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Wikipedia

Church of Scientology

March 17, 2024

This article is about the institution behind Scientology. For the ideology itself, see Scientology.

The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement.[7] The movement has been the subject of a number of controversies, and the Church of Scientology has been described by government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgements as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit-making business.[13] In 1979, several executives of the organization were convicted and imprisoned for multiple offenses by a U.S. Federal Court.[14][15]: 168  The Church of Scientology itself was convicted of fraud by a French court in 2009, a decision upheld by the supreme Court of Cassation in 2013.[16] The German government classifies Scientology as an unconstitutional sect.[17][18] In France, it has been classified as a dangerous cult.[19] In some countries, it has attained legal recognition as a religion.[20]

Church of Scientology
Scientology building in Los Angeles, California
FormationDecember 1953
FounderL. Ron Hubbard
HeadquartersGold Base
Location
Chairman of the Board RTC
David Miscavige
Websitescientology.org

The Church of Scientology International (CSI) is officially the "Mother Church", and is responsible for guiding the other Scientology centers.[21][22]: 270  Its international headquarters are located at the Gold Base in Riverside County, California.[23]: 275  The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) is the organization that owns all the copyrights of the estate of L. Ron Hubbard.[6]

All Scientology management organizations are controlled exclusively by members of the Sea Org, which is a legally nonexistent paramilitary organization for the "elite, innermost dedicated core of Scientologists".[6][24] David Miscavige is described by the Scientology organization as the highest-ranking Sea Org officer, and is referred to by the organization as its captain.

History

Main article: History of Dianetics and Scientology
 
L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology

The first Church of Scientology organization was incorporated in December 1953 in Camden, New Jersey by L. Ron Hubbard, his wife Mary Sue Hubbard, and John Galusha.[22]: 138  By that time, the Hubbard Association of Scientologists International (HASI) had already been operating since 1952 and Hubbard himself had already been selling Scientology books and technologies.[25][26] In 1953, he wrote to Helen O'Brien, who was managing the organization, asking her to investigate the "religion angle".[27]p. 213 Soon after, despite O'Brien's misgivings and resignation, he announced the religious nature of Scientology in a bulletin to all Scientologists,[28] stressing its relation to the concept of Dharma. The first Church of Scientology opened in 1954 in Los Angeles.[29]

Hubbard stated, "A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology."[30]: 56 [31] After the formation of the Church of Scientology, Hubbard composed what he called its "creed". The Scientology "creed" emphasizes three key points: being free to enjoy "religious expression", the idea that mental healing is inherently religious, and that healing of the physical body is in the spiritual domain.[15]: 66–67 

Hubbard had official control of the organization until 1966 when this function was transferred to a group of executives.[32] Although Hubbard maintained no formal relationship with Scientology's management, he remained firmly in control of the organization and its affiliated organizations.[33]

In May 1986, subsequent to the sudden death of L. Ron Hubbard, David Miscavige, who was at that time the Commanding Officer of the Commodore's Messenger Organisation, assumed the position of "chairman of the board" of the Religious Technology Center (RTC), a non-profit corporation that administers the trademarked names and symbols of Dianetics and Scientology. Although RTC is a separate corporation from the Church of Scientology International, whose president and chief spokesperson is Heber Jentzsch,[34]: 153  Miscavige is recognized as — and describes himself as — the leader of the Scientology organization.[35]

In 1996, the Church of Scientology implemented the "Golden Age of Tech" (tech pertaining to the entire body of Scientology religious techniques) releasing a training program for Scientology auditors, while precisely following Hubbard's teachings. It was followed by the launch of "The Golden Age of Knowledge" in 2005, where Hubbard's announcements of milestones in the research and development of Dianetics and Scientology were released. Between 2005 and 2010, the organization would complete its 25-year program to restore and verify the Scientology "scriptures". The organization released the second phase of the Golden Age of Tech in November 2013, based on the original work of Hubbard. The Super Power Rundown, a new component of auditing, was released in Clearwater, Florida.[36]

Hierarchy of organizations

The Church of Scientology network operates as a multinational conglomerate of companies with personnel, executives, organizational charts, chains of command, policies and orders:[37][38][15]

Today, what we call "Scientology" is in reality a remarkably complex network of ostensibly independent but clearly interconnected corporate entities. ... with a centralized bureaucracy and hierarchical structure. ... [Religious Technology Center] is the most powerful executive organization within the Scientology empire, and its current chairman, David Miscavige, is widely recognized as the effective head of the church.

— Hugh Urban [15]: 131-2 

The main types of organizations within the Scientology network are:

Service organizations

 
 
 
 
 
 
A mission, a Dianetics center, a life improvement center, a Class V org, an Ideal org, an advanced org

Church of Scientology organizations that are public-facing are called "service orgs".[39]: 476  The two main types of services offered to the public are auditing and auditor training. Auditing is the 'counseling', and training teaches how to audit. The levels of auditing and training are charted and described on The Bridge to Total Freedom.[40] All service organizations are separate corporate entities, are licensed as franchises, and pay a percentage of their gross revenues to International Management.[41]: 98  Hubbard's image and writing are ubiquitous in service orgs, and each maintains a corporate-style office set aside for Hubbard's reincarnation, with a plaque on the desk bearing his name, and a pad of paper with a pen for him to continue writing.[42][34]: 200 

Missions of Scientology
Business-wise, missions operate like franchises. They are independently owned by a "mission holder" and licensed to operate by the Church of Scientology. These offer beginning services to newcomers to Scientology, then push their clients to higher level service orgs.[39]: 334  Missions are managed by Scientology Missions International.
Scientology Life Improvement Centers and Dianetics Centers
These centers are operated by a local Church of Scientology and are small "store front" locations with the purpose of selling books and offering very basic services to get people interested in Scientology.
Central org, Class V org
This organization is what most people think of as "a Church of Scientology". It offers a full range of auditing and auditor training services up to the level of Clear on The Bridge to Total Freedom. They were called Class V orgs because the auditor training level up to Clear was called the "Class V auditor course".[43][40]
Ideal org
An Ideal Org A special class of Class V org where a new large building has been acquired, renovated, and outfitted to David Miscavige's "ideal org" standards.

Saint Hill org and Advanced org
A Saint Hill org is a type of service org which trains up through the Class VI course—the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course. Named after Saint Hill Manor. An Advanced org offers the advanced levels above Clear, including the OT levels I through V. Several organizations operate the function of a Saint Hill org coupled with an Advanced org in a single corporation, such as: East Grinstead, United Kingdom; Copenhagen, Denmark; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Sydney, Australia. Los Angeles, California has a separate Saint Hill org and an Advanced org.
Flag Service Org (FSO)
Also known as "Flag". Located in the Clearwater, Florida campus, audits specialty rundowns such as the Super Power Rundown and the L's rundowns. It is also the chief training organization for Class V org staff to train for their posts (these students are called "outer org trainees"). FSO also operates an Advanced org which offers the OT levels VI and VII, and trains Sea Org staff for the confidential upper levels to audit and supervise others on OT levels V-VIII.

Flag Ship Service Org (FSSO)
The name of the service org that operates aboard the Freewinds ship in the Caribbean. It offers the OT level VIII.

Management organizations

All Scientology management organizations are controlled exclusively by members of the Sea Org—which is not a corporation—consisting of the "elite, innermost dedicated core of Scientologists" run as a paramilitary organization.[6][24] David Miscavige is described by the Scientology organization as the highest-ranking Sea Org officer, and is referred to by the organization as its captain.

The Church of Scientology International (CSI) is officially the "Mother Church", and is responsible for guiding the other Scientology centers.[21][22]: 270 [15]: 172  Its international headquarters are located at the Gold Base.[23]: 275 

The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) is the organization that owns all the copyrights of the estate of L. Ron Hubbard.[6]

There are numerous other management organizations, including the Commodore's Messenger Organization, Watchdog Committee, Continental Liaison Offices, and the organizations that manage the dissemination and outreach activities.

In the 1950s and 1960s, management was operated from the Hubbard Association of Scientologists International (HASI), and from 1966 until the 1980s it was the Church of Scientology of California (CSC).

Sea Org

Main article: Sea Org

The Sea Organization (often simply referred to as the "Sea Org") was incorporated under the name Operational Transport Committee in the United Kingdom in 1966 for legal maritime registration purposes. The Sea Org is an unincorporated fraternal religious order founded in 1967 by Hubbard as he embarked on a series of voyages around the Mediterranean Sea in a small fleet of ships staffed by Scientologists and hired professional seamen. Hubbard—formerly a lieutenant junior grade in the US Navy—bestowed the rank of "commodore" of the vessels upon himself. The crew who accompanied him on these voyages became the foundation of the Sea Organization. The very first members of 'The Sea Project' (1966–67) were high-level trained staff and OTIII completions personally chosen by L. Ron Hubbard from Saint Hill Manor and overseas Scientology centers. The purpose was to establish an effective base of operations for the OTC research voyages to assist LRH to verify his discoveries and research into past-lives. Hubbard was also keen to see if he could recover any deposits of treasure that he believed that he had hidden in dozens of locations around the Mediterranean region. Teams of divers and metal-detectorists were dispatched to remote locations to dig for these alleged deposits. There is evidence of some success in locating identified targets, but only two probable eye-witness testimonies of any artifacts being recovered. One from under a temple complex on Sicily and another from an underwater temple at Carthage. Witnesses have claimed to have seen small craft unloading gold bullion onto the 'Athena' vessel and later seen in Hubbard's personal hold aboard the Apollo flagship in 1968 by staff members. (Sources: Mission Into Time and Source magazine. (Issue 9).

The Sea Org is described by the Scientology organization as forming an elite group of the most dedicated Scientologists, who are entrusted with the international management of the organization and "upper level" parts such as the Advanced Organization Los Angeles, American Saint Hill Organization, Flag Service Organization and Celebrity Center International. Sea Org members are also in charge of the upper levels of Operating Thetan (OT) training. The organization is known as the "monastic wing of Scientology".[44]

Scientologists who are qualified to do so are often encouraged to join the Sea Org, which involves a lifetime commitment to Scientology organizations in exchange for room and board, training and auditing, and a small weekly allowance. Members sign an agreement pledging their loyalty and allegiance to Scientology for "the next billion years", committing their future lifetimes to the Sea Org. The Sea Org's motto is "Revenimus" (or "We Come Back").

Critics of Scientology have spoken out against the disciplinary procedures and policies of the Sea Org, which have been a source of controversy since its inception and variously described as abusive and illegal. Former Sea Org members have stated that punishments in the late 1960s and early 1970s included confinement in hazardous conditions such as the ship's chain locker.[45]

In 1974, Hubbard established the Rehabilitation Project Force (or RPF), a forced labour and re-education program against reputedly delinquent members of the Sea Org,[46] which involves long days of hard labor, restricted food, and substandard living conditions.[47] Ex-members who were subjected to RPF have reported physical abuse and that members are prevented from leaving with threats and coercion.[47][48] It has included teenagers and children as young as twelve years old, and there are reports of child labor for considerably longer than eight hours a day and physical and sexual abuse of minors.[49][50][51] In one case, Jenna Miscavige Hill, niece of David Miscavige and author of Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape, has stated that as a child she often worked 14 hours a day and only got to see her parents once a week, and sometimes more seldom.[52]

Religious Technology Center (RTC)

See also: Religious Technology Center and Church of Spiritual Technology

The highest authority in the Church of Scientology network is Religious Technology Center (RTC). The RTC claims to only be the "holder of Scientology and Dianetics trademarks", but is in fact the main Scientology executive organization.[6] RTC chairman David Miscavige is widely seen as the effective head of Scientology.[6]

Religious Technology Center is the organization at the top of the Scientology hierarchy.[53]: 303  RTC was established in 1982, and controls the Dianetics and Scientology trademarks.[15]: 23  In 1987, David Miscavige took over control of RTC and is the head of RTC; officially Chairman of the Board, or COB.[53]: 122  RTC employs lawyers and has pursued individuals and groups who have legally attacked Scientology or who are deemed to be a legal threat to Scientology. This has included breakaway Scientologists who practice Scientology outside the central organization, and critics, as well as numerous government and media organizations.[22]: 284 [15]: 182–185 

Scientology Missions International

Main article: Scientology Missions International

Scientology Missions International is the management organization over the mission network. Missions are small Scientology organizations which recruit new people and deliver basic services and auditing. These were the feeder organizations which sent people into the main Scientology orgs. Previously called franchises and running semi-autonomously under the wing of the Guardian's Office, they were considered "Scientology's life blood" until David Miscavige and his International Finance Police gutted the network in the early 1980s. Missions were operated by a mission holder who paid 10% license fees to the Church of Scientology but kept the bulk of their income to themselves. The new policy was that missions paid a higher percentage to the new Scientology Missions International (SMI), established 1981, and anyone who objected was declared suppressive and their bank accounts seized. Hundreds of mission holders lost or closed their missions and in 1983 there were just forty missions left in the US. Until the 1990s, few people opened new missions and the push was directed towards celebrities to open missions: Kirstie Alley opened a mission in Wichita, Kansas in 1995, Isaac Hayes and Lisa Marie Presley opened one in Memphis in 1997, and Jenna Elfman opened one in San Francisco in 2001. According to the Church of Scientology, by 2002 there were 197 missions in the US, and by 2008 there were internationally 3,200 missions across 129 countries.[54][55][56][23]: 137–139, 159 [53]: 95–97, 157, 300  (Note: A Sea Org missionaire is unrelated to this network.)

Publishing and media organizations

Golden Era Productions

Main article: Gold Base

Golden Era Productions is a 500+ acre property in California also known as Gold Base, occupied by the Church of Scientology since 1979. It is where they make Scientology films, reproduce audio recordings of Hubbard's lectures, and assemble E-meters.[53]: 80–81 

Scientology Media Productions and Scientology Network

Main articles: Scientology Network and KCET Studios

In 2011, the Church of Scientology purchased KCET-TV's studio facilities.[57] After five years of renovations and upgrades, the 4.5-acre property was reopened in 2016 as "Scientology Media Productions".[58] The facilities included "three soundstages, postproduction tools, control rooms, music studios, mixing rooms, art departments, scene shops, radio booths, screening rooms, a magazine production space, a live-events hub" and 136,000 square feet of space.[59] In 2018, they launched the Scientology Network.[60]

Bridge Publications and New Era Publications

 
Print and distribution center, California

Bridge Publications, Inc. (incorporated 1981 in California) is the publisher for Scientology books and magazines in the United States, and New Era Publications International, Aps is the publisher in Europe.[61]: 211 

Past publications organizations include Distribution Center Inc. (Maryland 1955), Publications Organization United States (California 1971), and Scientology Publications Limited (UK 1991).[62][63]

As of 2023, the Bridge Publications print and distribution center, located at 5600 E Olympic Blvd, Commerce, California, occupies 185,000 square feet and prints the organization's magazines and other Scientology materials. The center's press has the capacity to print 55,000 pages per hour. The warehousing and shipping department is fully automated, with the capability of handling half a million items per week.[64][63]

There are several imprints from across the entire Scientology network which are printed at the main print center, including Effective Education Publishing, Freedom Publishing, and Galaxy Press.

Author Services Inc. and Galaxy Press

 
Author Services building
Main articles: Author Services Inc. and Galaxy Press

Author Services Inc. (ASI) represents the literary, theatrical and musical works of L. Ron Hubbard.[65] It is wholly owned by Church of Spiritual Technology.[66] Author Services runs the contests Writers of the Future and Illustrators of the Future. Galaxy Press is an imprint of Author Services, spun off from Bridge Publications in 2002. Author Services and Galaxy Press are located at 7051 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028.[67]

Dissemination organizations

There are many independently chartered organizations and groups which are staffed by Scientologists, and pay license fees for the use of Scientology technology and trademarks under the control of Scientology management. In some cases, these organizations do not publicize their affiliation with Scientology and operate as front groups.[68][69]

Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE)

Main article: Association for Better Living and Education

Founded in 1989, the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE) is an umbrella organization that administers six of Scientology's social programs:

Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR)

Main article: Citizens Commission on Human Rights

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights is an anti-psychiatry lobby organization whose stated mission is to "eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health."[70] It operates the Psychiatry: An Industry of Death exhibit which is open to the public in CCHR's building on Sunset Boulevard.[34]: 293  It has been described by critics as a Scientology front group.[71][72][73]

Volunteer Ministers

Main article: Volunteer Ministers

The Church of Scientology began its "Volunteer Ministers" program as a way to participate in community outreach projects. Volunteer Ministers travel to the scenes of major disasters to provide assistance with relief efforts. According to critics, these relief efforts consist of passing out copies of a pamphlet authored by Hubbard entitled The Way to Happiness, and engaging in a method said to calm panicked or injured individuals known in Scientology as a "touch assist". Accounts of the Volunteer Ministers' effectiveness have been mixed, and touch assists are not supported by scientific evidence.[74][75][76]

World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE)

Main article: World Institute of Scientology Enterprises

Many other Scientologist-run businesses and organizations belong to the umbrella organization World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE), which licenses the use of Hubbard's management doctrines, and circulates directories of WISE-affiliated businesses. WISE requires those who wish to become Hubbard management consults to complete training in Hubbard's administrative systems; this training can be undertaken at any Church of Scientology, or at one of the campuses of the Hubbard College of Administration, which offers an Associate of Applied Science Degree:

  • One of the best-known WISE-affiliated businesses is Sterling Management Systems, which offers Hubbard's management "technology" to professionals such as dentists and chiropractors.
  • Another well-known WISE-affiliated business is e.Republic, a publishing company based in Folsom, California.[77] e.Republic publications include Government Technology and Converge magazines. The Center for Digital Government is a division of e. Republic that was founded in 1999.
  • Internet ISP EarthLink was founded by Scientologists Sky Dayton and Reed Slatkin as a Scientology enterprise. The company now distances itself from the views of its founder, who moved on to become CEO of Helio (wireless carrier), formerly known as SK-EarthLink.

Front groups

This paragraph is an excerpt from Scientology front groups.[edit]
Scientology front groups are those groups named or operated in such a way as to disguise their association with the Church of Scientology (COS). COS uses front groups to promote its interests in politics, to make itself appear legitimate, and to recruit. The Times published, "[The church attracts] the unwary through a wide array of front groups in such businesses as publishing, consulting, health care and even remedial education." Many of the groups are founded on pseudoscience, named disingenuously, and underplay their links to Scientology.[78][79]

Bases and campuses

 
Locations of major Scientology centers in the United States and the United Kingdom: 1. Saint Hill Manor 2. Flag Land Base 3. PAC Base 4. Gold Base 5. Trementina Base 6. Flag ship, Freewinds

The church owns a staggering array of properties, from a college on 55 acres in England to a luxury cruise ship. The church often buys historic buildings and refurbishes them in grand fashion. —St. Petersburg Times, 2009 [80]

Saint Hill, England

Main article: Saint Hill Manor
 
 
Some of the Saint Hill campus

Hubbard moved to England shortly after founding Scientology, where he oversaw its worldwide development from an office in London for most of the 1950s. In 1959, he bought Saint Hill Manor, a Georgian manor house near the Sussex town of East Grinstead. During Hubbard's years at Saint Hill, he traveled extensively, providing lectures and training in Australia, South Africa in the United States, and developing materials that would eventually become Scientology's "core systematic theology and praxis".[81] While in Saint Hill, Hubbard worked with a staff of nineteen and urged others to join. On September 14, 1959, he wrote: "Here, on half a hundred acres of lovely grounds in a mansion where we have not yet found all the bedrooms, we are handling the problems of administration and service for the world of Scientology. We are not very many here and as the sun never sets on Scientology we are very busy thetans."[81]

The most important achievement of the Saint Hill period was Hubbard's execution of the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course (SHBC). It was delivered by Hubbard from March 1951 to December 1966 and, within the Church of Scientology, is considered the best training course for budding "auditors" in the organization. Scientology groups called "Saint Hill Organizations" located in Los Angeles, Clearwater (Florida), Copenhagen and Sydney still teach this course.[81]

This became the worldwide headquarters of Scientology through the 1960s and 1970s. Hubbard declared Saint Hill to be the organization by which all other organizations would be measured, and he issued a general order (still followed today) for all organizations around the world to expand and reach "Saint Hill size". The Church of Scientology has announced that the next two levels of Scientology teaching, OT IX and X, will be released and made available to the organization's members when all the major organizations in the world have reached Saint Hill size.[82]

Flag Land Base, Clearwater, Florida

Main articles: Fort Harrison Hotel and Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization
 
 
 
Some of the Flag Land Base buildings: Oak Cove, Clearwater Bank building, Flag building

The "worldwide spiritual headquarters" of the Church of Scientology is known as Flag Land Base, located in Clearwater, Florida. It is operated by Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, Inc., a Florida corporation.

The organization was founded in 1975 when a Scientology-founded group called "Southern Land Development and Leasing Corp" purchased the Fort Harrison Hotel for $2.3 million. Because the reported tenant was the "United Churches of Florida" the citizens and City Council of Clearwater did not realize that the building's owners were actually the Church of Scientology until after the building's purchase. Clearwater citizens' groups, headed by Mayor Gabriel Cazares, rallied strongly against Scientology establishing a base in the city (repeatedly referring to the organization as a cult), but Flag Base was established nonetheless.[83]

In the years since its foundation, the Flag Land Base has expanded as the Church of Scientology has gradually purchased large amounts of additional property in the downtown and waterfront Clearwater area. Scientology's largest project in Clearwater has been the construction of a high-rise complex called the "Super Power Building", or Flag Building, which "is the centerpiece of a 160-million construction campaign."[84]

The Church of Scientology's CST chairman of the board, David Miscavige, led the opening and dedication of the 377,000-square-foot Flag Building on November 17, 2013. The multi-million cathedral is the new spiritual headquarters of Scientology. The fifth and sixth floor contain the "Super Power Program", which includes specially designed machines that Scientologists believe allow users to develop new abilities and experience enlightenment. The building also includes a dining facility, course rooms, offices and small rooms for "auditing" purposes.[85][86][87]

PAC Base and Hollywood, California

 
 
 
 
 
Los Angeles Org, Celebrity Centre, Hollywood Guaranty Building, Hollywood Scientology Center, "Big Blue"

Los Angeles, California, has the largest concentration of Scientologists and Scientology-related organizations in the world, with the Church of Scientology's most visible presence being in the Hollywood district of the city.[88] The organization owns a former hospital on Fountain Avenue which houses Scientology's West Coast headquarters,[89] the Pacific Area Command Base – often referred to as "PAC Base" or "Big Blue", after its blue paint job. Adjacent buildings include headquarters of several internal Scientology divisions,[89] including the American Saint Hill Organization, the Advanced Organization of Los Angeles, and the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles. All these organizations are integrated within the corporation Church of Scientology Western United States.

The Church of Scientology successfully campaigned to have the city of Los Angeles rename one block of a street running through their complex "L. Ron Hubbard Way". The street has been paved in brick.[90]

Scientology's Celebrity Center International is located on Franklin Avenue, while the Association for Better Living and Education, Author Services and the official headquarters of the Church of Scientology International (in the Hollywood Guaranty Building) are all located on Hollywood Boulevard. The ground floor of the Guaranty Building also features the L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition, a museum detailing his life that is open to the general public. The Celebrity Centre was acquired by the organization as the Chateau Elysee in 1973, built to accommodate members in the arts, sports and government.[91]

Gold Base, Riverside County, California

Main article: Gold Base
 
Gold Base aerial view from west

The headquarters of the Religious Technology Center, the entity that oversees Scientology operations worldwide, is located in unincorporated Riverside County, California, near the city of San Jacinto. The facility, known as Gold Base or "Int", is owned by Golden Era Productions and is the home of Scientology's media production studio, Golden Era Studios. Several Scientology executives, including David Miscavige, live and work at the base.[92] Therefore, Gold Base is Scientology's international administrative headquarters.[93][94][95][96]

The Church of Scientology bought the former Gilman Hot Springs resort, which had been popular with Hollywood figures, in 1978; the resort became Gold Base.[96] The facilities are surrounded by floodlights and video observation cameras,[92][97][98][99] and the compound is protected by razor wire.[100]

Trementina Base, New Mexico

 
Trementina Base
Main article: Trementina Base

The Church of Scientology maintains a large base on the outskirts of Trementina, New Mexico, for the purpose of storing their archiving project: engraving Hubbard's writings on stainless steel tablets and encasing them in titanium capsules underground. An aerial photograph showing the base's enormous Church of Spiritual Technology symbols on the ground caused media interest and a local TV station broke the story in November 2005. According to a report in The Washington Post, the organization unsuccessfully attempted to coerce the station not to air the story.[101]

Membership statistics

It is difficult to obtain reliable membership statistics. In the US, the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey found that there were 25,000 Scientologists in the US. Some of these were not considered to be members of the organization.[102][103][104][105] A 2008 Trinity College survey similarly concluded there were 25,000 Scientologists.[106] The International Association of Scientologists (IAS), the official Church of Scientology membership system since 1984, has never released figures.[34]: ix  The organization's spokespersons either give numbers for their countries or a worldwide figure.[107]

The organization has said that it has eight to fifteen million members worldwide, but this figure is known to be an aggrandizing fabrication.[108][109][110][111][112][113][114][115] Religious scholar J. Gordon Melton has said that the organization's estimates of its membership numbers are exaggerated: "You're talking about anyone who ever bought a Scientology book or took a basic course. Ninety-nine percent of them don't ever darken the door of the church again." Melton has stated that if the claimed figure of 4 million American Scientologists were correct, "they would be like the Lutherans and would show up on a national survey".[116]

Statistics from other sources:

  • In 2001, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) reported that there were 55,000 adults in the United States who consider themselves Scientologists.[117] A 2008 survey of American religious affiliations by the US Census Bureau estimated there to be 25,000 Americans identifying as Scientologists.[118][119]
  • The 2001 United Kingdom census contained a voluntary question on religion, to which approximately 48,000,000 chose to respond. Of those living in England and Wales who responded, a total of 1,781 said they were Scientologists.[120]
  • In 2011, Statistics Canada, the national census agency, reported a total of 1,745 Scientologists nationwide,[121] up from 1,525 in 2001[120] and 1,220 in 1991.[122]
  • In 2005, the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution estimated a total of 5,000 – 6,000 Scientologists in that country, and mentioned a count of 12,000 according to Scientology Germany.[123]
  • In the 2006 New Zealand census, 357 people identified themselves as Scientologists, although a spokesperson for the organization said there were between 5,000 and 6,000 Scientologists in the country.[124] Earlier census figures were 207 in the 1991 census, 219 in 1996, and 282 in 2001.[120]
  • In 2006, Australia's national census recorded 2,507 Scientologists nationwide, up from 1,488 in 1996, and 2,032 in 2001.[120][125] The 2011 census however found a decrease of 13.7 percent from the 2006 census.[126]
  • In 2011, SonntagsZeitung reported that support for Scientology in Switzerland had experienced a steady decline from 3,000 registered members in 1990 to 1,000 members and the organization was said to be facing extinction in the country. A Church of Scientology spokesperson rejected the figures claiming that the organization had 5,000 "passive and active members in Switzerland".[127]
  • In 2011, the "Scientology Association of Finland" had approximately 120 members.[128]

Finances

See also: Scientology Finance and Tax status of Scientology in the United States

In 2008, the Church of Scientology and its large network of corporations, nonprofits and other legal entities were estimated to bring in around 500 million US dollars in annual revenue.[129]

Scientologists can attend classes, exercises or counseling sessions for a set range of "fixed donations"; however, membership without courses or auditing is possible. According to a sociological report entitled "Scientology: To Be Perfectly Clear", progression between levels above "clear" status cost $15,760.03 in 1980 (equivalent to $55,975 in 2022; this cost does not include additional special treatments).[130][clarification needed] Scientologists can choose to be audited by a fellow Scientologist rather than by a staff member.[131]

Critics say it is improper to fix a donation for religious service; therefore the activity is non-religious. Scientology points out many classes, exercises and counseling may also be traded for "in kind" or performed cooperatively by students for no cost, and members of its most devoted orders can make use of services without any donations bar that of their time. A central tenet of Scientology is its Doctrine of Exchange, which dictates that each time a person receives something, he or she must give something back. By doing so, a Scientologist maintains "inflow" and "outflow", avoiding spiritual decline.[132]

Ideal Orgs

Starting in 2003 Miscavige began pressuring local Churches of Scientology to purchase larger facilities to use as Scientology centers which would be renovated to become "Ideal Orgs".[133] The theory was "If you build it they will come."[23]: 348  This push has included the acquisition of many historic buildings, a plan which professor of religious studies Hugh Urban believes has been pursued to imbue the Church with historical significance and distract from its controversies.[91] For renovations of these buildings, the Church of Scientology has relied heavily on manual labor from Sea Org members in the organization's Rehabilitation Project Force.[91]

As of 2018, the Church of Scientology claims it had purchased 70 buildings and opened 60 Ideal Orgs around the globe.[134][135]

With its membership numbers dwindling, Scientology's ideal org campaign has been called "a real estate scam", a "money-making scam", and "Scientology's principle cash cow".[134][23]: 347  Scientologists were heavily pressured during lengthy fundraising sessions to donate all their money and even open new credit lines to help fund the several million dollar building purchases. This resulted in less money to spend on normal services like training and auditing, so the new orgs became desolate. Staff pay, which is dependent upon weekly org income, was often reduced to a few dollars a week.[133][134] A 2010 survey of former Scientologists by former Church of Scientology executive Mike Rinder found that the most cited reason for leaving the Church was the unrelenting pressure to donate to programs such as the Ideal Org program.[23]: 349 

Some of the buildings purchased for Ideal Orgs remained vacant and unrenovated for years. For example, in the UK, delayed Ideal Orgs included Birmingham (purchased in 2007 and finally opened in 2017),[136][137] Gateshead (purchased 2007),[138] Manchester (purchased 2006),[138][139] and Plymouth (purchased 2009).[140] The delays prompted calls from locals for a compulsory purchase of the historically significant buildings, which had remained largely vacant and undeveloped since their purchase.[141]

Celebrities

Further information: Scientology and celebrities

In order to facilitate the continued expansion of Scientology, the organization has made efforts to win allies in the form of powerful or respected people.[142] Scientology has had a written program governing celebrity recruitment since at least 1955, when L. Ron Hubbard created "Project Celebrity", offering rewards to Scientologists who recruited targeted celebrities, and another church document pointed to the importance of "using Scientology celebrities to mold the opinions of their publics."[15]: 139–141  According to Robert Vaughn Young, "one of my jobs was to get celebrities active, to convince them to hustle and promote Scientology."[143]

The Church of Scientology operates Celebrity Centres for the use of artists, politicians, leaders of industry, sports figures, and other prominent individuals.[144]

Government opinions of Scientology

Main article: Scientology status by country

While some governments now give the Church of Scientology protections and tax relief,[145][146] other sources describe the organization as a pseudoreligion or a cult.[147] Sociologist Stephen Kent published at a Lutheran convention in Germany that he likes to call it a transnational corporation.[148]

Early official reports in countries such as the United Kingdom (1971), South Africa (1972), Australia (1965) and New Zealand (1969) have yielded unfavorable observations and conclusions.[149][150][3][151]

Controversy

Main article: Scientology controversies

Though it has attained some credibility as a religion in many countries, Scientology has also been described as both a cult and a commercial enterprise.[1] Some of the organization's actions also brought scrutiny from the press and law enforcement. For example, it has been noted to engage in harassment and abuse of civil courts to silence its critics, by identifying as fair game people it perceives as its enemies.[152][153]

In 1979, several Scientology members were convicted for their involvement in the organization's Operation Snow White, the largest theft of government documents in U.S. history.[154][155] Scientologists were also convicted of fraud, manslaughter and tampering with witnesses in French cases,[156][157] malicious libel against lawyer Casey Hill and espionage in Canada.[158][159]

In his book World Religions in America, religious scholar Jacob Neusner states that Scientology's "high level of visibility" may be perceived as "threatening to established social institutions".[160]

The film Going Clear, based on the book by the same name,[34] also documents controversies surrounding the organization and its treatment of former members.[161][162]

Criticism has also come from within the Church. Marty Rathbun, the former inspector general of the Religious Technology, has spoken out against church activities. He has called for a "Scientology Reformation" to eliminate corruption and bring back the original teachings of L. Ron Hubbard.[163]

Classification

From 1952 until 1966, Scientology was administered by an organization called the Hubbard Association of Scientologists (HAS), established in Arizona on September 10, 1952. In 1954, the HAS became the HASI (HAS International). The Church of Scientology was incorporated in California on February 18, 1954, changing its name to "The Church of Scientology of California" (CSC) in 1956. In 1966, Hubbard transferred all HASI assets to CSC, thus gathering Scientology under one tax-exempt roof. In 1967, the IRS stripped all US-based Scientology entities of their tax exemption, declaring the organization's activities were commercial and operated for the benefit of Hubbard. Controversy followed the organization in those years, but its growth continued in the 1960s. New facilities were formed in Paris (1959), Denmark (1968), Sweden (1969), and Germany (1970). In the 1970s the religion spread through Europe: in Austria (1971), Holland (1972), Italy (1978), and Switzerland (1978). Centers of Scientology were in 52 countries by the time the 80s came in and grew to 74 by 1992.[164] The organization sued and lost repeatedly for 26 years trying to regain its tax-exempt status. The case was eventually settled in 1993, at which time the organization paid $12.5 million to the IRS—greatly less than IRS had initially demanded—and the IRS recognized the organization as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.[165] In addition, Scientology also dropped more than fifty lawsuits against the IRS when this settlement was reached. Scientology cites its tax exemption as proof the United States government accepts it as a religion.[166] In January 2009, removal of the tax exemption was rated as number 9 in items for the incoming Barack Obama administration to investigate, as determined in an internet poll run by the presidential transition team soliciting public input for the incoming administration.[167] The U.S. State Department has criticized Western European nations for discrimination against Scientologists in its published annual International Religious Freedom report, based on the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.[168][169][170]

In some countries Scientology is treated legally as a commercial enterprise, and not as a religion or charitable organization.[citation needed] In early 2003, in Germany, The Church of Scientology was granted a tax-exemption for the 10% license fees sent to the US. This exemption, however, is related to a German-American double-taxation agreement, and is unrelated to tax-exemption in the context of charities law. In several countries, public proselytizing undergoes the same restrictions as commercial advertising,[citation needed] which is interpreted as persecution by Scientology.

Unlike many well-established religious organizations, Scientology maintains strict control over its names, symbols, religious works and other writings. The word Scientology (and many related terms, including L. Ron Hubbard) is a registered trademark. Religious Technology Center, the owner of the trademarks and copyrights, takes a hard line on people and groups who attempt to use it in ways unaffiliated with the Church of Scientology (see Scientology and the legal system).

Illegal activities

Main articles: Operation Snow White, Operation Freakout, Scientology controversies, and Fair game (Scientology)

L. Ron Hubbard appointed Mary Sue Hubbard to take control of certain aspects of legal protection for the organization in 1968, and the Office of The Guardian was created with its head office situated at Saint Hill Manor. Under The Guardian's Office (later renamed the Office of Special Affairs or OSA), organization members and contracted staff from Bureau One: Should be defined here  later organized and committed one of the largest penetrations of United States federal agencies ever perpetrated by an organization not affiliated with a foreign government (that is, one such as the KGB). This operation was named Operation Snow White by Hubbard.[155] In the trial which followed the discovery of these activities the prosecution described their actions as such:

The crime committed by these defendants is of a breadth and scope previously unheard of. No building, office, desk, or file was safe from their snooping and prying. No individual or organization was free from their despicable conspiratorial minds. The tools of their trade were miniature transmitters, lock picks, secret codes, forged credentials and any other device they found necessary to carry out their conspiratorial schemes.[155]

The organization has also in the past made use of aggressive tactics in addressing those it sees as trying to suppress them, known as Suppressive Persons (SPs) first outlined by Hubbard as part of a policy called fair game. It was under this policy that Paulette Cooper was targeted for having authored The Scandal of Scientology, a 1970 exposé book about the organization and its founder. This action was known as Operation Freakout. Using blank paper known to have been handled by Cooper, Scientologists forged bomb threats in her name.[155] When fingerprints on them matched hers, the Justice Department began prosecution, which could have sent Cooper to prison for a lengthy term. The organization's plan was discovered at the same time as its Operation Snow White actions were revealed. All charges against Cooper were dismissed, though she had spent more than $20,000 on legal fees for her defense.[155]

On January 22, 2013, attorneys for the organization, as well as some of its members, reacted toward the CNN News Group for its airing of a story covering the release of a book published by a former member, entitled 'Going Clear', published earlier the same year. CNN News Group then chose to publish the reactionary correspondence, with confidential information redacted, on its web site.

According to a 1990 Los Angeles Times article, in the 1980s the Los Angeles branch largely switched from using the organization's members in harassment campaigns to using private investigators, including former and current Los Angeles police officers. The reason seemed to be that this gave the organization a layer of protection.[171]

The Scientology organization has continued to aggressively target people it deems suppressive. In 1998, regarding its announcement that it had hired a private investigator to look into the background of a Boston Herald writer who had written a series on the organization, Robert W. Thornburg, dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University, said, "No one I know goes so far as to hire outsiders to harass or try to get intimidating data on critics. Scientology is the only crowd that does that."[172] It has apparently continued as recently as 2010. In 2007, when BBC journalist John Sweeney was making Scientology and Me, an investigative report about the organization, he was subjected to harassment:

In LA, the moment our hire car left the airport we realised we were being followed by two cars. In our hotel a weird stranger spent every breakfast listening to us.[173]

Sweeney subsequently made a follow-up documentary, The Secrets of Scientology, in 2010 during which he was followed and filmed on multiple occasions and one of his interviewees was followed back to his home.[174]

Members' health and safety

See also: Lisa McPherson and Elli Perkins

Some key activities of the Church of Scientology are dangerous, and the deaths of some Scientologists have brought attention to the organization, both due to the circumstances of their demises and their relationship with Scientology being a factor.[175] In 1995, Lisa McPherson was involved in a minor automobile accident while driving on a Clearwater, Florida, street. Following the collision, she exited her vehicle, stripped naked and showed further signs of mental instability, as noted by a nearby ambulance crew that subsequently transported her to a nearby hospital. Hospital staff decided that she had not been injured in the accident, but recommended keeping her overnight for observation. Following intervention by fellow Scientologists, McPherson refused psychiatric observation or admission at the hospital and checked herself out against medical advice after a short evaluation. She was taken to the Fort Harrison Hotel, a Scientology retreat, to receive a treatment sanctioned by the organization called Introspection Rundown. She had previously received the Introspection Rundown in June of that year. She was locked in a room for 17 days, where she died. Her appearance after death was that of someone who had been denied water and food for quite some time, being both underweight and severely dehydrated. Additionally, her skin was covered with over one hundred insect bites, presumably from cockroaches. The state of Florida pursued criminal charges against the Church of Scientology. The organization has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and now makes members sign a waiver before Introspection Rundown specifically stating that they (or anyone on their behalf) will not bring any legal action against the organization over injury or death.[176] These charges attracted press coverage and sparked lawsuits. Eight years later, Elli Perkins, another adherent to Scientology's beliefs regarding psychiatry, was stabbed to death by her mentally disturbed son. Though Elli Perkins's son had begun to show symptoms of schizophrenia as early as 2001, the Perkins family chose not to seek psychiatric help for him and opted instead for alternative remedies sanctioned by Scientology. The death of Elli Perkins at the hands of a disturbed family member, one whose disease could have been treated by methods and medications banned by Scientology, again raised questions in the media about the organization's methods.[177]

In addition, the organization has been implicated in kidnapping members who have recently left the organization. In 2007, Martine Boublil was kidnapped and held for several weeks against her will in Sardinia by four Scientologists. She was found on January 22, 2008, clothed only in a shirt. The room she was imprisoned in contained refuse and an insect infested mattress.[178][179]

On Friday March 28, 2008, Kaja Bordevich Ballo, daughter of Olav Gunnar Ballo, Norwegian parliament member and vice president of the Norwegian Odelsting, took a Church of Scientology personality test while studying in Nice. Her friends and co-inhabitants claim she was in good spirits and showed no signs of a mental breakdown, but the report from the organization said she was "depressed, irresponsible, hyper-critical and lacking in harmony". A few hours later she committed suicide by jumping from her balcony at her dorm room leaving a note telling her family she was sorry for not "being good for anything". The incident has brought forward heavy criticism of the organization from friends, family and prominent Norwegian politicians.[180] Inga Marte Thorkildsen, parliament member, went as far as to say "Everything points to the Scientology cult having played a direct role in making Kaja choose to take her own life".[180]

Dissemination and recruiting practices

 
A Scientologist administers a stress test using an e-meter.

Members of the public entering a Scientology center or mission are offered a "free personality test" called the Oxford Capacity Analysis by Scientology literature. The test, despite its name and the claims of Scientology literature, has no connection to Oxford University or any other research body. Scientific research into three test results came to the conclusion that "we are forced to a position of skepticism about the test's status as a reliable psychometric device" and called its scientific value "negligible".[181]

Further recruitment practices — called dissemination in Scientology – include information booths, flyers and advertisement for free seminars and Sunday Services in regular newspapers and magazines, personal contacts, sales of books, and acting classes.[182][183][184][23]: ix, 71 

Legal waivers

See also: Introspection Rundown

Recent legal actions involving Scientology's relationship with its members (see Scientology controversy) have caused the organization to publish extensive legal documents that cover the rights granted to followers. It has become standard practice within the organization for members to sign lengthy legal contracts and waivers before engaging in Scientology services, a practice that contrasts greatly with almost every mainstream religious organization. In 2003, a series of media reports examined the legal contracts required by Scientology, which state, among other things, that followers deny any psychiatric care their doctors may prescribe to them:[185]

I do not believe in or subscribe to psychiatric labels for individuals. It is my strongly held religious belief that all mental problems are spiritual in nature and that there is no such thing as a mentally incompetent person—only those suffering from spiritual upset of one kind or another dramatized by an individual. I reject all psychiatric labels and intend for this Contract to clearly memorialize my desire to be helped exclusively through religious, spiritual means and not through any form of psychiatric treatment, specifically including involuntary commitment based on so-called lack of competence. Under no circumstances, at any time, do I wish to be denied my right to care from members of my religion to the exclusion of psychiatric care or psychiatric directed care, regardless of what any psychiatrist, medical person, designated member of the state or family member may assert supposedly on my behalf.

Licensing

The Church of Scientology denies the legitimacy of any splinter groups and factions outside the official organization, and has tried to prevent independent Scientologists from using officially trademarked Scientology materials. Independent Scientologists, also known collectively as the "Free Zone" are referred to as squirrels within the organization. They are also classified by the Church of Scientology as suppressive persons ("SPs")—opponents or enemies of Scientology. Hubbard himself stated in Ron's Journal '67 "That there were only seven or eight Suppressive Persons on the planet".

In 2010, an exception to the rule was made specifically for the Nation of Islam, which is the only officially sanctioned external Dianetics organization and the first official non-Scientology Dianetics org since 1953. Minister Louis Farrakhan publicly announced his embracement of Dianetics, and has been actively promoting Dianetics, while stating he has not become a Scientologist. He has courted a relationship with the Church of Scientology, and materials and certifications are still required to be purchased from the organization, and are not independently produced.[186][187][188]

See also

References

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Works cited

External links

  • Official website
  • Church of Scientology companies grouped at OpenCorporates
  • Satellite Image of the Gold Base

March 17, 2024
church, scientology, this, article, about, institution, behind, scientology, ideology, itself, scientology, group, interconnected, corporate, entities, other, organizations, devoted, practice, administration, dissemination, scientology, which, variously, defin. This article is about the institution behind Scientology For the ideology itself see Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice administration and dissemination of Scientology which is variously defined as a cult a business or a new religious movement 7 The movement has been the subject of a number of controversies and the Church of Scientology has been described by government inquiries international parliamentary bodies scholars law lords and numerous superior court judgements as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit making business 13 In 1979 several executives of the organization were convicted and imprisoned for multiple offenses by a U S Federal Court 14 15 168 The Church of Scientology itself was convicted of fraud by a French court in 2009 a decision upheld by the supreme Court of Cassation in 2013 16 The German government classifies Scientology as an unconstitutional sect 17 18 In France it has been classified as a dangerous cult 19 In some countries it has attained legal recognition as a religion 20 Church of ScientologyScientology building in Los Angeles CaliforniaFormationDecember 1953FounderL Ron HubbardHeadquartersGold BaseLocationRiverside County CaliforniaChairman of the Board RTCDavid MiscavigeWebsitescientology wbr orgThe Church of Scientology International CSI is officially the Mother Church and is responsible for guiding the other Scientology centers 21 22 270 Its international headquarters are located at the Gold Base in Riverside County California 23 275 The Church of Spiritual Technology CST is the organization that owns all the copyrights of the estate of L Ron Hubbard 6 All Scientology management organizations are controlled exclusively by members of the Sea Org which is a legally nonexistent paramilitary organization for the elite innermost dedicated core of Scientologists 6 24 David Miscavige is described by the Scientology organization as the highest ranking Sea Org officer and is referred to by the organization as its captain Contents 1 History 2 Hierarchy of organizations 3 Service organizations 4 Management organizations 4 1 Sea Org 4 2 Religious Technology Center RTC 4 3 Scientology Missions International 5 Publishing and media organizations 5 1 Golden Era Productions 5 2 Scientology Media Productions and Scientology Network 5 3 Bridge Publications and New Era Publications 5 4 Author Services Inc and Galaxy Press 6 Dissemination organizations 6 1 Association for Better Living and Education ABLE 6 2 Citizens Commission on Human Rights CCHR 6 3 Volunteer Ministers 6 4 World Institute of Scientology Enterprises WISE 6 5 Front groups 7 Bases and campuses 7 1 Saint Hill England 7 2 Flag Land Base Clearwater Florida 7 3 PAC Base and Hollywood California 7 4 Gold Base Riverside County California 7 5 Trementina Base New Mexico 8 Membership statistics 9 Finances 10 Ideal Orgs 11 Celebrities 12 Government opinions of Scientology 13 Controversy 13 1 Classification 13 2 Illegal activities 13 3 Members health and safety 13 4 Dissemination and recruiting practices 13 5 Legal waivers 14 Licensing 15 See also 16 References 16 1 Works cited 17 External linksHistoryMain article History of Dianetics and Scientology nbsp L Ron Hubbard founder of the Church of ScientologyThe first Church of Scientology organization was incorporated in December 1953 in Camden New Jersey by L Ron Hubbard his wife Mary Sue Hubbard and John Galusha 22 138 By that time the Hubbard Association of Scientologists International HASI had already been operating since 1952 and Hubbard himself had already been selling Scientology books and technologies 25 26 In 1953 he wrote to Helen O Brien who was managing the organization asking her to investigate the religion angle 27 p 213 Soon after despite O Brien s misgivings and resignation he announced the religious nature of Scientology in a bulletin to all Scientologists 28 stressing its relation to the concept of Dharma The first Church of Scientology opened in 1954 in Los Angeles 29 Hubbard stated A civilization without insanity without criminals and without war where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights and where man is free to rise to greater heights are the aims of Scientology 30 56 31 After the formation of the Church of Scientology Hubbard composed what he called its creed The Scientology creed emphasizes three key points being free to enjoy religious expression the idea that mental healing is inherently religious and that healing of the physical body is in the spiritual domain 15 66 67 Hubbard had official control of the organization until 1966 when this function was transferred to a group of executives 32 Although Hubbard maintained no formal relationship with Scientology s management he remained firmly in control of the organization and its affiliated organizations 33 In May 1986 subsequent to the sudden death of L Ron Hubbard David Miscavige who was at that time the Commanding Officer of the Commodore s Messenger Organisation assumed the position of chairman of the board of the Religious Technology Center RTC a non profit corporation that administers the trademarked names and symbols of Dianetics and Scientology Although RTC is a separate corporation from the Church of Scientology International whose president and chief spokesperson is Heber Jentzsch 34 153 Miscavige is recognized as and describes himself as the leader of the Scientology organization 35 In 1996 the Church of Scientology implemented the Golden Age of Tech tech pertaining to the entire body of Scientology religious techniques releasing a training program for Scientology auditors while precisely following Hubbard s teachings It was followed by the launch of The Golden Age of Knowledge in 2005 where Hubbard s announcements of milestones in the research and development of Dianetics and Scientology were released Between 2005 and 2010 the organization would complete its 25 year program to restore and verify the Scientology scriptures The organization released the second phase of the Golden Age of Tech in November 2013 based on the original work of Hubbard The Super Power Rundown a new component of auditing was released in Clearwater Florida 36 Hierarchy of organizationsThe Church of Scientology network operates as a multinational conglomerate of companies with personnel executives organizational charts chains of command policies and orders 37 38 15 Today what we call Scientology is in reality a remarkably complex network of ostensibly independent but clearly interconnected corporate entities with a centralized bureaucracy and hierarchical structure Religious Technology Center is the most powerful executive organization within the Scientology empire and its current chairman David Miscavige is widely recognized as the effective head of the church Hugh Urban 15 131 2 The main types of organizations within the Scientology network are Service organizations are the public facing organizations Management organizations Publishing and media organizations Dissemination organizations such as marketing and outreach Service organizations nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp A mission a Dianetics center a life improvement center a Class V org an Ideal org an advanced org Church of Scientology organizations that are public facing are called service orgs 39 476 The two main types of services offered to the public are auditing and auditor training Auditing is the counseling and training teaches how to audit The levels of auditing and training are charted and described on The Bridge to Total Freedom 40 All service organizations are separate corporate entities are licensed as franchises and pay a percentage of their gross revenues to International Management 41 98 Hubbard s image and writing are ubiquitous in service orgs and each maintains a corporate style office set aside for Hubbard s reincarnation with a plaque on the desk bearing his name and a pad of paper with a pen for him to continue writing 42 34 200 Missions of Scientology Business wise missions operate like franchises They are independently owned by a mission holder and licensed to operate by the Church of Scientology These offer beginning services to newcomers to Scientology then push their clients to higher level service orgs 39 334 Missions are managed by Scientology Missions International Scientology Life Improvement Centers and Dianetics Centers These centers are operated by a local Church of Scientology and are small store front locations with the purpose of selling books and offering very basic services to get people interested in Scientology Central org Class V org This organization is what most people think of as a Church of Scientology It offers a full range of auditing and auditor training services up to the level of Clear on The Bridge to Total Freedom They were called Class V orgs because the auditor training level up to Clear was called the Class V auditor course 43 40 Ideal org An Ideal Org A special class of Class V org where a new large building has been acquired renovated and outfitted to David Miscavige s ideal org standards Saint Hill org and Advanced org A Saint Hill org is a type of service org which trains up through the Class VI course the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course Named after Saint Hill Manor An Advanced org offers the advanced levels above Clear including the OT levels I through V Several organizations operate the function of a Saint Hill org coupled with an Advanced org in a single corporation such as East Grinstead United Kingdom Copenhagen Denmark Johannesburg South Africa and Sydney Australia Los Angeles California has a separate Saint Hill org and an Advanced org Flag Service Org FSO Also known as Flag Located in the Clearwater Florida campus audits specialty rundowns such as the Super Power Rundown and the L s rundowns It is also the chief training organization for Class V org staff to train for their posts these students are called outer org trainees FSO also operates an Advanced org which offers the OT levels VI and VII and trains Sea Org staff for the confidential upper levels to audit and supervise others on OT levels V VIII Flag Ship Service Org FSSO The name of the service org that operates aboard the Freewinds ship in the Caribbean It offers the OT level VIII Management organizationsAll Scientology management organizations are controlled exclusively by members of the Sea Org which is not a corporation consisting of the elite innermost dedicated core of Scientologists run as a paramilitary organization 6 24 David Miscavige is described by the Scientology organization as the highest ranking Sea Org officer and is referred to by the organization as its captain The Church of Scientology International CSI is officially the Mother Church and is responsible for guiding the other Scientology centers 21 22 270 15 172 Its international headquarters are located at the Gold Base 23 275 The Church of Spiritual Technology CST is the organization that owns all the copyrights of the estate of L Ron Hubbard 6 There are numerous other management organizations including the Commodore s Messenger Organization Watchdog Committee Continental Liaison Offices and the organizations that manage the dissemination and outreach activities In the 1950s and 1960s management was operated from the Hubbard Association of Scientologists International HASI and from 1966 until the 1980s it was the Church of Scientology of California CSC Sea Org Main article Sea Org The Sea Organization often simply referred to as the Sea Org was incorporated under the name Operational Transport Committee in the United Kingdom in 1966 for legal maritime registration purposes The Sea Org is an unincorporated fraternal religious order founded in 1967 by Hubbard as he embarked on a series of voyages around the Mediterranean Sea in a small fleet of ships staffed by Scientologists and hired professional seamen Hubbard formerly a lieutenant junior grade in the US Navy bestowed the rank of commodore of the vessels upon himself The crew who accompanied him on these voyages became the foundation of the Sea Organization The very first members of The Sea Project 1966 67 were high level trained staff and OTIII completions personally chosen by L Ron Hubbard from Saint Hill Manor and overseas Scientology centers The purpose was to establish an effective base of operations for the OTC research voyages to assist LRH to verify his discoveries and research into past lives Hubbard was also keen to see if he could recover any deposits of treasure that he believed that he had hidden in dozens of locations around the Mediterranean region Teams of divers and metal detectorists were dispatched to remote locations to dig for these alleged deposits There is evidence of some success in locating identified targets but only two probable eye witness testimonies of any artifacts being recovered One from under a temple complex on Sicily and another from an underwater temple at Carthage Witnesses have claimed to have seen small craft unloading gold bullion onto the Athena vessel and later seen in Hubbard s personal hold aboard the Apollo flagship in 1968 by staff members Sources Mission Into Time and Source magazine Issue 9 The Sea Org is described by the Scientology organization as forming an elite group of the most dedicated Scientologists who are entrusted with the international management of the organization and upper level parts such as the Advanced Organization Los Angeles American Saint Hill Organization Flag Service Organization and Celebrity Center International Sea Org members are also in charge of the upper levels of Operating Thetan OT training The organization is known as the monastic wing of Scientology 44 Scientologists who are qualified to do so are often encouraged to join the Sea Org which involves a lifetime commitment to Scientology organizations in exchange for room and board training and auditing and a small weekly allowance Members sign an agreement pledging their loyalty and allegiance to Scientology for the next billion years committing their future lifetimes to the Sea Org The Sea Org s motto is Revenimus or We Come Back Critics of Scientology have spoken out against the disciplinary procedures and policies of the Sea Org which have been a source of controversy since its inception and variously described as abusive and illegal Former Sea Org members have stated that punishments in the late 1960s and early 1970s included confinement in hazardous conditions such as the ship s chain locker 45 In 1974 Hubbard established the Rehabilitation Project Force or RPF a forced labour and re education program against reputedly delinquent members of the Sea Org 46 which involves long days of hard labor restricted food and substandard living conditions 47 Ex members who were subjected to RPF have reported physical abuse and that members are prevented from leaving with threats and coercion 47 48 It has included teenagers and children as young as twelve years old and there are reports of child labor for considerably longer than eight hours a day and physical and sexual abuse of minors 49 50 51 In one case Jenna Miscavige Hill niece of David Miscavige and author of Beyond Belief My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape has stated that as a child she often worked 14 hours a day and only got to see her parents once a week and sometimes more seldom 52 Religious Technology Center RTC See also Religious Technology Center and Church of Spiritual Technology The highest authority in the Church of Scientology network is Religious Technology Center RTC The RTC claims to only be the holder of Scientology and Dianetics trademarks but is in fact the main Scientology executive organization 6 RTC chairman David Miscavige is widely seen as the effective head of Scientology 6 Religious Technology Center is the organization at the top of the Scientology hierarchy 53 303 RTC was established in 1982 and controls the Dianetics and Scientology trademarks 15 23 In 1987 David Miscavige took over control of RTC and is the head of RTC officially Chairman of the Board or COB 53 122 RTC employs lawyers and has pursued individuals and groups who have legally attacked Scientology or who are deemed to be a legal threat to Scientology This has included breakaway Scientologists who practice Scientology outside the central organization and critics as well as numerous government and media organizations 22 284 15 182 185 Scientology Missions International Main article Scientology Missions International Scientology Missions International is the management organization over the mission network Missions are small Scientology organizations which recruit new people and deliver basic services and auditing These were the feeder organizations which sent people into the main Scientology orgs Previously called franchises and running semi autonomously under the wing of the Guardian s Office they were considered Scientology s life blood until David Miscavige and his International Finance Police gutted the network in the early 1980s Missions were operated by a mission holder who paid 10 license fees to the Church of Scientology but kept the bulk of their income to themselves The new policy was that missions paid a higher percentage to the new Scientology Missions International SMI established 1981 and anyone who objected was declared suppressive and their bank accounts seized Hundreds of mission holders lost or closed their missions and in 1983 there were just forty missions left in the US Until the 1990s few people opened new missions and the push was directed towards celebrities to open missions Kirstie Alley opened a mission in Wichita Kansas in 1995 Isaac Hayes and Lisa Marie Presley opened one in Memphis in 1997 and Jenna Elfman opened one in San Francisco in 2001 According to the Church of Scientology by 2002 there were 197 missions in the US and by 2008 there were internationally 3 200 missions across 129 countries 54 55 56 23 137 139 159 53 95 97 157 300 Note A Sea Org missionaire is unrelated to this network Publishing and media organizationsGolden Era Productions Main article Gold Base Golden Era Productions is a 500 acre property in California also known as Gold Base occupied by the Church of Scientology since 1979 It is where they make Scientology films reproduce audio recordings of Hubbard s lectures and assemble E meters 53 80 81 Scientology Media Productions and Scientology Network Main articles Scientology Network and KCET Studios In 2011 the Church of Scientology purchased KCET TV s studio facilities 57 After five years of renovations and upgrades the 4 5 acre property was reopened in 2016 as Scientology Media Productions 58 The facilities included three soundstages postproduction tools control rooms music studios mixing rooms art departments scene shops radio booths screening rooms a magazine production space a live events hub and 136 000 square feet of space 59 In 2018 they launched the Scientology Network 60 Bridge Publications and New Era Publications nbsp Print and distribution center CaliforniaBridge Publications Inc incorporated 1981 in California is the publisher for Scientology books and magazines in the United States and New Era Publications International Aps is the publisher in Europe 61 211 Past publications organizations include Distribution Center Inc Maryland 1955 Publications Organization United States California 1971 and Scientology Publications Limited UK 1991 62 63 As of 2023 the Bridge Publications print and distribution center located at 5600 E Olympic Blvd Commerce California occupies 185 000 square feet and prints the organization s magazines and other Scientology materials The center s press has the capacity to print 55 000 pages per hour The warehousing and shipping department is fully automated with the capability of handling half a million items per week 64 63 There are several imprints from across the entire Scientology network which are printed at the main print center including Effective Education Publishing Freedom Publishing and Galaxy Press Author Services Inc and Galaxy Press nbsp Author Services buildingMain articles Author Services Inc and Galaxy Press Author Services Inc ASI represents the literary theatrical and musical works of L Ron Hubbard 65 It is wholly owned by Church of Spiritual Technology 66 Author Services runs the contests Writers of the Future and Illustrators of the Future Galaxy Press is an imprint of Author Services spun off from Bridge Publications in 2002 Author Services and Galaxy Press are located at 7051 Hollywood Blvd Hollywood CA 90028 67 Dissemination organizationsThere are many independently chartered organizations and groups which are staffed by Scientologists and pay license fees for the use of Scientology technology and trademarks under the control of Scientology management In some cases these organizations do not publicize their affiliation with Scientology and operate as front groups 68 69 Association for Better Living and Education ABLE Main article Association for Better Living and Education Founded in 1989 the Association for Better Living and Education ABLE is an umbrella organization that administers six of Scientology s social programs Applied Scholastics educational programs based on Hubbard s Study Tech Criminon prisoner rehabilitation programs International Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance which has a particular interest in religious freedom Narconon drug rehabilitation centers The Way to Happiness Foundation dedicated to disseminating Hubbard s non religious moral code Youth for Human Rights International the youth branch of The Way to Happiness Citizens Commission on Human Rights CCHR Main article Citizens Commission on Human Rights The Citizens Commission on Human Rights is an anti psychiatry lobby organization whose stated mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health 70 It operates the Psychiatry An Industry of Death exhibit which is open to the public in CCHR s building on Sunset Boulevard 34 293 It has been described by critics as a Scientology front group 71 72 73 Volunteer Ministers Main article Volunteer Ministers The Church of Scientology began its Volunteer Ministers program as a way to participate in community outreach projects Volunteer Ministers travel to the scenes of major disasters to provide assistance with relief efforts According to critics these relief efforts consist of passing out copies of a pamphlet authored by Hubbard entitled The Way to Happiness and engaging in a method said to calm panicked or injured individuals known in Scientology as a touch assist Accounts of the Volunteer Ministers effectiveness have been mixed and touch assists are not supported by scientific evidence 74 75 76 World Institute of Scientology Enterprises WISE Main article World Institute of Scientology Enterprises Many other Scientologist run businesses and organizations belong to the umbrella organization World Institute of Scientology Enterprises WISE which licenses the use of Hubbard s management doctrines and circulates directories of WISE affiliated businesses WISE requires those who wish to become Hubbard management consults to complete training in Hubbard s administrative systems this training can be undertaken at any Church of Scientology or at one of the campuses of the Hubbard College of Administration which offers an Associate of Applied Science Degree One of the best known WISE affiliated businesses is Sterling Management Systems which offers Hubbard s management technology to professionals such as dentists and chiropractors Another well known WISE affiliated business is e Republic a publishing company based in Folsom California 77 e Republic publications include Government Technology and Converge magazines The Center for Digital Government is a division of e Republic that was founded in 1999 Internet ISP EarthLink was founded by Scientologists Sky Dayton and Reed Slatkin as a Scientology enterprise The company now distances itself from the views of its founder who moved on to become CEO of Helio wireless carrier formerly known as SK EarthLink Front groups This paragraph is an excerpt from Scientology front groups edit Scientology front groups are those groups named or operated in such a way as to disguise their association with the Church of Scientology COS COS uses front groups to promote its interests in politics to make itself appear legitimate and to recruit The Times published The church attracts the unwary through a wide array of front groups in such businesses as publishing consulting health care and even remedial education Many of the groups are founded on pseudoscience named disingenuously and underplay their links to Scientology 78 79 Bases and campuses nbsp Locations of major Scientology centers in the United States and the United Kingdom 1 Saint Hill Manor 2 Flag Land Base 3 PAC Base 4 Gold Base 5 Trementina Base 6 Flag ship FreewindsThe church owns a staggering array of properties from a college on 55 acres in England to a luxury cruise ship The church often buys historic buildings and refurbishes them in grand fashion St Petersburg Times 2009 80 Saint Hill England Main article Saint Hill Manor nbsp nbsp Some of the Saint Hill campus Hubbard moved to England shortly after founding Scientology where he oversaw its worldwide development from an office in London for most of the 1950s In 1959 he bought Saint Hill Manor a Georgian manor house near the Sussex town of East Grinstead During Hubbard s years at Saint Hill he traveled extensively providing lectures and training in Australia South Africa in the United States and developing materials that would eventually become Scientology s core systematic theology and praxis 81 While in Saint Hill Hubbard worked with a staff of nineteen and urged others to join On September 14 1959 he wrote Here on half a hundred acres of lovely grounds in a mansion where we have not yet found all the bedrooms we are handling the problems of administration and service for the world of Scientology We are not very many here and as the sun never sets on Scientology we are very busy thetans 81 The most important achievement of the Saint Hill period was Hubbard s execution of the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course SHBC It was delivered by Hubbard from March 1951 to December 1966 and within the Church of Scientology is considered the best training course for budding auditors in the organization Scientology groups called Saint Hill Organizations located in Los Angeles Clearwater Florida Copenhagen and Sydney still teach this course 81 This became the worldwide headquarters of Scientology through the 1960s and 1970s Hubbard declared Saint Hill to be the organization by which all other organizations would be measured and he issued a general order still followed today for all organizations around the world to expand and reach Saint Hill size The Church of Scientology has announced that the next two levels of Scientology teaching OT IX and X will be released and made available to the organization s members when all the major organizations in the world have reached Saint Hill size 82 Flag Land Base Clearwater Florida Main articles Fort Harrison Hotel and Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization nbsp nbsp nbsp Some of the Flag Land Base buildings Oak Cove Clearwater Bank building Flag building The worldwide spiritual headquarters of the Church of Scientology is known as Flag Land Base located in Clearwater Florida It is operated by Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization Inc a Florida corporation The organization was founded in 1975 when a Scientology founded group called Southern Land Development and Leasing Corp purchased the Fort Harrison Hotel for 2 3 million Because the reported tenant was the United Churches of Florida the citizens and City Council of Clearwater did not realize that the building s owners were actually the Church of Scientology until after the building s purchase Clearwater citizens groups headed by Mayor Gabriel Cazares rallied strongly against Scientology establishing a base in the city repeatedly referring to the organization as a cult but Flag Base was established nonetheless 83 In the years since its foundation the Flag Land Base has expanded as the Church of Scientology has gradually purchased large amounts of additional property in the downtown and waterfront Clearwater area Scientology s largest project in Clearwater has been the construction of a high rise complex called the Super Power Building or Flag Building which is the centerpiece of a 160 million construction campaign 84 The Church of Scientology s CST chairman of the board David Miscavige led the opening and dedication of the 377 000 square foot Flag Building on November 17 2013 The multi million cathedral is the new spiritual headquarters of Scientology The fifth and sixth floor contain the Super Power Program which includes specially designed machines that Scientologists believe allow users to develop new abilities and experience enlightenment The building also includes a dining facility course rooms offices and small rooms for auditing purposes 85 86 87 PAC Base and Hollywood California nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Los Angeles Org Celebrity Centre Hollywood Guaranty Building Hollywood Scientology Center Big Blue Los Angeles California has the largest concentration of Scientologists and Scientology related organizations in the world with the Church of Scientology s most visible presence being in the Hollywood district of the city 88 The organization owns a former hospital on Fountain Avenue which houses Scientology s West Coast headquarters 89 the Pacific Area Command Base often referred to as PAC Base or Big Blue after its blue paint job Adjacent buildings include headquarters of several internal Scientology divisions 89 including the American Saint Hill Organization the Advanced Organization of Los Angeles and the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles All these organizations are integrated within the corporation Church of Scientology Western United States The Church of Scientology successfully campaigned to have the city of Los Angeles rename one block of a street running through their complex L Ron Hubbard Way The street has been paved in brick 90 Scientology s Celebrity Center International is located on Franklin Avenue while the Association for Better Living and Education Author Services and the official headquarters of the Church of Scientology International in the Hollywood Guaranty Building are all located on Hollywood Boulevard The ground floor of the Guaranty Building also features the L Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition a museum detailing his life that is open to the general public The Celebrity Centre was acquired by the organization as the Chateau Elysee in 1973 built to accommodate members in the arts sports and government 91 Gold Base Riverside County California Main article Gold Base nbsp Gold Base aerial view from westThe headquarters of the Religious Technology Center the entity that oversees Scientology operations worldwide is located in unincorporated Riverside County California near the city of San Jacinto The facility known as Gold Base or Int is owned by Golden Era Productions and is the home of Scientology s media production studio Golden Era Studios Several Scientology executives including David Miscavige live and work at the base 92 Therefore Gold Base is Scientology s international administrative headquarters 93 94 95 96 The Church of Scientology bought the former Gilman Hot Springs resort which had been popular with Hollywood figures in 1978 the resort became Gold Base 96 The facilities are surrounded by floodlights and video observation cameras 92 97 98 99 and the compound is protected by razor wire 100 Trementina Base New Mexico nbsp Trementina BaseMain article Trementina Base The Church of Scientology maintains a large base on the outskirts of Trementina New Mexico for the purpose of storing their archiving project engraving Hubbard s writings on stainless steel tablets and encasing them in titanium capsules underground An aerial photograph showing the base s enormous Church of Spiritual Technology symbols on the ground caused media interest and a local TV station broke the story in November 2005 According to a report in The Washington Post the organization unsuccessfully attempted to coerce the station not to air the story 101 Membership statisticsIt is difficult to obtain reliable membership statistics In the US the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey found that there were 25 000 Scientologists in the US Some of these were not considered to be members of the organization 102 103 104 105 A 2008 Trinity College survey similarly concluded there were 25 000 Scientologists 106 The International Association of Scientologists IAS the official Church of Scientology membership system since 1984 has never released figures 34 ix The organization s spokespersons either give numbers for their countries or a worldwide figure 107 The organization has said that it has eight to fifteen million members worldwide but this figure is known to be an aggrandizing fabrication 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 Religious scholar J Gordon Melton has said that the organization s estimates of its membership numbers are exaggerated You re talking about anyone who ever bought a Scientology book or took a basic course Ninety nine percent of them don t ever darken the door of the church again Melton has stated that if the claimed figure of 4 million American Scientologists were correct they would be like the Lutherans and would show up on a national survey 116 Statistics from other sources In 2001 the American Religious Identification Survey ARIS reported that there were 55 000 adults in the United States who consider themselves Scientologists 117 A 2008 survey of American religious affiliations by the US Census Bureau estimated there to be 25 000 Americans identifying as Scientologists 118 119 The 2001 United Kingdom census contained a voluntary question on religion to which approximately 48 000 000 chose to respond Of those living in England and Wales who responded a total of 1 781 said they were Scientologists 120 In 2011 Statistics Canada the national census agency reported a total of 1 745 Scientologists nationwide 121 up from 1 525 in 2001 120 and 1 220 in 1991 122 In 2005 the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution estimated a total of 5 000 6 000 Scientologists in that country and mentioned a count of 12 000 according to Scientology Germany 123 In the 2006 New Zealand census 357 people identified themselves as Scientologists although a spokesperson for the organization said there were between 5 000 and 6 000 Scientologists in the country 124 Earlier census figures were 207 in the 1991 census 219 in 1996 and 282 in 2001 120 In 2006 Australia s national census recorded 2 507 Scientologists nationwide up from 1 488 in 1996 and 2 032 in 2001 120 125 The 2011 census however found a decrease of 13 7 percent from the 2006 census 126 In 2011 SonntagsZeitung reported that support for Scientology in Switzerland had experienced a steady decline from 3 000 registered members in 1990 to 1 000 members and the organization was said to be facing extinction in the country A Church of Scientology spokesperson rejected the figures claiming that the organization had 5 000 passive and active members in Switzerland 127 In 2011 the Scientology Association of Finland had approximately 120 members 128 FinancesSee also Scientology Finance and Tax status of Scientology in the United States In 2008 the Church of Scientology and its large network of corporations nonprofits and other legal entities were estimated to bring in around 500 million US dollars in annual revenue 129 Scientologists can attend classes exercises or counseling sessions for a set range of fixed donations however membership without courses or auditing is possible According to a sociological report entitled Scientology To Be Perfectly Clear progression between levels above clear status cost 15 760 03 in 1980 equivalent to 55 975 in 2022 this cost does not include additional special treatments 130 clarification needed Scientologists can choose to be audited by a fellow Scientologist rather than by a staff member 131 Critics say it is improper to fix a donation for religious service therefore the activity is non religious Scientology points out many classes exercises and counseling may also be traded for in kind or performed cooperatively by students for no cost and members of its most devoted orders can make use of services without any donations bar that of their time A central tenet of Scientology is its Doctrine of Exchange which dictates that each time a person receives something he or she must give something back By doing so a Scientologist maintains inflow and outflow avoiding spiritual decline 132 Ideal OrgsStarting in 2003 Miscavige began pressuring local Churches of Scientology to purchase larger facilities to use as Scientology centers which would be renovated to become Ideal Orgs 133 The theory was If you build it they will come 23 348 This push has included the acquisition of many historic buildings a plan which professor of religious studies Hugh Urban believes has been pursued to imbue the Church with historical significance and distract from its controversies 91 For renovations of these buildings the Church of Scientology has relied heavily on manual labor from Sea Org members in the organization s Rehabilitation Project Force 91 As of 2018 the Church of Scientology claims it had purchased 70 buildings and opened 60 Ideal Orgs around the globe 134 135 With its membership numbers dwindling Scientology s ideal org campaign has been called a real estate scam a money making scam and Scientology s principle cash cow 134 23 347 Scientologists were heavily pressured during lengthy fundraising sessions to donate all their money and even open new credit lines to help fund the several million dollar building purchases This resulted in less money to spend on normal services like training and auditing so the new orgs became desolate Staff pay which is dependent upon weekly org income was often reduced to a few dollars a week 133 134 A 2010 survey of former Scientologists by former Church of Scientology executive Mike Rinder found that the most cited reason for leaving the Church was the unrelenting pressure to donate to programs such as the Ideal Org program 23 349 Some of the buildings purchased for Ideal Orgs remained vacant and unrenovated for years For example in the UK delayed Ideal Orgs included Birmingham purchased in 2007 and finally opened in 2017 136 137 Gateshead purchased 2007 138 Manchester purchased 2006 138 139 and Plymouth purchased 2009 140 The delays prompted calls from locals for a compulsory purchase of the historically significant buildings which had remained largely vacant and undeveloped since their purchase 141 CelebritiesFurther information Scientology and celebrities In order to facilitate the continued expansion of Scientology the organization has made efforts to win allies in the form of powerful or respected people 142 Scientology has had a written program governing celebrity recruitment since at least 1955 when L Ron Hubbard created Project Celebrity offering rewards to Scientologists who recruited targeted celebrities and another church document pointed to the importance of using Scientology celebrities to mold the opinions of their publics 15 139 141 According to Robert Vaughn Young one of my jobs was to get celebrities active to convince them to hustle and promote Scientology 143 The Church of Scientology operates Celebrity Centres for the use of artists politicians leaders of industry sports figures and other prominent individuals 144 Government opinions of ScientologyMain article Scientology status by country While some governments now give the Church of Scientology protections and tax relief 145 146 other sources describe the organization as a pseudoreligion or a cult 147 Sociologist Stephen Kent published at a Lutheran convention in Germany that he likes to call it a transnational corporation 148 Early official reports in countries such as the United Kingdom 1971 South Africa 1972 Australia 1965 and New Zealand 1969 have yielded unfavorable observations and conclusions 149 150 3 151 ControversyMain article Scientology controversies Though it has attained some credibility as a religion in many countries Scientology has also been described as both a cult and a commercial enterprise 1 Some of the organization s actions also brought scrutiny from the press and law enforcement For example it has been noted to engage in harassment and abuse of civil courts to silence its critics by identifying as fair game people it perceives as its enemies 152 153 In 1979 several Scientology members were convicted for their involvement in the organization s Operation Snow White the largest theft of government documents in U S history 154 155 Scientologists were also convicted of fraud manslaughter and tampering with witnesses in French cases 156 157 malicious libel against lawyer Casey Hill and espionage in Canada 158 159 In his book World Religions in America religious scholar Jacob Neusner states that Scientology s high level of visibility may be perceived as threatening to established social institutions 160 The film Going Clear based on the book by the same name 34 also documents controversies surrounding the organization and its treatment of former members 161 162 Criticism has also come from within the Church Marty Rathbun the former inspector general of the Religious Technology has spoken out against church activities He has called for a Scientology Reformation to eliminate corruption and bring back the original teachings of L Ron Hubbard 163 Classification From 1952 until 1966 Scientology was administered by an organization called the Hubbard Association of Scientologists HAS established in Arizona on September 10 1952 In 1954 the HAS became the HASI HAS International The Church of Scientology was incorporated in California on February 18 1954 changing its name to The Church of Scientology of California CSC in 1956 In 1966 Hubbard transferred all HASI assets to CSC thus gathering Scientology under one tax exempt roof In 1967 the IRS stripped all US based Scientology entities of their tax exemption declaring the organization s activities were commercial and operated for the benefit of Hubbard Controversy followed the organization in those years but its growth continued in the 1960s New facilities were formed in Paris 1959 Denmark 1968 Sweden 1969 and Germany 1970 In the 1970s the religion spread through Europe in Austria 1971 Holland 1972 Italy 1978 and Switzerland 1978 Centers of Scientology were in 52 countries by the time the 80s came in and grew to 74 by 1992 164 The organization sued and lost repeatedly for 26 years trying to regain its tax exempt status The case was eventually settled in 1993 at which time the organization paid 12 5 million to the IRS greatly less than IRS had initially demanded and the IRS recognized the organization as a tax exempt nonprofit organization 165 In addition Scientology also dropped more than fifty lawsuits against the IRS when this settlement was reached Scientology cites its tax exemption as proof the United States government accepts it as a religion 166 In January 2009 removal of the tax exemption was rated as number 9 in items for the incoming Barack Obama administration to investigate as determined in an internet poll run by the presidential transition team soliciting public input for the incoming administration 167 The U S State Department has criticized Western European nations for discrimination against Scientologists in its published annual International Religious Freedom report based on the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 168 169 170 In some countries Scientology is treated legally as a commercial enterprise and not as a religion or charitable organization citation needed In early 2003 in Germany The Church of Scientology was granted a tax exemption for the 10 license fees sent to the US This exemption however is related to a German American double taxation agreement and is unrelated to tax exemption in the context of charities law In several countries public proselytizing undergoes the same restrictions as commercial advertising citation needed which is interpreted as persecution by Scientology Unlike many well established religious organizations Scientology maintains strict control over its names symbols religious works and other writings The word Scientology and many related terms including L Ron Hubbard is a registered trademark Religious Technology Center the owner of the trademarks and copyrights takes a hard line on people and groups who attempt to use it in ways unaffiliated with the Church of Scientology see Scientology and the legal system Illegal activities Main articles Operation Snow White Operation Freakout Scientology controversies and Fair game Scientology L Ron Hubbard appointed Mary Sue Hubbard to take control of certain aspects of legal protection for the organization in 1968 and the Office of The Guardian was created with its head office situated at Saint Hill Manor Under The Guardian s Office later renamed the Office of Special Affairs or OSA organization members and contracted staff from Bureau One Should be defined here later organized and committed one of the largest penetrations of United States federal agencies ever perpetrated by an organization not affiliated with a foreign government that is one such as the KGB This operation was named Operation Snow White by Hubbard 155 In the trial which followed the discovery of these activities the prosecution described their actions as such The crime committed by these defendants is of a breadth and scope previously unheard of No building office desk or file was safe from their snooping and prying No individual or organization was free from their despicable conspiratorial minds The tools of their trade were miniature transmitters lock picks secret codes forged credentials and any other device they found necessary to carry out their conspiratorial schemes 155 The organization has also in the past made use of aggressive tactics in addressing those it sees as trying to suppress them known as Suppressive Persons SPs first outlined by Hubbard as part of a policy called fair game It was under this policy that Paulette Cooper was targeted for having authored The Scandal of Scientology a 1970 expose book about the organization and its founder This action was known as Operation Freakout Using blank paper known to have been handled by Cooper Scientologists forged bomb threats in her name 155 When fingerprints on them matched hers the Justice Department began prosecution which could have sent Cooper to prison for a lengthy term The organization s plan was discovered at the same time as its Operation Snow White actions were revealed All charges against Cooper were dismissed though she had spent more than 20 000 on legal fees for her defense 155 On January 22 2013 attorneys for the organization as well as some of its members reacted toward the CNN News Group for its airing of a story covering the release of a book published by a former member entitled Going Clear published earlier the same year CNN News Group then chose to publish the reactionary correspondence with confidential information redacted on its web site According to a 1990 Los Angeles Times article in the 1980s the Los Angeles branch largely switched from using the organization s members in harassment campaigns to using private investigators including former and current Los Angeles police officers The reason seemed to be that this gave the organization a layer of protection 171 The Scientology organization has continued to aggressively target people it deems suppressive In 1998 regarding its announcement that it had hired a private investigator to look into the background of a Boston Herald writer who had written a series on the organization Robert W Thornburg dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University said No one I know goes so far as to hire outsiders to harass or try to get intimidating data on critics Scientology is the only crowd that does that 172 It has apparently continued as recently as 2010 In 2007 when BBC journalist John Sweeney was making Scientology and Me an investigative report about the organization he was subjected to harassment In LA the moment our hire car left the airport we realised we were being followed by two cars In our hotel a weird stranger spent every breakfast listening to us 173 Sweeney subsequently made a follow up documentary The Secrets of Scientology in 2010 during which he was followed and filmed on multiple occasions and one of his interviewees was followed back to his home 174 Members health and safety See also Lisa McPherson and Elli Perkins Some key activities of the Church of Scientology are dangerous and the deaths of some Scientologists have brought attention to the organization both due to the circumstances of their demises and their relationship with Scientology being a factor 175 In 1995 Lisa McPherson was involved in a minor automobile accident while driving on a Clearwater Florida street Following the collision she exited her vehicle stripped naked and showed further signs of mental instability as noted by a nearby ambulance crew that subsequently transported her to a nearby hospital Hospital staff decided that she had not been injured in the accident but recommended keeping her overnight for observation Following intervention by fellow Scientologists McPherson refused psychiatric observation or admission at the hospital and checked herself out against medical advice after a short evaluation She was taken to the Fort Harrison Hotel a Scientology retreat to receive a treatment sanctioned by the organization called Introspection Rundown She had previously received the Introspection Rundown in June of that year She was locked in a room for 17 days where she died Her appearance after death was that of someone who had been denied water and food for quite some time being both underweight and severely dehydrated Additionally her skin was covered with over one hundred insect bites presumably from cockroaches The state of Florida pursued criminal charges against the Church of Scientology The organization has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and now makes members sign a waiver before Introspection Rundown specifically stating that they or anyone on their behalf will not bring any legal action against the organization over injury or death 176 These charges attracted press coverage and sparked lawsuits Eight years later Elli Perkins another adherent to Scientology s beliefs regarding psychiatry was stabbed to death by her mentally disturbed son Though Elli Perkins s son had begun to show symptoms of schizophrenia as early as 2001 the Perkins family chose not to seek psychiatric help for him and opted instead for alternative remedies sanctioned by Scientology The death of Elli Perkins at the hands of a disturbed family member one whose disease could have been treated by methods and medications banned by Scientology again raised questions in the media about the organization s methods 177 In addition the organization has been implicated in kidnapping members who have recently left the organization In 2007 Martine Boublil was kidnapped and held for several weeks against her will in Sardinia by four Scientologists She was found on January 22 2008 clothed only in a shirt The room she was imprisoned in contained refuse and an insect infested mattress 178 179 On Friday March 28 2008 Kaja Bordevich Ballo daughter of Olav Gunnar Ballo Norwegian parliament member and vice president of the Norwegian Odelsting took a Church of Scientology personality test while studying in Nice Her friends and co inhabitants claim she was in good spirits and showed no signs of a mental breakdown but the report from the organization said she was depressed irresponsible hyper critical and lacking in harmony A few hours later she committed suicide by jumping from her balcony at her dorm room leaving a note telling her family she was sorry for not being good for anything The incident has brought forward heavy criticism of the organization from friends family and prominent Norwegian politicians 180 Inga Marte Thorkildsen parliament member went as far as to say Everything points to the Scientology cult having played a direct role in making Kaja choose to take her own life 180 Dissemination and recruiting practices nbsp A Scientologist administers a stress test using an e meter Members of the public entering a Scientology center or mission are offered a free personality test called the Oxford Capacity Analysis by Scientology literature The test despite its name and the claims of Scientology literature has no connection to Oxford University or any other research body Scientific research into three test results came to the conclusion that we are forced to a position of skepticism about the test s status as a reliable psychometric device and called its scientific value negligible 181 Further recruitment practices called dissemination in Scientology include information booths flyers and advertisement for free seminars and Sunday Services in regular newspapers and magazines personal contacts sales of books and acting classes 182 183 184 23 ix 71 Legal waivers See also Introspection Rundown Recent legal actions involving Scientology s relationship with its members see Scientology controversy have caused the organization to publish extensive legal documents that cover the rights granted to followers It has become standard practice within the organization for members to sign lengthy legal contracts and waivers before engaging in Scientology services a practice that contrasts greatly with almost every mainstream religious organization In 2003 a series of media reports examined the legal contracts required by Scientology which state among other things that followers deny any psychiatric care their doctors may prescribe to them 185 I do not believe in or subscribe to psychiatric labels for individuals It is my strongly held religious belief that all mental problems are spiritual in nature and that there is no such thing as a mentally incompetent person only those suffering from spiritual upset of one kind or another dramatized by an individual I reject all psychiatric labels and intend for this Contract to clearly memorialize my desire to be helped exclusively through religious spiritual means and not through any form of psychiatric treatment specifically including involuntary commitment based on so called lack of competence Under no circumstances at any time do I wish to be denied my right to care from members of my religion to the exclusion of psychiatric care or psychiatric directed care regardless of what any psychiatrist medical person designated member of the state or family member may assert supposedly on my behalf LicensingThe Church of Scientology denies the legitimacy of any splinter groups and factions outside the official organization and has tried to prevent independent Scientologists from using officially trademarked Scientology materials Independent Scientologists also known collectively as the Free Zone are referred to as squirrels within the organization They are also classified by the Church of Scientology as suppressive persons SPs opponents or enemies of Scientology Hubbard himself stated in Ron s Journal 67 That there were only seven or eight Suppressive Persons on the planet In 2010 an exception to the rule was made specifically for the Nation of Islam which is the only officially sanctioned external Dianetics organization and the first official non Scientology Dianetics org since 1953 Minister Louis Farrakhan publicly announced his embracement of Dianetics and has been actively promoting Dianetics while stating he has not become a Scientologist He has courted a relationship with the Church of Scientology and materials and certifications are still required to be purchased from the organization and are not independently produced 186 187 188 See alsoList of Scientology organizations Scientology front groups Scientology officials List of groups referred to as cults in government documents The Church of Scientology Melton References a b c Behar Richard May 6 1991 The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power Time Archived from the original on June 18 2019 Retrieved June 17 2019 Kent Stephen 2001 Brainwashing Programs in The Family Children of God and Scientology 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Road to Total Freedom A Sociological Analysis of Scientology Columbia University Press p 128 ISBN 0231042000 OL 4596322M Hubbard was well aware of the value of corporate structures as weapons in the control of both his movement and its environment A complex corporate structure maximizes the difficulty of surveillance or investigation of the movement s affairs a b Hubbard L Ron 1976 Modern Management Technology Defined Hubbard dictionary of administration and management Church of Scientology ISBN 0884040402 OL 8192738M a b The Bridge to Total Freedom Scientology Classification Gradation and Awareness Chart of Levels and Certificates Chart Church of Scientology Archived from the original on April 2 2019 Bromley David G 2009 Making Sense of Scientology Prophetic Contractual Religion In Lewis James R ed Scientology Oxford University Press pp 83 102 doi 10 1093 acprof oso 9780195331493 003 0005 ISBN 9780199852321 OL 16943235M Boyd Joe January 4 1997 A Mind bending experience The Guardian 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Publications Limited was incorporated as long ago as 30th January 1954 Mr Hubbard holds 51 out of 57 1 shares issued Both he and his wife were appointed directors on 24th November 1955 He but not she resigned on 30th December 1966 No annual returns have been filed since 31st December 1967 UK National Archive piece reference MH 153 606 a b About Bridge Publications Inc Bridge Publications Inc Retrieved March 13 2023 Press release Church of Scientology Flips the Switch on 185 000 Square Foot Dissemination and Distribution Center PR Newswire Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved January 1 2016 Author Services Retrieved March 13 2023 IRS Scientology Closing Agreement October 1 1993 Archived from the original on April 26 2006 Galaxy Press Author Services Inc Retrieved March 13 2023 Unwitting highschoolers lured to forum by Scientologists The Sydney Morning Herald March 27 2007 Archived from the original on July 1 2007 Retrieved July 17 2007 McEwen Alan March 18 2004 Scientology link group is banned Edinburgh Evening News Archived from the original on October 13 2007 Retrieved July 17 2007 About CCHR CCHR International Citizens Commission on Human Rights International May 5 2009 Archived from the original on June 28 2013 Retrieved July 5 2013 Industry of Death exhibition on psychiatry walks a fine line Canada com August 8 2007 Archived from the original on June 15 2011 Retrieved September 23 2012 A major purpose of Scientology is to destroy psychiatry and replace it with its own pseudo counselling techniques And CCHR is one of Scientology s front group weapons attempting to achieve that goal says Stephen Kent a University of Alberta sociologist specializing in new religions and cults Scientology holds that psychiatrists are cosmic demons he says Kirsten Stewart July 2 2005 Scientology s political presence on the rise The Salt Lake Tribune Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved September 23 2012 The church of Scientology kept a low profile paying professional lobbyists to press its cause or relying on CCHR which skeptics call a front group designed to recruit Scientologists and replace psychiatry with Dianetics Fence Post Chicago Daily Herald Letters to the Editor January 4 2001 Dangerous program In a letter to Fence Post Dec 12 Susan Stozewski of the Chicago Church of Scientology attempts to promote a drug rehab program called Narconon I wish to warn readers that Narconon is a front group for the Church of Scientology I found from personal experience that Narconon is a sham and is in fact a slick device to lure unsuspecting people into Scientology An acquaintance of mine recently discovered that she had serious liver damage from Narconon s bogus purification program and she now cannot get health insurance coverage Another Scientology front group to beware of is the CCHR or Citizens Commission on Human Rights The CCHR is using tax exempt funds in a covert campaign to discredit psychiatric psychology treatment The 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from Wiktionary nbsp Media from Commons nbsp News from Wikinews nbsp Quotations from Wikiquote nbsp Texts from Wikisource nbsp Resources from Wikiversity nbsp Data from Wikidata Official website Church of Scientology companies grouped at OpenCorporates Satellite Image of the Gold Base Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Church of Scientology amp oldid 1214025079 Bridge Publications, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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