Scientology: a research-based religion or a commercial cult? Dianetics - what is it? Dianetics by Ronald Hubbard.

The eternal desire of man for happiness, earthly paradise and prosperity at all times led to the birth of certain teachings, theories, isms, -logies and other pseudosciences. The thing is that happiness was sought where it does not exist and cannot exist. There can be no happiness without God, there can be no true joy without Christ. It's a pity, but it is very difficult for a non-believer to imagine.

One of the new pseudosciences about heaven on earth is Dianetics. We summarize the report of the famous Belarusian psychiatrist Lev Petrovich Novakovich “Psychiatric illiteracy of the population; the role of specialists, the public and the media in overcoming it" at the international conference "Rehabilitation of people with psychiatric problems in societies in transition", held in April 1998 in Minsk, a fragment of which is devoted to this doctrine.

Dianetics is a modern science of mental health, it is also Scientology, i.e. the science of sciences, she is the Founding Church.

These terms were coined by its founder Lafayette Ron Hubbard (1911-1986). He, not having a medical education, created a science-like fantastic teaching about the mind, mental health, the technology of getting rid of complexes and bad habits. During the war, he suffered a shell shock, then he was fond of the occult, Satanism, drugs, suffered from venereal and mental illnesses. After all this, he pathologically hated psychiatrists, was an ardent anti-psychiatrist, indulged in various sexual perversions. According to his son, this fisher of human souls wrote many of his “revelations” while intoxicated.

Ron Hubbard was a highly popular American science fiction writer. He wrote about 15 million words of fiction. His works have been published in 100 million copies in 22 languages ​​of the world. But he, by the way, was not satisfied with his success.

In 1949, at a convention of science fiction writers, he said: “Writing to get a penny a word is ridiculous. If a person really wants to get a million dollars, then the best way is to start their own religion.”

In 1950, Ron Hubbard published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, which mixes information from psychiatry, psychology, the occult, black magic, Satanism, and more. There are many vague expressions in the style of science fiction, neologisms invented by the author himself. It is impossible to read Dianetics without a special dictionary.

He wanted to present his teaching as a science, but was sharply criticized by scientists. Then, in 1954, he registered the Church of Scientology in California, which began to develop rapidly and acquire more legal cases than any other newly-minted "religion".

Due to active penetration into various government and financial departments, theft of secret documents in 1977, the leaders of the sect were accused of espionage and sentenced to various terms of punishment, including Hubbard's wife.

Ron Hubbard was declared a pathological individual with a great lust for power by a California Supreme Court ruling.

The introduction of Dianetics in Russia began with a noisy advertising campaign in 1992-1993 with the full approval of the government and some scientists!

"Dianetics" in Russian was published in 1993, and its presentation took place not just anywhere, but in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses. Copies of Dianetics were sent to Rutskoi, Khasbulatov, Stepashin, Yeltsin and 72 other deputies of the State Duma.

Some scholars, whether influenced by Hubbard's ideas or money, have praised Dianetics. In P. Schocher's review: "Dianetics is a gentle scientific approach that enables a person to illuminate his inner world, to free himself from conflicts hidden deep in it." But at what cost, the author does not say.

Hubbardists in Russia have penetrated many universities, incl. at Moscow State University, defense plants, authorities, the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Olga Ukhova from Khabarovsk boasted at a Dianetics get-together that she had distributed a lot of "Dianetics" among employees of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and other departments of the Khabarovsk Territory. Her merits are noted even in America, where their center is located.

According to John McDowall and Ron Stewart, the Church of Science of Science undeniably belongs to Eastern cults. Ron Hubbard appreciated his work and was convinced that he was continuing the unfinished work of the Buddha.

Science is a religion built on a combination of Hinduism, Buddhism and modern Hubbard technologies. It does not give a person the true path of salvation, as it denies the biblical concept. It contradicts the first commandment of the Lord: "I am the Lord thy God, that thou shalt have no other gods but Me." Hubbard proposes polytheism - polytheism.

The Church of Scientology is a very rich, well-organized, religion-like organization that actively spreads its teachings around the world, especially in the CIS countries. By 1977, 500 of its centers were supposed to be opened in Russia alone. Its purpose is to “clear”, i.e. cleanse Russia and the whole world.

They have a well organized recruitment system for new members through the media, phone calls, written invitations to lectures on Dianetics. Their courses have attractive titles: How to Improve Your Life, How to Be Happy, How to Succeed in Life, Narconon, Criminon. Hubbard colleges for "management technology", "Hubbard Humanitarian Colleges" are being created.

When attending their lectures, courses, parties, even journalists are required to fill out a questionnaire and pass a “free” test. For “this is how it is accepted with us”, “we have such a rule”. In the questionnaire, you must specify your full name, age, address, phone number, occupation. All information is entered into a computer data bank, i.e. there is an electronic touch.

According to Freud, touch is the beginning of possession. The data that gets into the bank become potential sources of income.

The test, called "free personality analysis", has the original title: "Find out if you will be happy?" and contains 200 questions about a person's life, his old experiences, especially unpleasant ones. Questions should only be answered with “yes”, “no”, “I don’t know”. The interpretation of the answers by means of a psychometer or engrammometer (computer) is given by the auditor, a gentleman in a white shirt and black tie. Auditing is immediately carried out - checking everyone who has come into contact with Dianetics and its services. At the end of the free testing, they report that the testee suffers from the sphere of communication, his will is weakened, etc. And if you sign up for the courses “How to improve your life”, then the sphere of communication will improve significantly, you will gain a strong will, learn and be able to manage others, achieve success in communicating with them and the answer from them that you need.

According to Hubbard, all our illnesses, sorrows, failures, even crimes are the result of engrams - traces of our long-standing unpleasant experiences, unsatisfied desires. For life to be happy, engrams must be cleared, cleared by a special technique of auditing or "checking" done by auditors who listen and ask many questions, especially about failures, misfortunes, unpleasant experiences. The auditing process - checking - is recorded and controlled by a computer. In this way, under the guise of purification and verification, an invasion is carried out into the deep structures of the psyche, into the subconscious. Dependence on auditors and Dianetics is created.

Those who have passed such checks are considered clear, i.e. purified - DT ("acting thetan"), who has a strong will and achieved "all-determination", but in fact became their slave. Time magazine (May 1991) writes that the price of the highest stage of diesel fuel is $ 11,114! But you will get the final answer to any question of being. The same magazine calls Dianetics a growing empire squeezing millions out of its believers.

Believers are obliged to constantly give money to their church, follow all its rules, if they are ordered, then sit in the sauna for 5 hours, lack sleep, malnourish, take ultra-high doses of certain "healing" intoxicants, repeat Hubbard's mantras for a long time, sincerely believe in Hubbard's teachings, if necessary, then conclude an agreement with the sect for a billion years yes, internal secret service).

According to Hubbard, we are not people, but thetans - spirit-like beings living for 300 trillion years, constantly moving from one living body to another, even once into dinosaurs, worms, microbes, wandering in space, moving from planet to planet. Further, he teaches that there are many different gods - lower, higher, highest, and even gods of gods. In writing his teaching, Hubbard wrote about 25 million words of pseudo-scientific nonsense!

At the end of his life, Ron Hubbard declared himself the beast from the Apocalypse and in 1986 "left his body."

The well-known psychiatrist Professor Yu. Poleshchuk rightly notes that in the Dianetics Centers “they play dangerous games, which are called “deep psychoanalysis”.

Hubbard's work is thoughtful, wordy. To write so much, you need to think a lot and quickly, i.e. his thinking is accelerated. His ideas, his teachings reflect his emotional experiences, they are fantastic, completely captured his consciousness (obsession!), do not correspond to reality, are not amenable to criticism. Such ideas are rated as delusional by psychiatry and psychology.

In many civilized countries, the Church of Scientology-Dianetics is banned. Our task is to work together to prevent the spread of this evil in the fatherland.

American activist, best known as the founder of Dianetics (from the Greek words "dia" - through and "noos" - mind) and Scientology.

"In the 1940s, someone L. Ron Hubbard just wrote fantasy stories for John Campbell Jr.'s Astounding Science Fiction.

He wrote about superhumans, possessing paranormal abilities and rather fascist in nature, who conquer worlds with the help of amazing psychokinetic powers. He also wrote "Fear," one of the most savory stories in tabloid sf.

After Campbell made him famous in the pages of his magazine, Hubbard published a sensational article on Dianetics in May 1950. He then wrote the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. In the first year, 150,000 copies were sold.

Offering a straightforward approach to the problems that have gripped the human mind, Dianetics is a set of simple and straightforward techniques that can clear people of psychological problems and psychosomatic disorders. The latter, according to Hubbard constitute the majority of diseases. As a bonus, Hubbard suggested to the reader that these techniques had the potential to unlock the latent psychic powers that so captivated readers of his science fiction stories.

More of an engineering manual for the exploitation of consciousness than a science of consciousness, Dianetics begins with a straightforward and now well-known statement: the mind is a computer.

In its optimal state, our "active mind" uses all the data, acts rationally and solves all possible problems.

However, our active mind is blocked by our "reactive mind", a "memory bank", which directly corresponds to Freud's concept of the subconscious. This is where "distorting cycles" lurk, bad habits that Hubbard calls "engrams": records of unpleasant experiences that surface in the form of fear, pain, or loss of consciousness. Let's say one day a dog bit me during a thunderstorm. The sound of falling water and the barking of a chihuahua would reactivate the engram and ruin my day. "Tracking" such engrams, that is, translating them from the subconscious into consciousness and "processing" with the help of Dianetics techniques, one can approach the optimal state of "transparency".

Eric Davies, Technognosis: Myth, Magic and Mysticism in the Information Age, Yekaterinburg, Ultra. Culture”, 2008, p. 196-197.

Since 1952, Ron Hubbard and his supporters began to found churches of Scientology in different countries of the world.

“For a quarter of a century, Hubbard lectured to listeners all over the world. As a lecturer, he was engaging and witty. Many celebrities came to him who wanted enlightenment. John Travolta, Karen Black, Chick Corea, Stephen Boyd, Gloria Swanson, William Burroughs, the list goes on…”

Bent Coridan, Ron Hubbard: Maniac or Messiah?, M., UltraCulture, 2004, p. 16.

Followers of the ideas of Ron Hubbard signed a contract with his organization for ... a billion years.

“Basic concepts and ideas: the essence of Dianetics is the perfection of the personality through special psychotherapy. A perfect personality is a "clear", that is, a mentally healthy person. Special therapy is a spiritual healing technique called Dianetics.
The vast majority of people are unhealthy, so they need healing in order to find happiness and fullness of life. The main purpose of life is survival. Survival is carried out in three ways: providing food, security (defense and attack), and reproduction. It is necessary to take pleasure as a reward for efforts that promote survival, and avoid pain as a punishment for actions that are not consistent with survival. The ultimate pain is death. "Survival is repelled by death and directed towards immortality." Survival as a goal is divided into four "dynamics":

1) survival for yourself and your symbiotes (what helps you survive);
2) survival as reproduction (sex, raising children, caring for their symbiotes);
3) survival for related groups;
4) survival for humanity.

"Dynamics" is a grasp of life, perseverance in survival. Survival impulses are inside a person. It has powers that repel pain and attract pleasure.
But people are "littered" with various mental records of pain and unconsciousness experiences called "engrams" and deviations from rational thinking and behavior called "aberrations". It hinders survival. The person who conducts a session of Dianetic therapy is called an "auditor", and the procedure itself is called "audit" and "clear".

Nikandrov V.V., Psychology, M., "TC Velby"; "Prospect", 2007, p. 737-738.

“Scientology is based on several fundamental principles. Among them is the idea of ​​man as an immortal spiritual being, whose experience extends beyond one lifetime, whose abilities are unlimited, even if he does not use all of them at the moment. The main Scientology procedure - "auditing" resembles a confession, or a session of psychoanalysis.
Some sources provide evidence that everything said in this procedure is recorded and can later be used by the organization as compromising evidence. Auditors using Hubbard's "e-meter" (this is a typical error in materials about Dianetics - this galvanometer was developed and improved by other scientists - Note by I.L. Vikentiev), to help a person discover areas of mental anguish and suffering that exist outside the awareness of the person himself.
The "scientific" basis for the functioning of the device is based on the "knowledge" that the mind contains mental pictures - real records of past existence, with energy and mass. According to the Scientologists, there is a part of the mind that contains a mental picture record of past loss and pain.
These pictures are not realized by a person and, accumulating, become a "reactive mind" - a source of psychosomatic diseases, fears, pain. Salvation can be obtained through auditing, gradually revealing the contents of this area and getting rid of it. Thus, a person reaches a new state, which is called "clear" and is the restoration of the true personality of a person and the disclosure of his inner capabilities. Hubbard personally oversaw the orthodoxy of the practice of Scientology and registered many religious words and symbols belonging to the Church of Scientology (Dianetics, Scientology) as trademarks. In 1982 L. Ron Hubbard donated these trademarks to the Religious Technology Center (RTC), which from that moment also took over the functions of overseeing the adequacy of their use.

05/16/2018 51,245 3 Igor

Psychology and society

In the modern world, when pragmatism and skepticism are considered almost the standard of worldview, the influence of religion on the spiritual life of a person, his morality is increasing every day. One of the current religions that we often hear about, especially in American films, is "Scientology". What does it mean in simple words?

Content:

What is Scientology?

Scientology (from the Latin "scio" - to know in the fullest sense of the word and the Greek "logos" - teaching)- a religious movement that includes pseudoscientific and mystical ideas adopted from different religions, formed into a single system of beliefs and practices aimed at achieving success and moving up the career ladder. In simple terms, it is knowing how to know. The founder of this religion is the American science fiction writer Ron Hubbard, who in his book "Scientology: The Foundations of Life" revealed the basic principles of Scientology teachings.

The elements that form the basis of the Scientology teachings are:

• ancient Greek philosophical views;
• Vedic knowledge;
• Buddhist and Jewish beliefs;
• the philosophy of Nietzsche;
• Freud's psychotherapeutic techniques.

All norms of morality and morality, which are preached by the church, are addressed to the spiritual beginning of a person. They help people tired of social, economic and moral problems to turn to their real self and think about the meaning of their existence. Factors that keep people religious at all times: various phobias, fear of the future, thoughts about the afterlife, unsolvable problems, diseases, etc.

Especially there is an increase in the number of people turning to religion in crisis situations, at turning points in history, when there is a change in the system of values, norms and ideals: the past principles of the development of society are becoming obsolete, and new ones have not yet had time to form. In this case, faith in God always comes to the rescue, backed up by eternal moral commandments.

Scientology is a religion for the following reasons:

• faith in a Higher power that helps to find peace;
• application of various practices aimed at understanding and accepting this Higher power;
• uniting believers into communities to follow the Higher power.

Scientology is a precise route that leads a person to a clear and complete awareness of their role and helps to understand relationships with oneself, family, friends, partners, humanity, life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the Supreme Being. Scientology can be called the religion of the 21st century because it contains knowledge based on fundamental truths. One of the most important truths preached by the Scientology movement is that man is a spiritual being with much greater abilities and abilities than we think. He can not only rise from the bottom, overcome his own difficulties, overcome all obstacles, achieve his goals, reach a new level of development and find peace of mind and peace, but also find a new state and a higher level of consciousness, which he never even dreamed of.

All world religions give hope for inner freedom, which consists in the absence of material restrictions and life's suffering. But none of them shows the way how to achieve this state, how to overcome the shortcomings of modern society, which has a negative impact on us, destroys us from the inside.

Despite the fact that life poses more and more questions for us, brings us insoluble problems, Scientology proves that it is very easy to find answers to them, and the ways to solve all problems are within easy reach of each of us. This religion helps to get rid of such problems: loneliness, turmoil in personal life, low self-esteem, difficulties at work, interpersonal relationships, insecurity, fear, despair, resentment, doubt, etc. By choosing the path to complete freedom that Scientology promotes, all these problems can be easily dealt with.

History of Scientology: Who is Ron Hubbard?

Ron Hubbard - famous writer, philosopher, humanist and founder of the Scientology religion, which is based on the principles of the previous teachings of Dianetics - which is known as the science of "mental health". In the spring of 1952, Hubbard moved the Dianetics College, which he founded, to Phoenix, Arizona. Being a teacher of this college, at one of the lectures, he announced to the students about the emergence of Scientology. The very first Church of Scientology was opened in 1955 in Washington DC. A little later, R. Hubbard created the Center for Religious Technology, which controlled the correct use of all materials on Scientology, the technologies he created and licensed trademarks.

Before his death in 1986, he perfected and systematized all his achievements in Scientology and Dianetics so that people could use them to achieve the greatest spiritual heights. These developments include many books, publications, lectures, films recorded on tape. Thanks to these materials, today the Scientology movement reaches millions of people around the world. Hubbard's legacy is proven by millions of his friends who achieve miraculous results in their lives through Scientology and carry this legacy into eternity.

After Hubbard's death, the leadership of the church changed, and some of the Scientologists who disagreed with these changes formed their own independent movement, which was called the Free Zone. The largest number of followers of the Church of Scientology lives in the United States. A small proportion of churches and church organizations that preach the ideas of Scientology are present in Europe and Asia.

organization doctrine

Scientology is aimed at the inner world of a person, his spirit, and not the body or mind. The main idea is that a person is not only a genetic heritage and a product of the environment, but he is something much more, and he himself can find it in himself and know it.

Scientology is built on a system of knowledge which includes the following fundamental principles:

1. Man is an immortal spiritual being. His abilities are unlimited.
2. A person transfers his experience to several generations, and not to one human life.
3. One must not lose faith if one or another ability of a person at a given moment in time cannot be fully realized.
4. You always have to fight for survival.
5. The spirit can be saved, and only it can save and heal the body and mind.

This teaching is based on the fact that every person is born good with a good character, and his state of mind is formed by himself and the environment of people close to him, and also depends on the desire to achieve unity with the Universe.

Scientology differs from other religions in that it does not require a person to accept what it promotes on faith. Only the individual himself, by putting the principles of the Scientology teachings into practice, can verify their truth and observe the results from their application from personal experience.

The ultimate goal of Scientology is true spiritual enlightenment and inner freedom.

Important! The dream of Scientology, like all great religions, is peace on earth and the salvation of mankind. Its main difference is the offer of a specific path that leads to spiritual self-improvement and makes it possible to achieve it by applying the principles of Scientology teachings.

What do Scientologists do?

There is an opinion that Scientology is a sect and a secret society. In fact, these opinions differ from the direction of religion. Scientologists want to help people find themselves through self-discovery and their own search for truth. What is it for them? Here are a few reasons:

1. Before a person turns to Scientology, the representatives of this teaching have provided invaluable help to him, so he wants other people to achieve the same success with his help.
2. Scientologists are aware of the fact that no person can live his life alone, therefore they try to help their loved ones and all of humanity survive in difficult situations.

Scientologists include representatives from all walks of life. People of various professions and ranks become Scientologists, from teachers to businessmen, doctors, housewives, lawyers, engineers, nurses, builders, managers, marketing specialists, secretaries, athletes, government employees and other people, including celebrities. Representatives of this religion are affected by social problems, therefore they are participants in programs to improve society: the rehabilitation of drug and alcohol addicts, raising educational, cultural and moral standards, reducing crime, etc.

Important! Scientology solves human problems by targeting the areas of mental suffering that are the source of those problems. As soon as these barriers begin to disappear, a person acquires the ability to communicate with family members, friends and just acquaintances. He is relieved of stress and enjoys life more. But more importantly, the Scientologist becomes fully aware of himself as a spiritual being, discovers his true abilities, and regains the certainty that he is immortal.

Celebrities and Scientology

Many well-known Hollywood personalities are adherents of the Scientology teachings. Among them: Bob Adams, Ann Archer, Jennifer Aspen, Lindsey Bartilson, Karen Black, Catherine Bell, Nancy Cartwright, Kate Kebirano, Chick Corea, Tom Cruise, Marisol Nichols, John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston, Kirstie Alley, Jason Michael Leigh, Isaac Hayes, Priscilla Presley, Jena Elfman, her husband Bodie Elfman and father-in-law Richard Elfman.

Among the celebrities there are many who left this religion:

• Paul Haggis - was a member of the Church of Scientology for 35 years, but left the organization in 2009 due to the refusal of Scientologists to support the ban on same-sex marriage in California and became an opponent of this doctrine.
• Katie Holmes – Turned to Scientology after marrying Tom Cruise, but returned to Catholicism after her divorce from him in 2012.

Sharon Stone, despite supporting the principles of Scientology, has never been a member of this church. She is a Buddhist, and Scientology is close to her because of the refusal of drugs and alcohol. What distinguishes these two religions is their attitude towards modern medicine: Scientologists have abandoned it, while Buddhists accept it.

Is there movement in Russia?

The emergence of the Scientology movement in Russia had unfortunate consequences. It penetrated into all spheres of life and established complete control over them: government agencies, education, business, defense enterprises.

Example: The strength of Scientology's influence in the Russian Federation can be judged by how the mayor of Perm, Vladimir Fil, a graduate of one of the Russian Dianetics centers, decided to subordinate all the authorities of the city to Hubbard's teachings and perform his managerial functions, guided by the principles of Scientology teachings. But he met with serious resistance from sensible representatives of culture, science and Orthodoxy in Perm.

In the 90s of the XX century, a huge network was created in Russia, subordinate to the Church of Scientology, which controlled many enterprises and organizations, business structures, insurance and banking organizations.

In 1996, the State Duma issued an official resolution, according to which this church was recognized as destructive. But only in 2015 after long court hearings she was eliminated. At the end of June 2016, the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the decision to liquidate the Church of Scientology in Moscow, not satisfying organization's appeal. The main reason: the inconsistency of the charter of the Church of Scientology with the Russian legislation.

Lafayette Ronald Hubbard known throughout the world as a writer, researcher, founder of Scientology (a practical spiritual philosophy) and Dianetics (the science of the human mind).

The biography of Ronald Hubbardy is very controversial and a number of facts from his life are refuted by his relatives. The main version of his biography was created and published by followers of Ronald Hubbard, adherents of Scientology.

He was born on March 13, 1911 in Tilden, Nebraska, USA and died on January 24, 1986 in California, USA.

Ronald was the son of US Navy officer Harry Ross Hubbard and his mother, Ledora May. Ronald grew up in the Wild West in Montana. He lived there until 1917. Ronald met the Blackfoot Indians and managed to make friends with the shaman of this tribe, Old Tom, as a result of which he became the blood brother of the tribe.

In 1922, Ronald moved to Puget Sound, Washington, and in April 1923 became a member of the Boy Scouts of America. In October, his father receives another transfer order, and Ron and his family go by ship to Washington. There he met Captain 3rd Class Joseph Thompson, an officer in the US Navy Medical Corps, who had traveled to Vienna to study psychoanalysis with Sigmund Freud. Ron was 12 when he learned about the human mind from Thompson. Later, he rejected Freud's theory, but for himself he concluded that the mind can be influenced.

From 1927 to 1929 Ronald Hubbard traveled extensively in various eastern countries in order to understand the meaning of human life: Japan, India, China, Tibet.

In the 30s and 40s, Ronal Hubbard wrote many books in the genre of fantasy, science fiction, detective, lyrical. This gave Hubbard a good income for his research activities. He also wrote several screenplays for the film studio. Columbia Pictures.

During his studies in 1930-1932 at the University. George Washington on engineering, mathematics and nuclear physics, which he did not complete, Ronald Hubbard conducts his first experiments on human memory and the nature of aesthetics.

In 1932-1933. Ronald participated in filming and mineralogical expeditions to the islands of the Caribbean, studying the culture and religion of the local people.

In 1935, Ronald was elected president of the New York chapter of the American Writers Guild.

In 1940, he became a member of the Travelers' Club, carried out a sea expedition to Alaska, helping to map the coast.

During World War II (1941-1945) he served in the US Navy, commanded a ship in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. After her bombardment of an island belonging to Mexico, which was allied with the US, she was put ashore as a resupply.

In 1947 he opened his office in Los Angeles, where he continued his research work in the field of Dianetics. His work immediately aroused a keen interest among people.

In 1950, he completed research in this direction, publishing a book "Dianetics: The Modern Science of the Mind" which formed a whole social movement in the United States. Thus, dynamic centers and groups began to form in various cities.

Beginning in 1950, Ronald Hubbard began to travel around the world to draw people's attention to this new direction, as well as educate new people in dynetics. Education took place in the form of highly paid courses and lectures. Their cost was so high that not everyone could afford it.

The scientific world has not recognized Dianetics as a science. Later, Ronald Hubbard began to be accused of fraud.

In 1952, he created a new direction - Scientology. Chapters of the Church of Scientology have begun to form in the United States, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, France, South Africa, and other countries. Education in the church was also not affordable for everyone. The entire course cost about 350 thousand US dollars. Facts began to come to light about the persecution of people who wanted to leave the church because of the inability to pay tuition. Some of them end up committing suicide as a result. Soon the church was classified as a sect and its persecution began. The church was banned in many countries of the world.

In 1968 Ronald Hubbard published the book "Introduction to Scientology Ethics", which reflects the principles by which a person can make his life whole and harmonious.

He researches and publishes many works in the field of curing drug addicts, reforming criminals, and managing an organization. Ronald Hubbard manifests himself as a researcher of various aspects of human life, even affecting art, medicine, business and others.

Some of Hubbard's work:

• Dianetics: Initial Theses;
• Dianetics: the evolution of science;
• Survival Science: Predicting Human Behavior;
• Handbook for preclears;
• The history of man;
• How to live even if you are a leader;
• Creation of human abilities;
• Work problems;
• Management;
• Course of the head of the organization;
• Road to happiness;
• Mission Earth;
• Scientology: A New Look at Life;
• Clean body, clear mind: an effective cleansing program;
• Art and others.

The personality of Ronald Hubbard is controversial. On the one hand, he manifests himself as an open and sociable person who seeks to help people. On the other hand, his actions in terms of creating a church cause negativity all over the world. Nevertheless, he made a huge contribution to the study of the human mind and the impact on it, leaving behind a number of followers who continue to develop and popularize his teachings.

Dear visitors! We would like to inform you that by decision of the courts the centers of Dianetics and Scientology were liquidated in some cities of Russia (for example, St. Petersburg, Barnaul, Khabarovsk, Naberezhnye Chelny, etc.). A number of Ron Hubbard's works have been placed on the list of extremist materials by court order (sections 1170-1176 of the Federal List of Extremist Materials). In addition, the Russian Ministry of Health prohibits the use in medicine of detoxification methods and other methods of Scientology and Dianetics arising from the teachings of R. Hubbard (Order of the Russian Federation dated June 19, 1996 No. 254 On the abolition of the "Methodological recommendations" Detoxification program ""). We also draw your attention to the fact that against some leaders of training centers that use Scientology and Dianetics in their work, criminal cases have been opened in Russia and Kazakhstan.

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Scientology was in some way the "religion of the year". In 2015, she invariably attracted attention: at first, a devastating documentary was released on HBO "", which caused another wave of revelations from the stars, and more recently, a book was published by American actress Leah Remini " Troublemaker", who managed to break out of the church thirty years after joining. As a final touch, the Moscow City Court recently banned the activities of the Moscow branch of the church.

Who are Scientologists, what do they want and why it is almost impossible to escape from them - the answers to all these questions are much more complicated than it might seem. We asked religious scholar Leonid Moyzhes to explain how the most mysterious religious organization of our time operates and why it has managed to recruit so many famous people.

What is Scientology and where did it come from?

Scientology, which appeared not so long ago, has already managed to settle on all continents. In the sixty years since its inception, it has reached tens of thousands of followers, becoming one of the most commercially successful and recognizable new religious movements. Despite this, reliable information about her is catastrophically small. Much more than the very peculiar views and practices, loud scandals that Scientologists unsuccessfully try to hush up draw attention to it.

Scientology is a real "remake" religion, created in the 50s in the USA by one particular person named Ron Hubbard. Officially, the creator did not try to rely on any ancient teaching, instead, Scientology appeals to the authority of the most popular "religion" of the 20th century - science. Hubbard, of course, had the world's cultural heritage in mind when he came up with his doctrine. Even a cursory acquaintance with Scientology leaves the feeling that before you is a real mystical potpourri: here is a small pinch of Blavatsky's Theosophy, here is greetings from ancient Gnosticism, here is a little occultism, and there, you see, American Christianity sticks out. However, it is the popular scientific concepts of the 1950s, as well as the very image of "Science", that occupy the central place in Scientology. This is not surprising, given that the origins of this religion is a science fiction writer.

Who is Ron Hubbard?

Ron Hubbard, according to Scientologists, was a man of various talents. Born in Nebraska in 1911, before creating his own religion, he managed to serve in the Navy, traveled to many countries, including in rather difficult conditions, and most importantly, became a popular science fiction writer, closely acquainted with many luminaries of the genre. It was this passion that became decisive. Hubbard first created his own "science", Dianetics, to help those suffering from problems and mental illnesses, and later, as it gained popularity, turned it into a religion - Scientology.

For Scientologists, Hubbard is first and foremost the main spiritual mentor. Followers treat him with reverence and tenderness, affectionately calling him "Ron" or LRH (an abbreviation of his name). An illustration of this is the "Ron Hubbard's office", which is always present in all Scientology centers; today, however, it is a purely symbolic gesture. The reverence for Hubbard leads many to see the Church of Scientology as a cult built around a cult of personality, but Scientologists do not go further in their veneration of Hubbard than followers of other religions. Another thing is that it looks quite funny against the background of the open desire of Scientologists for rationality and pragmatism.

What do Scientologists believe?

Scientology is based on a doctrine called "Dianetics" - a pseudo-scientific discipline that was invented by Hubbard and which Scientologists themselves define as "the first exact science of the mind." The basic concept appeared in the second half of the 40s and was based on a literal understanding of the popular ideas of complete control of the mind over the body, and the unconscious over the conscious.

According to Hubbard, failures, fears, problems, and even physical ailments are the result of the so-called reactive mind, that is, the sum of all negative experiences that we are not fully aware of, but which continue to control our actions. For example, a person was attacked by a dog as a child, due to which he continues to be afraid of all the dogs he meets. It is easy to see that we are talking about a literal reading of the Freudian concept of repressed trauma, from which complex arguments about sexual experience and other psychoanalytic discoveries were thrown out in favor of the main idea: the past controls the present.

Hubbard called each such experience "engrams" and suggested that with the help of Dianetics, a person could fight them by eliminating the "reactive mind". Over time, this makes it possible to get rid of the problems that prevent success, live a full life, and then, using the resources of your brain, say goodbye to physical ailments. It was a symbol of success for Hubbard himself that one of his books on Dianetics, subtitled The Modern Science of the Mind, stayed on the top of The New York Times bestsellers for almost a month, well ahead of all his previous literary works.

The most characteristic item associated with Dianetics (and later Scientology) is the E-meter, a device consisting of a scale and a pair of electrodes. According to Hubbard's teachings, the E-meter reads the electrical potential from human skin, which, in turn, changes when an engram is touched by the mind. Thus, engrams can be detected with the help of the device and a detailed conversation about life. The negative memory is then required to be re-lived in the imagination, this time by making the right choice to eliminate the trauma. The procedure in which a person, under the guidance of a specially trained person with an E-meter, struggles with the burden of his own past, was called auditing and is still the most important and frequent ritual of Scientology.

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At first glance, auditing looks more like a session with a psychoanalyst than a religious ritual. It is curious to note that Dianetics was radically opposed to psychiatry, the established science of the mind. This opposition has taken root so much that Scientologists still spend considerable effort and money on campaigns against psychiatrists.

Although many now regard this as a confrontation between the lunatics and their natural enemies, it must be admitted that the American Institute of Psychiatry of the middle of the century was arranged very inhumanely both in terms of the quality of treatment and in terms of treatment of patients (a good example of the work of the clinic of that period is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest). Demands for reforms in this area were heard in different sectors of society, until finally they were heard already in the 70s. Whatever the motives, it cannot be denied that Hubbard was on the right track in this case.

However, L. Ron Hubbard would not have become known as a new prophet if he had settled on Dianetics. According to Hubbard himself, after a person has completely overcome his reactive mind, he is able to go even further, gradually eliminating the most basic engrams and establishing a connection with what in traditional religions is called the soul. To do this, he must continue to audit, overcoming the traumas of previous lives. This revelation led Hubbard to move from science to religion and found Scientology.

Scientology is based on the notion of a thetan - the very "soul" with which Hubbard was able to establish contact. Thetans are immortal, present in every person, reborn and have existed since ancient times. The most interesting story of their origin: according to the teachings of Hubbard, these are several billion souls of representatives of a mysterious cosmic race, which the dictator of the Galactic Confederation Xenu, due to overpopulation in his state, locked in human bodies, removing the memory. Once all of his human problems have been eliminated, the Scientologist is in a position to help the thetan hiding within him reclaim his own identity. This makes it possible to acquire superpowers, and in the long term - to ascend to a fundamentally different level of existence.

According to Hubbard's teachings, the dictator of the Galactic Confederation, Xenu, locked up several billion souls of the space race.
in human bodies, removing the memory

This whole set of performances is known as "space opera". It contains many other colorful stories describing the fate of thetans, the circumstances of Xenu's rise to power, and much more, but it is this story that is central. Researchers find parallels in it with a number of mystical teachings, but it is much more interesting to compare the "space opera" with the plots of science fiction of that time, most vividly represented by series like "The Twilight Zone" or "Star Trek". It is obvious that Hubbard's teaching is simply a product of its time.

It is now almost impossible to assess how much he himself believed in what he said. Critics of Scientology like to recall Hubbard's line, seeing it as confirmation that he was a mere swindler: "You can't get rich by making up science fiction. To get rich, you need to invent a religion.” Even if that was the case at first, over time he clearly believed in his own message, devoting considerable resources to following his own advice. But the final answer to the question of how sincerely Hubbard preached Scientology, we are unlikely to know.

What do Scientologists do?

Despite the exotic mythology, in practice the Scientology communities are more like contemporary American Protestant groups. They are tight but open communities of extremely positive people, ideally family-oriented, healthy, and materially successful, in strict accordance with the Hubbard Doctrine. In addition to auditing, Scientologists have their own Sunday services, wedding and funeral practices, as well as naming, a kind of christening for a newborn.

On a larger level, the Church is organized on a quasi-corporate basis, led by the chairman of the Religious Technology Center. Now it is David Miscavige, around whom more than one scandal has erupted over the past ten years, connected with accusations of various kinds of violence against members of the church. There is a complex hierarchy based on the degree to which a person progresses along the path to the thetan: from a simple practitioner to an initiate in the most intimate secrets. Rumor has it that the second most important person in the church recently became none other than Tom Cruise.

People come to the Church for a variety of reasons, but a focus on pragmatic values ​​unites Scientologists around the world. Whatever esoteric things the upper echelons believe in, most of the rank and file are ordinary people. Many of them joined Scientology because it promises success in society, help in the fight against addictions, as well as solving everyday, psychological and family problems.

The promise of these simple pleasures, backed by both the authority of science and religion, is what brings people to Scientology. The scientific and technical component, the symbol of which is the E-meter, gives credibility to the statements of Scientologists, and the fact that Scientology is positioned as a religion makes it possible to give the organization a special meaning, to elevate it above ordinary psychological trainings and support groups.

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Scientology removes not only the contradiction between religion and science, but also the conflict between “being modern” (in particular, “believing in science”), and living in accordance with the conservative morality that is attractive to many: family, moderation, honest stable work. As a result, people suffering from some kind of problems remain in the Church despite the arguments against it. In fact, this is what brought into the ranks of Scientologists the most famous member of the Church - actor Tom Cruise, who claims that Hubbard's methods, among other things, help him cope with severe dyslexia.

However, Scientology continues to generate many rumors and accusations that the Church is trying with all its might to control the lives of its members, at least the most public of them. For example, it is popularly believed that the Church directly influences what roles the actors-followers choose, for fear of anything that could negatively affect their reputation. Hubbard's conservative opinion on many issues continues to be reckoned with: the founder equated adultery with de facto mental disorders, condemned abortion and had a negative attitude towards homosexuality. Scientologists are often accused of trying to "cure" their gay followers.

Why do celebrities often become Scientologists?

Cruz is far from the only Hollywood star to join Scientology. Other notable members of the Church are the married couple of John Travolta and Kelly Preston, as well as actors and actresses Jason Lee (My Name Is Earl), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers), Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar), singer Beck, and many others. The example of Ribisi is especially interesting because the actor has been a Scientologist since his early childhood, which he spent among filmmakers in California. This allows you to appreciate how deeply this organization is rooted in Hollywood.

Scientologists achieved this result because they consciously went to it. Ron Hubbard himself, flesh and blood of his era and his country, well understood how much celebrity support could advance a young religion. He even opened a special "celebrity center" in Hollywood, the prototype of similar centers around the world. The actors themselves in Scientology are attracted by the same things as ordinary people: the ability to combine science and spirituality, moderately conservative values ​​and the absence of exalted asceticism, pragmatism and attention to the state of society.

In addition, unlike other bohemian fashion trends since the 1950s and 1960s, Scientology is an organized religion with clear membership criteria and aggressive public relations strategies. While yoga does not make a person a Hindu or a Buddhist, Scientologists readily sign up as a member of the Church anyone who has attended at least a couple of their courses and has not expressed open opposition to their ideas.

At the same time, there are almost more stars that left Scientology than those who remained in its ranks. This is, for example, actress Leah Remini (“King of Queens”), who belonged to the Church from the age of nine, but became a consistent critic of this teaching after an unsuccessful attempt to find out why David Miscavige’s wife, Shelley, stopped appearing in public. And for director Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash), a 35-year Scientologist, the turning point was when the San Diego branch of the Church backed Proposition 8, a ban on gay marriage in the state of California.

Hubbard understood how celebrity support could advance religion, and even opened a special "celebrity center"
in Hollywood

Former Scientologists also include actor Christopher Reeve (Superman) and all three of Cruise's wives, Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes, all of whom left the Church at the same time as divorce. In addition to the fact that ex-wives accused Cruz of spying on themselves and their children on the orders of the Church, there has recently been a persistent rumor that Scientologists forbid Cruz from seeing his daughter Suri, and the actor literally selects a new wife for reasons of good PR for the organization.

It is worth emphasizing that many ex-Scientologists, both famous and not so famous, became ardent opponents of the Church. The best illustration of this is the interviews of former members in the Going Clear documentary, but countless confessions are not limited to them. Here it is impossible not to mention the "merits" of the Scientologists themselves, who in one way or another revolve around the approach called "fair game". According to this concept, the Church has the right to firmly resist any attacks on it. This doctrine finds many manifestations, and one of them is the uncompromising and sometimes inadequate struggle with people who turn from Scientologists into critics of Hubbard's teachings.

Why is it so hard to leave Scientologists?

However, the most scandalous accusation that haunts the Church throughout history is not connected with high-profile actions, but with their everyday practice. This is the notion that Scientologists gather information about all members of the Church. The circumstances under which such accusations are made vary, but the general idea is clear enough: in the course of auditing, a person recounts virtually his entire life, with emphasis on the most painful, including embarrassing, experience. In keeping with the scientific style of the Church, these stories are being recorded, which looks like the perfect way to gather information for potential subsequent blackmail.

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Scientologists themselves claim that the recorded data is confidential information that will never be used in the interests of their organization. But at the dawn of its short history, the Church was already caught using this data for "internal security" purposes. At that time, the directive was canceled as "not based on the teachings of Hubbard", but nevertheless, accusations that the Church keeps its followers through blackmail regularly appear in the media space, as well as suggestions that Scientologists use hypnosis in the auditing process.

Obviously, the Church is not capable of using such methods against all people who try to leave - there are many cases of a completely "correct divorce" from Scientology, for example, the departure of Nicole Kidman from the Church. However, the allegations continue to surface, in part because it seems reasonable that only blackmail or hypnosis can keep people in the Church after all the known scandals and leaks.

Of course, it is really difficult to leave the Church of Scientology, as well as from any similar religious organization, but this complexity is of a completely different nature. People who come to Scientology are mostly new converts, that is, those who were already in search and often at odds with the outside world. Scientologists actively and, apparently, not entirely unsuccessfully struggle with bad habits, they allow a lonely person to find a place where they are ready to accept him and try to help, they build a clear and fairly simple picture of the world in front of a person. It is extremely difficult to give up all this, and for many people this is a much more serious test than a scandal. This, of course, does not disprove any individual accusations, but it calls into question the very idea that somewhere in the USA there is a huge building from which the Chief Scientologist controls a whole army of intimidated and zombified people around the world. The reality, as always, is much more complex.

Who fights and how
with Scientology?

Criticism of Scientology makes it possible to find a common language for both Christian fundamentalists and "anonymous" - regular visitors to imageboards. The latter became in the 2000s a real locomotive of the struggle against the Church. They organized numerous DDoS attacks, prank calls and marches to draw the attention of the state to certain crimes of Scientologists.

Another notable group are the already mentioned former members of the Church, who often turn into its most ardent opponents. People like Mike Rinder, who once held a fairly high position in the Church, but later became disillusioned with it, spend a lot of time and effort to ensure that other people do not repeat their path. They give interviews denouncing Scientology, participate in the production of documentaries (in addition to the already mentioned “Going Clear” films such as “Scientology and Me” and “Secrets of Scientology” directed by John Sweeney), conduct their own investigations, organize help groups for those who want to leave the movement, and try to bring Scientologists to court whenever possible.

At the same time, suing Scientologists is not an easy task. While in the public space Scientologists are plagued by numerous scandals, in court they feel much more confident than many of their opponents. At one time, they managed to bring the Cult Awareness Network, an organization that set itself the goal of fighting "destructive cults", to ruin with the help of fines. Already in 2000, the Church was able to refute the rather serious accusations of "negligent homicide" that followed the death of a girl named Lisa McPherson, a Scientologist who was placed under the Church's care after a road accident. And in 2007, the European Court of Human Rights satisfied the claim of the Moscow branch of the Church, which Scientologists filed after the authorities of the capital refused to register them as a religious organization.

Leaving the Church of Scientology is really difficult: it allows a lonely person to find a place and builds a clear picture of the world.

Curiously, as early as November 2015, another attempt was made in Russia to fight Scientologists, this time emphasizing that the Church is both a religious and a commercial organization. For example, Scientologists enjoy "religious" tax breaks, but still apply copyright laws to their books, which are distributed commercially. This practice of “double positioning” was used by Hubbard himself in the USA and often allowed him to win lawsuits in the past, but in Russia it turned sideways: the court decided that the Church should be liquidated in the next six months.