Stay away from Scientology. This sentence by itself can sum up this entire article, but I have to fill up an article and you probably want reasons why, so let me continue. I believe there really is no right religion and everyone figures out their life on their own, except for Scientology because Scientology is not a religion, it’s a cult. Scientology has become a cultural icon so you probably know a lot, but the more you learn about it, the more insane it gets. I’m not just talking about its ridiculous beliefs, but its overcharging of members and its shady leadership. However, let’s start with the first problem; its founder and the birth of the church.
The founder of Scientology is L. Ron Hubbard, a science-fiction writer during the 1930s. He also served in the military in both the navy and the marines, but was removed from the marines due to his superiors finding him incapable of command. Hubbard around this time was also seeking mental health treatment, but was unable to afford it and eventually condemned modern psychology. This was a major influence for Scientology’s opinion on psychology, and its precursor Dianetics. Dianetics is Hubbard’s own form of psychology based on the concept of erasing the reactive mind through auditing. The Church has given a story lionizing Hubbard’s development of it, but has been debunked.
In an auditing session, an “auditor” guides the “pre-clear” to confront traumatic memories and erase them, getting rid of the reactive mind and curing the person. This has obviously been condemned by the scientific community, and multiple studies have proven it to be wrong. However, since the time of its original publication, people ate it up giving Hubbard the ability to transform it into a religion, known as the Church of Scientology. This contains all the principles from Dianetics with the most ridiculous creation story ever conceived.
The story teaches that we are immortal beings who have lost our way. Further doctrine includes the story of Xenu, that Hubbard details in a document warning that a past trauma gave a person pneumonia if he attempts to solve it. Scientology views the document known as OT III, an auditing step, as sacred and only high level members are allowed to view. However, OT III has been leaked online and depicted in popular culture including the South Park episode, ‘Trapped in the Closet’. The story claims that the leader, a galactic confederacy named Xenu was about to be removed from power due to the overpopulation, so with the assistance of psychiatrists (notice his hatred of psychology got in there,) he gathered billions of his people and sent them to Earth to be transformed into “thetans” erasing their minds and becoming modern day humans. If you want to learn that story the proper way, it will cost you over $100,000. As you realize the beliefs of the Church are ridiculous and a rip-off to learn, but I haven’t even gotten to the criminal activities of the Church.
The Church isn’t very fond of criticism, and will come to extreme measures to eliminate dissent including Operation Snow White in the 70s. Operation Snow White was the Church’s own name for its criminal conspiracy to eliminate unfavorable documentation on the Church. The plan was carried by members in over 30 countries and targeted 136 organizations including government agencies and foreign embassies. Methods that were used included infiltration of buildings, wiretapping and theft of documents including 5,000 covert agents. This ended with 11 church officials going to jail, and the uncovering of Operation Freakout, and this one is even better than Snow White.
Operation Freakout was a plan in 1976 for the Church to have American journalist Paulette Cooper committed to a psychiatric hospital. Cooper was an outspoken critic of Scientology at the time, and the Church considered her a high level threat. The plan consisted of imitating Cooper and making threats on both the Arab consulate and making a threat to Gerald Ford. This however was not put into action, due to the uncovering by the FBI during its investigation into Snow White. Other operations against Cooper included Operation Dynamite, an attempt to frame her bomb threats, and Operation Daniel, exposing Cooper’s sex life. This is only a few of the cover operations carried out by the Church.
There are plenty of wonderful religions to join and to find meaning in, but stay away from Scientology. You shouldn’t have to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to be a part of a church, the history of its founding is very concerning, and the ongoing criminal activity is even more concerning.
It will cost you more like $300,000.
Otherwise, this article is very accurate.
I was a Scientologist for 30+ years before I escaped the mind control and woke up.
Thank you, a good article with good advice. Scientology should never have been given back their tax exemption in 1993. It had been taken away many years before because they weren't a non profit, they were a money making scam and have always remained such.
Hubbard was in the Navy and was relieved of command of his ship after he shelled a Mexican island. I've never heard of him being in the Marines.
The writer of the bs, Nick Ward, is just a bad person. I did some Dianetics. I had been depressed for a while. It worked and I am no longer like I was. What have you got to say about that Nicko?
I'm with you Mark Bryant. I did some cocaine. I had been depressed for a while. It worked and I am no longer like I was. Of course I lost my family, my mind and it cost me a few hundred thousand dollars, but hey, I felt good about it. Lol. Look Mr. Bryant, do some research on your own, google is your friend. The documentation of the insanity (and criminality) of Scientology is legion in size and scope. Heroin 'works', Cocaine 'works' and yes, scientology 'works'. But the aftermath is telling.
Got rid of all of your money yet, Marko?
OSA
Why don't the people who have experienced being abused, ripped off and been victims of all of these horrible acts all get together and bring charges against these idiots? I mean, come on. David Miscavich belongs in a cell right along side of Warren Jeffs. (The other psychopathic lying money hungry abusive brainwashing idiot who uses these tactics he calls "religion"?)
Even biblical icons of Evil have to have somethings tasty to keep the minions coming and Scientology does that, especially at the intro levels. A series of basic courses deliver simple high-lights taken from Zen Buddhism meditation, Dale Carnigie communication and a variety of self-help ideas extracted from any library bookshelf. These are all assigned to Hubbard as their author in the rewrite, however, and are packaged with some clever subtle hypnosis which keep the followers glued to the subject, almost permanently in many cases. They are trained to be ruthless in the collection of money and maniacal in the use of coercive control of the subjects who will blindly defend sick actions taken against imagined enemies to forward and protect their paranoid cult.
Let's not forget on the last high paid level OT8 Hubbard claims to be the Antichrist