THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY

Transcription

1 THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY The Church of Scientology was founded in Los Angeles (USA) in 1954 with L Ron Hubbard as executive director a position he held until Since its founding the church has grown into an extensive movement of which the principles had already been practised in 129 countries by According to its own statistics, it has already ministered to 8 million people globally. The main objective of the Church of Scientology is encapsulated in the slogan Clear Planet. This implies that Scientologists want to deliver the earth from all insanity, war and crime and replace this with a healthy and peaceful civilisation. Worldwide organisation Basic Level The primary or basic level of Scientology is IHELP, a body that assists field auditors (Scientologists who reach out to non-members of the church, recruit new members, and help with fund-raising for the church) in their task outside the church. The next level is Scientology Mission International (SMI), the missionary body of the church that conducts and promotes services in Dianetics and Scientology globally. Local church Local churches are called Class V Organisations, and these are responsible for conducting services on Sundays, and for presenting auditing and training courses for members. Ordained ministers who have completed the Scientology Minister s Course successfully conduct divine services. Weddings, funerals and name-giving ceremonies are also conducted at the church. Churches may employ any number of full or part-time workers, from twenty to more than five hundred.

2 ABOVE: A Sunday-service in a local Scientology church. Thirteen Celebrity Centres throughout the world function primarily as Class V Organisations, concentrating mainly on courses for artists. Various well-known personalities, such as the actors John Travolta and Tom Cruise, are Scientologists and are frequently seen at some of these centres. Places of retreat The Flag Service Organization (FSO) near Clearwater, Florida (USA), is one of the international places of spiritual retreat of the church. Advanced training and auditing courses are offered here. The Flag Ship Service Organisation (FSSO) is similar, but is accommodated aboard a 450-foot long ship, the Freewinds. The very highest levels of auditing, among other things, are offered here. Billion year contract In 1967 the Sea Organization, known as the Sea Org, was founded as a type of religious order consisting of the most devout Scientologists. The members of this group dedicate their entire lives to the Church of Scientology and, among other things, sign a billion year contract to swear everlasting allegiance and dedication to the church and its goals (see Scientology in controversy). Allegedly there are about members of the Sea Org globally, and it is primarily their duty to supervise the various local Scientology organisations. They also offer some of the most advanced courses and auditing in the church.

3 Highest authority The Office of Special Affairs is responsible for, among other things, all judicial church matters, as well as for the publication and distribution of marketing material and information regarding Scientology. The highest authority in the church is, however, the Church of Scientology International (CSI), which has its seat in Los Angeles. It is also the head office of the church, whence the whole organisation is managed and directed globally. Related organisations Scientologists also control a considerable number of diverse organisations that promote the interests and activities of the church without necessarily being openly associated with the church. Examples include Narconon (which helps with the rehabilitation of drug addicts); Criminon (for the rehabilitation of criminals); the Citizen s Commission on Human Rights (which opposes psychiatry one of Scientology s sworn enemies ); and the Cults Awareness Reform Group that, among other things, breaks down prejudices against cults. Scientology in controversy The Church of Scientology claims to be the fastest growing religion on earth, but it is sometimes regarded as being controversial owing to various investigations into its activities in America by, inter alia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The church has time and again been the target of negative media publicity in the USA in particular, mainly as a result of lawsuits involving the church and its critics. In spite of this, thousands of Scientologists all over the globe including several high-profile superstars such as John Travolta, Priscilla Presley and Tom Cruise seem to remain loyal adherents. ABOVE: Scientologist-superstar, actor John Travolta.

4 Publication on the Internet In 1999 the Church of Scientology and a Colorado company settled out of court after a prolonged court battle of four years about alleged infringement of copyright, after the company concerned had published some of L Ron Hubbard s work on the Internet. In 1998 the court awarded $3 million American dollars to the church after it had won a similar case against one Grady Ward for the publication on the Internet of Holy writings. The church especially guards against publication of the secret Operating Thetan (OT) writings, and in California a former minister of the Church of Scientology was actually subpoenaed for allegedly having assisted with its publication on the Internet. Lisa McPherson In November 1998 criminal charges were brought against the Church of Scientology after the death of a Scientologist, Lisa McPherson, in McPherson was allegedly abused while fellow Scientologists nursed her in a hotel room for seventeen days prior to her death. Her family also lodged a charge of wrongful death against the church. In this drawn out court case the church is at present opposing an order of the court that notes taken during the auditing sessions with McPherson be made available. Members arrested In 1980 several members of the former paramilitary Guardian s Office (now the Office for Special Affairs), including L Ron Hubbard s wife, were found guilty and given prison sentences for having stolen large quantities of Scientology related documents from federal government offices, foreign embassies and other organisations in Washington. These members were also found guilty of having infiltrated and bugged the offices of all those organisations and institutions that were critical of Scientology. From time to time the church still uses the Office for Special Affairs for, among other things, conducting lawsuits against its critics or apostate members who criticise it. This aggressive action against critics represents the practical application of a doctrine that L Ron Hubbard called Fair Game. According to this, enemies of the church may be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologists against that member. Moreover, the enemy may be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed (from a policy letter by L Ron Hubbard).

5 Opposition in Europe In 1993 the Church of Scientology was granted tax exemption in the USA after a prolonged legal battle against the country s receiver of revenue, the IRS. In other countries, especially in Europe, Scientology is still not recognised as a religion, and in France and Italy senior officials of the church have actually been arrested. The church encounters its worst opposition in Germany, where the government has described Scientology as a threat to democracy in that country, and regards it as a possible sect. At present several commissions are investigating the activities of the church in this country. ======================================================================== Scientology in Africa and South Africa Scientology was officially established in Africa with the founding of the first local Church of Scientology in Johannesburg in Approximately forty years later, at the turn of the century, there were, apart from this church, five more local churches in Randburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, as well as four missionaries. According to statistics released by the church itself, it had about members in South Africa by the year From South Africa, the Church of Scientology was also founded in Zimbabwe, with local churches in Harare (the capital) and Bulawayo. Structure As in other countries, the basic structure of the local church in Africa is cast in the mold of the church in the USA (see Worldwide organisation), with the Mother Church (CSI) in Los Angeles exercising authority over it. However, there is a local managing body functioning from Johannesburg that is responsible for the training of personnel in South Africa and in other African countries. Special projects Activities of the church in Africa are basically the same as elsewhere (see Local Church), and include a number of community-orientated projects, one of which is Crimanon (a rehabilitation programme for criminals, offered as a correspondence course) and IHELP in courts (which assists the victims of crime in court). The church also has a drug awareness programme that challenges school children to become Drug-Free Marshals by undertaking to refrain from using drugs and to help others not to use any.