There is nothing new about religious intolerance. In fact, every major world religion has, at some point, suffered some form of persecution. It is not surprising therefore that the Church of Scientology has been the subject of considerable criticism over its brief history.

The brunt of much media derision and criticism, Scientology is ridiculed as much for its founder and secretive doctrine as it is for its vehement litigation history and enthusiastic (albeit inadvertently negative) celebrity endorsements.

That being said, few who criticised the Christian religion in its early stages of development would have predicted that two millennia later it would become the biggest religion in the world with over 2.1 billion practitioners.

Not quite in the same league, the Church of Scientology claims to have 10 million followers worldwide and between 15 and 20 thousand in South Africa. While this is no doubt a substantial following, the only other major religion to which it comes close is Judaism, which has a following of approximately 14 million according to www.adherents.com. Although some Scientology-affiliated websites claim that it is the fastest growing religion in the world, this feat is more widely attributed to Islam.

Is it a religion?

To assume that Scientology is a religion is in fact a slightly controversial issue, as there are still countries that refuse to recognise it as such.

Erica Chesler, spokesperson for the Church of Scientology in Cape Town said the following when questioned about Scientology's status as a religion.

"Scientology is recognised as a religion in countries like South Africa, the United States, the UK, Germany and many others. In fact, over 30 of the world's leading religious scholars and professors have done independent studies on Scientology and all of them have come to the conclusion that Scientology is a religion and have acknowledged it is bone fide."

However, contrary to this, there is evidence that Scientology is in fact not officially recognised as a religion in Germany and the UK.

In France, a 2000 government report classified the Church as an 'absolute sect' and recommended that its activities be prohibited; while a German federal court failed to reach a verdict on whether or not it can be considered a religion in 1997. Since then, the court has placed Scientologists and the Church under surveillance by its intelligence agency on the grounds that Scientology is based on 'anti-democratic tendencies'.

The Charity Commission in Britain concluded in 1999 that Scientology does not fit the UK’s criteria for a religion and as such could not be registered as a charity (as all religions are entitled to do). The application by the Church was rejected on the grounds that although Scientology expressed a belief in a supreme being, this belief is not expressed through worship.

Chesler does however provide an explanation for French and German opposition to Scientology.

"Germany and France are by ratio two of the biggest producers and users of psychiatry and mind-altering drugs on the planet. They surely would not want a group that advocates solutions to problems of the mind without psychiatry and drugs."

Unfortunately this statistic is not particularly helpful as it is unclear what is meant by the terms 'by ratio' and 'mind-altering drugs'. Alcohol, for example, could be regarded as a mind-altering drug, but has little relation to psychiatry.

How did it start?

Scientology was founded in 1954 by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard. Unlike most major religions, Scientology is not centred on a messiah-like figure and Chesler cautions that Hubbard should not be equated with such a figure.

"L Ron Hubbard is not worshipped and has never been given an elevated status of messiah. He said himself that he is only a man. Scientologists acknowledge him as the founder of their religion, and acknowledge that the applied religious philosophy the Mr Hubbard has provided has, on application, given them greater abilities, awareness, and has reduced their unhappiness and failures in life."

As the founder of the religion, Hubbard wrote all of the religious scripture or doctrine, which according to the Scientology website www.bonafidescientology.org is contained in "more than 40 million spoken and written words on the subject — all by L Ron Hubbard, the source and founder of the Scientology religion".

It is a little difficult to ascertain what qualifies someone who is not a messiah to create a religion. According to Chesler, Hubbard was "fully professional in over 21 different fields", although she only provides five examples: photographer, captain (naval), author, pilot and humanitarian.

What's it all about?

Scientology is an 'applied religious philosophy', with an emphasis on practicality.

"It is not based on blind faith, and one of its basic tenets is to observe, to be true to what you have observed and it is only true if you have observed it to be true," says Chesler.

"Other basic tenets of Scientology are that Man is basically good; (and) that there are three parts to man which include the mind, body and spirit. Scientology holds that man's spiritual salvation depends upon himself, his relationship with his fellows and his attainment of brotherhood with the universe."

In these fundamentals, the philosophy sounds similar to certain Eastern traditions such as Buddhism or Advaita Vedanta, however this is where the similarities end.

Practice of Dianetics

Integral to Scientology is the practice of 'Dianetics', which is used to alleviate ailments, irrational fears and psychosomatic illnesses.

Dianetics involves a counselling practice known as 'Auditing', whereby the trained practitioner known as the Auditor "gets to the cause of the problems one faces, and releases one from non-survival impulses and destructive inclinations which so often cause one to act and regret it afterwards".

In keeping with the principle that the mind is part of the spiritual being, Scientologists are strongly against any form of psychiatry, particularly electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and psychiatric drugs.

The Scientology-affiliated organisation Citizen's Commission on Human Rights was formed with the intention of exposing and eradicating the "criminal acts and human rights abuses by psychiatry".

Their museum 'Psychiatry: An Industry of Death' in Hollywood, outlines the atrocities allegedly committed by psychiatrists, laying the blame for most of the major conflicts of the 20th century — both World Wars, the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo and the 9/11 attacks — at its feet.

Interestingly the anti-psychiatry group — The Anti-psychiatry Coalition — takes care to distance itself from Scientology on its website (www.antipsychiatry.org).

Work in SA

The Church of Scientology has implemented a number of social-betterment programmes in South Africa.

Drug-Free-Marshals is a youth drug education programme, which according to Chesler, has already reached thousands of youths. Narconon are the rehabilitation centres that use Hubbard's detoxification programme based on his 'technology' about chemicals adhering to the fatty tissues in the body.

"This is part of our responsibility to society and part of our intention to help others live drug-free lives. Scientologists are drug-free and hence want to help others to be drug-free too."

Controversies

Scientology has been surrounded by controversy almost since its inception; however the current Church of Scientology has distanced itself from certain illegal practices — 'Operation Snow White', 'Operation Freakout' and 'Fair Game' — that tarnished the movement's reputation in the first few decades of its existence.

That is not to suggest however, that the religion is completely free of controversy. Scientology has a long history of forceful litigation, which not only controls the access to information about the organisation, but also has a habit of stifling criticism.

Because of the secrecy around the higher levels of the doctrine, rumours, supported by ex-Scientologists, have emerged about a belief in an alien invasion by a figure called Xenu.

While the belief in an alien spirits inhabiting our bodies should not be ridiculed any more than a belief in a supreme being (for the proof of both is untenable); there is the issue of transparency. People should know what they are getting themselves into. Chesler insists that the story is nothing more than people trying to make a mockery of the religion.

"I've been a Scientologist for many years. I've done many of the courses, read many of the books and listened to dozens of Mr Hubbard's lectures on life and how to really handle life. In all of that I've never come across such a story."

Ex-Scientologists, including the current leader David Miscavige's niece, have also criticised the policy of Disconnection, in which the Scientologist breaks all contact with those regarded as Suppressive Persons.

Chesler argues that Disconnection is no different from other excommunication policies and needs to be put in context. She also insists that it is only done under extreme circumstances and never as a first resort.

Finally, the perception of Scientology as a money-making scam — courses can become very expensive — is one that the Church has struggled to shake.

"Every cent that is paid into the Church is accounted for, and is used to cover the costs of operating expenses, upkeep of facilities, (and) funding of betterment campaigns… The word scam implies a swindle or cheat, and for people who have paid money for a service or course, who can then salvage their marriage or fix up broken relationships, or gain abilities and success like never before, well they usually comment that it is priceless to them."

This is not a new concept. People will happily pay a psychologist (or a psychiatrist) for a similar service. Perhaps, the problem that critics have with Scientology is the perception that religion has been commercialised. But, considering that it is the product of the 20th century, this is hardly surprising. The criticism also assumes that religion was not already a commercial enterprise.

Useful websites

www.scientology.org.za
www.scientology-capetown.org
www.exscientologykids.com (alternative view)
www.xenu.net (alternative view)