Scientology is the creation of science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard’s departure from the world of science fiction and entrance to spiritual subjects began with his work on Dianetics, originally published in 1950. Hubbard began work on Scientology in 1952, founding the first church in 1953, and continued until his death in 1986. Scientology was seen as the next logical step after Dianetics and began to build a structure around these ideas. Originally described as a “study of knowledge,” by 1960 Hubbard described Scientology as “a religion by its basic tenets, practice, historical background and by the definition of the word ‘religion’ itself.”
L. Ron Hubbard (b. Lafayette Ronald Hubbard), author of Dianetics and founder of the Scientology Organization
Today, Scientology is recognized as a religion in only a few countries, most notably the United States, Australia, and Canada. Many other countries have Scientology offices and missions, but are still not recognized as anything more than a charitable or non-profit organization. Other countries have alleged that Scientology is a dangerous cult, and, on December 7
th, 2007, interior ministers in Germany declared Scientology to be unconstitutional and began seeking a ban, the first such action against Scientology since its founding. Despite this, the church claims approximately eight to fifteen million members worldwide and states that it is the fastest growing religion in the world.
Beliefs
Scientology does not have a centralized text describing its core beliefs, such as the Bible or Qur’an. Rather, the scriptures of Scientology are contained in at least fifteen books and three thousand audio recordings of lectures. Scientology describes itself as “the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others and all of life,” and states that it “encompasses all aspects of life from the point of view of the spirit.” Scientology holds that man is composed from three fundamental parts: mind, body, and spirit.
Dianetics
The term Dianetics commonly refers to a set of ideas regarding mind, body, and spirit laid out by L. Ron Hubbard in his 1950 book
Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science (now in print as
Dianetics: The Mode Science of Mental Health). Dianetics is Hubbard’s understanding of the relationship between mind, body, and spirit, which states that mental and physical problems are the result of so-called “engrams” in the mind. The practice of Dianetics is then enacted through a process known as “auditing” in which, with the help of a church-certified auditor and a device known as a “Hubbard Electropsychometer,” or E-Meter, the individual confronts their engrams in an attempt to rid themselves of them. During this process, the user holds two cans from the E-Meter in their hands and speaks at length to the auditor in a manner similar to a confession. The auditor then uses the E-Meter to help guide the user through their results and make a diagnosis and recommendations for purging the engrams. According to Dianetics, after many of these auditing sessions, one may achieve a state known as “clear,” in which they are finally rid of these engrams. Hubbard claimed that the effects of being clear included having no neuroses, psychoses, compulsions, or repressions, as well as enjoying a near-perfect memory and up to a 50 point increase in IQ.