Sect or religion? What is Scientology and who is behind it

The Church of Scientology is shrouded in many mysteries and scandals. It is still not completely clear whether this is a religion that unites like-minded people, or a successful business that relies on the money of naive rich people. One thing is known – in recent years, this association has grown and spread all over the world.

Tom Cruise is far from the only one of the celebrities who are among the adherents of the Church of Scientology. Who else of the stars could be "recruited" by Scientologists and what this religion is all about, read in our material.

In 1938, a former naval officer, a participant in the war, and later a science fiction writer Lafayette Ronald Hubbard published the book Excalibur. In it, he shared his vision of the world for the first time. Before that, the man wrote hundreds of works of different genres, but in "Excalibur" for the first time touched on the themes of the universe and the meaning of life in general. According to Hubbard, one of the main laws of existence is the command "Survive!", and it was this thought that formed the basis of the book, and later the entire teaching about Scientology.

The book did not contain answers to the question "How to make life better?" – it only contained arguments. The first clear answers appeared later, in the book "Dianetics". Hubbard was convinced that any problems and illnesses of a person are directly related to his traumatic experience in the past. He assured that with the help of special practices developed by him, it is possible to get rid of painful images (in Scientology – engrams), and eventually become a free, reasonable person, a clear (from the word "clear" — "clean").

In other words, Hubbard believed that the mind has a direct influence on the body, and this influence can be controlled.

The book "Dianetics" suddenly began to enjoy great success among readers, and in the year of its release even took first place in The New York Times bestseller list. In it Hubbard talked about the problems of the human mind, as well as ways to deal with them. One of the key terms was "auditing". This is a kind of confession that allows you to clear the mind of engrams, improves memory and intelligence, reduces anxiety.

The auditing session is conducted under the guidance of an "auditor" – an experienced follower of Scientology. The auditor asks the "preclear" (client) a series of questions that help identify painful moments in the past that have affected the human mind. Most often, a device called an E‑meter or an electropsychometer is used as an auxiliary tool for auditing. This is a device that supposedly helps to register deviations in a person's mental state.

When a person remembers his painful experience, the E‑meter scale moves. However, scientists claim that this is an ordinary galvanometer - a device that measures the electrical conductivity of the body. And he can't give out any top-secret information.

The rights to the E‑meter belong to the Church of Scientology. The price for it is fixed all over the world and is about 450 thousand rubles. It is noteworthy that at first Scientologists claimed that the E-meter is able to cure many diseases. After accusations of fraud and numerous proofs of the uselessness of the device for medical purposes, representatives of the religious movement refused these claims.

In the 50s Hubbard traveled all over the country with lectures on the principles of dianetics. During his speeches, he demonstrated the work of the E-meter and even taught auditing to everyone. Hubbard positioned dianetics as a new field of science, but the scientific community refused to accept it. Then the man decided to take a bold step and created, no less, a new religion. He called it "Scientology– - from Lat. scio — "knowledge", etc.-Greek. λγγος — "teaching". In other words, "the doctrine of knowledge" or "scientific science".

Scientology combined the principles of dianetics and Hubbard's beliefs that the spiritual essence of man ("thetan") can separate from the body and live other lives. He believed that the interaction of thetans led to the formation of the Universe - as it is now. Initially, Thetans were positive and harmonious beings and possessed outstanding abilities. But over time, they lost these skills and fell into a "physical trap".

Also in Scientology there is the concept of "operating Thetan". This is the level of spiritual development, which is a step above the "clergy". The operating thetan is able to control energy, matter, space and time himself, in other words, to control his life. To reach this level, the "preclear" must walk the path "across the bridge to complete freedom." Those who manage to do this become the chosen ones and get on the ship "fReewinds", which regularly cruises the Caribbean Sea.

The invitation to "fReewindz" can be considered the culmination of a Scientologist's spiritual journey. On the ship, he becomes an operating thetan of the eighth degree – the highest degree, according to the hierarchy of the church. It can be compared to Nirvana for Buddhists, but here everything happens in reality, in the physical world. Seminars, meetings and other religious events are regularly held on the ship for the "chosen ones".

True, you will have to pay for all this pleasure – no one knows exactly how much, but they say that we are talking about millions of dollars. And the most interesting thing is that Scientologists who want to achieve the highest degree of enlightenment simply have no choice, since at the end of their journey they must complete the final training, and it is conducted only on "fReewindze".

Scientology has been repeatedly criticized - both by ordinary citizens and statesmen. One of the main reasons is the financial activity of the organization. The fact is that the church exists thanks to donations, and their size is determined individually in each case. First, the auditor talks with the preclear, assesses his psychoemotional state and only then calls the amount. And with the transition to each new level, the amount increases. On average, the cost of moving "across the bridge to complete freedom" ranges from 33 to 380 thousand dollars.

Despite the criticism and recognition of Scientology as a pseudoscience, the religion continues to spread and acquire new followers. There are celebrities among them. The most famous Scientologists are Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kelly Preston and Priscilla Presley. Many stars left the ranks of Scientologists and subsequently spoke negatively about this religion.

For example, actress Nazanin Boniadi left the church after she was offered to participate in a secret project. To do this, it was necessary to leave the guy, dye his hair and make some other changes in appearance. As it turned out later, the "project" was to find a suitable girl for Tom Cruise. Now Nazanin, like many other ex-Scientologists, is an active critic of this religion.