The Church of Scientology is composed of over one hundred fifty separate organizations and corporations. The following is intended as a brief introduction to the nature and roles of some of the more prominent and commonly mentioned of these. For more information regarding these organizations, refer to this list of Scientology front groups.
The Church of Spiritual Technology is responsible for maintaining and licensing copyrighted material of the estate of L. Ron Hubbard. While registered as a non-profit organization, the church has no members or clergy. Doing business as L. Ron Hubbard Library, the Church of Spiritual Technology also owns Author Services, Inc. which publishes Hubbard’s works.
The Religious Technology Center controls the use of trademarks and copyrights of Scientology owned by the Church of Spiritual Technology. According to the RTC website, “RTC stands apart as an exte al body which protects the Scientology religion and acts as the final arbiter of orthodoxy" and its stated purpose is “to protect the public from misapplication of the technology and to see that the religious technologies of Dianetics and Scientology remain in proper hands and are properly ministered."14
Founded in 1969, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights exists to fight “human rights crimes" by the psychiatric profession. They claim that psychiatry and psychiatrists are guilty of involuntary commitment, child medication, psychosurgery, and racism.15
CCHR is actively involved in campaigns and litigation against pharmaceuticals such as Prozac and Ritalin, claiming that the diseases they seek to treat do not exist in the first place. Additionally, CCHR operates an exhibit known as “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" which holds that psychiatry has for years been pursuing a “master plan" of world domination, that Adolf Hitler (and consequently the Holocaust) was central to this plan, and that it is responsible for the deaths of E est Hemingway, Del Shannon, Billie Holiday, Kurt Cobain, and many others16.
Sea Organization, also known as Sea Org, was established in 1968 by L. Ron Hubbard. Members of Sea Org are largely found in the management of the Church of Scientology, and the organization is structured in a similar fashion to the US Navy. Members of Sea Org must sign a one billion year contract, in accordance with Scientology’s beliefs in reinca ation.17
Sea Org operates the controversial Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF), a rehabilitation program for Sea Org members who have violated policy or failed to live up to church expectations.
The World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE) exists to educate business leaders in management techniques created by L. Ron Hubbard and founded heavily in Scientology’s scriptures. Their stated goals are “an ethical, sane and prosperous civilization" and “retu ing to business the values and ethical standards upon which it was founded: honesty, integrity, craftsmanship, rewards for productivity, commitment to the prosperity of entire communities and nations."18
The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was originally founded in 1978 after the Jonestown murder/suicide incident. CAN had long been critical of what it viewed as fringe religious groups, most notably Landmark Education and Scientology. In 1996, after being driven into bankruptcy court by numerous lawsuits, CAN was purchased by Gary Beeny, a prominent Scientologist. While CAN is not directly owned by Church of Scientology, it is still operated by Scientologists.
Narconon is a drug-rehabilitation program present largely in the United States and Weste Europe operated by the Church of Scientology, which should not be confused with the unaffiliated programs Narcotics Anonymous or Nar-Anon. Narconon has come under heavy criticism for offering their services to gove ment institutions such as schools and prisons, as legal precedent holds it is inappropriate for a gove ment organization to give funds for services rendered to a religious organization.19
Criminon is a criminal rehabilitation program founded on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard and operated by Criminon Inte ational, a non-profit, public-benefit corporation. Criminon’s materials and techniques are additionally licensed and used by “Second Chance."
The Flag Service Organization, or Flag Organization, is responsible for the training of OT levels VII and VIII, the highest levels within the Church of Scientology.
Further information can be viewed at www.xenu-directory.net