Whenever something is deemed "controversial" what that really means is there are a lot of unanswered questions about it. Scientology has become a hot topic for internet discussion in recent years, and gets referred to as "controversial" by many major media outlets. There is a searchable website to answer frequently asked questions about Scientology.
Access the full Scientology FAQ Website here. The word Scientology, conceived by L. Ron Hubbard, comes from the Latin scio which means “know” or “distinguish,” and from the Greek word logos which means “reason itself” or “inward thought.” Thus it means the study of wisdom or knowledge. It means knowing how to know. Scientology, however, is defined as the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, universes and other life. 2. Why is Scientology called a religion? Scientology certainly meets all three criteria generally used by religious scholars around the world to determine religiosity: (1) a belief in some Ultimate Reality, such as the Supreme or eternal truth that transcends the here and now of the secular world; (2) religious practices directed toward understanding, attaining or communing with this Ultimate Reality; and (3) a community of believers who join together in pursuing this Ultimate Reality. Scientology’s beliefs in an Ultimate Reality that transcends the material world include its concepts of the thetan, the spiritual world (the seventh dynamic) and the Supreme Being (the eighth dynamic). The second element can be found in Scientology’s life-rite ceremonies such as naming, marriage and funeral services, but predominantly in the religious services of auditing and training, through which Scientologists increase their spiritual awareness of themselves and attain an understanding of the spiritual world and, ultimately, their relationship with the Supreme Being. As to the third element, a very vital community of believers can be found at any church of Scientology at almost any time of the day. Scientology is thus a religion in the most traditional sense of the term. Scientology helps man become more aware of God, more aware of his own spiritual nature and that of those around him. Scientology scripture recognizes that there is an entire dynamic (urge or motivation in life) devoted to the Supreme Being (the eighth dynamic), and another dynamic that deals solely with one’s urge toward existence as a spirit (the seventh dynamic). Acknowledgment of these aspects of life is a traditional characteristic of religions. Scientology holds in common with all great religions the dream of peace on Earth and salvation for man. What is new about Scientology is that it offers a precise path for bringing about spiritual improvement in the here and now and a way to accomplish it with absolute certainty. The Scientology religion provides answers to many questions about life and death. It encompasses an exact, precisely mapped-out path. Through application of Scientology technology principles in an auditing session, a person is able to remove barriers and unwanted conditions and so become more himself. As a person progresses, he often reaches out to help others in the ways he has been helped. In developing Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard found the means to develop a technology to free the human spirit and thereby allow man to really know himself. He thoroughly tested all of his procedures and recorded for future use those that proved most workable in bringing about uniformly predictable results. These comprise standard Scientology technology. That which is real to the person himself is all one is asked to accept of Scientology. No beliefs are forced upon him. By training and processing (auditing), he finds out for himself the answers he is looking for in life. Yes. A short exercise can quickly answer this for anyone: If you have someone close their eyes and get a picture of a cat, they will get a mental image picture of a cat. But who exactly is looking at that picture in the mind? The answer, of course, is the human spirit itself. In Scientology we call the spirit a thetan, from the Greek letter theta, meaning thought or life or the spirit. 5. How does one know that he is a spirit? It is a matter that each individual must examine for himself. Scientologists believe man is more than a mind and body and that it is he, himself, the spirit, who can control the mind and the body. Do you think your body would do anything by itself if it were not guided by you, the being? 6. Does Scientology have a concept of God? Most definitely. In Scientology, the concept of God is expressed as the eighth dynamic — the urge toward existence as infinity, as God or the Supreme Being or Author of the Universe. As the eighth dynamic, Scientology’s concept of God rests at the very apex of universal survival. As L. Ron Hubbard wrote in Science of Survival, “No culture in the history of the world, save the thoroughly depraved and expiring ones, has failed to affirm the existence of a Supreme Being. It is an empirical observation that men without a strong and lasting faith in a Supreme Being are less capable, less ethical and less valuable to themselves and society…. A man without an abiding faith is, by observation alone, more of a thing than a man.” Unlike religions with Judeo-Christian origins, the Church of Scientology has no set dogma concerning God that it imposes on its members. As with all its beliefs, Scientology does not ask individuals to believe anything on faith. Rather, as one’s level of spiritual awareness increases through participation in Scientology auditing and training, he attains his own certainty of every dynamic and, as he moves from the seventh (spiritual) dynamic to the eighth, will come to his own understanding of infinity and God and his relationship to it. Scientology seeks to bring one to a new level of spiritual awareness where he can reach his own conclusions concerning the nature of God (or the Supreme Being or infinity) and what lies in store for him after his present lifetime. Thus, like many Eastern religions, salvation in Scientology is attained through personal spiritual growth and enlightenment. 7. Can one make up his own mind about Scientology? One can and indeed one should. Scientology enables a person to think for himself. There is no purpose served in practicing or studying Scientology because someone else wants him to. But if a person has taken a good look at his life and has decided that he wants to make it better, the best thing is to start and find out for himself what Scientology can do for him. One should read one of the basic books by L. Ron Hubbard, such as Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health or Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought. Both available in our Book Store. What is real in Scientology for you is what you find in it that is real for you. L. Ron Hubbard is the founder of Dianetics and Scientology and the author of the Scientology scripture. His research on the spirit, the mind and life is recorded in the tens of millions of words which comprise Dianetics and Scientology. His works cover subjects as diverse as drug rehabilitation, education, marriage and family, success at work, administration, art and many other aspects of life. His best-selling book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health alone has sold millions of copies and continues to appear on the New York Times and other bestseller lists around the world, nearly five decades after its original publication. L. Ron Hubbard dedicated his life to helping others. He saw that this world had to change drastically, and he created a workable technology so that needed changes could occur. Testimony to the effectiveness of his discoveries are the millions of happy and successful people and the hundreds of Dianetics and Scientology churches, missions and groups internationally. 9. Did L. Ron Hubbard make a lot of money out of Scientology? Like other authors, he made his money from the royalties on his books. As noted, one book alone, Dianetics, has sold millions of copies, and his total book sales of both fiction and nonfiction are in excess of one hundred million copies around the world, including more than twenty national bestsellers in the 1980s. On his death, Mr. Hubbard willed the vast bulk of his estate, including the royalties from the sale of these books, to the religion to help ensure its future practice to the betterment of mankind. Clear is the name of a specific state achieved through auditing, or a person who has achieved this state. A Clear is a being who no longer has his own reactive mind, and therefore suffers none of the ill effects the reactive mind can cause.
Below is a sampling of Questions and Answers from the site.