Introduction
There are a few basic beliefs held by most Scientologists. But more importantly, these basic beliefs are always firmly held by senior Scientology organization staff members. Without understanding these basic beliefs, it is impossible to truly grasp the context within which the staff members and public of the Church of Scientology operate. To get a firm hold on just how the Church leaders view reality, and subsequently why they do what they do, the reader must arrive at a clear understanding of these basic Scientology beliefs. These basic beliefs are the bricks that form the foundation of the entire Scientology edifice, and also well explain their consistent behavior along certain avenues.
Interestingly, these beliefs might even be valid to some degree, from a certain perspective at least. That is not the point. The point is how they use these ideas to justify some of their more questionable actions. The point is how adopting these ideas opens the door to an absolutism and fanaticism of a type not known to most other people, past or present.
Note: It is possible that certain high placed leaders do not actually believe these things, but simply use these beliefs to control those under them. I have no evidence about this one way or another. If this is the case though, then some of their actions are even worse, because they would then be knowingly using the sincere religious beliefs of others to manipulate their behavior. Regardless of what the top leaders believe, the staff and public are controlled via these beliefs whether it is intentional manipulation or not. Without firmly holding and asserting these beliefs Scientologists couldn't and wouldn't do some of the things they do such as pay so much money for services, work such long hours, attack critics so viciously, lie, spread disinformation, tolerate abuse, work for such little pay, and run such a severe thought-control operation within the Church.
You can only understand how any group of people behaves when you get to know what makes them tick. What makes them tick is solely determined by the belief system, and especially by the basic beliefs about reality and oneself in relation to this reality. Read an essay sometime on belief systems and how a person's belief system affects his or her perception and experience of reality. Studies like that abound within the fields of sociology and anthropology, and while often done examining older civilizations and cultures, the same ideas apply to modern groups.
It should be noted that there is actually nothing "wrong" with many of these Scientology beliefs, though they are a bit severe by many people's standards. The real problem with Scientology, and with any group that pushes the envelope of rational behavior, has to do with what they DO WITH THESE BELIEFS. How do they USE their beliefs to justify behavior that harms others? How are these beliefs USED to justify suppressing free speech? How are these beliefs USED to justify blatant lying and misrepresentations of facts? How are these beliefs used to justify breaking up friendships and families?
As an example, many millions of people have believed and practiced Christian beliefs throughout the ages, and most of them never harmed a fly in the name of their religion. But there was that small segment, having exactly the same beliefs, which tortured and murdered, because of the severity with which they interpreted their beliefs. The friendly Christian neighbors down the street, who are the nicest people one can meet, have pretty much the same beliefs as those more rigid Christians who burned witches and tortured heretics. What is it that determines how one or the other acts upon their beliefs? How does the fanatic torturer stress the ideas differently, connect them up and give certain ideas exaggerated importance? It is this difference, how the fanatic transforms the same ideas into destructive actions, which must be taken into consideration. The ideas and beliefs are usually not harmful in themselves, but it is what the fanatic does with them that make them harmful.
A fanatic tends to interpret ideas absolutely and usually is unwilling to mitigate the fundamentalist meanings that permit him to walk the path of severity, harm and destruction to others. Simply, the fanatic justifies his severe actions through his unwillingness to compromise his rigid ideas in any way. Scientology has a similar fanatical side to it. There is a ruthlessly persistent and dedicatedly determined aspect to Scientology that is utterly unwilling to and incapable of compromise. A major problem with Scientology though is that the fanaticism is largely built right into the dogma of Scientology. It is very difficult to separate the two. It might be impossible for such a thing as an "exact and accurate rendition" of Scientology, as the subject materials of L. Ron Hubbard currently exist, to lead to anything other than fanaticism. If all of the references to any of the beliefs mentioned in this study were removed from all Scientology, quite simply, it would not be Scientology anymore. It would unrecognizable from what exists today.
In Scientology, most public and staff members do not harm anybody. Most of them would consider the idea abhorrent. But, as with Christianity, there is the small, secretive, elite section within the Sea Organization that does viciously instigate harm to others as a routine behavior. These activities are successfully kept hidden from or misrepresented to the majority of the not-so-fanatical Scientologists, though granted, most people would consider almost any Scientologist's behavior at least somewhat tinged with some fanaticism after reading through this section and understanding their beliefs. But also, severe restrictions on free speech and free access to information occur throughout the entire Scientology organization as a matter of routine, and these severe restrictions on free communication exist solely due to the fanatical side.
Certain actions of the Church of Scientology are highly questionable. These are described in detail elsewhere, but briefly these include, in no specific order: high pressure sales tactics, high pressure recruitment tactics, Fair Game policy, disconnection policy, excessive PR, policy-based lying, manipulation of information (spinning facts), manipulation of viewpoints using ARC, extreme pressure exerted against members who want to leave, extreme invalidation when you want to leave, institutionalized attacks on critics, institutionalized noisy investigations to upset and silence critics, institutionalized overwhelming lawsuits used in an attempt to crush enemies, contriving phony scenarios and crimes to innocent people as a way to silence critics, and many varied psychological aspects of control. The best way to understand any person or group's actions is to understand what they believe. It is the complete set of often rigid ideas, tightly held opinions, and beliefs held with conviction, that determines ones responses to situations and decisions to act. You will better understand WHY they do WHAT they do once you understand what makes them tick - their belief structure. Of course, it is always and only a person who acts, but the people can be viewed as a common group, as a “them”, because they closely share the same set of beliefs. Hubbard basically says the same thing regarding how any group is held together as a group. What it is that acts to unite any collection of individual people into a group, including the group known as the Church of Scientology, is the set of common agreements held by each individual member.
In Scientology all beliefs, assertions, agreements AND actions stem from the writings and taped audio lectures of L. Ron Hubbard. An examination of what L. Ron Hubbard instructs along certain lines proves very enlightening. Hubbard left very specific instructions on what to think and believe in all sorts of situations. Hubbard's instructions, found in policies, books and taped lectures, form the foundation of all beliefs and actions in Scientology. If it's believed, Hubbard said to believe it. If it's studied, Hubbard said to study it. If it's done, Hubbard said to do it. If it's not done, Hubbard said not to do it. Nothing is accidental in Scientology. Everything stems from Hubbard's very exact instructions. That is the FIRST thing the reader needs to understand.
While Hubbard's information and instructions can often be very helpful for an individual person learning about life, trying to improve personal conditions, or becoming more successful, this same information can be used quite destructively and harmfully when used by the organized Church in its attempt to "win", "expand", "clear the planet" and defeat its real or imagined "enemies". One needs to understand that there are specific bodies of information for the self-help aspect of Scientology, and separately unique bodies of information, often hidden and confidential from regular members, for dealing with critics, enemies, belief manipulation, PR and opinion molding. Also, some of the publicly available information is quite severe and uniquely insidious, as this study will show.
The beliefs mentioned below form the basis of the Scientology belief edifice. This examination has no "slant". These are the beliefs most Scientologists accept and assert. That is what they do. If any of them deny this or argue that it isn’t right for someone to examine or question their beliefs, then they are trying to skirt around the issue. The official Church of Scientology is notorious for not tolerating any examination or investigation of their policies or actions that they don't fully control and approve. In fact, it is impossible to get any critical view about Scientology from any Scientologist because of the following policy by Hubbard:
"10. This group refuses to speak ill of Scientology or criticize it to outsiders.
11. This group will not talk about Scientology to members of the press."
(HCO PL 20 October 1961RB NON-SCIENTOLOGY STAFF)
These policies are enforced completely. The truth is that if you speak ill of Scientology, criticize it to outsiders, or talk to members of the press about it, then you will quickly get thrown out of the Church, and have all personal connections with Scientology friends and family severed. The above actions are clearly described, as “suppressive acts” in publicly available Scientology policy, and the only outcome following that sort of behavior is expulsion from the Church, declaration as a Suppressive Person, and complete disconnection for all active Scientologists (friends, family, business, etc). That is just one example of “business as usual” for the Church of Scientology. It is also very severe behavior, based upon certain exact extremist views held by most Scientologists. The only way anybody can ever gain factual objective information about the Church is by contacting and communicating with people "outside" of the Church. The Church of Scientology will never critically (honestly) discuss itself with anyone, by strict Church policy. The Church of Scientology will never allow any of its members to critically (honestly) discuss Scientology with anyone, by strict Church policy. As you will see below, the Church of Scientology takes its policies very seriously. All you will ever get from the Church of Scientology, from their non-stop PR machine, or from any official Scientology spokesperson are flowery, exaggerated descriptions of goodness about themselves, and badness about whoever it is that is often honestly pointing out some flawed aspect of Scientology, Hubbard or INT Management. What they manufacturer for public consumption, to be used and distributed as “information”, involves mostly misrepresentations and lies designed to sway, change or set public opinion.
There are a few basic beliefs held by most Scientologists. But more importantly, these basic beliefs are always firmly held by senior Scientology organization staff members. Without understanding these basic beliefs, it is impossible to truly grasp the context within which the staff members and public of the Church of Scientology operate. To get a firm hold on just how the Church leaders view reality, and subsequently why they do what they do, the reader must arrive at a clear understanding of these basic Scientology beliefs. These basic beliefs are the bricks that form the foundation of the entire Scientology edifice, and also well explain their consistent behavior along certain avenues.
Interestingly, these beliefs might even be valid to some degree, from a certain perspective at least. That is not the point. The point is how they use these ideas to justify some of their more questionable actions. The point is how adopting these ideas opens the door to an absolutism and fanaticism of a type not known to most other people, past or present.
Note: It is possible that certain high placed leaders do not actually believe these things, but simply use these beliefs to control those under them. I have no evidence about this one way or another. If this is the case though, then some of their actions are even worse, because they would then be knowingly using the sincere religious beliefs of others to manipulate their behavior. Regardless of what the top leaders believe, the staff and public are controlled via these beliefs whether it is intentional manipulation or not. Without firmly holding and asserting these beliefs Scientologists couldn't and wouldn't do some of the things they do such as pay so much money for services, work such long hours, attack critics so viciously, lie, spread disinformation, tolerate abuse, work for such little pay, and run such a severe thought-control operation within the Church.
You can only understand how any group of people behaves when you get to know what makes them tick. What makes them tick is solely determined by the belief system, and especially by the basic beliefs about reality and oneself in relation to this reality. Read an essay sometime on belief systems and how a person's belief system affects his or her perception and experience of reality. Studies like that abound within the fields of sociology and anthropology, and while often done examining older civilizations and cultures, the same ideas apply to modern groups.
It should be noted that there is actually nothing "wrong" with many of these Scientology beliefs, though they are a bit severe by many people's standards. The real problem with Scientology, and with any group that pushes the envelope of rational behavior, has to do with what they DO WITH THESE BELIEFS. How do they USE their beliefs to justify behavior that harms others? How are these beliefs USED to justify suppressing free speech? How are these beliefs USED to justify blatant lying and misrepresentations of facts? How are these beliefs used to justify breaking up friendships and families?
As an example, many millions of people have believed and practiced Christian beliefs throughout the ages, and most of them never harmed a fly in the name of their religion. But there was that small segment, having exactly the same beliefs, which tortured and murdered, because of the severity with which they interpreted their beliefs. The friendly Christian neighbors down the street, who are the nicest people one can meet, have pretty much the same beliefs as those more rigid Christians who burned witches and tortured heretics. What is it that determines how one or the other acts upon their beliefs? How does the fanatic torturer stress the ideas differently, connect them up and give certain ideas exaggerated importance? It is this difference, how the fanatic transforms the same ideas into destructive actions, which must be taken into consideration. The ideas and beliefs are usually not harmful in themselves, but it is what the fanatic does with them that make them harmful.
A fanatic tends to interpret ideas absolutely and usually is unwilling to mitigate the fundamentalist meanings that permit him to walk the path of severity, harm and destruction to others. Simply, the fanatic justifies his severe actions through his unwillingness to compromise his rigid ideas in any way. Scientology has a similar fanatical side to it. There is a ruthlessly persistent and dedicatedly determined aspect to Scientology that is utterly unwilling to and incapable of compromise. A major problem with Scientology though is that the fanaticism is largely built right into the dogma of Scientology. It is very difficult to separate the two. It might be impossible for such a thing as an "exact and accurate rendition" of Scientology, as the subject materials of L. Ron Hubbard currently exist, to lead to anything other than fanaticism. If all of the references to any of the beliefs mentioned in this study were removed from all Scientology, quite simply, it would not be Scientology anymore. It would unrecognizable from what exists today.
In Scientology, most public and staff members do not harm anybody. Most of them would consider the idea abhorrent. But, as with Christianity, there is the small, secretive, elite section within the Sea Organization that does viciously instigate harm to others as a routine behavior. These activities are successfully kept hidden from or misrepresented to the majority of the not-so-fanatical Scientologists, though granted, most people would consider almost any Scientologist's behavior at least somewhat tinged with some fanaticism after reading through this section and understanding their beliefs. But also, severe restrictions on free speech and free access to information occur throughout the entire Scientology organization as a matter of routine, and these severe restrictions on free communication exist solely due to the fanatical side.
Certain actions of the Church of Scientology are highly questionable. These are described in detail elsewhere, but briefly these include, in no specific order: high pressure sales tactics, high pressure recruitment tactics, Fair Game policy, disconnection policy, excessive PR, policy-based lying, manipulation of information (spinning facts), manipulation of viewpoints using ARC, extreme pressure exerted against members who want to leave, extreme invalidation when you want to leave, institutionalized attacks on critics, institutionalized noisy investigations to upset and silence critics, institutionalized overwhelming lawsuits used in an attempt to crush enemies, contriving phony scenarios and crimes to innocent people as a way to silence critics, and many varied psychological aspects of control. The best way to understand any person or group's actions is to understand what they believe. It is the complete set of often rigid ideas, tightly held opinions, and beliefs held with conviction, that determines ones responses to situations and decisions to act. You will better understand WHY they do WHAT they do once you understand what makes them tick - their belief structure. Of course, it is always and only a person who acts, but the people can be viewed as a common group, as a “them”, because they closely share the same set of beliefs. Hubbard basically says the same thing regarding how any group is held together as a group. What it is that acts to unite any collection of individual people into a group, including the group known as the Church of Scientology, is the set of common agreements held by each individual member.
In Scientology all beliefs, assertions, agreements AND actions stem from the writings and taped audio lectures of L. Ron Hubbard. An examination of what L. Ron Hubbard instructs along certain lines proves very enlightening. Hubbard left very specific instructions on what to think and believe in all sorts of situations. Hubbard's instructions, found in policies, books and taped lectures, form the foundation of all beliefs and actions in Scientology. If it's believed, Hubbard said to believe it. If it's studied, Hubbard said to study it. If it's done, Hubbard said to do it. If it's not done, Hubbard said not to do it. Nothing is accidental in Scientology. Everything stems from Hubbard's very exact instructions. That is the FIRST thing the reader needs to understand.
While Hubbard's information and instructions can often be very helpful for an individual person learning about life, trying to improve personal conditions, or becoming more successful, this same information can be used quite destructively and harmfully when used by the organized Church in its attempt to "win", "expand", "clear the planet" and defeat its real or imagined "enemies". One needs to understand that there are specific bodies of information for the self-help aspect of Scientology, and separately unique bodies of information, often hidden and confidential from regular members, for dealing with critics, enemies, belief manipulation, PR and opinion molding. Also, some of the publicly available information is quite severe and uniquely insidious, as this study will show.
The beliefs mentioned below form the basis of the Scientology belief edifice. This examination has no "slant". These are the beliefs most Scientologists accept and assert. That is what they do. If any of them deny this or argue that it isn’t right for someone to examine or question their beliefs, then they are trying to skirt around the issue. The official Church of Scientology is notorious for not tolerating any examination or investigation of their policies or actions that they don't fully control and approve. In fact, it is impossible to get any critical view about Scientology from any Scientologist because of the following policy by Hubbard:
"10. This group refuses to speak ill of Scientology or criticize it to outsiders.
11. This group will not talk about Scientology to members of the press."
(HCO PL 20 October 1961RB NON-SCIENTOLOGY STAFF)
These policies are enforced completely. The truth is that if you speak ill of Scientology, criticize it to outsiders, or talk to members of the press about it, then you will quickly get thrown out of the Church, and have all personal connections with Scientology friends and family severed. The above actions are clearly described, as “suppressive acts” in publicly available Scientology policy, and the only outcome following that sort of behavior is expulsion from the Church, declaration as a Suppressive Person, and complete disconnection for all active Scientologists (friends, family, business, etc). That is just one example of “business as usual” for the Church of Scientology. It is also very severe behavior, based upon certain exact extremist views held by most Scientologists. The only way anybody can ever gain factual objective information about the Church is by contacting and communicating with people "outside" of the Church. The Church of Scientology will never critically (honestly) discuss itself with anyone, by strict Church policy. The Church of Scientology will never allow any of its members to critically (honestly) discuss Scientology with anyone, by strict Church policy. As you will see below, the Church of Scientology takes its policies very seriously. All you will ever get from the Church of Scientology, from their non-stop PR machine, or from any official Scientology spokesperson are flowery, exaggerated descriptions of goodness about themselves, and badness about whoever it is that is often honestly pointing out some flawed aspect of Scientology, Hubbard or INT Management. What they manufacturer for public consumption, to be used and distributed as “information”, involves mostly misrepresentations and lies designed to sway, change or set public opinion.
