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Justeen Lopez
Brittany
English 1010
Dec,11,2015

Scientology "Religion" or "Cult"

Scientology has been in the forefront of social media, Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's cough, to Katie
Holmes leaving the organizationun , Leah Remini with her new book describing her experience with
Scientology. Scientology is one of the most controversial religion s of our time. Some has categorized
this religion as a business or a criminal enterprise, and some go as far as calling it a cult. One of the main
questions that is being argued is if Scientology is a "cult "or a "religion." Scientology was founded by
L.Ron Hubbard in the 1950s,who over saw the growth of the church into a worldwide organization.
The church of scientology teachings state that a human is an immortal, spiritual being whom they
called a Thetan. Scientology describes itself as the study and handling of the spirit in relation to itself,
others and life. They also believe that people have power that is suppressed and can be regained if
"cleared." They believe that "Man is basically good, that he is seeking to survive, (and) that his survival
depends on himself and his attainment of brotherhood with the universe," as stated in the Creed of the
church of Scientology.
Scientologist believes there are two divisions of the mind; the reactive mind and the analytical mind.
The reactive mind is thought to absorb all pain and emotional trauma. Analytical mind a rational
consciousness. They refer to images that are painful and debilitating engrams. As these engrams

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accumulate, people move away from their true identity, Scientology basic goal to progressing toward
"clear" freedom from these engrams by a method called auditing or Dianetic.
To understand Scientology you need to understand the founder L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard was a
science fiction author and an officer in the United Stated Navy, who served in World War II. He briefly
commanded two ships both times removed because he was deemed incapable of command. Donald
Prothero states in an article reviewing Jim Lippard's description of L. Ron Hubbard as " a military hero,
a mystic, a philosopher, a nuclear physicist and an expert in human nature. Hubbard was none of these
things. He was an adventurer, writer of pulp fiction, and a teller of tall tales." So, did L.Ron Hubbard ,
just make up the legends and myths of Scientology just to create a fortune on a made up religion to
avoid paying taxes? Or is Scientology an actual religion?
The first viewpoint is arguing if Scientology is a religion. The Church of Scientology has struggled for
recognition as a religious institution. In 1993 the IRS announced that Scientology is a religion. James
Standiseh writes in his article "Is Scientology a Religion," There are a number of methods to test if an
organization is a religion. " Examine the beliefs/structures/doctrines of the organization to see if they
are analogous to more traditional religions,"(14-16). The Scientology belief structures extend well
beyond that of a typical secular business organization or philosophical society.
Scientology provides not only code by which to live life, but also the doctrine of reincarnation and
teachings on the origin of humanity and the earth's role in the greater universe. Scientology does not
have a traditional view of God. It does give pantheistic of a higher power. Scientology does have its
own creation myth, believing that a ruler named Xenu transported billions of his people to Earth via
space planes were the people of Galatctic confederacy placed in volcanoes and killed by exploding
hydrogen bombs, now they are Thetans or souls who will inhabit the bodies of future earth-lings.

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These events cause humans today to have great spiritual harm and unhappiness that can be remedied
through a process called auditing. To be fair, described by Shermer in his article Scientology's Xenu story
is no more scientifically untenable than other faiths' origin myths. " There is no testable means of
determining which creation cosmogony is correct, perhaps theory are all astounding science fiction."
Second viewpoint is Scientology an organized business to evade taxes. Since Scientology was granted
recognition of a religion it has been under speculation. Some speculate the church is organized more
like a franchise business rather than a religious group. Forbes magazine stated that Hubbard resorted to
making his organization a religion only after the FDA found his claims bogus. By turning this scientific
movement into a religion, Hubbard escapes the reach of the FDA.
Standish puts this into perspective "franchises" become "missions," "fees" for services become "fixed
donations," and "theories" become "sacred scriptures." The church does raise funds in an unorthodox
fashion. It has a pay-as-you-go system. Auditing sessions has a price needing to be paid at the time
services are rendered. Auditing can cost anywhere from 200 to 1,000 dollars an hour.
The church does well financially, owning impressive buildings around the world, including a custom
built castle in England, large beautiful building in Los Angeles and a large ship called the Freewinds,
which cruises the Caribbean. The church continues to gets richer acquiring 3 billion in assets from
milking its members while paying no taxes. This is a good example of this religion being an organized
business.
The third viewpoint is that Scientology destroys families and lives. There are those that claim
Scientology manipulated members with their auditing process. They are then put through intense
interrogations. They are pressured to confess to things they did or didn't do and have recovered
memories. Through these auditing sessions, you are forced to pay for more and more courses in order
to reach higher levels of the church ladder. As Donald Prothero reveals in his review the HBO

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documentary " The documentary does a good job summarizing the unsavory and dishonest past of L .
Ron Hubbard, and how he dreamed up the entire Scientology scam to get rich. "
After the death of L. Ron Hubbard his self proclaimed successor , David Miscavige who has ruled with
an iron fist and widespread abuse of its members who have gone through slave labor and bizarre
tortures when Miscavige demands it(Prothero). The way they harassed the IRS until they got taxexempt. The church has also been accused of coercing people to join and punish those who leave. The
church believes that a SP or suppressive person is a person that will continuously undermine, spread bad
news. The SP is against what Scientology is about. Thus this SP is making it very difficult for spiritual
progress. Members are asked to disconnect, which followers are urged to separate from friends and
family members who might be critical of the organization.
The fourth viewpoint is that Scientology is a cult. In many ways the story of Scientology is similar to
another cult Christian Science (which is neither Christian nor science.) Scientology has been referred to
as a cult rather than a religion. Some cults and churches that recruit among the poor and less literate,
media scandal might not be important. Akl wrote an article about joining cults , reports that
Psychologist Newton Malony of the California-based Fuller Theological Seminary defines a cult " as a
religion that is not indigenous to the current culture." That the label cult is usually applied by outsiders
to an organization that they don't understand and they are a little bit scared of it. The word cult
acquired negative connotations in the 1970s after Charles Manson, had is followers commit a series of
murders.(Akl)

conclusion
Whether Scientology is a religion or not depends on a personal evaluation of the evidence. One
may believe that L. Ron Hubbard was a greedy man who converted his self-help business into a

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religion to make a tax-free fortune and that his successors continue to do the same today. L.
Ron Hubbard may not be honest , but his believers are and they feel that Scientology is a
religion and that it meets the spiritual needs.
Former Scientologist are glad that they are not a Scientologist anymore and believe that this
organization damages family relationships and manipulates its members into paying more for
auditing. You also could consider Scientology a cult rather given the definition that it is a
religion not indigenous to the current culture.
My opinion on Scientology is that the appealing nature of this new religion is because of so
many celebrities claiming this religion and people wanting to join to maybe have a false hope of
meeting one of these celebs in the gatherings or trainings. I feel that you can't judge someone
else's beliefs or discredit a spiritual connection one has with a certain religion.
I also believe the founder L. Ron Hubbard was brilliant and crazy at the same time to pull off a
religion with the story that they give how Xenu is the ruler from another planet and sent people
to earth to be killed and these disembodied souls are now trapped here and cause spiritual
harm to human beings and have people actually believe this story.
I think that is way they wait to tell this when you are thousands of dollars invested into this
religion and comfortable in the Scientology community before they tell you. Before you would
have to be pretty high up in the ladder before you were actually told this now you can read it
on the internet.

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work cited
Akl, Aida F. "Why Do Some Americans Join Cults?." VOANews.com (Voice of America). 24
Apr. 2008: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Ganga, Nima. S., and V.. Raman Kutty. "Influence Of Religion, Religiosity And Spirituality On
Positive Mental Health Of Young People." Mental Health, Religion & Culture 16.4 (2013):
435-443. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Prothero, Donald."Stranger Than Fiction "Skeptic 20.2(2015):61-63 Academic Searcher

Premier.web 19 Nov.2015

Reitman, Janet. Inside Scientology. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007, print

Shermer, Michael. "The Real Science Behind Scientology." Scientific American 305.5 (2011): 94.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Standish, James. "Is Scientology a Religion?." Liberty. Jan./Feb. 1998: 14-16. SIRS Issues
Researcher. Web. 09 Nov. 2015.

Weiss, Jeffrey. "Scientology: What It Is and Isn't." Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX). 03 Jul.
2005: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Wright, Lawrence.Going Clear.New York: Alfred A. Knope,2013.print