This article is a continuation of SKEPTIC’s REVIEW: Church of Scientology – Religious Organization Website – I.
About SKEPTIC’s REVIEW
My goal for this website segment is to critically analyze the message of some of the people, businesses, and organizations that deal with controversial or pseudo-scientific content and claims and try to figure out the level of deception (if any), the type of manipulation involved (if any), the methods in which the manipulative tactics are being employed (if the case) and the level of potential harm the specific content poses for the target audience, in particular, and society as a whole, in general.
The underlying reason is not only to expose the deception, where it exists, but mainly to provide an alternative interpretation of the message being analyzed.
Scientific facts may not influence a believer’s choice to support a certain unscientific claim, but alternative interpretations may find their way into non-radical minds and who knows, maybe a different conclusion will follow.
Let’s see where it all leads.
| Note: This analysis is not meant as a personal attack on the individuals whose content or craft make the subject of the series. By no means do I intend to trigger through my content any type of aggressive (re)actions toward them, their collaborators or supporters. We are all entitled to our own beliefs, however foolish they may be considered by others, and we are also entitled to practice them, the only limit being, in my opinion, causing any type of harm to another being or to our common environment. I believe all of our activities could, in theory, be deconstructed and less than perfect characteristics may be revealed in the process, so nitpicking is not my aim. Some of these people and organizations may have good intentions, but may also deliver messages and provide services that can do more harm than good to individuals or social environments. This is what I want to reveal. |
SKEPTIC’S REVIEW #2 – PART II: Church of Scientology – Religious Organization Website
What is the Church of Scientology?
The Church of Scientology is an international network of organizations and corporate entities that promote and manage the practice of Scientology, a religion founded by L. Ron Hubbard (science-fiction and fantasy writer) in the 1950s.
THE REVIEW
- The material used for this analysis is part of the Church of Scientology official website.
- Since the COS website provides an extremely large amount of content on various aspects related to the theory and practice of Scientology, the present analysis only refers to the “What is Scientology” segment.
- The review applies exclusively to the content that was live on the website and on the connected online platforms at the date of writing this article.
- I will not post screenshots since the last kind of discussion I would be willing to have regarding this type of content is copyright-related. Commentary and criticism would most likely constitute fair use, but that can only be established after you go to court and win. I’ll spend my time in other ways.
- The article is not meant as a comprehensive commentary on the religion of Scientology or its techniques.
- This review is an opinion. Mostly grounded in critical thinking techniques and abilities (hopefully), but an opinion.
*Since the materials are rather dense, Part I of this SKEPTIC’s REVIEW only addressed the Videos. Part II is an analysis of the accompanying text.
The “What is Scientology” texts cover 7 segments of theory: Background and Origins, Scientology Principles, Scientology Practices, Scientology Ceremonies, Scientology Ministry, Scientology Creeds and Codes, and Scientology in Society. There is also an intro for the entire section.
I will address the content of each of these written materials and try to understand the main message through which the Church of Scientology hopes to increase the number of believers and members.
** To keep things as brief as possible, my comments follow specific claims of pieces of information retrieved from the COS website. [Structure: Their claims.”Direct quotations”. – My comment].
Since this is a fairly long article, you can use the Table of Contents below to navigate the segments easier.
| 2.1 Scientology Definition 2.2 Scientology Principles – Introduction 2.3 Personal Integrity – By L. Ron Hubbard 2.4 Scientology: A Knowledge of Life 2.4.1 The Thetan 2.4.2 Emotional Tone Scale 2.4.3 Tone Scale Position 2.4.4 The Components of Understanding – Affinity, Reality, and Communication (“ARC”) 2.4.5 The Scope of Scientology |
2.4.6 The Parts of Man 2.4.7 The Eight Dynamics 2.4.8 The Tone Scale 2.4.9 Using the Tone Scale 2.4.10 Using the ARC Triangle 2.5 Scientology is New 2.6 Dianetics 2.6.1 Dianetics: Understanding the Mind 2.6.2 The Goal of Life |
2.6.3 The Time Track 2.6.4 Engrams 2.6.5 The Solution of the Reactive Mind 2.6.6 Attributes of Clear 2.6.7 Dianetics around the World 2.6.8 Survival and the Mind 2.6.9 The Parts of the Mind 2.6.10 “Awakening” the Engram 2.6.11 The Clear 2.6.12 More on Dianetics |
| 3.1 Scientology Practices – Introduction 3.2 Scientology Training 3.2.1 Scientology Training – Introduction 3.2.2 How do Scientologists Train? 3.2.3 Scope of Training in Scientology 3.2.4 The Value of Scientology 3.2.5 Emphasis on Application 3.2.6 Individual Study |
3.2.7 Being a Trained Scientologist 3.3 Scientology Auditing 3.3.1 What is Auditing? 3.3.2 The Auditor and the Preclear 3.3.3 The Auditor’s Code 3.3.4 How the E-Meter Works 3.3.5 Why Auditing Works |
3.3.6 Comparison to Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis 3.3.7 The Auditing Session 3.3.8 The Importance of Communication 3.3.9 The E-Meter 3.3.10 How and Auditing Session is Conducted 3.3.11 Validation of Results 3.3.12 Comparison to Other Practices |
| 4.1 Scientology Religious Ceremonies | 4.2 A Prayer for Total Freedom | 4.3 Sunday Service |
| 5.1 Ministry 5.2 Ministerial Services |
5.3 Working with Children 5.4 Scientology Ministers |
5.5 Marriage Counseling 5.6 Difficulties in Life |
6. Scientology Creeds and Codes
Here you find out that L. Ron Hubbard is the one who developed Scientology, “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“.
“Precise”, “complete”, and “certain” understanding of one’s “true spiritual nature” and that of relationships to pretty much everything material and spiritual, is a pretty big claim. Hubbard let no marketing holes when it came to the promises of his method.
Then they say Scientology addresses the spirit, not the body or mind, and that Scientologists believe Man is more than a product of environmental and genetic factors. Now, from what we’ve seen in the videos analyzed in Part I, Scientology seems to concern itself a lot with one’s mind, opposing evidence-based methods of psychology or psychiatry and attempting to provide alternatives each time they get the chance.
The list of prime “fundamental truths” that make up the basis of all knowledge in Scientology basically reveals that Scientologists believe the following:
- Humans are immortal beings. – We’ve seen this before. Expected from a religious context.
- Human existence refers to more than a single lifetime. – Perspective shared with many other religions.
- Human abilities are unlimited, even if humans don’t realize it yet. – Just words. Claims that cannot be verified.
- Humans are “basically good” and man’s spiritual salvation depends upon himself, the other people and his relationship with the universe. – The good human obviously has gone bad since he needs salvation. And being dependent on external factors must make it pretty tough to achieve that goal. It’s a perspective that promotes an external locus of control (sense of control regarding one’s own life) and minimizes the responsibility one has for their own actions and their results.
- Scientology doesn’t want to be seen as a dogmatic religion that asks its members to accept anything on faith alone. “On the contrary, one discovers for oneself that the principles of Scientology are true by applying its principles and observing or experiencing the results.” – So you’re free to discover for yourself… exactly what they tell you to discover. No bias here. 😉 So yes, they create the illusion that one is free to think for himself/herself and to adopt any stance regarding the main knowledge points of Scientology, but in fact, they guide that very process and will react differently to your conclusions. Just like any other cult, I’m guessing they will reward those who come to the conclusion that Scientology is always right and will punish those who find faults in the claims promoted by it.
- Scientology’s ultimate goal is “true spiritual enlightenment and freedom for all”. – Yay! They’re so nice and thoughtful! Again, just words. There is nothing that shows Scientology’s methods would help with one’s spiritual awakening and most of all, one’s freedom. If anything, my opinion is that Scientology hinders one’s freedom.
SCIENTOLOGY: ITS BACKGROUND AND ORIGINS
Main information and claims:
- Scientology’s roots lie in the “beliefs and aspirations of all great religions”. – Translation: “Hubbard borrowed all the stuff from other religions.”
- Despite its 50,000-year-old roots, Scientology is a new religion that developed “a workable technology that can be applied to help people achieve a happier and more spiritual existence in the here and now”. – Translation: “Hubbard wanted to make money out of it, so he also borrowed stuff from other fields, such as psychology and economics”.
- The Twentieth Century scientific advances are significant to the development of Scientology. This made possible the bridging of Eastern philosophy with Western thought. Claim: “Scientology constitutes Man’s first real application of scientific methodology to spiritual questions”. – Translation: “Hubbard wanted the best of all worlds in a physical package he could sell for good money”.
- Scientology is an application of principles, not a set of beliefs. “Something one does, not something one believes in”. – Translation: “Hubbard really wanted you to believe you’re paying for something real, palpable”.
BALANCING SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES
Main information and claims:
- Advances in humanities do not match those in science. This is the imbalance Scientology claims to restore. – What’s yet another sensational claim to a pseudoscientific field?
- Science doesn’t have all the answers, especially when it comes to the big questions of humanity. Among them, “Who are we? What do we consist of? Where do we come from? Where are we going? What are we doing?” – Translation: “Hubbard had these answers. He knew everything. Scientologists know everything.”
- Philosophy and religion tried to answer these questions… but the H-bomb made those answers inadequate. – I kid you not, that’s what they said. It’s the H-bomb that caused humanity’s failure to answer the big questions properly.
- Scientology draws on the same kind of knowledge that led to the understanding of nuclear physics. That allows it to provide answers for the big questions and help Man reach goals such as knowing himself, knowing others and life itself. – There’s no other way to put this. This is delusional content.
INCREASING SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Main information and claims:
- Social values made humans less aware of themselves and their environment. – I agree people are less aware, but I cannot say what exactly caused that. So, OK, fair, it’s a matter of opinion and debate.
- Low spiritual awareness brings about all types of problems. Among them, social problems, illness, and unhappiness. – Unsubstantiated claim, but common for religious environments.
- Scientology wants to increase this awareness. Individuals that are more aware have optimized abilities and a greater understanding of things. All of this makes them better at managing their own life and at helping others. – Personal development marketing. Just a new label, Scientology.
- Scientology provides all the solutions for all your life’s problems. They will restore an individual’s “basic decency, power, and ability”. “It can and does accomplish these ends routinely, daily, all over the world.” – Sensational claim. No proof. No way to prove it, since the results cannot be measured. They’re a matter of opinion and quality.
BEGINNINGS OF THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY
Main information and claims:
- When Hubbard wrote Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (1950), it was a big social hit. People wanted to know more about it and learn the auditing technique. “An attorney, a publisher, a doctor, and an engineer” approached Hubbard to establish “a Hubbard Dianetics Research Foundation”. Hubbard agreed. – It sounds like a joke – “An attorney, a publisher, a doctor, and an engineer walk into a bar” – but what they want to convey is authority bias. Translation: Smart people, true professionals were interested in Hubbard’s idea. You’re supposed to take this as validation of significance and content. They also convey the idea that Hubbard didn’t start this thing. It was requested of him. The people wanted and needed him/his genius.
- Dianetics was a New York Times bestseller. People in the United States loved it and requested the creation of four additional foundations. Students were learning Dianetics in these settings. – Again, it was the people who wanted and needed Hubbard, not the other way around. Just in case you didn’t get it the first time.
- Mr. Hubbard kept doing research into the mind. In 1951 he started studying the human spirit, as the operator of the mind. This discovery is the foundation of Scientology as a field. – For a field that’s not concerned with the mind, its creator seems to have been strongly preoccupied with its study. And yes, they wrote “Mr. Hubbard”, that’s not my bit.
- Students from all over the world were studying Dianetics in Phoenix, Arizona. They then established Scientology groups “not only in America but in England, Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa”. – People needed Hubbard.
- Since the spirit is a thing that pertains to religious fields, “a group of Los Angeles Scientologists formed the first Church of Scientology in February 1954”. In a decade, the world already had “over a dozen Churches of Scientology” in five countries (est.) and Scientologists could be found in dozens of nations. – A new spiritual practice developed in ’60s America. Shocker.
Main information and claims:
- Scientific and technical advances made people richer. Yet, “the improvement in the quality of their lives has not matched their material gains”. – Translation: “People now have money. How do we get it?”
- When they were poor, people seemed happier and more fulfilled. Now that they’re rich, some people simply cannot handle it. For some, their anxiety is high – they don’t know how to handle their money and if someone doesn’t take it away from them, they may think they might die -, others might see death as a better option than “a lifetime of assembly-line slavery”, while others, “in a less dramatic fashion, simply buckle down to lives of quiet desperation”. – Translation: “Money is the cause of your unhappiness. We can help you with that. Or you can simply remain a slave, or just keep living a life of desperation.” And yes, they actually said people might die from not being able to handle their wealth.
- In the new millennium, people don’t really understand “the factors that govern their existence”. But if they would understand themselves and others better, they could improve their own lives and the lives of others. – Now that was quite a jump from all the money talk. It’s like they suddenly remembered “Oh, wait, we can’t get people’s money with the first kind of talk. We scared them enough, now let’s create contrast and show them what they could have instead. And let’s make them understand only we can take them there.”
- Stated purpose of Scientology: “to enable Man to improve his lot through understanding”. – Translation: “We found a way to take your money. Whew.”
Main information and claims:
- Scientology shares many of the beliefs found in other religions and philosophies. Man is a spiritual being, a perspective different from the scientific one. – Don’t say Hubbard took stuff from all other world’s religions and philosophies to make up Scientology. It just so happens that they all resemble. That’s what happens when you’re not a big, mean scientist. You see more to man than the material stuff.
- Scientology considers Man to be “basically good, not evil”. Man committing evil deeds is unnatural. Man trying to solve his problems by only considering his own interests is wrong and causes “trouble for both himself and others“. – Translation: “We think you’re good, not like some other people, i.e. scientists, who think you’re bad… So when you will try to solve your problems, think of other people’s interests as well… Think of our interests. Remember, we think you’re good.”
- An individual is considered advanced when he/she preserves spiritual integrity and values. – Okay, but they define those values and they decide on the preservation of spiritual integrity. Once again, things are subjective and cannot be measured.
- Man being basically good, can improve spiritually. Scientology’s goal is to help him sort out the factors of his own life and help him solve his problems. – “For real, remember, we think you’re good.”
- Scientology can help you solve your problems in ways no other context did. The setting Scientology creates to facilitate that result is marked by “a position where he can increase his abilities, where he can confront life better, where he can identify the factors in his life more easily”. This can help the person solve their problems and better their life. – I see no problem with saying your solution is a good or a good-enough solution. But claiming to have the best solution, the one no one else thought of, is something that I believe it works only when you find a cure for something or devise a method that solves a very real problem. Subjective problems don’t usually support a unique, best of the best, fits-all solution.
FIRST DIANETICS, THEN SCIENTOLOGY
Main information and claims:
- Mr. Hubbard was a genius, even as a young man. – No one else but Scientologists seems to believe that, but whatever.
- Dianetics is a term that comes from Greek words – dia (through) and nous (mind or soul) – and is defined as “what the mind (or soul) is doing to the body”. – They’re not concerned with the mind, but it’s just that… they’re concerned with the mind.
- Dianetics led to research and “the exact isolation of the source of life itself”. – {Insert out-of-admiration-whistling here}. Sensational claim, again. {stop whistling}
- Man has a body and a mind but is a spirit. Dianetics deals with the effects of the spirit on the body. Dianetics can help one deal with “unwanted sensations and emotions, accidents and psychosomatic illnesses (ailments caused or aggravated by mental stress)”. – Psychotherapy-wannabe. I have no idea what “accidents” refer to.
- The definition of Scientology is “the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, universes and other life”. – Translation: “We have it all. Make your pick on what you’d like, choose whatever, just give us that money”.
- Scientology is all about the spiritual being. Raising his awareness, ability, and helping him overcome negative factors that impact one’s life. – Personal-development-training-wannabe, but with a twist. A spiritual twist.
Main information and claims:
- “Mr. Hubbard” not only isolated “the source of life itself” (previous segment) but also “many fundamental truths about life”. – Mr. Hubbard was a genius, or so Scientologists say.
- Validation of these truths comes from the numbers and variety of church members. – No. That’s not what validates fundamental truths. Scientific evidence validates fundamental truths, not numbers of believers.
- Scientologists are great. Other people see that, so they want to become Scientologists as well. – I’m not sure what their great achievements are based on their religious affiliation, so I’m going to go ahead and say this cannot be verified. They do sell an image, but I’m not sure that carries much weight socially.
- Scientology is one of the great religions. – That’s what they would want you to believe, but there’s no data to support that. Their numbers are lower than those of major religions, they’ve been around for a little amount of time so they cannot claim long term results, no [significant] achievements can be attributed to them, other than being able to sell stuff. They want to create the illusion of equality by associating themselves with other religions, but Scientology is just a cult.
- Scientology is socially relevant, which assures its social permanence. – Just a bold claim and wishful thinking.
- “Millions upon millions” will join and create a better world. – And yet they don’t release the number of members, only the number of people they “welcome” each year, which is not necessarily the same thing.
Main information and claims:
- The basic information presented here is already covered in VIDEO 1: What is Scientology?, which is already discussed in Part I. I will not repeat those elements here.
- They associate Scientology once more with “the great religions”.
- They repeat the fact that Scientology can help one solve all kinds of personal and social issues and that its practice leads to greater freedom.
SCIENTOLOGY PRINCIPLES – INTRODUCTION
Main information and claims:
- Some of the information presented here is already covered in several of the videos discussed in Part I (mainly VIDEOS 1 and 4). I will not repeat those elements here.
- The full story of Scientology “can be found in scores of books, more than 15,000 pages of technical writing and more than 3,000 taped lectures”. – Using large numbers to create the illusion of significance and validity. The “scores of books” can be rubbish, the 15,000 pages may seem technical but could actually be nothing more than pseudo-technical content with no practical validity, and the 3000 taped lectures may just show that Hubbard and/or others liked to talk a lot.
- Hubbard worked to “discover a workable means to set men spiritually free, to replace ignorance with knowledge, doubts with certainty and misery with happiness”. – Okay. It doesn’t mean his methods do that.
PERSONAL INTEGRITY – BY L. RON HUBBARD
Main information and claims:
- This is a short essay or message from Hubbard.
- Truth in Scientology is something one observes for himself/herself. – Already discussed in Part I, discussion of VIDEO 4: “Inside a Church of Scientology”.
- Personal integrity is “knowing what you know”. “There is no other integrity”. – Dichotomous view (the Scientology way vs. the wrong way) and presentation of personal views as absolute truth.
- A skeptical or critical attitude, or an open mind, not required to maintain this integrity. – Definitely not required to become a Scientologist. Nor encouraged when you are one.
- Truths in Scientology are obtained through personal observation – “observe to observe” and “observe and say what you have observed”. – The problems with using personal observance as the sole measure of reality can be an issue, as I discussed in Part I when analyzing VIDEO 4: “Inside a Church of Scientology”.
SCIENTOLOGY: A KNOWLEDGE OF LIFE
Main information and claims:
- Meaning of the Scientology symbol. Letter S imposed over two triangles. “S” is for “Scientology”. Top triangle represents knowledge, responsibility, and control. Lower triangle represents affinity, reality, and communication. – Obvious meets random stuff.
- The basic information presented here is already covered in VIDEO 5: “The Parts of Man”, which is already discussed in Part I. I will not repeat those elements here.
- Hubbard researched the phenomenon known as exteriorization like no one before him. He concluded that “the thetan is able to leave the body and exist independent of the flesh”. In Scientology, the act of exteriorization gains a person “the certainty he is himself and not his body“. – Wait, what??? 😲 Well, in psychology we call that psychosis.
Main information and claims (analyzed below as a whole):
- The Thetan uses its mind to control the link between itself and the physical universe.
- The mind stores a thetan’s “thoughts, conclusions, decisions, observations, and perceptions throughout its existence”.
- The Thetan is “the source of all creation and life itself”.
- The Thetan is immortal.
- Exteriorization of the thetan from its body achieves certain goals envisioned but rarely, if ever, achieved in spiritualism, mysticism and similar fields.
- Recognition of thetan facilitates gains in ability and awareness. These gains are not attainable for those who only see man as a physical entity.
- Psychology got things wrong. Since it does not deal with a spirit, “it had degenerated into a practice devoted solely to the creation of an effect on living forms”.
- Since it’s directly addressing the thetan itself, Scientology can increase one’s “spiritual freedom, intelligence and ability for the individual, and clarifies any part of life”.
The first things can still be considered religious beliefs, but from externalization on, everything sounds to me like a description – and glamorization of – depersonalization disorder (mental disorder marked by episodes of feeling disconnected or detached from one’s body and thoughts).
I don’t think psychology got it wrong, it just stayed on the rational lane.
If the results this religion is expecting are related to the recognition of thetans and accounts of externalization episodes, this cult is more dangerous than previously thought. It might drive its members into severe mental distress.
Without the externalization part, I would still think of Hubbard as just being a fairly good science-fiction writer who took things too far when turning his writing into profit. But with this element so active and so central to the religious belief and its practice, I’m starting to be more and more convinced of the fact that Hubbard’s creation of Scientology was simply a reaction to being diagnosed as mentally ill. He created an environment where he was better than everyone and everything, and where his mental issues were strengths and desirable traits, not signs of dysfunctionality. Plenty of things wrong with following a man into his delusion.
Main information and claims (analyzed below as a whole):
- The Emotional Tone Scale is a tool that “plots emotions in an exact ascending or descending sequence”.
- Before “Mr. Hubbard”, no one fully understood emotions. – Okay, it’s getting kind of heavy on grandiose delusions (type of delusions marked by the unsubstantiated belief that one is significantly superior to others – famous, omnipotent, omniscient, wealthy, extremely powerful, etc.).
- The tool allows Scientologists to help people and connect with others. – My guess is this is a false indicator that will manipulate relationships and personal dynamics.
- Based on their place on the Emotional Tone Scale, Scientologists can aim to improve their position and move toward “higher tones where increased beingness, competence, self-esteem, honesty, well-being, happiness, and other desirable attributes are manifested”. – Now I’m sure it’s just another tool of manipulation.
Main information and claims:
- Based on a person’s level on the scale one can infer about his attitudes, behavior, and survival potential. – This is not a standardized test. It’s purely subjective.
- Low values on the scale – 0.05 to 2.0 – show the following stages: chronic apathy (“nearly dead”), grief, fear, covert hatred/hostility, anger, resentful/in antagonism, while higher values – 2.0 to 4.0 – show boredom, caution, enthusiasm. 4.0 is very rare. – Completely random hierarchy of traits and emotions. They also use the idea of being “fixed” at a certain level on the scale, which is an element of psychodynamic theories in psychology.
- The scale has “a chronic or an acute aspect”. A person can be brought at a low level of the scale and it can stay there for ten minutes or ten years. The type of a person’s main life events will set the level where he stays the most. – Sure, sure. Actually, no. Completely random claim.
THE COMPONENTS OF UNDERSTANDING – AFFINITY, REALITY, AND COMMUNICATION (“ARC”)
Main information and claims:
- It is a tool used to “assist interpersonal relationships”. The three components may be expressed in a triangle where Affinity means “the degree of liking or affection or lack of it”, Reality – “that which appears to be”, “Reality is fundamentally agreement. What we agree to be real is real.”, and Communication – “interchange of ideas or objects between two people”. Communication is the most important of the three. – Randomness galore. Also, not a surprise that they consider reality a subjective agreement. Well, on that note, many of us agree Scientology is BS, so…
- If more than two of the triangle’s corners are missing, the other one cannot be valid either. – Makes total sense. If you don’t like a person and you also do not communicate with him/her, the reality involving the two of you ceases to exist. Facepalm.
Main information and claims:
- “Although there are substantially many more ways in which these principles and others may be used to improve conditions, you need not spend months studying Scientology before you can use it.” – Translation: “Please pay for the courses for a significant amount of time before you start using any of this crap that we already know it won’t work anyway”.
- Other fields made people believe humans are unknowable, but Scientology claims that one can know himself fully and gain control over one’s own life. Just a single applied principle of Scientology can determine remarkable changes. – Manipulative, unsubstantiated, sensational claims.
- Scientology’s practices aim to consistently raising individuals on the Tone Scale, increasing their ARC, and broadly improving their dynamics. – These things cannot be verified via other tools than those created by Hubbard. I can create my own shiny-wire-based Intergalactic Know-It-All-And-Well-Being-Boosting Tool and determine myself whether the way the shiny-wire thingie relates to your life stories is a good thing or not, and how it should react if your life would’ve been the best you could have. Relevance: 0.
- “To fully appreciate the depth and scope of the religion and the actual practice of these principles and others, it is necessary to gain some understanding of the most important practices of Scientology—auditing and training.” – I love the “to fully appreciate the depth and scope”. I do not understand how this kind of fiction and manipulation could trigger any sort of appreciation from anyone… and yet many give their money to the COS.
- Already discussed in Part I, discussion of VIDEO 5: “The Parts of Man”.
Main information and claims:
- “Survive!” is the basic command that all life obeys. It is “subdivided into eight compartments so that each aspect of life can be more easily inspected and understood”. These are the eight dynamics – dynamic meaning urge, drive, or impulse. – Science fiction meets drive theories of psychology.
- Hubbard “observed and delineated” the first four in Dianetics, the other four were introduced when he worked on Scientology. – More fiction for more money.
- “Through Scientology, a person realizes that his life and influence extend far beyond himself. He also becomes aware of the necessity to participate in a much broader spectrum.” – They tell you what you will realize and discover. I thought this was a personal journey.
- Understanding the eight dynamics and their relationships will lead to increased survival on all these dynamics. – Whatever that means.
- The First Dynamic is SELF – “to survive as an individual, to be an individual”. – Now, where did we hear this before?
- The Second Dynamic is CREATIVITY – “any creativity”, “contains the family unit and raising children” and family activity. “Incidentally”, it includes sex as “a mechanism to compel future survival”. – They mean creativity as in the creation of something, not the artistic ability.
- The Third Dynamic is GROUP SURVIVAL – Frankly, they could put anything in these “dynamics” list. From all known fields of knowledge and science. This bit most likely comes from biology and social psychology.
- The Fourth Dynamic is SPECIES – Biology again. This part also includes the following segment: “All men and women, because they are men and women, seek to survive as men and women and for men and women“. Because, why not?
- The Fifth Dynamic is LIFE FORMS – “the urge to survive as life forms and with the help of life forms such as animals, birds, insects, fish and vegetation”, “the effort to survive for any and every form of life”. – Yes, we live for them bees. I also like how animals, birds, insects, and fish are listed separately.
- The Sixth Dynamic is PHYSICAL UNIVERSE – includes matter, energy, space, and time. – I’m getting bored by all of this, to be honest.
- The Seventh Dynamic is the SPIRITUAL DYNAMIC – “the urge to survive as spiritual beings or the urge for life itself to survive”, “life source”. It includes, among other things, “the ability to destroy or pretend to be destroyed”. – It’s not like there are many spiritual elements to this religion.
- The Eight Dynamic is “the urge toward existence as INFINITY” – “commonly called God, the Supreme Being or Creator, but it is correctly defined as infinity”. According to L. Ron Hubbard, “when the Seventh Dynamic is reached in its entirety, one will only then discover the true Eighth Dynamic.” – Enter Scientology’s Boss Level.
Main information and claims:
- The Tone scale allows Scientologists to place “the vast majority of emotional tones a person experiences“ on a numeric scale ranging from Body Dead – 0.0 to Serenity of Beingness, 40.0. – This scale is completely random. Even if we were to try to place human emotions on a scale like this, the Tone Scale is, in my opinions, still a wrong classification. If you were to ask me, emotional numbness – Numb, 0.94, should be considered lower in value than Grief, 0.5, since grief is still indicative of emotional reactions, profound sadness.
Main information and claims:
- “People find it difficult to respond to communication which is too far above where they are stuck on the scale. If you try to help someone in apathy by talking to them in enthusiasm, you will probably not have much success.” – This could be somewhat valid, provided that the scale would actually portray a real hierarchy of emotions, based on the level of energy they might be linked to.
- Understanding the Tone Scale could bridge that communication gap. “[..] recognize the emotion one-half to one full tone above the person, communicate in that tone and thus bring him up to higher tones.” – Yeah, don’t shout if it’s quiet, stuff like that. Great advice.
- “The Tone Scale is of enormous value in life and its relationships. Mr. Hubbard thoroughly researched human behavior and the full body of his work in this area furnishes an accurate description of the attitudes and behavior of others.” – I say Mr. Hubbard knew just enough about human behavior so that he could manipulate it for his own interest.
- “By knowing where a person falls on the scale, one can precisely predict his actions.” – Sensational claim, and mainly relevant to manipulative tactics only.
- “Knowledge of the Tone Scale gives one a greater understanding of his fellows than ever before available. It is a true technology of helping others to improve their conditions.” – Just to make it all clear, this is about knowing others, not about knowing yourself.
Main information and claims:
- “The ARC Triangle is not equilateral” because communication is more important than the other two. – So it must be a scalene triangle – no equal sides, no equal angles (isosceles triangle would mean Communication would either get the smaller angle or the smaller side). It really doesn’t get more random than that.
- Communication “brings into existence affinity and reality”. – Science fiction.
- “Scientologists know that communication is the bridge to higher states of awareness and happiness”. – OK.
- Affinity plus reality plus communication equals understanding. – More science fiction.
- “They are interdependent on each other and when one drops, the other two drop also.” – Yes, just drop it.
- The ARC Triangle “answers the question of how to talk to someone—if one uses the triangle and chooses a subject on which the person being talked to can agree, affinity will rise and communication will be better.” – “The person being talked to”… Another tool of manipulation. It basically says “this is how you can get people to be more compliant with what you’re saying”.
- “Using the principle that raising any corner of this triangle raises the other two, one can improve his relationship with anyone. This is the first step in helping others.” – This “interpersonal” tool is pretty unilateral. It never actually talks about interaction, but how one should “talk to” others to make them more receptive to his/her own message.
Main information and claims:
- Scientology’s perspective on Man is new, its organization is new, its tools are new. Scientology is different than the other fields that study humans. Scientology is better. It is based on “the fundamental truths of life”. – Translation: “Give us your money.”
- Scientology “does not depend upon a system of beliefs or faith”. – Funny thing for a religion. Also, false.
- “In Scientology, the emphasis is squarely on an exact application of its principles toward the improvement of one’s life and the world in which we live.” – Not all that exact. Not sure how the improvement parts work since there is so much randomness and BS to it.
DIANETICS: UNDERSTANDING THE MIND
Main information and claims:
- Dianetics symbol uses the Greek letter delta as its basic form – green stripes stand for growth, yellow stripes are for life. The four green stripes represent the four subdivisions of Man delineated in Dianetics. – Symbols are a powerful way to communicate with others. It’s also a great tool of pseudoscience: it creates the illusion of meaning where there is none.
- “Dianetics is a methodology which can help alleviate unwanted sensations and emotions, irrational fears and psychosomatic illnesses (illnesses caused or aggravated by mental stress).” – But no, Scientology has nothing to do with the mind.
- “It is most accurately described as what the soul is doing to the body through the mind.” – Nothing whatsoever.
- Psychiatry was wrong by thinking the mind is linked to the brain and that personality is fixed. Hubbard changed that perspective with “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health”. Its publication in 1950 marks a watershed in the history of Man’s quest for a true understanding of himself.” – Hubbard had a bone to pick with psychiatry. The only way to fight psychiatrists would be to create something that would present him as better, smarter than them. This, I imagine, he thought would render their opinion of him invalid. Also, no one but Hubbard and his followers considers his work in Dianetics of any importance in the study of the human mind, or of the human anything, or of anything.
- “Like Scientology, Dianetics rests on basic principles, easily learned, clearly demonstrated as true and every bit as valid today as when they were first released in 1950.” – Again, only according to Hubbard and his followers.
Main information and claims:
- The “most fundamental breakthroughs of Dianetics”, “the Dynamic Principle of Man’s Existence, was discovered by L. Ron Hubbard and from this, many hitherto unanswered questions were resolved.” – Hubbard discovered nothing. If I believe there are leprechauns in the backyard, I didn’t discover leprechauns in the backyard. He imagined, he believed… he didn’t discover anything. “Claims to have discovered” is the appropriate formulation.
- “The goal of life can be considered to be infinite survival”. – Hubbard seems to maintain a video game structure of it all. “Infinite survival” can be thought of as unlimited lives in a video game. Equally valid for real life.
- “Man, as a life form can be demonstrated to obey in all his actions and purposes the one command: “SURVIVE!” – If it “can be demonstrated”, no one did demonstrate it. The idea of humans obeying even an imaginary “command”, for me, is a sign of the aggressive social attitude that governed the person who projected this context in these terms. Also, humans seem to be very skilled at creating settings that would rather lead to their destruction, than to survival.
- “And from that research [that Survive! is “the primary urge which explained all of a life’s form’s activities“] it was discovered that when one considered pain and pleasure as part of the equation, he had the necessary ingredients with which to understand all of life’s actions.” – So Hubbard discovered the writings of Freud and others.
- Survival is more than the difference between life and death. There are different levels of survival. Increased levels of survival lead to pleasure, abundance and satisfaction and pain, disappointment and failure are the results of actions that impede survival. – If you live well you will have positive emotions, while bad emotions may make you feel less driven to fulfill your goals. Quite a discovery, Mr. Hubbard. Also, the sky appears blue to most of us.
- ” Those actions that lead away from pain and toward pleasure, can be said to promote survival.” – Shoker.
Main information and claims:
- The Time Track is “the consecutive record of mental image pictures that accumulates through an individual’s life”. The Time Track is a very accurate record of a person’s past. – Memory. It’s called memory. Also, memories do not contain only visual records.
- The Time Track “could be likened to a motion-picture film—if that film were three-dimensional, had 57 perceptions and could fully react upon the observer”. – Whatever. It’s random.
- The mind uses the pictures in the Time Track to make decisions that promote survival. It’s what the mind always wants, even though a person might make mistakes or fail in an undertaking. – The mind wants what it wants, I guess. Or what the thetan wants, in this case.
Main information and claims:
- The reactive mind stores engrams – complete recordings, “down to the last accurate detail, of every perception present in a moment of partial or full “unconsciousness”. – First of all, Hubbard definitely did not “discover”, nor coined “engram”. The term belongs to neuropsychology and its creation and use precede any professional activities of Hubbard in the field of the human mind. In fact, Hubbard was only seven years old when memory researcher Richard Semon, who actually coined the term engram, died. Also, that’s not what an engram is in neuropsychology. Once again, Hubbard piggybacked a valid field to push his own distorted ideas and beliefs.
- The reactive mind “thinks” in identities, meaning one thing is identical to another. – I have no idea what this means.
- “The equation is A=A=A=A=A”. Where A is, in Hubbards view, a perception of a life event. – Strong math skills, Mr. Hubbard.
- To understand how these experiences affect an individual, one should read “Awakening” the Engram. – Although I have zero interest in doing so, I will read this material later on to document this article, since it’s part of the “What is Scientology”/Dianetics segment. Lucky me.
THE SOLUTION OF THE REACTIVE MIND
Main information and claims:
- Hubbard discovered the existence of the reactive mind and its engrams. Hubbard developed very precise techniques to address it. The techniques “can effectively “erase” the contents of the reactive mind and eliminate the ability of such recordings to affect the person without his conscious knowledge”. – Hubbard fancied all that stuff. He basically claimed to “erase” the unconscious elements of the mind that can automatically impact one’s thinking, emotions, or behaviors.
- “Furthermore, these techniques make these formerly hidden memories available to the individual as memory in the analytical mind. The effectiveness of these techniques, astonishing in many cases, has been documented in a multitude of case histories over a half-century of application.” – Yes, Freud et al.’s applications.
Main information and claims:
- “Clear is a state that has never before been attainable in Man’s history.” – Because it is not a real state to be attained.
- The Clear is “Freed from active or potential psychosomatic illness or aberration, Self-determined, Vigorous and persistent, Unrepressed, Able to perceive, recall, imagine, create and compute at a level high above the norm, Stable mentally, Free with his emotion, Able to enjoy life, Freer from accidents, Healthier, Able to reason swiftly, Able to react quickly”. “Life is not much worth living if it cannot be enjoyed. The Clear enjoys living to a very full extent. He can stand up to situations which, before he was cleared, would have reduced him to a shambles.” – Ah, aren’t we all lucky Mr. Hubbard discovered all these things. Before him, there have never been humans who truly enjoyed their life.
- “The ability to live well and fully and enjoy that living is the gift of being Clear”. – “A gift”. He made humanity “a gift”. Humans did very well before Hubbard and continued to do great after him. Scientologists are those who seem to get the shorter straw in this story though.
Main information and claims:
- “Its discoveries heralded as greater than the wheel or fire, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health has remained a best-seller for more than sixty years. In fact, with more than 20 million copies in print and translations in 50 languages, it is the most widely read and influential book ever written about the human mind.” – Delusion. Manipulation at best. “Dianetics” doesn’t exist outside Scientology. I never heard Dianetics, its methods, or Hubbard mentioned once in any of the events that I attended in the past decade as a psychologist. Never heard a medical doctor mention them either. Or a philosopher. In fact, I am rather positive that they would enter such contexts only if debunking, pseudoscience, and similars would be addressed during an event. Of course, maybe it’s just me that’s never been exposed to such subjects until now, but considering the remarkable impact that Scientologists claim Dianetics had in so many scientific fields, you’d think one would come across the information at some point, in a professional or personal context. I only heard Scientologists praise Dianetics. If you had a different experience, please share the information. [To herself: “greater than the wheel or fire?!?”.]
- “In a word, Dianetics has inspired a worldwide movement—spanning more than 160 nations—and applied by millions.” – “Worldwide movement” – two words. Just saying.
Main information and claims:
- As per Hubbard’s claims, the purpose of the mind is to solve problems relating to survival, based on engrams, or mental image pictures. These pictures are three-dimensional, contain color, sound, smell, and other perceptions. They include conclusions and speculations of the individual. The mental recording of data is an ongoing process. – At least he mentioned the other types of perceptions now.
- These mental image pictures are actually composed of energy. “They have mass, they exist in space, and they follow some very, very definite routines of behavior, the most interesting of which is the fact that they appear when somebody thinks of something. For example, if a person thinks of a certain dog, he gets a picture of that dog.” – Now, proving that claim would be groundbreaking.
Main information and claims:
- Hubbard discovered the mind has two “very distinct parts”: analytical mind (used consciously; “thinks, observes data, remembers it and resolves problems”; it has “standard memory banks” used to make decisions to promote survival) and the reactive mind (unconscious; activates to record intense pain – emotional and physical, records all details; when it’s active, ex: during accidents, the analytical mind is suspended). – I am really getting tired of the “Hubbard discovered” formulation. The other elements have already been analyzed in Part I, discussion of VIDEO 6: “Dianetics: An Introduction”.
Main information and claims:
- In contexts similar to those in which the engram was created, the engram will reactivate or “awaken” (also called “restimulation”). – We call these “triggers“.
- These reactivated elements are a way of the reactive mind to tell the person that they are in “dangerous quarters”. – We call these reactions to triggers. They can help us identify the triggers themselves, and thus pinpoint the core context to which we are actually reacting to.
- If the person stays in that environment, it can become a “predisposition to illness or chronic illness”. – We call these maladaptive coping mechanisms.
- The reactive mind does not help a person’s survival because “it is not very intelligent”. “Its attempts to “prevent a person from getting himself into danger,” by enforcing its engram content, can cause unevaluated, unknowing and unwanted fears, emotions, pains and psychosomatic illnesses that one would be much better off without”. – We call these reactions irrational. They have nothing to do or very little to do with intelligence.
Main information and claims:
- “The goal of Dianetics is a new state for the individual, sought throughout history but never attainable before Dianetics. This state is called “Clear.”“ – Translation: “Our approach is better than anything that ever existed”. Additional translation: “Our approach is the real deal and cannot be subjected to assessment from professionals in any other fields because we are so much more knowledgeable than they are”.
- A Clear is a person who “no longer has his own reactive mind” and therefore will not experience its negative effects anymore. – Claiming to be able to eliminate the unconscious mind is a pretty big deal. Also, from what we know so far, unattainable.
- “The Clear has no engrams which, when restimulated, throw out the correctness of his computations by entering hidden and false data.” – The individual goes through new experiences all the time and new memories are recorded all the time when no known memory impairment exists, so I cannot see how this situation, where no negative experiences are no longer stored in the mind, could be achieved.
- “Becoming Clear strengthens a person’s native individuality and creativity and does not in any way diminish these attributes.” – Many artists use their negative experiences to create the exact art that helps them either express or deal with those experiences, so again, I have no idea what they are talking about in terms of achievable mental states and goals.
- A Clear is “free with his emotions”, can think for himself, can “experience life unencumbered by inhibitions reactively dictated by past engrams”. – It seems to me that Scientology does most of the thinking for its members. They claim to support them in achieving independence but they clearly outline a desired being as an outcome of Dianetics procedures.
- “Artistry, personal force and individual character are all residual in the basic personality of the person, not the reactive mind.” – They somehow had to address this issue. They completely deny the significance and formative force of painful experiences in an individual’s life. Sometimes it’s those exact negative experiences that build a stronger, more resourceful individual.
- “Clears are self-confident, happy and generally successful”. It’s a desirable state, attainable by “virtually anyone”. “[..] thousands upon thousands of people have achieved the state of Clear, a living tribute to the workability of L. Ron Hubbard’s discoveries and the technology he developed”. – An attempt to make you project the possible positive outcome of the processes promoted by Scientology via Dianetics. Again, nothing religious, but personal development setting. The bad, sensational, all-claims-but-no-actual-scientific-basis, kind.
Main information and claims:
- Dianetics is a complex field and it can help you better your life. There’s so much more to learn about it. They have various materials – films, books, personal testimonies, etc. that you can access and you can also find a Dianetics center or auditor near you. There is also a separate website that deals with Dianetics alone. – Translation: “We have all this stuff that makes us and our methods look legit and really organized. But what we’re really interested in is that you buy the stuff we sell and get in touch with one of our own so that true manipulation can begin”.
SCIENTOLOGY PRACTICES – INTRODUCTION
Main information and claims:
- “It is sometimes said that while the principles of Scientology are learned in a Scientology church or mission, and from studying Scientology books and materials, the actual practice of Scientology takes place in society.” – Who says this stuff? Where is this kind of stuff discussed “in society”?
- Scientology comprises, within the data related to religious beliefs and practices, “many principles which, when learned, give one a new and broader view of life”. – There do not seem to be many valuable things within those beliefs and practices, but when something makes sense within the Scientology or Dianetics fields, those elements do not belong to Scientology itself but are borrowed from many other fields.
- “Knowing the Tone Scale, for instance, a person can see how best to deal with a grumpy child, mollify an upset friend or get an idea across to a staid employer.” – These are not presented as communication skills, but manipulation skills.
- “These principles amount to a huge area of observation in the humanities. It is a body of knowledge there for the learning. There is nothing authoritarian in it. It is valuable purely as a body of knowledge.” – The valid information repeated by Hubbard et. al. belongs to many other fields, humanities included. The new thing introduced by Hubbard is the authoritarian, aggressive, manipulative approach to it all. Scientology tells you what is right and evaluates you based on that. You don’t meet their standards, you’re “wrong” and need to be modified, “cleared”.
- The methods, technologies, of Dianetics and Scientology, are exact and when applied, generate “life-enhancing improvements”. – Nothing exact is what I noticed. Subjectivity and pseudo-measurements everywhere you look.
- “Scientologists actively use the insights and knowledge that Scientology gives them to make a real, positive difference in the lives of others.” – This is not kindness. This is not positive social impact. This is manipulation. Healthy goals refer to changing the individual from within, at his/her own will. That personal change can cause a social change. That is healthy. When one individual, or more act in such a way that changes the goals and behavior of another individual or group of individuals based on their own vision of what society should be, it’s manipulation.
SCIENTOLOGY TRAINING – INTRODUCTION
Main information and claims:
- “The scripture of Scientology” consists of books, recorded lectures and films in which Hubbard presents his “discoveries and teachings”. They include the presentation of “the precise manner in which all forms of auditing should be ministered”. – All must happen the way one person, Hubbard, intended. This is as authoritarian as a field can get. This type of leadership never benefits the group, only the leader. They also talk about applying the body of knowledge “correctly”. This means they can defend the lack of results with “you didn’t apply the principles correctly” argument. In many scientific areas, this makes sense, but here, where all the basis is subjective, this is just another element that can be used against the individual, to control them.
- “It is through training that one really becomes a Scientologist, a person able to give effective help to others.” – Translation: “By helping others, we mean influence others into joining Scientology.”
- “Training occurs formally in courses delivered in Churches and Missions, by correspondence and on-line and also informally where people read or listen to Mr. Hubbard’s works at home or elsewhere and then apply those teachings to help others.” – Translation: “We want to reach you in any way possible and not allow you to formulate an “excuse” for why you wouldn’t be available to become a mighty Scientologist.” Again, this is not about bettering yourself. This is about Scientologists being able to influence others. I.e. make them join Scientology and pay large amounts of money to the leaders and organization.
Main information and claims:
- Hubbard also knows best how to educate people. Study Technology is a separate field, “with application to any subject of learning”. – Hubbard had plenty of time on his hands. This level of productivity may seem to some as a legitimate criterion to consider Hubbard a genius. He was not. The quality of one’s work must also be taken into consideration. There is nothing scientifically valid in his works.
- Experts in the Technology of Study are called Course Supervisors. They are “adept at locating and handling any barriers or obstacles to understanding which one might encounter”. – Mini-bosses within a big-boss environment. Subjective lenses on top of subjective lenses. Give people a tiny amount of perceived power over others and they will be more loyal to you and your organization. Manipulation 101. Also, this stratified structure protects the main leader(s) from being seen as the ‘bad guys’ by the members. There’s a buffer area covered by the mini-bosses that can be easily removed and changed with others. “It’s not the main leader who thinks you’re bad at this, Timmy, it’s the Course Supervisor who thinks you can do so much better”.
- “The Supervisor does not lecture, nor in any way add his own rendition of the subject. This point is important because the results obtained in Scientology come only from closely following the technology exactly as written by Mr. Hubbard.” – Translation: “Mini-bosses have no power. It’s always going to be about the big-boss/central figure”. Also, this is authoritarian AF.
- “[..]considerable attention is paid to ensuring that a student receives only the pure rendition as written or spoken by L. Ron Hubbard himself.” – Reinforcement of the things analyzed above.
- “Instead, the Supervisor helps the individual to grasp the materials, always stressing understanding and application. This method of education has been found to enable individuals to understand more and be far better able to use what they have learned than traditional methods of instruction.” – Indoctrination. Supervisors ensure proper indoctrination.
SCOPE OF TRAINING IN SCIENTOLOGY
Main information and claims:
- “The broad scope of Scientology training is divided into numerous courses that range from a study of the basic books written by L. Ron Hubbard to introductory courses that teach basic principles, to more extensive courses that train auditors from beginning levels to considerably more advanced ones.” – Translation: “The broad scope of Scientology is to make you into a mindless blob who doesn’t question Hubbard’s methods, financially supports the organization, and pushes our agenda further.”
- “There are other courses which contain knowledge about the ultimate capabilities of the thetan and those that cover the full philosophic and technical materials of Dianetics and Scientology.” – Translation: “We will try to mainly control you with things you cannot verify. We’ll claim authority based on alleged knowledge of unmeasurable, unprovable things”.
- “There is much to know, but all of it is knowable. And as you learn more, your view of life becomes clearer and more understandable.” – Translation: “If we tell you there is always more to know, we can add unlimited levels to this game and charge you for them”.
- “Like everything in Scientology, the full training line-up is built on a gradient approach, whether you are interested in becoming an auditor or helping others in other ways. You start with the basics and move into more and more advanced materials and courses.” – Translation: “Tiny little steps, not so tiny little fees that go with each of them”.
Main information and claims:
- The modern world is “transitory and impermanent” and it’s being destroyed. Scientology “can rehabilitate people to their full potentials and that these gains can last forever, bringing them to a realization of their own immortality and to a condition in which they can provide the most effective help to others”. – Translation: “The world is bad and won’t last forever. We’re the good guys and will literally sell you an everlasting dream that you won’t be able to verify”.
- All higher goals were unreachable before, but they are now within one’s reach through Scientology. – Translation: “We’re so much better than any other personal development fields. Than any fields. If you are going to choose who to pay, pick us, we’re the best.”
Main information and claims:
- In Scientology, training is the way to learn the technology of Scientology. “Technology implies use”. – Translation: “We really want you to push our agenda further. Do stuff, don’t just believe stuff.”
- “The practice of Scientology emphasizes application. What exactly does one do to reunite a father and a son, to ease the suffering of a widow or repair a failing marriage? Other religions and practices espouse how one must maintain faith, work out differences or endure with dignity. But does such advice, however well-meaning, actually make a difference?” – Those settings are really not a third party’s concern. You only get involved in contexts that concern others at their request or when they are really unable to change that context – example: they are being abused.
- Example of application of Scientology’s technology: “Let us suppose a Scientologist is faced with the prospect of a friend’s impending divorce. A trained Scientologist has learned why a marriage—any marriage—fails. He understands why good communication ceases between partners and how affinity becomes lowered. Knowing this, he can do something effective to salvage a marriage. He knows methods of re-establishing communication between estranged husbands and bitter wives, and how to rekindle love all but extinguished by marital transgressions.” – This is where the really scary thing appears in Scientology. They train their members to think that they know what’s best for others, that they even understand the context of another person better then they themselves do. This is dangerous especially since it empowers Scientologists to believe they are entitled to intervene and act as they see fit in these situations. I analyzed the “Third-Party Law” of Scientology in a previous article. Read it here: “Scientology Course: Scapegoating 101“.
- “Training in Scientology gives him what nothing else can: a truly workable means of dealing with real-life situations.” – Those situations do not occur in one’s own life. Therefore, one should not intervene just for the sake of intervening.
- “Someone who has only participated in auditing as a preclear might understand part of a problem in his own marriage, but he will not have a complete understanding of it, much less the skills necessary to help others understand theirs.” – This is a rationalization (psychological defense mechanism by which a seemingly reasonable explanation or reason is provided in support of a decision or context that otherwise would not be seen as acceptable) that allows senior Scientologists to intervene in trainees’ personal and professional lives. It’s a technique that is also used in other fields, with the same apparent reasonable justification. It’s abusive.
- “By learning the subject, you come to own the philosophy of Scientology for yourself and so are able to improve your own life and the lives of others.” – I am OK with the first part. We have no right to interfere with the life of others simply because their trajectory does not resemble the one we would’ve chosen.
Main information and claims:
- Scientology courses allow self-pacing. Hubbard also invented the checksheet in education. – I am sure somewhere in a book of Hubbard’s there must be a claim that he also invented fire in a previous life. And hot water in another. The amount of these claims is ridiculous, really.
- The trainee studies the various materials in the order listed in the checksheet. – Translation: “Everyone will learn things in the order Hubbard devised”. Yeah, not an authoritarian context at all. Funny how many limitations the freedom of a Scientologist implies.
- “The individual progresses from one step to the next only when he is ready. There is no “getting left behind,” no expecting him to blindly accept the data, or other such humiliations all too prevalent in the society’s educational system.” – I don’t think there’s a field that escaped Hubbard’s hits as he always seems to have claimed absolute knowledge and superiority over all existing fields of knowledge and professions.
- Scientologists in training are encouraged to apply the principles they learn while working with others in groups. “An atmosphere of mutual assistance pervades every Scientology course room”. – They seem to train them on mutual surveillance and desensitize them to interrogation environments. The methods of Scientology deal with highly personal matters. Gaining access to that kind of information gives a person power over the other one. When they all have something they can blackmail the other ones with, a nice glued group emerges. And those who have access to all the data available about anyone and everyone in the group… run the cult.
Main information and claims:
- Scientology training is what actually enables a member to “face and handle existence”. – Quite a dramatic formulation.
- “The need for auditors is great since it is plain that individuals can be salvaged only one at a time.” – Translation: “We will mainly train auditors because that’s how we retrieve the information that we can later use against you and others”.
- “Many Scientologists train to become auditors and anyone who wishes to help his fellow man can do the same.” [..] “There is no more worthwhile purpose than helping your fellows and no better way to accomplish this purpose than by becoming an auditor.” – Manipulative message via implied “Should statement” (cognitive distortion) – “Good people should want to become auditors”.
- ” Auditors apply what they have learned to help others with auditing and to change conditions wherever they find conditions that need to be improved.” – The fact that auditors are allowed to decide which conditions in another one’s life need improvement, and are free to act accordingly, is highly abusive.
- “This is the mission of the trained Scientologist, and it is in his understanding, his compassion and his skill that the dreams of a better world reside.” – Another rationalization.
Main information and claims:
- “Although the purely philosophical aspects of L. Ron Hubbard’s work are sufficient in themselves to elevate this civilization, only auditing provides a precise path by which any individual may walk an exact route to higher states of spiritual awareness.” – BS. Grandiosity-based BS.
- The goal is “to restore beingness and ability”. – Yes, people’s “beingness” would cease to exist without Hubbard and Scientology.
- The goal in auditing is reached by “(1) helping the individual rid himself of any spiritual disabilities and (2) increasing individual abilities”. – Let me rephrase that: “The goal in auditing is reached by (1) getting personal information about members and (2) using that information and other manipulative tactics to control them further”.
- Auditing can be applied to a group – ex. Scientology Sunday service, by a person using certain Scientology books and materials, and one-on-one sessions. – Group auditing. That sounds… culty.
- There are “vast differences” between the technology of auditing, a religious practice, and other practices. – Grandiosity aside, the “vast differences” idea needs to be promoted so that gullible individuals would be more compliant to spend their money on Scientology
crapmaterials. - “Auditing does not use hypnosis, trance techniques or drugs. The person being audited is completely aware of everything that happens.” – Yes, Scientology is not psychology and is not psychiatry and is not general medicine. But being aware during auditing cannot be linked to any sort of method validity or benefit. You are aware when you give them personal information. Good for you.
- “Auditing is precise, thoroughly codified and has exact procedures.” – No, it-doesn’t-matter-cause-it’s-random, and no.
Main information and claims:
- “A person trained and qualified to better people through auditing is called an auditor.” – “Qualified to better people”. In Stewie Griffin’s voice – “Who the hell do you think you are?”.
- “An auditor is a minister or minister-in-training of the Church of Scientology.” – Translation: “An auditor is someone who’s been promised a better position and protection in the org”.
- “A person receiving auditing is called a preclear—from pre (before) and “Clear,” a person not yet Clear. A preclear is a person who, through auditing, is finding out more about himself and life.” – Actually, from what I understand happens in an auditing process, I think the preclear is a person who, through auditing, is delivering to the auditor and the org more about himself and life. The second is not interesting.
Main information and claims:
- “The auditor maintains and practices a code of conduct toward his preclears known as the Auditor’s Code.” – “His preclears”. How aggressive is that formulation?
- The auditor’s code is their code of ethics, “evolved over many years of observation”. – Ethics and Scientology is a hilarious link to consider.
- An auditor “promises never to use the secrets divulged by preclears in an auditing session”. – Well, if they “promise”! Sure.
- “Auditing is only successful when the auditor conducts himself in accordance with the Code.” – Now, the Church can not only blame the preclear for his failure to become clear, but they also have a second scapegoat, the auditor. Pretty comfy to be Miscavige.
- “An auditor never tells the preclear what he should think about himself nor offers his opinion about what is being audited.” – Of course an auditor never tells a preclear what he should think about himself nor offers his opinion on anything. Those standards and opinions must only be Hubbard’s or the present leader’s.
- “The qualities instilled by the Auditor’s Code are essentially those held to be the best in people. An auditor shows his preclears kindness, affinity, patience, and other such virtues to assist preclears in confronting areas of spiritual upset or difficulty.” – Translation: “This kind of BS praise is what we use to convince our auditors to do our dirty work.”
Main information and claims:
- E-meter passes about 1.5 volts of electrical energy through the electrodes, to the person being audited. – Did Hubbard take this idea from electroconvulsive therapy? Even if the value is low, and the electricity is not directly delivered to the brain, the principle is similar. Or maybe it’s biofeedback-based…
- The negative engrams, which, in Scientology’s view, have energy and mass – charge -, will cause the E-meter’s needle to move on the dial. This hints to which subjects should be addressed through auditing. – Yeah. People have reactions to negative content related to their own experiences. They might twitch or something. Who would’ve thought?
- The auditor’s ability to interpret the needle’s movements on the dial is important to the way the method is being used to diminish the charge – the harmful energy of the engram. Success, or one’s ability to think clearly, is linked to the lesser value of the charge, as shown on the dial. – This is desensitization. It’s usually used to manage negative reactions to stimuli, such as those in the case of phobias. Repeated exposure to the stimulus that is producing the reaction will cause gradually diminished reactions and better management of similar situations. Not discovered, nor invented by Hubbard.
- Clearing these charges increases one’s spiritual awareness and his ability “to succeed and help others”. – The fact that it’s not the person who decides which subjects are of importance and which they would like to deal with better, this is a highly problematic procedure. The auditor is given the freedom to decide which aspects of the other one’s life, the preclear’s, should be modified. Which responses should be altered to fit the promised “clear state”.
Main information and claims:
- “Auditing works by freeing people from those factors that cause them to introvert, or be upset or fixated, bringing about a spiritual release and resurgence.” – Being an introvert is not something wrong. Being upset is not wrong.
- Auditing achieves its goals by directing the preclear’s attention outwards or inwards toward the reactive mind. “The analytical mind of the preclear is assisted by the analytical mind of the auditor in order to vanquish the preclear’s reactive mind.” – Labeling the trainee is a way to mentally manipulate them into seeing themselves as less than their auditor. Authority bias is being enforced.
- “The preclear is victimized by his reactive mind”. Since the reactive mind is unconscious, the preclear needs the assistance of the auditor. [..] “In the absence of an auditor, the strength of the preclear’s dynamic thrust is less than the force being exerted by the reactive mind”. – Here we agree because Hubbard took this bit from psychiatry and psychology. The unconscious or automated processes can be observed with the assistance of a trained professional who guides the process. Trained as in psychiatry or psychology, not Scientology, Dianetics, or any of the other mumbo-jumbo that Hubbard “discovered” or “created”.
- Auditing can erase the reactive mind. – Again, they claim to erase the unconscious mind. Obviously, Hubbard had no idea that sometimes we really need some mental processes to stay in an un-aware, automatic state, i.e. when you drive and don’t have to pay attention to each of your movements because they’ve become automated with exercise. This is why you can pay more attention to what’s happening on the road, the landscape, have a conversation, etc.
- Awareness increases gradually, with each auditing session that clears a negative charge from the reactive mind. – Great, but humans have negative emotions and experiences all the time. This “clearing” process is never going to end.
COMPARISON TO PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS
Main information and claims:
- Auditing is different from all other personal analysis procedures.
- It’s different from psychoanalysis because in psychoanalysis “the analyst does not accept what the person says but interprets it, evaluates his condition for him, reads sexual significance into his statements and tells him why he is worried, all of which merely confuse a person further and have no helpful effect”. – This is not valid. The psychoanalyst is not directive in his method. He may assist interpretation, but the meaning is that of the client, not that of the analyst. Also, all content is welcomed. The idea that “the analyst does not accept what the person says” is an interpretation of Hubbard’s. A wrong assumption regarding a field he did not know, nor understood.
- “Nor in auditing is the preclear encouraged to ramble on without guidance, ransacking the millions of incidents in his reactive mind and restimulating many in the hope he might stumble across the right one.” – Contradiction with the previous segment. If the analyst refutes some of the analyzed person’s content, then how is that person allowed to “ramble on without guidance”, etc.?
- “In the more brutal practice of psychiatry, force (physical, chemical or surgical) is used to overwhelm an individual’s ideas and behavior and render the patient quiet”. Improvement or helping the patient is not a goal of psychiatry, only making them more “manageable”. – Psychiatry is guilty of certain treatments of the patient that deserve to be condemned, but reducing the entire field to only those elements is a huge mistake. And a cognitive dissonance called negative mental filter.
- Auditing is different from psychology as well, which is “primarily the study of observing responses to stimuli and provides no means of producing actual improvement.” – If you don’t understand scientific studies and their applications, then you don’t see any practical value in them. Hubbard seems to have been such an individual with extremely limited understanding when it comes to scientific concepts and contexts.
- “Other practices such as hypnotism consider that a person has to be put into a state of lessened awareness (i.e., a trance) before anything can be done. Auditing is quite the opposite and seeks to wake people up, not put them to sleep.” – Oh, snap!
Main information and claims:
- “The period of time during which an auditor audits a group, himself or another is called an auditing session.” – An auditor can audit himself? Aren’t auditors supposed to have cleared their negative charges and guide the preclear through the same process? If they themselves still have a reactive mind, then per Hubbard’s opinion, that cannot be analyzed by the person herself, and need another auditor. Not sure what I’m missing here.
- Auditing is based on exact sets of questions asked or directions given, meant to help locate areas of spiritual distress, find out things about oneself and improve one’s condition. There are “many, many different auditing processes”, for specific parts of a person’s existence. When one process ends, then another can be started to address another area of life. – Translation: “Many, many different auditing processes, so we can take many, many fees.”
- To avoid the situation when an auditor aimlessly asks questions that may or not help the process, “L. Ron Hubbard isolated the exact questions and directions to bring about spiritual freedom.” – I can see the ad: “L. Ron Hubbard, isolating the right questions from a pile of junk so that you won’t have to!”. I can also see the next billboard: “L. Ron Hubbard, saying crap to gullible masses since 1952.”
- “There are no variables in the technology of auditing, no random results or haphazard applications.” – Let me rephrase: “There are only random variables in the technology of auditing, only random results and haphazard applications.”
- “Auditing is not a period of vague free association. Each process is exact in its design and in its application and attains a definite result when correctly ministered.” – Take that, psychoanalysis! Also, don’t blame Hubbard if this auditing thing doesn’t work for you and you pay for nothing, it may be the auditor’s fault.
- Auditing can take people from “a condition of spiritual blindness to spiritual existence”. – Slow clap.
THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION
Main information and claims:
- Communication is one of Scientology’s most fundamental doctrines and basis for its main religious services, auditing, and training. – Manipulative communication mainly.
- Auditing becomes possible through the “application of the communication formula”: The preclear’s attention must be directed inward. – A subjective principle got the fancy scientific-sounding label of formula.
- Auditing involves an active participant and increases one’s self-determinism. – They’d like you to believe.
- The use of the formula is what makes the preclear feel safe in the presence of the auditor and thus allows him to direct his attention and conveys his findings. It is through communication alone that the auditor must direct the preclear’s attention, “with the preclear’s agreement”. – It’s not like they would openly say that one of their methods to make members more compliant is coercion.
Main information and claims:
- The E-Meter is a “religious artifact” that allow the auditor and the preclear “locate areas of spiritual distress or travail”. – Peculiar pseudo-hi-tech religious artifact. Also, “travail” is a term used in psychoanalysis.
- The full term is Electropsychometer. “Electro-psycho-meter from electrometer, a calibrated device used for measuring extremely low voltages and psyche, the human soul, spirit or mind.” – Would anyone in the COS provide proof that what’s being registered by the E-Meter is “the psyche, the human soul, spirit, or mind” and not something else? Thanks.
- The E-Meter registers the effects of the reactive mind accurately. – It doesn’t. But it’s a nice, financially-securing way to think about it.
HOW AN AUDITING SESSION IS CONDUCTED
Main information and claims:
- The preclear is familiarized with the elements of auditing during an orientation period. – To enforce the idea that they are entering this part at their own will.
- The place where the auditing session takes place must be quiet and free from distractions. – Yes, you wouldn’t want any major sound to interfere with the mics in the room. 😀 Sorry, couldn’t help it!
- The auditor must make sure the preclear has no distractions or upsets that can prevent him from being fully engaged in the auditing session. – Isn’t the auditing session meant to deal with the upsets of the preclear? His negative experiences and emotions? You would think those events could be powerful enough to make a person focus with difficulty on any tasks.
- Depending on the topic of interest and earlier auditing sessions, different types of auditing are used for each preclear. – It’s data mining. They’ll drill deeper where they think they may find gold.
- “A precisely delineated gradient of processing steps must be followed to achieve personal spiritual freedom for everyone.” – It’s like the magician would tell you which card to pick and he’ll guess it a minute later.
- Group auditing sessions take place in the Chapel or another room and is conducted by a Scientology minister. Participants may begin the sessions seated but movement is part of the auditing process of the group. – “Chapel or another room”, very flexible. And great, now they also retrieve data on interpersonal dynamics.
Main information and claims:
- Auditing provides both subjective and objective results. – It may provide the first and completely feign the others.
- A preclear’s pre-auditing ability is being measured and retests allow the creation of a graph that shows the changes that have occurred. The initial measurements also allow the prediction of “how much auditing it may take to achieve a certain result”. – Translation: “We think you’ll have to pay for this many sessions. Our own measurement tools will tell you you’ve improved just enough to justify continuous payments toward our org, but low enough to allow us to tell you you’re not clear yet.”
- Psychology and psychiatry claimed that a person’s ability and intelligence could not be changed, but Dianetics’ auditing showed dramatic increases in both aspects. – False claims, at least for these times.
- The COS uses the Oxford Capacity Analysis (OCA) to measure and graphically represent ten different personality traits. The values of these traits increase in auditing. – I already presented my opinion about the OCA at the end of the first part of this SKEPTIC’s REVIEW.
- “Preclears report being calmer, more stable, more energetic and more outgoing as a direct result of auditing and scores on the OCA furnish corroborative data.” – Yes, your tools provide the proof for your methods. It would be more interesting if the COS results could have been corroborated with measurement tools developed in other fields.
- Scientology also measures aptitudes. “Improvements in aptitude test scores correlate with a decrease in propensity toward accidents'”. Vision, hearing, colorblindness, balance, and other functions also improve as a result of auditing. – Back to sensational and rather silly claims.
- Individual progress is variable, as it is dependent on “the preclear’s dedication and the frequency of sessions”. “Therefore, clearly defined rates of improvement are impossible to establish and the Church makes no claims or guarantees of the gains someone will make in auditing.” – There’s a disclaimer. They really needed one.
- “Church staff, however, have seen so many remarkable improvements in parishioners that they expect such results as a matter of course.” – Sure, if the COS staff saw it, then it must be true.
Main information and claims:
- All other fields failed to help Man in a lasting way. Some even harmed him, like the case of psychiatry. – Read this claim quite a few times on the COS website. Repetition doesn’t make it valid.
- Auditing is different and precise. – Auditing is pseudoscientific. Also, formulations such as “only auditing restores [..] potentials”, “only auditing frees a person”, etc. are unsubstantiated claims.
- In auditing, “it is only the individual being audited who says whether these have been achieved or not”. – Yes, “only” the individual, the auditor, the supervisor, Hubbard’s tests, and perhaps many other things.
- “The auditor continues to minister to the preclear until the preclear knows of his own volition that he has succeeded.” – Translation: “Auditing will continue until the preclear comes to the conclusion we want him to come to.”
- “It is not the auditor or anyone else in Scientology who says the preclear has made a gain. The preclear himself knows.” – It is a forced insight. It’s been prepared and inoculated for the whole orientation and auditing periods. It is externally guided.
- “There are no variables in auditing; the same procedures apply to all cases.” – They said previously that “different types of auditing are used for each preclear”, so… I am again missing something.
- “As people continue auditing they generally become more and more moral, ethical and altruistic [..]” – Unsubstantiated claim. This rationalization could be used to manipulate preclears into continuing their auditing process. “Don’t you want to become more of all this great stuff?”
- “This is achieved through a process of self realisation as one advances in Scientology auditing and training.” – Self-realization is a term used in many fields, from psychology to philosophy, to esoterism. Just another borrowed concept.
SCIENTOLOGY RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES
Main information and claims:
- The types of ceremonies performed by Scientology resemble the types performed in other religions. – At least here it starts to resemble a religion.
- Worship Services take place mainly on Sundays. It is open to both members and non-members of the Church. It comprises a recitation of the Creed of Scientology, sermons, congregational auditing, and prayer. – The fact that the Sunday services are also open to non-members is rather nice, but placing non-members in auditing settings could represent an issue since they do not necessarily have the understanding members have regarding the theories of Scientology. Nor do they have the same goals. Social pressure may make some accept the auditing part simply because they do not fully understand what it is and how it blends in the Scientology context.
- Ceremonies include weddings, namings, and funeral rites. – I think this is the first time that I am aware that the COS must also perform funerals. I always focused on their sermons and personal development events and their social engagement and completely overlooked this religious aspect.
Main information and claims:
- The Prayer for Total Freedom regards Man’s understanding of his spiritual nature and knowledge regarding “the author of the universe”. – I will not actually comment on prayers unless their content makes reference to anything else but the religious beliefs. Prayer is prayer. It can be any expression of desire, goal, and wish.
- The prayer also addresses freedom of belief and its undesirable consequences. Hope for freedom and peace is expressed. – I don’t see anything wrong with a religious organization that assumes a social stance. I see everything wrong with administrations that base their decisions on religious belief.
Main information and claims:
- Scientology’s goal is linked to achieving “a recognition of spiritual existence and one’s relationship to the Supreme Being”. In Scientology, God is identified as the Eighth Dynamic.
- The Sunday service consists of a recitation of the Creed of the Church, sermons, reading of the exact writings of L. Ron Hubbard, congregational group auditing, prayer. Music, singing, and various announcements concerning the church may be included as well.
Main information and claims:
- Ministerial services are of great significance for Scientologists since in their view, it is by helping others that they help accomplish Scientology’s main goal, that of making the world a better place for everyone. – Nothing special in this segment.
Main information and claims:
- Scientology ministers’ roles are both traditional – their work is aimed at helping various categories of people, and nontraditional – using the methods of Scientology to better a person’s condition. – These ministers seem to be a combination of priest and psychologist or trainer.
- Ministerial services in Scientology include marriage counseling, working with children, and difficulties in life. – Many religions provide belief-based counseling. Nothing unusual here, except the fact that the influence a cult may have on children may be extremely harmful to their development.
Main information and claims:
- Scientology can provide assistance for children and teenagers for various segments of life: study, social relationships, illness, etc. Assistance is also offered to parents. – Again, nothing unusual here. I actually think that acknowledging the importance of counseling the parents as well, not just the children who are dealing with a problematic situation is a good thing. Many counseling contexts tend to focus on the child as being or having the problem and omit to consider the fact that their environment – family, school, friends, etc., may play a significant role in either creating/maintaining the problem or in providing a solution for it. I do not know whether this is how they deal with these aspects in Scientology, but if they do, it is a good thing. The bad part is that they would still be using the tools created by Hubbard, which are not valid. So, it is impossible to conclude regarding the validity or usefulness of the results.
Main information and claims:
- Becoming an ordained minister is a prerequisite for permanent certification as an auditor. The certification itself is not needed to become ordained in the Church of Scientology. – The inner structure of a religious organization can be whatever the members and leaders decide it to be. The roles and certifications only make sense within that religion or organization.
- Ministerial training includes the methods of Scientology, as well as knowledge about “all the great religions of the world”. – This integration of knowledge would actually be a good thing in my opinion, if not for the ill use of their theories and methods.
- Sunday Services and official ceremonies are presided by Chaplains. They also offer counseling and guidance to Scientologists. – The hierarchy of the COS is similar to that of many other religious organizations.
Main information and claims:
- Chaplains and ministers can provide marriage counseling services to Scientologists. – The presentation of marriage counseling seems okay in this website segment, but Scientology also applies a principle called the Third Party Law to analyze the marital conflicts. Basically, the Third-Party Law states that when two individuals or parties have a conflict, the source can be found in the actions and intentions of a third. They even have a conflict management course based on this principle. Read the article where I analyzed the course promo, here: “Scientology Course: Scapegoating 101“.
- Marriage counseling is “an exact procedure for alleviating marital problems”. – Nothing about Scientology is exact.
- In Scientology, marital problems are seen as “transgressions against the couple’s previously agreed-upon moral code that now inhibits their communication”. – Again, this would sound okay even though it is a subjective perspective if it were not for the Third Party Law.
- Through Marriage Counseling, Scientology restores not only communication but also increase the related affinity and reality values. – Concepts and measurement of ARC elements are only found within Scientology. There is no relevance for any of them outside this context.
- Scientology ministers have successfully salvaged thousands of marriages. – Or so the COS claims.
Main information and claims:
- Difficult moments in life such as losing a job, financial reversals, or the loss of a loved one, can hinder a person’s spiritual progress. – Among other things…
- Scientology ministers, especially the Chaplains, can offer assistance in dealing with these circumstances for Scientologists, regardless of their membership status – active or not, or their financial condition. For this scope, the Church’s Free Scientology Center can be used to offer auditing or assistance, or books by Hubbard or Life Improvement Courses or Course Extensions may be recommended. – “Regardless of their financial condition”. So… the counseling is usually a paid service? I will also assume that the free alternatives – books, courses, would rather be offered to people who cannot afford to pay for it, as a token of the COS care and appreciation.
- “Sometimes merely the act of listening to, understanding and acknowledging someone who is troubled is sufficient to lift his spirits and start him on the road to recovery.” – This is true for many fields, psychotherapy and psychological counseling included.
SCIENTOLOGY CREEDS AND CODES – AN INTRODUCTION
Main information and claims:
- “The codes and creeds of Scientology were written by L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s during the formative years of the religion”. They guide the application of Scientology Technology in dealing with others, in the administration of Scientology groups, and the practice of the religion.
Main information and claims:
- The Auditor’s Code was first published in 1951 in Hubbard’s “Dianetics: The Original Thesis”. Since then, it’s been revised based on information provided by auditors from around the world. The final version in use was published in June 1980.
- It outlines “the conduct survival pattern of Man” and can be applied to both auditing and life. One of the basic axioms of Dianetics and Scientology is “what works in auditing also works in life”.
The Auditor’s code comprises 29 items, formulated in an “I promise to…” manner. Most of the items cover basic elements of auditing conduct – the auditor should not evaluate the preclear or tell him what to think about his case in session, the auditor should not invalidate the preclear’s case of gains, the auditor should only administer the Standard Tech in a standard way. The auditor also promises to keep appointments, to make sure the preclear is not hungry or tired during auditing, to maintain communication with the preclear during the session, and to refrain from distracting comments or engagements. They should also not allow a frequent change of auditors, not to sympathize with the preclear, but be effective, not to leave a session while in progress, not to get angry on the preclear in session. Other things mention that the auditor should grant the preclear beingness during session, and should only stick to Scientology practices during session – exception the medical situations.
The interesting stuff:
- The auditor is not to let a preclear end session “on his own determinism”, but to finish off the cycles they begun. – So, the personal freedom thing is rather selective.
- The auditor is to run “every major case action to a floating needle”, but never run any one action beyond its floating needle. – The floating needle, from what I understand, is an idle, rhythmic motion of the needle on the E-Meter, which would mean a clear, uninfluenced stance.
- The auditor is to give the preclear the process or auditing command when needed in a session, and not let the preclear run a wrongly understood command. – The auditing is based on verbal commands such as “Recall a place when…”, much like an interrogation.
- The auditor is not to offer explanations, justifications or make excuses in session for any auditor mistakes, real or not. – How else would one maintain a position of absolute authority during sessions?
- Case estimations are to be done by the auditor based on the Standard Case Supervision data. They should not factor in the “imagined differences in the case”. – They want to ensure strict methods of auditing and minimize the customization or personal assessments or decisions from the auditor’s part. Only Hubbard’s methods should be used.
- The auditor promises “never to use the secrets of a preclear divulged in session for punishment or personal gain”. – They do not call it personal data, like medical doctors, psychologists, lawyers and other professionals who work with sensitive data call it. Scientologists directly call them “secrets”. They ask their members to divulge “secrets”. This is abusive.
- The auditor must not falsify the worksheets of a session. – Yeah, good stuff.
- The auditor is to manage refunds of donations made for processing according to the policies of the Claims Verification Board. The refunds can be demanded within three months after the processing and once the refund is completed, the preclear “may not again be processed or trained”. – I would call that money fee, not donation. Would have to be submitted to taxes. Also, I find it abusive that a simple refund can mean the person is out of Scientology for good. This is how they show you what their “religion” is all about: auditing. Paid auditing. If they cannot get data and money from you, you’re worthless to them and not fit to be a member. This is textbook antisocial behavior – the manipulator or abuser will discard a victim once no additional gains could be retrieved from that interaction.
- The auditor promises “not to advocate Dianetics or Scientology only to cure illness or only to treat the insane, knowing well they were intended for spiritual gain”. – They wouldn’t be able to cure anything. Also, what kind of a spiritual leader would say “Hey, don’t you dare using my knowledge and methods to cure illness!”.
- The auditor promises “to cooperate fully with the authorized organizations of Dianetics and Scientology in safeguarding the ethical use and practice of those subjects”. – The org wants your full cooperation.
- The auditor also promises “to refuse to permit any being to be physically injured, violently damaged, operated on or killed in the name of “mental treatment”. – But in the name of something else than “mental treatment”, would it be okay for them not to refuse to permit those things? “Refuse to permit physical injuries and murder”. Who even says that? They use the same formulation for “sexual liberties and violations of patients”. “Promise not to permit”.
- Lastly, the auditor promises “to refuse to admit to the ranks of practitioners any being who is insane”. – How would they know a person is dealing with mental illness? They do not recognize psychology and psychiatry and they claim their own methods do not deal with the mind. So…?
Main information and claims:
- First issued in 1954 – written by Hubbard, of course – it offers “guidelines for fighting for human rights and justice through social reform. It is a vital code for any Scientologist active in the community.” The version in use is the one published in 1973.
The Code of a Scientologist has 20 items and it’s… peculiar, to say the least. It has many items that in my opinion, have nothing to do with a religious organization, some of them are completely irrelevant or unmeasurable, and there’s clearly a direct target for all of Scientology’s agenda: mental health – field and professionals.
The less interesting stuff:
- Scientologists pledge to use their knowledge to the best of their abilities to help others, they have to refuse to take money from individuals or groups they “feel they cannot honestly help”. They must also “support true humanitarian endeavors in the fields of human rights”, “embrace the policy of equal justice for all”, “work for freedom of speech in the world”, “actively decry the suppression of knowledge, wisdom, philosophy or data which would help Mankind”, support the freedom of religion, “teach Scientology at a level it can be understood and used by the recipients”. – Whatever…
The interesting stuff:
- The Code of a Scientologist starts with the following item: “To keep Scientologists, the public and the press accurately informed concerning Scientology, the world of mental health and society.” – Why would a religious organization’s first concern be related to ensuring the accuracy of the information, and why apply this to other fields of knowledge and practice then itself?
- A good Scientologist must decry and do all they can “to abolish any and all abuses against life and Mankind”. – Do they also get capes? Or at least a nice pair of underwear to wear on top of slim pants?
- About mental health: A Scientologist must “expose and help abolish any and all physically damaging practices in the field of mental health”, must “help clean up and keep clean the field of mental health”, “bring about an atmosphere of safety and security in the field of mental health by eradicating its abuses and brutality”. – Can they say “obsession”? Also, Scientologists have absolutely no knowledge or official competence regarding mental health. But when you see just how often the topic of mental health occurs in Scientology materials, you kind of understand Tom Cruise’s public outbursts on the topic. He just wanted to be a good Scientologist, like he’s been coaxed to.
- Scientologists must also “help Scientology orgs and groups ally themselves with public groups”. – You don’t say. Yes, that’s good for the org.
- According to this code, Scientologists must “stress the freedom to use Scientology as a philosophy in all its applications and variations in the humanities” and also “increase the numbers and strength of Scientology over the world”. – Basically, the COS wants free marketing from its already paying members.
- Scientologists must “insist upon standard and unvaried Scientology as an applied activity in ethics, processing and administration in Scientology organizations”. – This suppresses freedom of thought within their organization and the development of their own field. And treats all people not equal, but in a manner that is blind to social diversity and personal traits. Also, what does it mean to “insist upon”?
- Scientologists must pledge to take their “share of responsibility for the impact of Scientology upon the world.” – Translation: “When it goes bad, you should feel guilty and help us deal with stuff. When it’s good, you must credit Hubbard’s genius”.
- Scietologists must “set an example of the effectiveness and wisdom of Scientology”. – Mission failed.
- Lastly, a Scientologist must “make this world a saner, better place”. – The obsession is alive and kicking.
THE CREDO OF A TRUE GROUP MEMBER
Main information and claims:
- Scientology advocated for group environments. “No one can survive alone and denying oneself membership in a group is denying oneself the pride and satisfaction which can only come through teamwork”. – How else would they create and nurture a cult?
- Hubbard’s research into the technology of groups “codified the key principles which members of any group should follow to attain its goals”. The code was written in January 1951.
I assume this is the part used to indoctrinate cult members to serve the organization and get involved in its growth. There are 18 points of the credo. I will select and group some of them for this part of the analysis.
- “The successful participant of a group is that participant who closely approximates, in his own activities, the ideal, ethic and rationale of the overall group.”, “The responsibility of the individual for the group as a whole should not be less than the responsibility of the group for the individual”, “The group member has, as part of his responsibility, the smooth operation of the entire group.”, “On the group member depends the height of the ARC of the group.” – Making the individual responsible for the results of the group is a strong point of manipulation. In assertiveness-driven contexts, the individual is only responsible for his own actions, because that is the range of actions one can actually control. Responsibility regarding the actions and results of another person implies control. Hubbard wanted members to control other members and to persuade them to act in that sense, he made them feel personally responsible for what others do. Manipulative.
- A group member is to fight for both his rights and the rights of the group, recognize group goals, “must coordinate his initiative with the goals and rationale of the entire group and with other individual members, well publishing his activities and intentions so that all conflicts may be brought forth in advance”. – Cult. Cult. Cult. The individual is to basically live for the group, i.e. the cult. He is required to be transparent regarding his intentions and actions, which gives the cult more power over the individual’s life.
- “The member of a true group must exert and practice his right to contribute to the group. And he must insist upon the right of the group to contribute to him. He should recognize that a myriad of group failures will result when either of these contributions is denied as a right. (A welfare state being that state in which the member is not permitted to contribute to the state, but must take contribution from the state.)” – Funny. Reverse psychology. “I want to contribute to the state of the group, I will not permit you to not let me help the org’s growth and advance its money-making strategies! I won’t, I won’t!”.
- “Enturbulence of the affairs of the group by sudden shifts of plans unjustified by circumstances, breakdown of recognized channels or cessation of useful operations in a group must be refused and blocked by the member of a group. He should take care not to enturbulate a manager and thus lower ARC.”, “A group member must recognize that he is, himself, a manager of some section of the group and/or its tasks and that he himself must have both the knowledge and right of management in that sphere for which he is responsible.” – This is a segment which allows members to turn against other members when their actions are seen as not beneficial to the cult.
- “A group member should have a working knowledge of all technologies and skills in the group in order to understand them and their place in the organizational necessities of the group.” – Considering just how dense the materials of Scientology and Dianetics are, this requirements ensures that the members dedicate a lot of their time to the cult. This is also a neat way to measure a member’s loyalty and susceptibility to manipulation. The higher the engagement, the higher the loyalty and the chances to be a good fit for tasks that require a strong representation of the cult.
- “A group member has the right of pride in his tasks and a right of judgment and handling in those tasks.” – You do Scientology’s dirty work and get bragging rights. Sweet deal.
- “The group member should not permit laws to be passed which limit or proscribe the activities of all the members of the group because of the failure of some of the members of the group.” – Another way to make members turn against each other. “It is because of you that the group may fail”.
- “The group member should insist on flexible planning and unerring execution of plans.” – There seems to be no place for mistakes in Scientology. Highly unrealistic approach. Great premise for psychological abuse.
- “The performance of duty at optimum by every member of the group should be understood by the group member to be the best safeguard of his own and the group survival. It is the pertinent business of any member of the group that optimum performance be achieved by any other member of the group, whether chain of command or similarity of activity sphere warrants such supervision or not.” – “Individual and group survival” is at stake. Who would want to be the one to risk any of that? Also, this entire “credo” environment gives me the impression of a tiny sweatshop.
Main information and claims:
- This text was written by L. Ron Hubbard in September 1965.
- The aims of scientology are “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”. – Can you spot the ever-present theme?
- Scientology is non-political in nature. Everyone is welcomed, regardless of their creed, race or nation. – Translation: “We’ll take anyone’s money.”
- “We welcome you to Scientology. We only expect of you your help in achieving our aims and helping others. We expect you to be helped.” – Translation: “We mainly expect your help.”
- “Scientology is the most vital movement on Earth today.” – They’d like you to believe…
- “We respect Man and believe he is worthy of help. We respect you and believe you too can help.” – Translation: “We expect your help. Did we mention that before?”
- “We may err, for we build a world with broken straws. But we will never betray your faith in us so long as you are one of us.” – I thought mistake had no place in Scientology practice. My bad. The org may err. You may not.
- “The sun never sets on Scientology.” – But it’s a nice thing to consider though. Spoiler alert: It will.
- “And we will succeed, and are succeeding at each new revolution of the Earth.” – Good one, Mr. Hubbard.
- “Your help is acceptable to us. Our help is yours.” – “Your help is acceptable to us.” 😐 Also, “We will take any money.”
THE CREED OF THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY
Main information and claims:
- Already discussed in Part I, discussion of VIDEO 3: “The Creed of the Church of Scientology”.
Main information and claims:
- The Code of Honor was written and issued by Hubbard in 1954. In its introduction, he stated that the Code implies no expectation to closely and tightly follow its items. The Code is not to be enforced, for it would be reduced to a moral code. The way of life outlined by the Code can exist only as long as it is not enforced. Only self-determined use will produce the desired results. Otherwise, it would produce “considerable deterioration in a person”.
The Code of Honor comprises 15 items. Some of them resemble the elements one would encounter in a military setting or those of an elite society. Others protect the org.
The less interesting stuff:
- A Scientologist who obeys the Code of Honor is not to desert a comrade in need, danger, or trouble, not to “allow his affinity to be alloyed”. – Translation: “We need you active and loyal all the time.”
- “Never disparage yourself or minimize your strength or power.” – Translation: “We need you to be confident when you represent our org and push our agenda forward.”
- “Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today and you make your tomorrow.” – They’re not the first to say it. You can regret yesterday though, just don’t linger on it.
- “Be true to your own goals.” – It’s not like they allow many individual plans, so yes, they’re okay with you being true to your goals, especially since many of them are theirs.
The Interesting stuff:
- An honorable Scientologist is expected to “never withdraw allegiance once granted”, to “never desert a group to which you owe your support”. – Translation: “Don’t leave the Church. You owe it to us.”
- “Never need praise, approval or sympathy”, “Don’t desire to be liked or admired” – Translation: “We won’t give you any of that. Also, we don’t encourage you to want any of that because that would mean you would want to be an individual recognized for his/her accomplishments as an individual and you wouldn’t want to simply blend in the cult.” At the same time, had they reformulated this part, this segment could’ve had some value. “You are not to rely on external rewards such as praise, approval, sympathy, or admiration when considering your self-worth.”
- “Never compromise with your own reality.” – I am not sure what this means, but I think they want to encourage members to primarily validate the “reality” constructed during their auditing sessions, over the reality that may be presented to them by a non-member.
- “Do not give or receive communication unless you yourself desire it.” – This could be okay and all, but considering the way personal freedom is being bent in the context of Scientology to follow the will of the cult, I assume they may tell their members what to desire or not. And make them believe it is their own conclusion.
- “Your self-determinism and your honor are more important than your immediate life”, “Your integrity to yourself is more important than your body”. – Translation: “Your loyalty to us is more important than your immediate life and your well-being.”
- “Never fear to hurt another in a just cause.” – Wait… what? They don’t seem to mean a defensive scenario. They talk about a cause, their cause. Reformulation: “Never fear to hurt another in regard to our cause”. This makes sense if we are to consider the Fair Game principle they apply to critics of Scientology.
- “Be your own adviser, keep your own counsel and select your own decisions.” – Translation: “Deal with your own stuff, cause we really don’t want to spend our resources on you”.
- The Code of Honor is a code “one uses not because he has to but because he can afford such a luxury”. – Ah, a luxury. Manipulative formulation to stimulate intrinsic motivation to follow the items of the Code.
Main information and claims:
- Supervisors in a Scientology course room must follow a code of conduct. Supervisors differ from teachers who, in the view of the COS, act as an authority and tell students what’s to think and espouse opinions on the subject. Instead, in Scientology, “students are guided to find the answers for themselves in Dianetics and Scientology materials”.
- Hubbard wrote the code in 1967.
The less interesting stuff:
- “The Supervisor should remain in good ARC with his students at all times while they are performing training activities.” – He is free not to like them outside class hours, I guess.
- “The Supervisor will, at all times, be a source-point of good control and direction to his students”, “The Supervisor should always set a good example to his students: such as giving good demonstrations, being on time and dressing neatly”. – The Supervisor must be a “good Scientologist”.
- “The Supervisor should at all times be perfectly willing and able to do anything he tells his students to do.” – I’d actually like this one to be written on every door of any educational institution!
- “When a Supervisor makes any mistake, he is to inform the student that he has made one and rectify it immediately. This datum embraces all phases in training, demostrations, lectures and processing, etc. He is never to hide the fact that he made the mistake”, “The Supervisor should never neglect to give praise to his students when due”, “The Supervisor will be a stable terminal, point the way to stable data, be certain, but not dogmatic or dictatorial, toward his students”. – The perspective on the idea of mistake is changed here as well, it is not being condemned, but seen as part of a process. Also, the Supervisor is given a friendly reminder to give praise “when due”.
- “The Supervisor will keep himself at all times informed of the most recent Scientology data and procedures and communicate this information to his students”. – Another message I’d plaster on both educational and professional institution doors.
The interesting stuff:
- “The Supervisor must never neglect an opportunity to direct a student to the actual source of Scientology data”. – Translation: “Supervisors, don’t screw up and miss the opportunities to promote our stuff”.
- “The Supervisor should invalidate a student’s mistake ruthlessly and use good ARC while doing it.” – “Should invalidate a mistake ruthlessly”?? Oh, and fake kindness while doing so, got ya!
- “The Supervisor at all times must have a high tolerance of stupidity in his students and must be willing to repeat any datum not understood as many times as necessary for the student to understand and acquire reality on the datum.” – The Supervisor must have what now??? “High tolerance of stupidity in his students”. I guess no one who ever joined Scientology read this bit before throwing their money at these individuals. Otherwise, how could one still decide to join when the cult says it plainly that they would consider members who don’t understand their nonsensical materials stupid?!?
- “The Supervisor does not have a “case” in his relationship with his students, nor discuss or talk about his personal problems to the students.” – Translation: “You’re a tool. You work for us. Socialize on your own time.”
- “The Supervisor will be able to correlate any part of Scientology to any other part and to livingness over the eight dynamics”, “The Supervisor should be able to answer any questions concerning Scientology by directing the student to the actual source of the data. If a Supervisor cannot answer a particular question, he should always say so, and the Supervisor should always find the answer to the question from the source and tell the student where the answer is to be found.” – Among other things, this part may mean that Supervisors need to also spend a large amount of time studying the endless materials related to Scientology.
- “The Supervisor should never lie to, deceive or misdirect a student concerning Scientology. He shall be honest at all times about it with a student.” – How about being honest about all that stuff with non-members as well?
- “The Supervisor must not become emotionally involved with students of either sex while they are under his or her training.” – This is not an actual school. Unless the student is a minor or does not consent to a romantic or emotional relationship, it’s none of the COS’s business who the Supervisor is involved with.
- “The Supervisor to some degree should be pan-determined about the Supervisor-student relationship.” – Yeah, “to some degree”, the Supervisor should also consider the view of the student.
- “When a Supervisor lets a student control, give orders to or handle the Supervisor in any way, for the purpose of demonstration or other training purposes, the Supervisor should always put the student back under his control.” – It’s black on white: “The Supervisor should always put the student back under his control”! Control. They do not say the Supervisor should make sure the roles are not being reversed in such a way that his competence or ability may be seen as weaker, no. Control. Have the student under one’s control. Yeah, free and non-manipulative as hell.
- “The Supervisor will never give a student opinions about Scientology without labeling them thoroughly as such; otherwise, he is to direct only to tested and proven data concerning Scientology.” – Yes, Supervisors must issue verbal disclaimers that they are not at that moment parroting Hubbard’s nonsense.
- “The Supervisor shall never use a student for his own personal gain.” – Say what now? “USE a student for his own personal gain”? Now this Hubbard guy was either really ungifted when it came to words or he was really abusive and couldn’t even control his utterances when creating official materials.
THE CREDO OF A GOOD AND SKILLED MANAGER
Main information and claims:
- Leadership is a skill possessed by only a few individuals. Hubbard wrote the Credo of a Good and Skilled manager so that Church executives and managers could not only “apply their powers with intelligence” but also “exercise sane leadership that will enable their groups to flourish and prosper”. The guidelines can also be used in other fields, such as “business or a commonwealth of nations”.
- Hubbard wrote the Credo in 1951.
The less interesting stuff:
- The manager should have a good understanding of goals and goal attainment – how to take things from ideal to practical. – Valid in all fields.
- The manager must lead “creatively and persuasively, toward these goals his subordinates, the group itself and the individuals of the group”, he must “attain always to the highest creative reality”, “recognize in himself the rationale of the group and receive and evaluate the data out of which he makes his solutions with the highest attention to the truth of that data”, and he must also have faith in the group’s goals, in himself and the group itself. – “Subordinates” seems to me a term not really fit for religious organizations, but it’s just a matter of preference. The “truth” of the data is a subjective element in Scientology. So, what I understand is that the manager is allowed to make subjective decisions that impact the entire group as long as he decides that is the “true” data.
- The Manager must focus on the group itself, not individuals and cliques, his planning must regard the activity of the whole group. – Fair, but valid for many other fields.
- The manager must protect established communication lines and complement them when necessary. – It is my understanding that the manager is primarily responsible with leading the groups or the organization toward larger numbers of paying members. Not much more.
- The manager must protect the affinity within the group and display affinity for the group itself. – Even though this segment here refers to Scientology’s ARC method, the idea that a manager is responsible for the group’s dynamic is a valid one.
- The manager should require of his subordinates to accurately convey his “true feelings and the reasons for his decisions” to the groups they manage and only expand and interpret those views “only for the greater understanding of the individuals governed by those subordinates”. – This is a main technique of Scientology: making sure that the ideas and methods are conveyed hierarchically in a non-modified version, Hubbard’s version being the priority.
The interesting stuff:
- The Manager must “must never falter in sacrificing individuals to the good of the group, both in planning and execution and in his justice.” – “Never falter in sacrificing individuals”, formulation by a religious leader. Sounds swell! 👍
- The manager “must permit himself to be served well as to his individual requirements, practicing an economy of his own efforts and enjoying certain comforts to the end of keeping high his rationale”. – Sure, the leaders of the COS must enjoy a certain level of mental coziness.
- The manager must never permit himself “to pervert or mask any portion of the ideal and ethic on which the group operates”, must not permit “the ideal and ethic to grow old and outmoded and unworkable”, “must never permit his planning to be perverted or censored by subordinates”, and he must never permit “the ideal and ethic of the group’s individual members to deteriorate, using always reason to interrupt such deterioration”. – Translation: “Ideals and ethics of Hubbard and the org come first. Plans of leaders come next. The rest don’t count’.
- “He must lead by demonstrating always creative and constructive subgoals. He must not drive by threat and fear.” – Had Hubbard not mention that, where would Scientology be today? Funny he didn’t consider Fair Game a “threat and fear”-based method.
- “He must realize that every individual in the group is engaged in some degree in the managing of other men, life and the physical universe and that a liberty of management within this code should be allowed to every such submanager.” – Management and mini-management.
- “Thus conducting himself, a manager can win empire for his group, whatever that empire may be.” – Yes, the goal of any religious organization: “Win empire”. Not.
Main information and claims:
- Scientology implies applying the principles learned through Scientology books and various materials in society. – A practical aspect of theoretical principles is always a good strategy in my opinion. But the difference is actually linked to the kind of change you want to produce into the world. And when it comes to Scientology, things don’t look good at all.
- ” It is a maxim of Scientology that one is as valuable as one is able to help others.” – Helping others is a decision you can make, not an obligation, as nice as the whole helping-others concept may sound. Stating that there is no value for a person who decides not to get involved socially is a dichotomous, black-or-white perspective (cognitive distortion).
- One way through which Scientology seeks to improve society is “through instilling a moral and ethical compass into people”. – Yes, the world would be lost without Hubbard’s ethical guidelines.
- Scientology is also “concerned about social problems and supports numerous social betterment programs, which provide successful drug-abuse rehabilitation, improve educational standards and help reduce crime and moral decay.” – I have no idea how they could even claim to achieve any of that since their staff – managers, ministers, etc., have absolutely no training in professionally dealing with any of these issues. Only Hubbard’s opinions and methods. With no proof they work and lots of proof they don’t or couldn’t possibly work.
- “The humanitarian programs supported by the Church of Scientology and its parishioners are expanding at an unprecedented rate.” – Scary thought. Luckily, it’s only a sensational claim.
- The humanitarian programs supported by the Church of Scientology include “the largest non-governmental anti-drug campaign on Earth”, “the sponsorship of an international drug rehabilitation and training center”, “The largest non-governmental Human Rights public information campaign on Earth, broadly promoting all 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to educate the public on everyone’s fundamental rights”, “an international training campus to assist educators with Study Technology”, “a Scientology Volunteer Ministers program that has initiated volunteer disaster relief efforts and other assistance on a global scale”, and “the sponsorship of an international foundation to help restore morality and the brotherhood of Man”. – They do it all. If it weren’t for the COS, we’d all be lost. Also, when was the last time you or someone you know benefitted from the amazing assistance of a COS member while dealing with a major life event, personal struggle, or natural disaster? Please comment below.
- “The Church continues to be a relentless voice in the fields of social reform and justice. Scientologists have brought to light such issues as the enforced drugging of school children, the dangers of psychiatric brutalities such as electric shock treatment and lobotomy, and the chemical and biological warfare experiments secretly undertaken against unwitting American citizens in the 1960s and 1970s.” – That “relentless voice” must be on “mute” because no one outside the COS heard a thing. Also, they seem kind of stuck in the 60s and 70s and that era’s villain movies.
- “The Church also has championed the principle of open government and pioneered the use of the Freedom of Information Act and other access laws around the world to protect the public interest and eradicate government waste and human rights abuses.” – They forgot to tell you about Operation Snow White – COS “project” in which they infiltrated government agencies, foreign embassies, and consulates, as well as private organizations critical of Scientology in an attempt to destroy unfavorable records about the COS and Hubbard.
- “The goal of the Church of Scientology is to improve society through our programs and activities and the active role we are taking in the world today.” – The world doesn’t see them in any of the Save-The-World scenarios they claim they’re taking part in, yet that doesn’t stop them from continuing to use these false claims to try and attract new members and new money streams.
- The aims of the Scientology religion, according to L. Ron Hubbard: “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.” – Delusional perspective, unrealistic expectations, aggressive attitude.
They also say that “The Church welcomes inquiries from people who want to know about Scientology” and offer a way to contact them. To write to them you need to provide your full name and your email address, but there are also fields where you can give them your phone number and postal code. I have no idea why you would want to do that.
Conclusions to Part II
After reading all of these materials, my opinion regarding the Church of Scientology is definitely gloomier than the one I had after only watching their introductory videos – discussed in Part I.
Not only am I now certain that the Church of Scientology is a cult and not a religious organization, but I am also fully convinced of the fact that they are a highly manipulative and dangerous cult.
Scientology and Dianetics are nothing but the fabrications of a deeply disturbed mind and the reason why they are still active today is because the financial benefits attached to their practices appeal to other highly manipulative individuals who are now leading the cult.
All the sensational claims that Scientology and its methods are everything humanity needed but was not able to produce for itself knowledge- and technology-wise before Hubbard only shows how distorted the initiator’s perspective was. He placed himself in a know-it-all position and simply expected others to believe it. And it worked, for some.
At this moment, thinking back on all the delusional claims I have read in the materials that the Church of Scientology presents publicly about its creeds and practices, I cannot think of any reasons why a person who would dedicate even the shortest amount of time to educate himself/herself about this group would ever decide to join the cult. The only member recruitment methods that would make any sense to me would be peer-pressure and opportunity driven. If an individual is unexpectedly presented with the opportunity to join an organization where some of the members are people they know and trust, they could be persuaded into quickly making the decision to join. They might even think that there is always going to be an easy way out should they decide later on that they no longer want to be associated with the COS. Then they would discover they are already part of a cycle that allows no easy modifications of membership. Example: If they already start auditing or if they take the ‘personality’ test created by the COS, then they’ve already provided the cult with ammo against them. Fear can prevent these people from critically analyzing just how damaging this data would be for them if ever made public, but usually, people do not want to take these types of risks. Whether it is out of fear of embarrassment or that of having one’s personal data revealed publicly, people who already joined the COS may choose to remain members just to avoid these effects.
Now, manipulation through fear is being used by many mainstream religions as ways to control the masses, but cults take things to really dangerous levels. Lives could be ruined and are being ruined by cults interfering in every aspect of a member’s life. This is why I believe they must be exposed and stopped.
My final thoughts: Scientology is nothing but a cult. It’s pseudo-religion, pseudo-science, pseudo-psychiatry, pseudo-personal-development, and pseudo-charity. If joined, I think it all becomes pure abuse and madness.