Courtney Evans
Van Plexico
October 15, 2014
History of Religion
9:30-10:45
Scientology In the world today there are many different types of religions that range of self-help and have guidelines to live by. Some of these religions have certain aspects that are the same to one another but others have aspects that are all to their own. Scientology is one that is all to its own. Scientology is a religion that not many people know a whole lot about. Scientology is seen as a philosophy with a set of religious beliefs. Scientology focuses on self-understanding and self-improvement. Scientology was founded by a science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1953. He was born on March 13, 1911 in Tilden, Nebraska. From a young age he showed interest in science and reading. His father was a United States Naval officer and his mother was a stay at home mom. As a young child he was able to travel the country with his father. When he was twelve he joined the Boy Scouts of America and just before his thirteenth birthday he became the youngest Eagle Scout in the history of the boy scouts. At a young age he traveled with his father to Asia which was still unseen to most of the world, these travels help with his want to unravel the human mind. While in Asia he visited Chinas Western Hills where he was able to see the commissaries which he was amazed by. In 1929 he enrolled in George Washington University as an engineering student. In 1930, he became the three hundred and eighty-fifth licensed glider pilot. In L. Ron’s lifetime he has written romance, adventure, war, science fiction, and fantasy articles for magazines. On May 9, 1950, his book Dianetics; The Modern Science of Mental Health, was published. In this book he talks about the Reactive Mind which the hub of nightmares and fears. From this research the religion of Scientology was formed. L. Ron started traveling the world talking about scientology which then churches opened up on four different continents. He continued his teaching up until in death in 1986. The religion of Scientology is a twentieth century religion. Scientology’s main focus is to rid the person’s mind of unhappiness. The word scientology means “Scio (Latin) "knowing, in the fullest sense of the word," logos (Greek) "study of." Thus Scientology means "knowing how to know." (Scientology)” Scientologists believe that the unhappiness in a person’s life is caused by “engrams,” which are negative memories or experiences in one’s life that they have experienced. In scientology these engrams are believed to cause a person mind to want to repeat these actions that have caused the nightmares or fears. Scientologists use two different types of ways to rid the mind of engrams from their minds. They participate in therapy sessions that are called “audits.” “They also regularly undergo counseling and are introduced to educational materials within their religion. The goal of these techniques is to become what's known as a "clear," or someone free of engrams” (Palermo). Scientologists also believe that the human body process a spiritual essence called thetan. Once a scientologists reaches the level where they are clear of engrams. Once they reach this level they continue to strive to reach a level where they understand the “operating thetan.” Scientologists believe that once they reach the level of operating thetan, they can control the world around them with their minds. Scientology follows the Eight Dynamics which are the fundamental rules of life. The first dynamic is self, “this is the effort to survive as an individual, to be an individual.” The second dynamic is creativity, “this contains the family unit and raising children as well as anything that can be categorized as a family activity.” The third dynamic is group survival, “This is the urge to survive through a group of individuals or as a group.” The fourth dynamic is species; “this is the urge toward survival through all Mankind and as all Mankind.
