The Cult Known as The Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a religious practice that was founded in February of 1954 in Los Angeles, California by American science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard. This religious practice is not only widely known for its recruitment of celebrities such as John Travolta, Tom Cruise, and many others but also for its bizarre belief system and the controversies surrounding the church as a whole. The Beliefs and Practices of The Church of Scientology At the core of the Church of Scientology is the belief that each human being has a reactive mind that clouds the analytic mind by responding to life’s traumas thus keeping us from truly experiencing reality. In order to find the sources …show more content…
The auditing process involves the use of a device called E-meter, which according to scientologists measures the electric flow of the body as the auditor asks a series of questions believed to reveal the sources of trauma in a person’s life. This process is believed to identify the spiritual stress from both a person’s current life and their past lives. Church of Scientology members also believe that each person is an immortal being known as a thetan. According to David Bromley, a professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, scientologists believe that a person moves up the bridge to freedom by working towards becoming an “Operating Thetan” which at the highest level transcends material law. There are occasionally Scientologists that say they can change the world with their mind. Bromley and other scholars state that the church promotes this idea of an ancient intergalactic civilization in which millions of beings were destroyed and became what they call “body thetans” which latch on to human beings and thus cause more trauma. Advanced Scientologists confront these body …show more content…
Ron Hubbard published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. On June 7th, 1951 the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation was established in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In May of 1952 the Dianetics Training Center in Wichita, Kansas is moved to Phoenix, Arizona and Hubbard makes a public announcement of the formal establishment of Scientology’s philosophy and the formation of the Hubbard Association of Scientologists International. In July of 1952 Scientology: A History of Man was published. The Church of Scientology was founded in February of 1954 in Los Angeles, California. The church was granted United States tax exempt status in 1956. In 1959 Hubbard moved to England and bought Saint Hill Mansion in Sussex in which he directed international operations and expansion of the church until 1967. 1960 marked the release of Hubbard Mark II E-Meter which was soon followed by the release of the Hubbard Mark III E-Meter. In February of 1966 Narconon was founded. The Internal Revenue Service strips the church of its tax-exempt status and thus starting a 40-year legal battle with the church. The Sea Organization (or Sea Org) is officially established on August 12th, 1967. The first Advanced Organization was established aboard the Sea Organization’s flagship The Royal Scotman (which would later be renamed the Apollo) and offered advanced levels of Scientology to