Scientology

Research Paper

Some hale and some hate L. Ron Hubbard. Before my months of research into the religion of Scientology I had never learned of a man so loved and so dispised by many. The science-fiction writer turned leader/ antithesis depending on where you stand made his way into the world in 1950 when a book called dianetics hit America's west coast like a storm. Some claim it was his plan saying he was only out for money. I can not conclude other than that L. Ron Hubbard was a genius in the craft of foolery and money making.

Many books have been written that discredit the religion of Scientology including Paulette Cooper's book titled The Scandal of Scientology which outlines all of what she believes to be faults in the Scientology religion. Being a biased source I turned from that book to an article printed four years after the death of the founder of Scientology Lafayette Ronald Hubbard. Titled "The Scientology Story "it was a series in The Los Angeles Times that was written to walk through Scientology from the beginning and simply explain the facts. In this unbiased account of Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard, there are many discrediting facts and ideas about the religion that were found. It is these very facts that I will be listing that many of Scientology's greatest critics use to defend themselves (in the case of those in the medical professions ), or to explain why the religions ideas are simply not valid or untrue.

A very widely used quote of L. Ron Hubbard is the following which was said in 1938 in a letter to his first wife ten years prior to the development of his religion. He said "I have high hopes of smashing my name into history so violently it will take a legendary form. . . that goal is the real goal as far as I am concerned (Los Angeles Times About This Series pg 1)." This quote is argued to explain that L. Ron Hubbard simply created this religion as a way to gain a name for himself. It is also used to try and argue that L. Ron Hubbard was a smart man looking for money. It is also stated in the article that when he began his religion he was a struggling science fiction writer who was according to this article in debt. Not only are those arguments used, but also the fact that he displayed many cult leader qualities. In the article it states that L. Ron Hubbard was " and expert in hypnotism" . The following was also stated: "During a 1948 gathering of Science fiction buffs in Los Angeles he hypnotized many of those in attendance, convincing one man that he was cradling a tiny kangaroo in his hand (Los Angeles Times The Scientology Story Part 1 pg 3)." Not only that, but L. Ron Hubbard was said to have admired Aleister Crowley a British Satanist and in 1952 during a lecture he described him as "my very good friend." Later on in life Hubbard tried to deny and /or diminish his relationship with Crowley after a fall out over a boat venture. His relationship with this cult leader shows Hubbards possible cult thinking. I have outlined only a few of the many facts that could be used and have been used in the past as a way to show the falsity by which Scientology was started therefore false in it's standing today.

In a video titled My Philosophy L. Ron Hubbard Mr. Hubbard describes his personal story of being left physically disabled after World War II, being abandoned by his friends and family, and being what he calls "a helpless cripple". He explains how he fought back from all of that to be a productive happy man through growth and the discovery and practice of his new saving religion. Believers say that it is his story that makes the religion true. They often say that his fight is proof that L. Ron Hubbard knows how to become healthier and happier and that his ways work. This may be a good concept for them to believe in however in records L. Ron Hubbard's story was proven to be false and I found just about everything else besides general moral statements were false also. I believe that the facts don't add up in Scientology, it is the morals that people take from it. However, if something is bad at the core it is rotten throughout.

Scientologists have a severe distrust for people that are in the medical community. In chapter 16 of Paulette Cooper's book The Scandal of Scientology , Cooper states that Scientologists have actively tried to discredit their "competition" which they believe to be mental health professionals and sometimes doctors of medicine in general. She states that Scientologists see Psychiatrists or people of the mental health as "frauds", "pyschoracketeers", "mental con men", "pimps" and "insidious politicians". Cooper also tells of a delusional Hubbard that is convinced that "psychiatrists kill or torture their patients with electric shock treatment, use them sexually and never help them." On top of all of that Scientologists in believing what L. Ron Hubbard has taught them accuse doctors of "