Scientology: True Story: Real Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

[(CoS FAQ) for text browsers]Click on the little devil icon (I couldn't resist) to see the official Scientology statement that I'm refuting.

The icon is one of the free buttons distributed by the Rocket Shop.


See also my response to the official Misconceptions about Scientology page.

(Cos FAQ) What is Dianetics?

A way to rip people off. Even though it claimed to solve all of mankind's problems, Scientology later claimed to be an improvement. The Skeptic's Dictionary has an entry for it.

Note that the "multitude of case histories" have not been peer reviewed, and little things like the placebo effect were never taken into account.

In 1953, an experimental study failed to find any way that Dianetics helped intellectual functioning, mathematical ability, or with personality conflicts.

Finally, even back in the 1950s, people were making fun of Dianetics.


(Cos FAQ) What is Scientology?

An improved way to rip people off. Scientology is a gnostic system of beliefs; the inner circle of members know that what the outer circle believes is false. This is all okay, because of the doctrines of "acceptable truth" and learning "gradients."

Read a non-Scientologist's explanation of the three stages of belief involved in Scientology.


(Cos FAQ) What is auditing?

Sitting around holding two soup cans with an electric current passing between them (an e-meter) being asked personal questions or "remembering" engrams (traumas) or past lives.

The list of bizarre and repetitive questions, on a subject already conditioned by the training routines, can easily push a subject into a hypnotic trance. This trance, assisted by the auditor, causes the subject to "remember" early childhood traumas and, later, past lives. Note the specific statement that auditing is not hypnosis. That's not true. Hubbard's descriptions of how to bring a preclear into an auditing "reverie" follow the precise same pattern that hypnosis uses, often using rephrasing of the same words.

Hubbard told his followers that hypnosis always involved a loss of memory, and that is not the case. He told them that hypnosis required counting, to bring someone out of their trance.

No doubt this is one of the reasons that Scientology, through front groups like the Citizen's Commission On Human Rights, (a Scientology front group) attacks psychiatry -- to disguise the ways that Scientology is similar to psychiatry.


(Cos FAQ) What is a thetan?

Hubbardian terminology for the soul. There are also "body thetans"; in the restricted levels of the cult, you find out that all of your problems are because of other people's souls glommed into your body, and you have to audit them all off before you can be truly clear.


(Cos FAQ) What is the mind?

A terrible thing to waste.

Hubbard's "mental image pictures" are pseudoscientific.

The "reactive mind" is later redefined as "that part of your mind that tells you Scientology is worthless crap." But you have to stop listening to it, you see?

Of course, there are no studies proving the existence of the Reactive Mind, because L. Ron Hubbard did the research and there's no need for lesser mortals to try.


(Cos FAQ) What is an engram?

Something bad that happened to you in the past (or in a past life) that scarred you for all eternity. Only auditing can help you.

Early on, Scientologists will tell you that the fetus can record engrams from conception. Hubbard had quite a thing for mothers having affairs or trying to abort their children, causing later trauma. Also, it is claimed that words spoken to unconscious people can cause lasting psychological harm.

Back in 1959, there was a scientific study that concluded the whole idea of Dianetics uncovering what people were told when unconscious was bogus.

There's also a Scientologyprivate investigator named Eugene Ingram, who is wanted for theft by deception for stealing pictures of a critic's children from his elderly mother. Just the sort of man a church would employ, wouldn't you say?


(Cos FAQ) What is Clear?

Someone who has gotten rid of their reactive mind and paid the cult a lot of money.

It used to be claimed that clears would have perfect memory, would never get sick, and other fantastic benefits. The first clear was unable to remember the color of Hubbard's tie when his back was turned.

The "Clear Cognition" (the realization that solves all of your problems and makes you perfectly able) is this:

"I mock up my reactive mind."

That's it. Oh, translated into English, it means, "I cause all of my own problems, doubts, and insecurities."


(Cos FAQ) What is Operating Thetan or OT?

Someone who has become Clear and still not become perfect, so they've decided to give the cult more money.

OT's are "at cause over MEST": able to control Matter, Energy, Space, and Time. They can move objects with their mind, and kill with a thought. John Travolta is an OT--so why did Quentin Tarantino have to step in to resurrect his career?

Scientology wants to keep the "OT" levels secret, in order to keep their prospective customers in the dark. If someone reads the OT levels before they've gone through Scientology indocrination, they realize how absurd the OT levels are!

Various people have publicized the "secret" OT levels, so that those interested in Scientology can make an informed choice. Karin Spaink has a legal copy of the "Fishman affadavit", a document that includes sections of the old Operating Thetan levels. The levels have been jazzed up somewhat and are now sold as NOTS, for "New Order Dianetics for Operating Thetans".


(Cos FAQ) Why is Scientology a religion?

To avoid paying taxes, and to avoid FDA scrutiny.

Originally, Scientology was not a religion. That "angle" was added later.


(Cos FAQ) Does Scientology have scriptures?

Pages and pages and pages of them. A fair number of them cost you money to get (as does L. Ron's poetry).

A lot of Hubbard's writings contradict each other, but not as much as it used to. A great cleaning out was done, removing anything attributed to L. Ron Hubbard that was "really" written by someone else. Critics charge that it was actually a purge the more embarassing of Hubbard's writings.


(Cos FAQ) Does the Church of Scientology have a Creed? If so, what is it?

"MAKE MONEY, MAKE MONEY, MAKE MORE MONEY"


(Cos FAQ) Are auditors governed by a code of conduct?

Yes, they seem to be. But remember the phrase, "I am not your auditor". Only auditors are bound by the code; supervisors in Scientology's hard sell environment are not.


(Cos FAQ) What is the E-Meter and how does it work?

It is a Wheatstone Bridge, a very simple electrical circuit. It works as a skin galvometer -- a lie detector. It doesn't measure "mental mass", or anything of the sort.

Dave Touretzky has written an expose of the E-meter, complete with technical specs, a history, and a guided tour of the insides.

When they say, "has been deemed a religious artifact", what they mean is that the FDA was about to destroy confiscated E-Meters, and forbid Scientology from using them. However, Scientology stopped claiming that they had any medical benefit (at least in public), and said that they were for religious purposes only.

All E-meters are used with this disclaimer now.


(Cos FAQ) What is training?

Okay, it's like this. Every task is a "hat", and one has to be prepared before you can be "hatted" (given a job). Hence, the "Student hat" -- the job of being a student.

For instance, Scientologists can be trained to lie in court. I believe this was part of the Guardian's Office training.

The "training routines" are a precise series of instructions that must be followed to advance in Scientology. Brainwashing, ho!


(Cos FAQ) What is Study Technology?

The idea that all studying boils down to three concepts:

Mass -- if you're learning about tractors, you need a tractor, or at least pictures in one. This concept also involves building little clay models of the things you're making so that you'll get the "mass" of the concepts. I can only imagine how Scientology would teach, for instance, neo-Pragmatism or calculus.

Gradient -- you can't learn too much at a time. Seeing the OT levels before becoming too brainwashed to realize they're crap is an example of learning at too steep a gradient.

This also means it's permissible to tell "acceptable truths" to someone if they involve information that they "aren't ready for". It's for their own good, after all.

Misunderstood Words (M/U) -- You see, the only reason for not understanding something is to have passed over a word that you didn't completely understand. If you have questions after reading something, then obviously you didn't understand it, and need to go look up some words. This also "explains" why people yawn while studying: they have a M/U.

Notice the Scientology trend of unattributed testimonials. Send mail to the webmaster and ask him for information about the studies the prove the effectiveness of the "tech".

I bet you won't get an answer...


(Cos FAQ) What are the dynamics?

  1. Self.
  2. Sex and family.
  3. Group.
  4. Mankind.
  5. Animals and plants.
  6. Physical universe.
  7. Spirit.
  8. God.

(Cos FAQ) What is the Scientology concept of God?

This isn't a simple question; there are several possible answers, some more flippant than others.

It could be said that the god of Scientology is money. Having money is a sign of being morally superior, and being poor is a sign of spiritual flaws. A person causes whatever happens to them, and poor people or handicapped people are that way because of their own personal flaws. When a Scientologist lists the wonderful things the cult has done for them ("wins"), money will always be near the top of the list.

Scientologists also worship Hubbard as a god among men, rather than the power-mad amoral con man that he was. Many will claim that they do not worship Ron, that Ron said he was a man like any other man (quite magnanimous of him). However, Ron's smiling face appears all over an org (Scientology organization), and every Scientology publication includes the face and words of wisdom of Ron.

Even after his death, "Ron's Office" is kept ready for him in every Scientology site, with a fresh pack of Kools kept ready for a ghost with poor health habits. The L. Ron Hubbard Home Page (maintained by Scientology, naturally) is a wonderful example of Ron-worship. A litmus test I suggest, if confronted by a Scientologist who claims not to worship Ron, is to ask him for an example of one thing Ron said that they do not agree with.


(Cos FAQ) What is the Scientology system of ethics?

Here's what Hubbard says about the purpose of Ethics on page 1 of Introduction to SCientology Ethics:

Here are some examples of Scientology ethics:

  1. Acceptable truth
    An "acceptable truth" is a half-truth told to allay suspicions. It's ethical because you're protecting someone from information they aren't ready for; that is, at "too steep of a gradient".

    Commonly used on "raw meat" (the Scientology term for new customers) to keep them from running away in fear, disgust, and amusement. Examples of this can be found by calling 1-800-FOR-TRUT(H) and asking them questions like, "Is Scientology a religion?"

  2. Never Fear to Hurt Another in a Just Cause
    This one is a scary one; if we're right and everyone else is wrong, and their bodies are just meat anyway... well, does it matter what you have to do shut up critics?

  3. The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number of Dynamics
    Supporting Scientology overrides personal lives and personal moral quibbles. The group is always valued more highly than the individual.

Bob Penny (a former scientologist, and member of Factnet) has written about his experiences with and opinoins of Scientology ethics.

Also, there are several logical fallacies in the cult's book Introduction to Scientology Ethics.


(Cos FAQ) What does the Scientology cross represent?

It's the eight-pointed cross of Aleister Crowley, which is a "crossed out cross" -- a "Satanic" symbol. Probably a joke of Hubbard's, in my opinion.


(Cos FAQ) What does the Scientology symbol represent?

It's been claimed that it's an occult symbol:

"The "S and double triangle" motif of Scientology's main symbol probably derives from the black magic use of the snake symbol (the "wise serpent" or Satan) combined with a deconstruction into two triangles of the Star of David (rather like the reverse ritual of hanging the Christian cross upside down to signify devil worship). This symbol - the magical hexagram - was used by Hubbard and Parsons during their attempts at incarnating the Antichrist in human form."

From "The Fable", an anonymous treatise on Scientology


(Cos FAQ) Do Scientologists have church ceremonies?

Only when the IRS is watching.


(Cos FAQ) Does Scientology believe in past lives?

Is the Pope Catholic? Scientologists believe in millions of years of past lives, dating back to the time when Xenu the Galactic Overlord flew the excess galatic population to earth (in spaceships that looked like DC-7's) and blew them up with giant H-bombs.

These past experiences (as well as body thetans, other people's souls stuck on your body) cause all of your problems.

According to the cult, that is.


(Cos FAQ) What is the Scientology view on drugs?

Drugs are bad for you, unless you're L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard had quite a problem with drugs, and never stopped smoking, even though Scientology and Dianetics claim to help you break these habits.

Asprin interferes with auditing (and you can even get addicted to it), but nicotine is fine. Drop by a Scientology Org sometime and see how many Scientologists smoke, to emulate their dead founder.


(Cos FAQ) What is the Purification Rundown?

Dangerous. In theory, it's a way to sweat toxic radiation and drugs out of your body. It's even goofier than it sounds, and Narconon (A Scientology front group for "curing" drug addicts) uses it a lot.

LSD is not fat soluble, despite Hubbard's addled opinion. It physically could not stay in the system for years.

Forrest Tennant's study is flawed; the only study that I have seen any actual information about was documented in Freedom (hardly an unbiased source). At any rate, the study claimed to prove that for a small sample group, the purification rundown lowered the amount of crack cocaine present in their bodies. Naturally, no information was presented about how much would have been lost in a group that hadn't used the Purif, nor was there information about how many of the subjects were still addicted after their cure, nor about the Purif's effect on other substances.

I also do not believe that Tennant's studies can be in any way considered "independent": it appears that his studies are performed at teh request of Scientology.

Hubbard claimed that the Purification Rundown could cure radiation poisioning:

From Clear Body, Clear Mind:

"RADIATION AND LIQUIDS (p47)
On the Purification, findings seem to bear out that there
is a factor related to radiation that produces the greatest
exudation of it and that it is the sweating itself."


(Cos FAQ) Do Scientologists use medical doctors?

Sometimes. Unfortunately, since all mental problems and most other problems are all the fault of your reactive mind, they don't use them enough. Auditing to attempt to cure cancer is not uncommon.

In what was probably an attempt to "help" one of their members who had suffered a breakdown, Scientologists in Clearwater, Florida caused the death of Lisa McPherson. At the time of her death, Lisa had been deprived of water for at least five days.


(Cos FAQ) How does Scientology view marriage and the family?

Children are automatically downstat, since they can't contribute as much to the cult. Also, since everyone is really their soul, children are very old people in small bodies, and should be treated as such, instead of being treated like children. Marriage is fine as long as your feelings for your wife (and the whole sex thing) doesn't get in the way of serving Scientology.


(Cos FAQ) How does the Church view relationships between a Scientologist and family members who aren't Scientologists?

As a great way to suck new people into the cult. However, if said family member is "suppressive" (thinks Scientology is crap) and spouts "entheta" (tells the Scientologist that), then "disconnection" may be required.

Notice the fanatic opposition to "deprogrammers". Forced deprogramming has been recognized as an illegal act as well as a terrible idea since the 1970's. See also that anyone who calls Scientology a "cult" is automatically labeled a member of an "extremist, anti-religious hate group".


(Cos FAQ) Is Scientology open to anyone?

Anyone with money. Scientology considers poor people "downstats" and believes that they have brought their poverty upon themselves. Rich people are automatically considered more ethical and superior, and those who were born rich are being rewarded for superior past lives.


(Cos FAQ) What celebrities are Scientologists?

Find out.


(Cos FAQ) What does Scientology have to say about other religions?

To outsiders and to new members, they claim to be compatible with all religions. However, they aren't. A page has been written on why Scientology and Christianity are incompatible, including the fact that Hubbard claimed that Jesus was a memory implanted from space aliens, and that there was no man on the cross. I don't think you need to be Christian to realize that's pretty incompatible.

Also, Hubbard enjoyed claiming to be Maitreya, the Buddha of the future. He also stated several times that Scientology was the culmination of what other religions had tried to do.

Does Scientology respect other religions? Read what happened to Jeff Lee during the March 8, 1997 Clearwater picket:

...several people were hatted to handle me. They tried all the usual buttons: "Did you know Lisa? Did you care about Lisa when you were alive?" "Well, no," I said, "I didn't know her. But did a person in the forties have to know the Jews dying in Germany in order to care about them?" The girl who tried this one stopped in astonishment. "You're comparing us to the JEWS?" she exclaimed. I said, "Why not? *You* do..." Another critic behind me heard her discussing it with her friends afterwards: "That's ridiculous. The Jews were a race of victims. We're not." Yeah, girls, that's a lovely sentiment. But tell it to your public relations officers; they're trying very hard to paint a picture of Scientologists as victims.


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Sam Gorton / sgorton@empire.net Last modified: 8/11/97