scientology

Scientology was founded in 1952 by L. Ron Hubbard, an American science fiction writer and author of the best-selling book "Dianetics" (1950), which launched a popular self-enhancement movement out of which the Church of Scientology emerged. The name Scientology means "knowing how to know," and it maintains that it "constitutes man's first real application of scientific methodology to spiritual questions." Scientology asserts it is not merely a belief system but a mode of action, and it has a complicated vocabulary of its own. Its basic postulate is that experience, in this or in previous lives, is recorded in the brain as a series of "engrams." These engrams are revived and reinforced by recurring similar situations and always cause inappropriate and self-defeating behavior. One's goal of Scientology is to "process" or clear these engrams and become more self-determining. By erasing these accretions from one's present and past lives, one releases the essential, spiritual self or soul called the "thetan." Scientology has ministers who perform some religious rites and sacraments, but their main function is individual counseling. Scientology is tightly organized from the top down, with a close-knit inner circle and many highly committed adherents, including such celebrities as John Travolta and Tom Cruise. The church has impressive property holdings as well as a history of conflict with the U.S. and British governments. L. Ron Hubbard's best-selling book "Dianetics" is probably the closest thing to sacred scriptures for the Church of Scientology.