During my time studying Religious Studies I did get the opportunity to learn about UFO religions, cults and other new religious movements. Academics believe Scientology to be the largest UFO religion in the world although many members reject the concept of aliens and prefer to view the practice as a form of self-help or science of the mind.
Scientology and its teaching were founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. He taught that humans are immortal beings living on Earth and the body is just an earthly vessel for the soul or ‘thetan.’ According to the Scientology website, Scientology.org ‘Scientology addresses the spirit—not the body or mind—and believes that Man is far more than a product of his environment, or his genes.’
Hubbard also taught that humans have reincarnated and lived on other planets before coming to Earth. During this process they have forgotten who they really are and gained a lot of negative energy and false beliefs about their true identity from living on Earth. According to the writings of Hubbard this process began with The Story of Xenu (below) which explains this process.
Many church officials deny The Story of Xenu or dismiss it as a myth despite Hubbard’s scriptures being leaked.
Scientologists believe that the soul has become damaged from life on Earth and needs spiritual rehabilitation. Scientology.org states that ‘The ultimate goal of Scientology is true spiritual enlightenment and freedom for all.’ In order to achieve this ultimate goal in life people need to undergo a type of spiritual rehabilitation known to the church as auditing. During the process of auditing a member is made to recall traumatic events from their past while holding a device called an e-meter (a primitive form of lie detector). The e-meter measures the levels of stress within the individual in order to determine what type of ‘therapy’ they need. Scientologists will then convince the individual to buy the self-help courses that they need in order to achieve the ultimate goal of enlightenment and happiness.
Within the church members can move up different levels and gain further knowledge regarding ‘the truth’ about life (as understood by the beliefs of Scientology). It is usually the members who put the most money into the organization that reach the highest levels.
Members of Scientology often try to recruit new members to join the organization. Walking around Winchester a few years ago as a student I was offered a free ‘personality test’ by a group of people selling books. Thinking that they were just salesmen I politely declined and walked away. It was only afterwards that I learned that they were Scientologists.
Scientology has gained a lot of negative representation in the media, often accused of being a cult and of brainwashing its members. In the 1990s an undercover journalist secretly filmed inside a Scientology centre for a documentary (video below) and experienced strange practices of deception and emotional manipulation disguised as therapy. The same documentary reported cases of financial and mental abuse as described by ex-members.
The Church of Scientology does not react well to ex-members who publicly speak out badly about the religion, as former member Marty Rathbun discovered after fleeing the organization in 2004. The channel 4 documentary ‘Scientologists at War’ shown earlier this week, filmed him being tracked down and harassed for months on end by a group apparently sent by The Church of Scientology to punish him. Marty practices Scientology independently and writes his blog Moving on up a Little Higher about his experiences. The documentary (full programme can be found on Marty’s blog) regarded this blog to be the biggest ever critic and threat to The Church of Scientology.
With its reputation being constantly threatened, The Church of Scientology is in need of high profile members to improve its public image. Tom Cruise is probably the best known poster boy for Scientology due to his commitment to the movement and his will to publicly praise and defend it as a religion.
He was rumoured to have sued the animated show South Park for making fun of him and Scientology. During an episode called ‘Trapped in the Closet’ animated aliens are used to depict the story of Xenu with the words: ‘Scientologists actually believe this’ flashed across the screen.
This video below shows the offending clip.
This video below explains the Tom Cruise news story further.
Celebrity gossip magazines and websites have treated organizations like Scientology as a cult or celebrity craze that brainwashes and takes large amounts of money from famous members. Based upon all the evidence this seems very likely. A big reason for Katie Holmes’ divorce from Tom Cruise is out of fear that their daughter would grow up influenced by the church’s views.
It is difficult to truly understand what really goes on in Scientology and the dangers without experiencing life within the organization. Big questions still remain: why is Scientology still such a secretive organization? What else have they got to hide?
I think we will soon know the answers to these questions and that more will be revealed over time.
EssienTV 