Scientology, Church of

A dangerous and large organization claiming to be devoted to the practice of the new age religion, Scientology. The church was founded by science fiction writer Lafayette Ronald Hubbard as a method of quickly attaining massive amounts of wealth through "self-help" book sales such as 'Dianetics', and fees for providing "auditing" courses to remove "engrams"-the thousands of restless alien spirits that cause all the strive on Earth. In reality, this auditing appears to be methods of indoctrinating sessions of hypnosis, often proclaimed brainwashing by critics(though not completely without justification as behavioral modification techniques are known to be present) Currently the Church is headed by David Miscavige and keeps a headquarters, the Church of Scientology International, in Los Angeles, California. It is infamous for it's controversial actions, some of which are: •The Fair Game policy, a highly aggressive policy of the church which allows members to take whatever actions necessary to silence any and all critics(dubbed Suppressive Persons) of the church and its practices. This is commonly implemented utilizing the legal system to harass individuals into submission with barrages of frivolous lawsuits, false criminal charges, and any other means to demoralize the potential source of bad PR. •Numerous deaths related to the Church and its practices; Cases of suicidal depression, criminal neglect such as the case of Lisa McPherson, and countless mysterious deaths that point to the church have been recorded. A full list of Scientology related deaths can be seen at http://www.whyaretheydead.net/ •Disconnection, a type of religious shunning in which a scientologist is required to break all ties and communication with friends and family members that are possibly harmful to the PR of the church. •The extreme opposition to psychiatry, sometimes to the point of denying members of gravely needed mental help.