has been made of the Church over its attitude to free speech and free expression. Critics allege that the Church has used intellectual property and other legal instruments to censor critics. A leaked internal video featuring Tom Cruise talking about Scientology was published on the Gawker weblog, which Scientology tried to remove from the Internet. In response, a loose conglomerate of Internet users by the name of Anonymous organized world-wide anti-Scientology protests where thousands of people in masks protested online censorship and other alleged abuses and wrongdoings by the Church.

The Church of Scientology alleges that critics of Scientology are part of an organized conspiracy, sometimes with connections to the psychiatric profession, and many are attacking Scientology to hide their own criminal actions.

Bibliography

• Bainbridge, William Sims, and Rodney Stark. "Scientology: To Be Perfectly Clear," Sociological Analysis, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Summer, 1980), pp. 128-136 in JSTOR
• Bednarowski, Mary Farrell. New Religions and the Theological Imagination in America. Indiana U. Press, 1989. 175 pp., chapter on Scientology
• Harper, Charles L. "Cults and Communities: the Community Interfaces of Three Marginal Religious Communities." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 1982 21(1): 26-38. Issn: 0021-8294 Fulltext: in Jstor
• Melton, J. Gordon. The Church of Scientology (2000), 80pp; by a neutral scholar. excerpt and text search
• Peckham, Michael. "New Dimensions of Social Movement/Countermovement Interaction: The Case of Scientology and Its Internet Critics," Canadian Journal of Sociology Vol. 23, No. 4. (Autumn, 1998), pp. 317-347. om JSTOR
• Ross, Michael W. "Effects of Membership in Scientology on Personality: An Exploratory Study." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion Vol. 27, No. 4 (Dec., 1988), pp. 630-636, reports favorable effects; in JSTOR
• Taylor, Greg. "Scientology in the German Courts," Journal of Law and Religion Vol. 19, No. 1 (2003), pp. 153-198 in JSTOR
• Wallis, Roy. The Road to Total Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of Scientology (Columbia University Press, 1977)

See also

• U.S. Religion, History