It's an evil cult created with one purpose - making money . Its effects on believers are destructive - Check out a partial list of victims: http://whatstheharm.net/scientology.html
Please read about:
* Its blatantly illegal and immoral activities, as illustrated by Operation Snow White and Operation Freakout.
* Its "fair game" policy of harassing and destroying critics, as illustrated by the stories of Keith Henson, Frank Oliver and Paulette Cooper
* Its fatal abuse of its members, including Lisa McPherson, Heribert Pfaff, Josephus Havenith, and others
* Its brutal, illegal treatment of members who the Church considers in need of rehabilitation or punishment using private prisons
* Its tax-exempt status in the United States, which was gained by blackmailing the IRS
* Its practice of breaking up families
Read "the road to Xena" for an account of a girl who escaped Scientology after 12 years! http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/xenu/
The cult's core belief is that we are all reincarnated aliens, and all of our problems are because of other alien souls haunting our bodies. That's the big secret - but it's only revealed to cytologistsStaster many years and over $300,000 - so most of them have no knowledge of it. Read the alien story yourself - in Hubbard's own handwriting: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/OTIII/
Everything about Scientology is dishonest, from recruiting gullible folk using fake "personality tests", through collecting dirt on individuals using "auditing" in case they ever want to leave, to claiming everybody who criticizes them is a criminal, probably a child molester. See it in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es166Q3yNKo
The best way to understand Scientology is to see the official web site from Scientology.
One of the reason why Scientology is growing, is because Scientology works in most cases. There is a small percentage of people who have trouble understanding (about 10%).
I think of Scientology official site has all the information you need to get a clear answer.
Scientology has a lot of descriptions, and it would take pages to describe enough of it.
By law in over 50 countries, Scientology is a religion. All cytologistsSTESL it a religion, and some also see it as a philosophy. Most snit-scientologists consider all or part of Scientology to be the most dangerous cult in the world.
Yes you do pay to purchase their books. Paperback versions of Dianetics (Their most important book by the Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard) cost as little as $8.50. Other books and study materials can cost several hundred dollars. Most introductory books are a little more than you would expect to pay at a commercial bookstore. Courses and auditing sessions can cost several thousand dollars, and as much as 200 grand for the upper OT levels.
A major tactic for anti-cytologists, is to tell everyone that cytologistsSsleevevIN lord Xenu. An intergalactic warlord that brought us to earth because his domain of 76 planets was overpopulated.
Most scientologists have no idea who lord Xenu is. This is because the OT documents with this LRH quote, are extremely confidential (At least within Scientology). The OT documents have been leaked on the internet, I suggest you torrent it, as it is no longer on Wikileaks. New OT III is one of the 15 OT levels and is a course that scientologists take near the end of their "Bridge". The "Bridge" is a step-by-step guide of what scientology auditing each individual must take on his/her way to achieving Scientology's promise of "Total Freedom". In New OT III, sections "Data (1)" and "Data (2)" are hand written documents by L. Ron Hubbard telling the story of Lord Xenu. I'm not going to retell it, but all the story's of it you hear on the internet are pretty accurate. Even anti-scientologists couldn't make up something so ridiculous, I guess. L. Ron Hubbard makes no implication that the document is a joke or a fiction. But also references it in other documents or recordings.
As for whether or not it works. That depends on you. I know a lot of people that have better lives because of what they learned in Scientology. You will only find out if you pick up one of their books and start reading.
Scientologists are all typically good at heart. There are exceptions of course. But I should credit Scientology for my happy childhood. I was never harmed by a fellow Scientologist, mentally or physically. However there are recorded cases of Scientologists physically hurting or killing people. Hundreds of convicted cases, some of them are OT 7 or 8 (Closest to "Total Freedom").
Scientology often tried to censor anything that opposes them. Scientologists are not permitted to have anything to do with "Black PR" (Public Relations). Basically everything negative about the Church or its members.
While some people may not consider Scientology a cult, there is one part of Scientology that is a cult beyond the definition. It's called the Sea Org. It consists of volunteers that signed a billion year contract to work for the Sea Org. Sea Org members are provided acceptable food, clothing, living quarters, and a small allowance for basic needs. In return a Sea Org member works or studies 15 hours a day, everyday. Ethical and productive members are allowed 1 day off every 2 week on a Sunday. Sea Org members dedicate their lives to Scientology because they are convinced that Scientology is the only way to save what they believe is a crumbling society.
Scientology has plenty of lies, but it has plenty of truths. Don't believe everything. Scientologists can be extremely persuasive, especially when it means you're giving the Church money. Not to say that they themselves are greedy. But Scientology staff members are severely pressured to meet quotas and often times expected to meet unreasonable goals.
How does Scientology works or what they believe in?
