Scientology is something we see referenced in pop culture quite often. Whether it is the latest celebrity spotting their relation to the church or girls on Instagram taking atheistically pleasing photos in front of a bright blue fancy building that turns out to be the Los Angeles location of the church of Scientology, or maybe it is the fact that the church of Scientology is beginning to spread all around the world with new locations popping up in a large city possibly near you. Or it could be their late scandals and accusations and conspiracies of cult-like brainwashing. We are constantly talking about the church of Scientology for a plethora of reasons. But what is the church of Scientology? What are their values and beliefs? What about their rituals? What makes it something celebrities are associated with? What is Scientology?

Let’s start with the basics. What is Scientology and where did it come from? Scientology was founded in 1954 by L. Ron Hubbard. Born March 13, 1911, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was a man of many trades. He grew up in Tilden, Nebraska, and would then leave to go to college at George Washington University, where he would study civil engineering. After just two years at college Hubbard then left university to begin a successful career as a science fiction writer for “Pulp Magazines'' in the 1930s. Hubbard then went on to serve in the US Naval Reserves during World War II. After Leaving The Navy Hubbard claimed he healed himself of his war-related injuries through a new form of mental health techniques. He then explained his new mental health techniques when he released his book “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health'' in 1950, which would become a bestseller (A&E.)

“Dianetics” can be broken down into the idea that all humans have an analytic mind and a reactive mind. These ideas are closely related to what most people know as the Freudian conscious and subconscious mind. The analytic mind is in charge of making daily decisions and survival judgments. Whereas the reactive mind takes over during any form of stress, pain, or trauma. Hubbard referred to his methods as “Mental Science” and believed that the scars from your stress and trauma can be healthy through his new “therapeutic process called auditing.”  This “auditing” process consisted of one-on-one meetings with an “auditor” who would ask you questions geared to get rid of unconscious memories in hopes of letting the analytic mind “regain control.” 

Many people were receptive to the “healing practice of Dianetics.” Dianetics groups began popping up all across the country. However, the American Psychological Association and other mental health associations at the time were questioning Hubbard’s scientific findings and approaches.  But that did not stop him. In 1952 Hubbard continued his “Dianetics” practices and introduced a new device he created called “the Electropsychometer” or the E-meter for short. The “E-meter” was explained that it could measure an individual’s electrical current as someone answered questions during their “auditing session.” It’s similar to what we see in lie detectors today. The E-meter was the definition factor between Dinetics to the transition into Scientology (Scientology.)

The term “Scientology” stems from Latin and Greek words. “Scio” is the Latin term for study and “logos” is the Greek term for knowing. Put together it translates into the “science of knowledge.” This “science” began to change the principles of “Dianetics.” Hubbard changed the approach from mental health to then become a new religious movement of “Scientology.” Later on on February 18th, 1954 L. Ron Hubbard filled out incorporation papers in Los Angeles to Create the Church of Scientology of California, the first official Scientologist organization.

What about the Values of Scientology? When looking at the overall values of Scientology they refer to them as “Tenets.”  Scientology wants patrons to “view man as a spiritual being… the spiritual being is called the thetan.” Thetan is created through the Greek root “theta” for thought, life, or spirit. The purpose of using the term “thetan” is to ensure they aren’t confused with the idea of spirits. Scientology believes that Thetan is immortal. It has lived and will continue to live through unlimited lifetimes. The thetan is in control of the body and uses the mind (Scientology.) 

The overall principles of Scientology are “compartmentalized” by a person’s surfers, drives, or impulses of survival. They refer to these subcategories as dynamics. There are 8 total dynamics. The first dynamic is the self dynamic. This surrounds an individual’s existence and individuality, and what makes them themself. The second dynamic is the sex dynamic. This dynamic is split into other subcategories. The first surrounds the act of sex and pleasure, and the second is the idea of family and reproduction. The third dynamic is called the group dynamic. Whether it be inclusion in a social, economic, or societal class. Wanting to be within a group of friends or work group. Anything. The fourth dynamic is the mankind dynamic. The mankind dynamic is all about the urge to exist as mankind. To be unified with each other as a society. The fifth dynamic is the animal dynamic. This dynamic is all about being motivated by the surrounding life. From plants, animals, or even bacteria all living things have some form of motivation with people. The sixth dynamic is the universe dynamic. According to Scientology, the universe is made up of Matter, Energy, Space, and Time, which they refer to as M.E.S.T. The sixth dynamic is all-around being one with the physical M.E.S.T. The seventh dynamic is the spiritual dynamic. The spiritual dynamic concerns the existence of spirits or anything spiritual. It doesn’t matter the identity, it still has a spirit. But that’s not to be confused with thetan. The eighth and final dynamic is the final or the god dynamic. This is what identifies the “supreme being.” The whole reason for it being the final and eight dynamic is due to the similar shape of the eight and the infinity symbol. In short, Scientology separates life into eight categories. Self, sex, group, mankind. Animal, universe, spiritual, and god. But they are typically only referred to as their number. 

The dynamics are almost a personal set of stepping stones. One must go through each dynamic and understand their place and values within it. One must expand into each dynamic to reach the seventh dynamic, spirit. Understanding their palace in the world will then push them into their true eternity. If you can’t find yourself within one dynamic you can’t be sound in the rest of them. No dynamic is more important to each other. They are to be seen as equal. 

Now we have covered the history of Scientology and the principles of Scientology but how does one practice Scientology? According to the church of Scientology, the practice of Scientology takes place in society. Scientology believes that their materials and beliefs are to improve your conditions of life and its effect on others. They believe that an active Scientologist is not someone who regularly attends the church or is currently studying the books of Hubbard but is someone who takes the teachings and understands them to be able to implement them into spreading their message and helping others. Scientology wants to help people expand their horizons in life. To be able to see the good in the bad. Practice is the knowledge you have gained and whether or not you can apply the knowledge to your daily life. Scientology gears to “increase personas spiritual awareness and capabilities.''They believe that life-altering effects can occur when Scientology is applied (Scientology.)

But other than being socially aware and implementing the practice the best way to get comfortable with the practice of Scientology is the process of auditing. As mentioned earlier, auditing is sitting down like a therapy session and answering questions with an auditor about how you can progress on creating your higher state of spiritual awareness. Auditing gives followers a path to reach spiritual awareness. The purpose of auditing is to restore a person's mind and being. It's to help the individual rid themselves of any spiritual issues and increase their abilities. Auditing is not done in a group; it can only be done as one-on-one sessions and readings. The person is then able to reflect on their prior lifestyle and spiritual experiences and begin to improve their spiritual awareness. 

Now we've covered both the history, the values, and the practice but the question remains what made Scientology so popular? In the last few years, Scientology has faced severe backlash from the public and its famous patrons. The church has been called out for targeting certain groups of people, specifically celebrities who are believed to be vulnerable. It is believed that those in the church of Scientology are designed to prey upon those in a higher position culturally or socially, like celebrities, so that they can attract more people to the church. Two of the biggest celebrities who are well-known scientists are Tom Cruise and John Travolta. They are constantly associating their work with the church and how the church of Scientology has helped them. According to Tom Cruise, Scientology has cured his dyslexia and helped him become one of the leading members of the church. John Travolta believes that the church of Scientology helped him kickstart his Crabtree and is the reason he got cast in his first major role as Vinnie Barbrino (Denison.) 

But Cruise and Travolta aren't the only big celebrities associated with the church of Scientology. Many other celebrities like Will Smith, Priscilla Presley, Partick Swayze, and Leah Remini also play a big role in the popularity of the church. But many celebrities have come out to speak against the church. One of the most recent and well-known stances is Leah Remini. She recently in 2015 came out with her confessional memoir Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology. Remini explains that as she began to become famous and further into Scientology the two worlds became politely intertwined (Denison.) She explains that she was abused as a teenager in the church and that she never really felt safe there. She then went on to explain that many of the public teachings are fake and that if you want to move up in levels of Scientology it’s required that you donate thousands of dollars to the church. However one of the biggest factors was that Remini saw the church as a suppressive entity. She believes that many people in the church are being taken advantage of without them even finding out. The church is a scam and a cult front. 

As the social walls of Scientology begin to fall many people, celebrity or not, are beginning to see Scientology as the cult behind doors. Only Scientologists know what happens behind closed doors but many can imagine it's now as glorious as they make it seem and that it's quite abusive. For many it's a great way to learn their mind and how they can succeed in spirituality. Some will never know what goes on behind doors.