This is a PowerPoint presentation I did for my World Religions summative. The video doesn't work in the PowerPoint but the link to it will be included here. All rights go to the Church of Scientology International and YouTube for posting the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y2Wx2M7a5Wg

1. HRT 3MI - 01
Natascha
Frohlich
SCIENTOLOGY

2.  Brief Description
 Major Beliefs
 Publicly Known
 Secretive
 Cultural Traits
 Conflicts
 Present Day Issues / Success
 Conclusion
 Quiz
TABLE OF CONTENTS

3.  L. Ron Hubbard founded the religion Scientology in the
1950’s in America
 He began to study the human mind, body, and spirit in
1923 and that resulted in his first few books
 These books included ideas such as: people being a
separate item from their mind and body, this separate
item being a spirit
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
 There is now one major
headquarters in Clearwater,
Florida
 The religion has expanded to
over 160 nations
 Hubbard passed away in 1986

4.  They believe that everyone has a body and a mind to
represent themselves, but their spirit is their true selves (the
thetan)
 Body parts and images do not determine who or what a
person is
 The simple goal is: true spiritual enlightenment and freedom
 The quiet goal is to become a Operating Thetan (god-like figure)
 Every person just wants to survive
MAJOR BELIEFS - PUBLICLY KNOWN

5.  Self – Survive as an individual and be
yourself
 Creativity – Survive along with family
units and prepare yourself for the future
 Group – Survive as a group of individuals
 Species – Survive throughout all of
mankind
 Life Forms – Survive along with others as
life forms with interest in living
 Physical Universe – Survive along with
MEST
 Spiritual – The urge for your spirit and
life to survive
 Infinity – Survive and become a supreme
being or creator
THE 8 DYNAMICS

6.  This is an introduction to Scientology according to the official
international website
WHAT IS SCIENTOLOGY?

7.  They believe that there is a galactic overlord
named Xenu who was dealing with the
overpopulation of thetans on his 76 planets (for
20 000 000 years)
 Xenu placed extra thetans on Earth and they
must discover how to free themselves from
being trapped within a human body
 Auditing is a type of counselling
 This is where people return to past traumatic
experiences in their past and re-live / re-
experience them in order to Clear themselves
 The state of Clear allows the thetan to become
an Operating Thetan (god-like figure able to
control MEST)
 Scientologists are only introduced to the idea of
Xenu at level OT-III and then they are supposed
to publicly deny his existence
MAJOR BELIEFS – NOT PUBLIC

8.  Ceremonies
 Weddings, funerals, and naming ceremonies
 Public worship ceremonies every Sunday open to the members of the church and
non-members
 Engage in auditing by using an E-Meter
 Similar to counselling by the meter shows where there is stress and trauma in a
person and then the auditor will dissect their roots and background
 Celebrations
 March 13th L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday
 May 9th publishing of Hubbard’s book Dianetics
 Second Sunday in September they acknowledge all auditors
 October 7th acknowledge the work of the International Association of Scientology
(they defend against attacks from the media)
CULTURAL TRAITS

9.  Milestones
 Everyone begins at level -34 with the goal of achieving Operating
Thetan at level 21
 By researching Scientology yourself and participating in auditing a
person pushes themselves further across “The Bridge”
 At level 21 a person is an Operating Thetan and they continue to level
OT-VIII
 The rest of the levels are hidden from the public, only certain
Scientologists are informed about these levels
 People pay upwards of $500 000 to reach these levels of Scientology
CULTURAL TRAITS CONTINUED

10.  Sacred Writings
 Nothing similar to The Bible or The Qur'an
 Hubbard wrote and published almost 20 books to
enlighten people on his discoveries
 People are expected to teach themselves by using these
books
 He also wrote private texts for his colleagues and
auditors
 Symbols
 An 8-point cross which represents the 8 dynamics
 Worn by ministers to establish status
 An S intertwined with 2 triangles
 Two triangles to represent ARC and KRC
 Worn by Scientologists who have reached Clear
 The infinity Sign
 Operating Thetans believe they will have the power to
soon be infinite so this is important to them
CULTURAL TRAITS STILL CONTINUED

11.  Leaders Stealing Money
 Debbie Cook discovered that the Hubbard’s successor
was hoarding over $1 billion dollars directly from
Scientologists
 Suspicious Deaths
 Heribert Pfaff was taken off his epilepsy medication
by Scientologist doctors and died while taking
vitamins
 Josephus Havenith reportedly drowned but in the
autopsy it says his body was placed into boiling water
until his skin melted (at Scientology Fort Harrison
Hotel)
 Jeremy Perkins was taken off his schizophrenia
medication and stabbed his mother 77 times
 Kyle Brennan’s Scientologist father did not carry
Kyle’s anti-depressants and his son passed away
 Lisa McPherson was injured in a minor car accident
and was taken out of the hospital by fellow
Scientologists. She was kept in isolation for 17 days
and then finally taken to a hospital. McPherson was
pronounced dead on arrival.
CONFLICTS

12. CONFLICTS: DEATHS

13.  People have difficulties within Scientology concerning:
 Reliability of Hubbard
 He was known for doing drugs
 He was also suspected of being a compulsive liar
 Understanding What They Are In
 So much is kept so secretive in Scientology sometimes people don’t fully understand
what they are participating
 Dealing With Objections
 People believe Scientology is a cult and Scientologists have the struggle of dealing
with their religion being bashed constantly
 People also have a hard time dealing with the fact that things are kept so secretive
 Extreme Cost
 The rough estimate of the cost of reaching OT-VIII is $500 000
CONFLICTS CONTINUED

14.  Popularity
 Fastest growing religion
 Welcomes 4.4 million new people per year
 Grows in popularity also because advertised by celebrities
 Media
 Constant bashing and mockery
 Easy access to biased videos and movies
 Goals
 Claims to have met goals
 People are cleansed due to Scientology
 One of the 8 dynamics was changed from sex to creativity
 Lots of the literature was changed along with the dynamic
 This was all done by Hubbard’s Successor, David Miscaviage
PRESENT DAY ISSUES/SUCCESS

15. FAMOUS SCIENTOLOGISTS

16.  I never realised how much was hidden about it (or what was
hidden), but I also didn’t count on so much being so easily
accessible
 Never would I have guessed how much money it truly costs to
participate and reach new levels
 The original and vague ideas seem very sincere but the deeper
you dig, the more cult-like everything seems
 The international website refers to not having any specific
dogma concerning their beliefs, but they do. This is a bit
contradictory
 Lots of information is hidden from the members until they
reach certain levels and pay certain amount
 This is a topic I found very interesting and I would love to
research it further in the future
CONCLUSION

17. 1. Who is the founder of scientology?
 L. Ron Hubbard
 David Miscaviage
 Lisa McPherson
 Debbie Cook
2. What are the three parts of a human?
 Mental body, physical body, and thought
 Physical body, soul, and spirit
 Physical body, spirit, and mind
 Mental body, mind, and thought
3. What is the name of the spirit in a human?
 Theta
 Theseus
 Thesaurus
 Thetan
QUIZ

18. 4. How do Scientologists believe humans were created?
 They were placed on Earth by God
 Placed them on Earth by Xenu
 They evolved from small aliens
 They are eternal, with no beginning
5. What are the simple and complex goals of Scientology?
 Spiritual enlightenment; Reach Operating Thetan
 Cleanse oneself; Reach Operating Thetan
 Spiritual enlightenment; Reach Clear
 Cleanse oneself; Become Xenu
QUIZ CONTINUED