Scientology analysis and criticism

Vast amounts have been written about Scientology, both in support and opposition to it.^[1] Much of this literature has been heavily polarized.^[2] Scientology has attracted negative publicity since its founding,^[3] with criticism of Scientology organizations coming from government agencies, the media, anti-cult groups,^[4] and ex-members.^[1]

Academic research into Scientology was for several decades comparatively limited compared to the media and public interest in it.^[5] This has been attributed to the organization's secrecy,^[6] its reputation for litigiousness,^[7] and a lack of academic access to documentary material about the organization.^[8] Research intensified in the early 21st century,^[7] and in 2014, the first academic conference on the topic was held in Belgium.^[5] Several academics who have studied the movement have described the organization paying close attention to their work by telephoning them and sending representatives to attend their talks on the subject.^[5] Some observers of Scientology have also been critical of scholars studying it because they allege that scholars frequently act as apologists for it.^[9]

L. Ron Hubbard stated that the term "Scientology" derived from "scios" and "ology", which he defined as "knowing about knowing" or "the science of knowledge". Scholars have noted that the name echoes the language of science and have argued that it was chosen in part to draw on the cultural authority associated with scientific terminology.^[10][11] The word "scientology" had appeared in print earlier, though it is unclear whether Hubbard was aware of these earlier usages.^{[12]: 116–9 [13]: 111} Allen Upward used it in The New Word (1901) to describe uncritical acceptance of scientific doctrine.^[14] In 1934, Anastasius Nordenholz used the term in a philosophical work to mean "the science of the constitution and usefulness of knowledge".^[15]

In his history of the Church of Scientology, the scholar Hugh Urban describes Scientology as a "huge, complex, and multifaceted movement."^[16] According to Urban, Scientology represents a "rich syncretistic blend" of sources, including elements from Hinduism and Buddhism, Thelema, new scientific ideas, science-fiction, and from psychology and popular self-help literature available by the mid-20th century.^[17] The sociologist Stephen A. Kent views the Church of Scientology as "a multifaceted transnational corporation, only one element of which is religious".^[18]

Hubbard claimed that Scientology was "all-denominational",^[19] and members of the Scientology organization are not prohibited from active involvement in religions.^[20] Scholar of religion Donald Westbrook encountered members who also practiced Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, and the Nation of Islam; one was a Baptist minister.^[19] In practice, however, Westbrook noted that most members consider Scientology to be their only commitment, and the deeper their involvement became, the less likely they were to continue practicing other traditions.^[19] The ceremonies, structure of the prayers, and minister attire suggested by Hubbard reflect his own Protestant traditions.^[21]

Scientology has experienced multiple schisms during its history.^[22] While the Church of Scientology was the original promoter of the movement, various factions have split off to form independent Scientology groups. Referring to the "different types of Scientology", the scholar of religion Aled Thomas suggests it was appropriate to talk about "Scientologies".^[23]

Debate as to whether Scientology should be regarded as a religion, a cult, a business, or a scam has continued over many years.^[24][25]

Many Scientologists consider it to be their religion.^[26] Its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, presented it as a religion,^[27] but the early history of the Scientology organization, and Hubbard's policy directives, letters, and instructions to subordinates, indicate that his motivation for doing so was as a legally pragmatic move to minimize his tax burden and escape the possibility of prosecution.^[28][29] In many countries, the Church of Scientology has engaged in extensive litigation to secure recognition as a tax-exempt religious organization,^[30] and it has managed to obtain such a status in a few jurisdictions, including the United States, Italy, and Australia.^[31][32] The organization has not received recognition as a religious institution in the majority of countries in which it operates.^[33]

Government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgments describe Scientology both as a dangerous cult and as a manipulative profit-making business. These institutions and scholars state that Scientology is not a religion.^[40] An article in Time magazine, "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", describes Scientology as a ruthless global scam.^[34] The Church of Scientology's attempts to sue the publishers for libel and to prevent republication abroad were dismissed.^[41]

Psychologists and skeptics support this view of Scientology as a confidence trick to obtain money from its targets.^[28][42] The academic Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi observes that "the majority of activities conducted by Scientology and its many fronts and subsidiaries involve the marketing of secular products."^[28] Scholars and journalists note that profit is the primary motivating goal of Hubbard's Scientology groups.^[43] Those making this observation have often referred to a governing financial policy issued by Hubbard that is to be obeyed by all Scientology organization staff members,^[44] which includes the following [uppercase in original]:^[45]

Make sure that lots of bodies move through the shop...A. MAKE MONEY. ... J. MAKE MONEY. K. MAKE MORE MONEY. L. MAKE OTHER PEOPLE PRODUCE SO AS TO MAKE MONEY...However you get them in or why, just do it.

Some scholars of religion have referred to Scientology as a religion.^[46][47] The sociologist Bryan R. Wilson compares Scientology with 20 criteria that he associated with religion and concludes that the movement could be characterized as such.^[48] Wilson's criteria include a cosmology that describes a human reality beyond terrestrial existence; ethics and behavior teachings that are based on this cosmology; prescribed ways for followers to connect with spiritual beings; and a congregation that believes in and helps spread its teachings.^[49] Alan W. Black analyzed Scientology through the seven "dimensions of religion" set forward by the scholar Ninian Smart and also decided that Scientology met those criteria for being a religion.^[50] The sociologist David V. Barrett noted that there was a "strong body of evidence to suggest that it makes sense to regard Scientology as a religion",^[51] while scholar of religion James R. Lewis comments that "it is obvious that Scientology is a religion".^[52] The scholar Mikael Rothstein observes that the Scientology "is best understood as a devotional cult aimed at revering the mythologized founder of the organization".^[53] Opinion polling in 2012 shows that in its home market, the US, 70% of Americans do not think Scientology is a real religion; 13% think it is.^[54][55] A 2015 poll in the UK shows 61% of British people do not think Scientology is a real religion; 8% think it is.^[56]

The characterisation as a religion by such religious studies academics is disputed by the psychology professor Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi. He writes that: "Scientology cannot be classified as a religion. Because Scientology is a profit-oriented organization, sometimes, not always, masquerading as a religion, it has faced serious legitimation problems...The extreme measures Scientology has taken to defend itself reflect the truly precarious position of an organization with clearly illegitimate goals and a fraudulent operational style."^[57] Beit-Hallahmi notes that the degree of collaboration with Scientology in the new religious movement (NRM) research network is in a class by itself. He observes that "Scholars collaborating with Scientology have tried to provide an umbrella of legitimacy. Moreover, they have knowingly collaborated in some of its deceptive schemes and front organizations."^[57]

Numerous religious studies scholars have described Scientology as a new religious movement.^[58] Various scholars have also considered it within the category of Western esotericism,^[59] while the scholar of religion Andreas Grünschloß noted that it was "closely linked" to UFO religions,^[60] as science-fiction themes are evident in its theology.^[61] Scholars have also varyingly described it as a "psychotherapeutically oriented religion",^[62] a "secularized religion",^[63] a "postmodern religion",^[64] a "privatized religion",^[65] and a "progressive-knowledge" religion.^[66] According to scholar of religion Mary Farrell Bednarowski, Scientology describes itself as drawing on science, religion, psychology and philosophy but "has been claimed by none of them and repudiated, for the most part, by all".^[67]

Some government bodies and other institutions maintain that the Scientology is a secular, profit-making organization,^[28] and many commentators claim that is a form of therapy masquerading as religion.^[68] The French government characterizes the movement as a dangerous cult, and the German government monitors it as an anti-democratic cult.^{[69][70][71][72]}

The notion of Scientology as a religion is strongly opposed by the anti-cult movement.^[73] Its claims to a religious identity have been particularly rejected in continental Europe.^[32] Grünschloß writes that labeling Scientology a religion does not mean that it is "automatically promoted as harmless, nice, good, and humane".^[74] The multi-faceted nature of the Church of Scientology that includes pedagogy, communication theories, management principles and methods for a healthy living discombobulated many observers when it first started. Dericquebourg comments that the same things can be found in established churches.^[75]

Hugh B. Urban writes that "Scientology's efforts to get itself defined as a religion make it an ideal case study for thinking about how we understand and define religion."^[76] Frank K. Flinn, adjunct professor of religious studies at Washington University in St. Louis wrote, "it is abundantly clear that Scientology has both the typical forms of ceremonial and celebratory worship and its own unique form of spiritual life."^[77]

Flinn further states that religion requires "beliefs in something transcendental or ultimate, practices (rites and codes of behavior) that re-inforce those beliefs and, a community that is sustained by both the beliefs and practices", all of which are present within Scientology.^[78] Similarly, World Religions in America states that "Scientology contains the same elements of most other religions, including myths, scriptures, doctrines, worship, sacred practices and rituals, moral and ethical expectations, a community of believers, clergy, and ecclesiastic organizations."^[79] According to Mikhael Rothstein, Scientology's rituals can be classified into 1) those with the purpose of changing the person, such as auditing; 2) collective, which are calendar events where Scientology, its community and L. Ron Hubbard are celebrated; 3) rites of passage 4) weekly services that are similar to Christian services.^[80]

While acknowledging that a number of his colleagues accept Scientology as a religion, sociologist Stephen A. Kent writes: "Rather than struggling over whether or not to label Scientology as a religion, I find it far more helpful to view it as a multifaceted transnational corporation, only one element of which is religious" [emphasis in the original].^[28][18] Donna Batten in the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law writes, "A belief does not need to be stated in traditional terms to fall within First Amendment protection. For example, Scientology – a system of beliefs that a human being is essentially a free and immortal spirit who merely inhabits a body – does not propound the existence of a supreme being, but it qualifies as a religion under the broad definition propounded by the Supreme Court."^[81]

A great number of research archives on Scientology have emerged in recent years for the academic study of Scientology. These include collections in San Diego State University, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of California, Los Angeles, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Ohio State University and Claremont College Library. There is also a big collection of alternative beliefs and religions at the University of Alberta Library in Canada, where scholar Stephen A. Kent "makes material available on a restricted bases to undergraduate and graduate students."^[82]

The material contained in the OT levels has been characterized as bad science fiction by critics, while others claim it bears structural similarities to gnostic thought and ancient Hindu beliefs of creation and cosmic struggle.^[83] Donald A. Westbrook suggests that there are three areas of research scholars should consider researching and writing about: the biographical life and legacy of L. Ron Hubbard, the Church of Scientology's social betterment programs, and derivative scientology.^[84]