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SCIENTOLOGYKerry LearyAlex Rios
Steven MooreBen Sauer
Dalton Becky
• The main Scientology symbol is composed of:
• The letter "S" which represents Scientology.
• An upper triangle, the sides of which represent three closely interrelated factors: knowledge, responsibility and control.
• A lower triangle representing affinity, reality and communication.
HISTORY
• L. Ron Hubbard is the founder of Scientology.
• His philosophies are explained in more than 5,000 writings, including dozens of
books, and three thousand tape recorded lectures.
• In the five decades since the founding of the first Church of Scientology in 1954, Scientology has become the fastest-growing religion in the world.
• Today, its scope extends across 156 countries, with 4,500 churches, missions and groups serving millions of parishioners in 53 languages.
the goal of scientology: “A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to
greater heights.”
It’s goal is to make the individual capable or living a better life in his own estimation and with his fellows, and the playing of a better
“game”
Founder- L. Ron Hubbard
• “The first principle of my own philosophy is that wisdom is meant for anyone who wishes to reach for it. It is the servant of the commoner and king alike and should never be regarded with awe.”
• To this he added that philosophy must be capable of application, for “learning locked in mildewed books is of little use to anyone and therefore of no value unless it can be used.”
• Finally he declared philosophic knowledge to be only of value if true and workable, and thereby set the parameters for Scientology.
BASIC BELIEFS
• It considers Man to be a spiritual being, not just flesh and blood. This is a very different view to that held by common scientific thought which views Man as only a material object, a complex combination of chemical compounds and stimulus-response mechanisms.
• Scientology believes Man is basically good, not evil. Man's experiences have led him to commit evil deeds, not his nature. Often, he mistakenly seeks to solve his problems by considering his own interests only, causing trouble for both himself and others.
BASIC BELIEFS CTD.
• Scientology is the study and handling of the spirit in relationship with itself, other universes, and other life.
• Claims to be able to improve health, intelligence, behavior, skill, and appearance
• “Life is a game. A game consists of freedom, barriers, and purposes.”
-L. Ron Hubbard
• Scientology believes that an individual placed in a position where he can increase his abilities and confront and identify the factors in his life more easily, is also able to solve his own problems and improve his life.
• Life tends to force the individual into certain values.
• The anxiety of life can consume concentration to the point that one's awareness of self and the environment is greatly diminished.
8 Dynamics
1. Urge towards existence (self dynamic)2. Sexual acts themselves, or a family unit including
children (sex dynamic)3. Urge toward existence in groups- school, society, town,
nation (group dynamic)4. Urge towards existence as mankind (mankind dynamic)5. Urge towards existence of animal kingdom (animal
dynamic)6. Urge toward existence of a physical universe-energy,
matter, space, and time. (universe dynamic)7. Urge toward existence as or of spirits (spiritual
dynamic)8. Urge toward existence as infinity or a supreme being
(infinity dynamic)
BELIEFS CTD
• Scientologists believe that each individual is composed of three parts:– Spirit (thetan)– Mind– Body
SPIRIT/THETAN
• Has no mass, no wave length, no energy, no time or location in space, except by consideration
• Usually located in the skull• Can be entirely separate from the body and
the universe, or in a body, or in inverted condition, which compulsively the spirit is away from the body and cannot approach it.
• The spirit is subject to deterioration.
MIND
• Known as the communication system between the spirit and it’s environment
• Spirit recieves impressions which end up being direct views of the physical universe.
• Three parts: Analytical mind(immediate environment) Reactive Mind(stores up all bad things and brings them back in moments of emergency) and the Somatic Mind(contains only impulses, and it can be controlled)
BODY
• Structural Study- they believe that the body is fascinating because of it’s complexity.
• Individual is a spirit controlling a body via the mind.
PRACTICES AND AUDITING
• http://www.scientology.org/?gclid=CJLN3Mbj8pICFQMEIwodLCx9xg
• Scientologists believe that auditing can possible solve problems and establish better organizations.
• Critics of the process of auditing have suggested that it shares similarities with cult style programming and some behavior modification techniques which rely upon psychological manipulation of the subject.
– The questions or directions of the process guide the Preclear to inspect certain parts of her or his existence. By doing this, the subject is said to be able to free her/himself of unwanted barriers that inhibit, stop or blunt his natural abilities to then increase them. Scientologists argue that the person being audited is said to be completely aware of everything that happens and becomes even more alert as auditing progresses.
– By using communication alone, the auditor must direct the Preclear’s attention to past moments of pain, unconsciousness or negative emotion.
– The preclear must direct her/his attention inward to the deepest recesses of her/his reactive mind to confront occluded past incidents in order to find the answer to the auditing command and erase the harmful energy contained in the mental image pictures of these incidents.
CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES
• Scientologists believe in silent births, believing that the delivery room should be as silent as possible because loud noises could affect the baby and leave it with a traumatic experience. They also believe that the mother should use as little anesthetic as possible.
• Many believe that the environment of the birth should be decided by the mother and it depends on the circumstances, thus the scientologist belief is under a lot of speculation (Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise)
ETHICS• The Way to Happiness: which defines morals as "a
code of good conduct laid down out of the experience of the race to serve as a uniform yardstick for the conduct of individuals and groups“ but warns that "over time, morals can become outmoded, burdensome, and so invite revolt.“
• An action must contain construction which outweighs the destruction it contains in order to be considered good.
• An 'absolute wrongness' would be the extinction of the universe and all energy and the source of energy.
• An 'absolute "rightness"' would be the immortality of the individual himself, his children, his group, mankind and the universe.”
FAMOUS SCIENTOLOGISTS• John Travolta - actor • Brandy (Norwood) - R&B singer, actress • Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes - actor, movie star • Sonny Bono - singer ("Sonny and Cher")• Beck - singer (a.k.a. Beck Hansen) • Rob Thomas - musician • Lisa Marie Presley - singer; daughter of Elvis• Jason Lee - actor and professional skateboarder • Kirstie Allie - actress • Hubbard saw to the formation of a special church
which would cater to artists, politicians, leaders of industry, sports figures and anyone with the power and vision "to create a better world."
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFBZ_uAbxS0
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjHqbhnmbVQ
• Scientology believes in spreading a drug free environment to better the community as well as the individual.– http://www.scientology.org/?
gclid=CJLN3Mbj8pICFQMEIwodLCx9xg
Activities:
• Nature Walk- Connecting your immortal being as well as your individual life according to scientology
• Creation, Preservation, Destruction (Dalton)
• Cookies and the 8 Dynamics (Ben)
Works Cited
• http://www.scientology.org/home.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
• http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8057_1.html
• Scientology:A New Slant On Life. L. Ron Hubbard. 1998. Bridge Publications.
