One of the most scandalous and controversial organizations in the world. Science or religion, cult or commercial organization? All these concepts can be attributed to the term "Scientology". What it really is, we will try to tell in our article.
You will get acquainted with a brief history of this movement, its currents and main ideas. In addition, the main points of criticism related to Scientology will be voiced.
Meaning of term
From time to time this word appears in the press in connection with various scandals. So, what is Scientology? According to the founder of the movement, L. Ron Hubbard, he formed this term by combining two words: the Latin scio, which means "knowledge", and the Greek logos, which means "word" - in other words, the external form that is given to the internal thought for its expression. and messages, and also signifies this inner thought or reason itself. Therefore, Scientology is "knowledge about knowledge". L. Ron Hubbard emphasized the idea of knowledge,for it is this which leads man to a clear and complete understanding of his spiritual nature. Knowledge helps you understand your relationship with yourself, family, groups, humanity, life forms, the material and spiritual universe, and the Supreme Being.
In March 1952, Hubbard first used the word when he titled his lecture in Wichita, Kansas, "Scientology: The First Milestone." Although the word has been used previously by other writers such as Allen Upward and Anastasius Nordenholtz, it is impossible to say for sure that Hubbard borrowed it from earlier works. These are too often used words in the English-speaking environment. Therefore, this question remains open for researchers, but the fact of the existence of this direction is more important for us, since further we will talk about the history of its formation.
History of Scientology
Scientology was a continuation of L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics. The author defined Dianetics as the doctrine of mental he alth, publishing the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental He alth in 1950. The key to it were the methods of mental therapy.
Scientology was founded in 1952 on the basis of groups that brought together many interested in the innovations of Dianetics. The society was called the Hubbard Association of Scientologists. Subsequently, the newly founded Dianetics College was transferred to the state of Arizona (Phoenix City). And three years later, the first Church of Scientology opens in the capital of the United States of America.
In 1981, the International Church of Scientology was established,to serve as the "mother church" for all other churches. The Center for Religious Technology was established in 1982 to control the use and dissemination of materials, technologies and trademarks.
Scientology supporters are the largest in the United States today. There are even Hollywood stars among them, for example, John Travolta and Tom Cruise. After the death of the founder, the followers split into two currents, which we will talk about a little later.
Key Ideas
Now we will briefly outline the basics of Scientology that Ron Hubbard expounded for twenty years (in the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century). So what is Scientology?
The followers themselves define teaching as a religion. It is also spoken of as an applied religious philosophy. Scientologists aim to study the human spirit and practice its relationship and relationship with itself, the universes, and the rest of life.
In Scientology, a person is an immortal spiritual being endowed with natural abilities that can be improved to a greater extent than is commonly believed.
In contrast to the ideas traditional for Christianity and many other religions, where people have a soul and represent the unity of soul and body, in Scientology a person is his own soul, a spiritual being. Moreover, in this capacity he lived before this life and will live again.
Some publications, in particular the Encyclopædia Britannica, point to the similarity of the ideas of Scientology with the idea of reincarnation, although Hubbard himself does notused this word.
L. Ron Hubbard proclaimed several key points in the philosophy of Scientology.
First of all, all people are inherently good. They strive not only for their own survival, but also for the survival of their family, group, humanity, animate and inanimate nature, spiritual beings, and (ultimately) infinity or the Supreme Being.
Secondly, in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to achieve unity with yourself, your fellowmen and the universe.
One last thing: salvation is possible only through the spirit. If you manage to know it, you can even heal the body.
Currents
During the development of the doctrine, many followers appeared. According to some sources, there are supporters of this religion among the citizens of more than 100 countries of the world, and their total number is about 8-10 million people.
At the same time, the data of the Scientologists themselves indicate the presence of more than three thousand missions in these countries. In the mid-nineties of the last century, there were about ten thousand followers and sympathizers in the Russian Federation.
After the death of the founder of religion Ron Hubbard (in 1986), the movement is divided into two currents - "Church of Scientology" and "Free Zone". We will talk about them in more detail later.
Scientology in Russia
In Russia, Scientology organizations first appeared in January 1994, when the "Church of Scientology of the City of Moscow" was registered. Later, a series of scandals and speeches by various critics began, injunctions and their appeal. RepeatedlyScientology organizations were banned. Petersburg, for example, survived the liquidation of the "Scientology Center" in 2007.
Also in June 2011, one of the Moscow courts recognized eight works by Ron Hubbard as extremist and banned their distribution in Russia. However, in Russia there is a law on freedom of conscience and religious associations, so Scientology groups can and do function on the territory of the country. Let's now talk separately about the two currents that emerged in the eighties.
Church
The first one is called "Church of Scientology". In fact, it is the oldest organization in the history of this movement. It was founded in 1954, shortly after the popularization of Ron Hubbard's ideas. Today it is the sole successor and steward of all the technologies and trademarks of the founder of the company.
The Church of Scientology's copyright to Ron Hubbard's works expires in 2056 under Russian law. Therefore, in this country, in a few decades, the organization will not be able to enjoy exclusive rights to products and ideas.
Besides, the only organization that owns all the trademarks is the Religious Technology Center. Due to the specific hierarchy of the corporation, only he can issue licenses for their use. Even the International Church of Scientology does not have such an opportunity, although it is essentially a parent organization.
So, Scientology in Russia went two ways. ATThere are religious groups in the country that work under the spiritual leadership of the International Church of Scientology. However, there are those who have shown interest in the new current that is spreading in Western Europe. The organization is called "Free Zone". It was formed and took shape after the death of the founder of the doctrine.
This movement is not a single and centralized society, like the Church of Scientology. There are different societies here. Some strive to preserve the teachings in the form in which it was under Hubbard, the latter want to improve and develop it.
To avoid legal conflict on the basis of copyright, followers of the "Free Zone" use exclusively lifetime editions of Hubbard's works, as well as personal works.
In fact, this trend is engaged in the popularization of Scientology as a religion. Most of the other areas for which the Church has patents and rights are not officially developed by fans of the "Free Zone".
Criticism
Many journalists and researchers have tried to understand what Scientology is. Feedback from former followers, opinions of specialists in various fields, including jurisprudence, religious studies and other areas, influenced the type of activity Scientology is classified in different countries.
Scientology has been officially recognized as a religion in Austria, England, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, India, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, Canada, Kenya, Costa Rica, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia,Taiwan, Tanzania, Philippines, Croatia, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, South Africa and many other countries.
So, in England, since December 11, 2013, Scientology has been recognized as a full-fledged religion. Scientology priests have received the right to perform marriage ceremonies - from the point of view of the state they will be legally recognized.
However, in a number of countries of the European Union (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia Jordan) there are currently no officially established organizations of Scientologists or there are missions that have been opened recently.
In some other states, such as Greece, Belgium and France, Scientology organizations are established as religious associations. Their status is not officially recognized, however, they carry out their activities. It is worth noting that in France Scientology more than once fell under the definition of a sect. She received this status in 1995 in the report of the National Assembly. The fact that Scientology is a sect, and of a totalitarian nature, was stated in a government report in 2000.
Scientology is also not recognized as a religion in Israel, Ireland and Mexico. In Germany, the situation is somewhat different. On the territory of this state, the Church of Scientology fell into the category of commercial organizations. Whether Scientology will be banned in Germany is not yet known, but the possibility is being considered.
Scandals
But this is not the only thing Scientology is famous for. Reviews of critics can also be regarded as "black" PR. In a number of cases, allegations were made of scandalous events such as murders, intimidation andsuicide.
Of the most high-profile cases, it is worth mentioning the case of Lisa McPherson. The young girl came to the ideas of Scientology at the age of 18. At the age of 36, she gets into a minor accident. Refusing to stay in the hospital, she declares her desire to receive religious support from members of her community and goes there. After 17 days, the girl dies from blockage of the pulmonary artery (thromboembolism). Banker Bob Minton invests $2 million to prove that Scientologists are responsible for her death. However, after years of litigation, the allegations against the Church of Scientology are not confirmed.
The second case is related to the suicide of Patrice Wick. This is a Frenchman who jumped out of a window in 1988 because he could not find the funds to pay for the next course. The head of the Lyon branch of the Church of Scientology and fourteen members were found guilty of manslaughter. After this event, explanatory work began in French schools about the specifics of the teaching.
There is also evidence of intimidation, killing of unwanted people as part of the practice of "fair play" and ritual R2-45. Among the victims of the media are Rudolf Willems, the owner of a bankrupt German steel company, Rex Fowler, an American businessman, Noah Lottik, who jumped out of the window, holding the last money in his hands - 171 dollars.
Below are a few more facts related to the scandalous reputation of Scientology:
1. It is alleged that since the mid-nineties there has been an ongoing process to withdraw fromthe worldwide network of any information that contradicts the teachings of Hubbard.
2. There have also been attempts to force Google and Yahoo to remove from search results information about pages with objectionable information to Scientologists.
3. And in 2009, Wikipedia's arbitration committee banned edits on its site from any IP address associated with the Church or its affiliates.
Comparison with religion
Can L. Ron Hubbard's teachings be called a religion? The question is quite controversial, which is difficult to give a clear answer. Most scholars of religion have come to the conclusion that, academically speaking, Scientology is a religion. However, the very concept of "religion" is ambiguous - there are dozens, if not hundreds, of definitions of this term. Therefore, some experts, relying on private definitions, argue that Scientology cannot be attributed to this category.
Is this science or not?
Scientology is positioned as a religion. However, it does not require a person to take anything on faith. On the contrary, people are encouraged to test the principles of Scientology for themselves by putting them into practice and observing the results of this application. The Center for Scientology helps people improve their intelligence, he alth, and careers.
For example, the program "Clean body, clean mind" is considered by many researchers as prevention and restorative procedures. It includes taking vitamins and other supplements, jogging and visiting the sauna.
However, many scholars say that Scientology is a pseudoscience. First of all, criticismis subjected to a "stress test" as a non-revealing process solely to attract new members. On the other hand, MD V. E. Kagan emphasized that Hubbard never associated the term "Scientology" with the English science - "science".
Is Scientology a cult?
The teaching that Ron Hubbard (Scientology) created, according to a number of scholars, is "a destructive totalitarian sect that has a detrimental and overwhelming effect on the psyche of its followers."
Thus, in 1965, Anderson published a report in Australia, where he gave examples of command hypnosis in auditing. Thanks to this, the sect gains psychological control over newcomers, as well as over finances.
A similar situation was repeated in Germany, France, Scientology did not escape persecution in Moscow. The case of the court banning eight works of Ron Hubbard as extremist was described above.
Also worth mentioning is the difference in currents. These facts relate mainly to the Church of Scientology. Supporters of the Free Zone say they have no such diktat, although there is evidence to the contrary.
Commercial
Critics say the Church of Scientology's capital base is multi-million dollar real estate around the world. It also includes auditing sessions, donations, books. Scientology is developing like a financial pyramid, according to some statements.
Besides this, there are allegations that Ron Hubbard thus solved the problem of his welfare. However, after his death, the IRSruled that the Church of Scientology was "governed solely for religious and charitable purposes" and exempted it from taxes.
According to some reports, Scientologists receive a commission for attracting new members, the head office has 10% of the monthly turnover of subsidiaries, and competitors are removed through litigation.
Interesting facts
In 2018, the Church of Scientology launched its own 24-hour TV channel, the Scientology Network.
