Opinion
Scientology has been dragged into the highlight now and again since its inception; nevertheless, final 12 months, it discovered itself within the headlines of main information retailers for lengthy stretches of time. This 12 months is shaping as much as be about the identical, with defendants from the Danny Masterson rape case of 2023 alleging the group makes use of mob-style ways to silence its members and even revenue off of criminal activity.
Scientology has been shrouded in thriller from the start, so attending to the underside of what precisely Scientology is and what it means to be a Scientologist is troublesome to decipher. Relying on the supply, Scientology is a faith, a path to psychological well being, a option to treatment bodily illnesses, a cult, or a highly-sophisticated up to date model of the mob.
To know Scientology, it’s important to begin with its inception after which maintain on tight as the trail towards understanding winds and weaves into every situation. So buckle up, and let’s begin at the start.
The creator
Scientology was based in 1954 by author L. Ron Hubbard. Mr. Hubbard wasn’t a theologian or author of nice biblical or spiritual works.
Mr. Hubbard primarily wrote westerns, horror, and science fiction. Born from his e-book titled Dianetics: The Trendy Science of Psychological Well being, Scientology was based mostly on the idea that every particular person has two components of their thoughts – one that’s rational and one that’s not.
Dianetics particularly describes the human thoughts as having a aware “analytical mind” and a unconscious “reactive mind.” The reactive thoughts, based on Dianetics, homes our traumatic and painful pasts, which, if left unchecked, results in ache that may manifest in both psychological well being points and even bodily illnesses.
Scientology provides a treatment to this “reactive mind” via a course of referred to as “auditing.” Auditing consists of being requested questions meant to find your inside ache and erase it out of your thoughts with the objective of turning into “clear.”
They also have a instrument for measuring your readability. Whereas present process auditing, people maintain onto an electropsychometer or “E-meter” that measures the power of {an electrical} present of their physique.
It’s this auditing that began placing Scientology entrance and heart within the information and with the legislation, on condition that it prices a payment to obtain auditing companies.
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Cash cash cash
In 1958, the Inner Income Service (IRS) revoked Scientology’s tax-exempt standing as a result of their auditing processes appeared extra like “mental therapy,” as they put it on the time, than a faith. The IRS’ choice was celebrated by many, together with physicians and psychiatrists, who felt the group was utilizing untested and unscientific strategies not based mostly in drugs to deal with psychological sickness and bodily illnesses.
This elimination of their tax-exempt standing prompted Scientology to arrange a complete group inside the group to battle any assaults made in opposition to the faith. The end result was an extended battle with the IRS, culminating in getting their tax-exempt standing again in 1993, making it the longest investigation within the IRS historical past.
The interior group and mechanisms of Scientology are sufficient to boost eyebrows. Regardless of the shroud of secrecy, what is understood is fairly spectacular.
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There are a number of layers of Scientology hierarchy with extremely organized programs explicitly constructed to counter any destructive press or assaults. Many would possibly imagine Scientology’s headquarters reside in Hollywood, given the group’s clear attraction for celebrities.
Nevertheless, the headquarters is in Clearwater, Florida, with the leaders residing totally on ships dubbed Sea Organizations. The chief of Scientology, David Miscavige, even has the title of Captain.
Getting a bit bizarre
The Scientology web site describes the group as a faith, stating:
“…Scientology is a religion that offers a precise path leading to a complete and certain understanding of one’s true spiritual nature and one’s relationship to self, family, groups, Mankind, all life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the Supreme Being.”
That sounds good and nicely, however in the event you take a second, it turns into obvious that none of which means or explains something. At its floor, Scientology appears akin to meditation or yoga, a apply meant to focus the thoughts and management our emotional reactions to the skin world in an try to realize interior peace and maybe obtain added advantages of bodily and psychological ache aid.
However because of some leaks on the interior doctrine of Scientology, we all know that there’s way more to this faith. Like Buddhism, Scientologists imagine people have lived a number of lifetimes however are trapped in several our bodies.
It’s not till one attains a “clear state” that one is launched from one’s trapped bodily physique. The thought is that every of us is an immortal being generally known as a “Thetan.”
Professor of spiritual research on the Virginia Commonwealth College David Bromley explains:
“You move up the bridge to freedom by working toward being an ‘Operating Thetan,’ which at the highest level transcends material law. You occasionally come across people in Scientology who say they can change the material world with their mind.”
And that is when it will get a bit of bit stranger.
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Aren’t all of us simply aliens?
Thetans, based on Scientology, are the souls of an historical intergalactic civilization that was destroyed right here on Earth and have latched themselves onto people. This latching is what causes our interior turmoil and the supply of our bodily ache.
Allegedly, when you attain the clear state of OT or Operational Thetan, you develop into aware of the superior secret texts of Scientology. These texts allegedly clarify that an alien named Xenu, who was an intergalactic ruler 70 million years in the past, took billions of aliens from different planets right here and murdered them with thermonuclear weapons.
This excessive galactic violence created the Thetans, who torment people till they’re audited out of our our bodies, making us, you guessed it, clear.
The key texts learn like an episode from an Historic Aliens blended with a bit of little bit of the plot from The Matrix. When requested by Playboy journal what Scientology was, distinguished superstar Scientologist Tom Cruise mentioned:
“What I believe in my own life is that it’s a search for how I can do things better, whether it’s being a better man or a better father or finding ways for myself to improve.”
When put into that perspective, it’s arduous to seek out fault with Scientology. Aren’t all religions, at their core, about discovering methods to be higher folks to ourselves and the world round us?
Aren’t all of us, no matter spiritual backgrounds, aiming to do issues higher and be higher? The query is, does Scientology have a way more sinister basis and operation – or is it only a faith that is a bit more open to the fantasy facets of perception than the remaining?
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