Scientology

Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics Hubbard characterized Scientology as a religion, and it is legally recognized as such in the United States Even so, Scientology has been widely criticized as a cult that financially defrauds and abuses its members. The Church of Scientology has also been accused of harassing its critics, and has consistently used litigation against them.

Quotes

 * In alphabetical order by author or source.


 * The one thing that was really cool about L. Ron Hubbard was that he really got the concept that if people united, and not in some airy-fairy way, but if they united and they put their, you know, muscle and brawn together and they worked really hard, you could create a better civilization.
 * Kirstie Alley &mdash; quoted in


 * They [the Guardian's Office] were L. Ron Hubbard’s intelligence agents. That was their purpose; and indeed an intelligence specialist in the U.S. has said that they were as effective as the CIA.
 * Jon Atack &mdash; quoted in


 * The prospect of a new global order is also central to many variants of the Human Potential and New Age movements and Scientology. All these very different kinds of NRM nevertheless share a conviction that human beings have, perhaps for the first time, come into possession of the knowledge required to free them from traditional structures of thought and action.


 * But of course their doctrine states that the purpose of a suit is to harass, not to win, so from that perspective they hurt us all. They've had a real chilling effect on journalism, both before and after my piece.
 * Richard Behar &mdash; interview in


 * Scientology promotes not watching the news. It keeps you inside a Truman Show where you're totally unaware of things. It's like your own thinking gets shut down and you get used to not considering anything that might be critical of Scientology.
 * Tory Christman &mdash;


 * There is more evil in one second of the history of the Roman Catholic Church than there is in the entire lifetime of Scientology.
 * Alexander Cockburn, "In Depth with Alexander Cockburn", C-SPAN, 1 April 2007.


 * And this really directly affects my relationship with people, with individuals around me, with my loved ones, and also with audiences.
 * Chick Corea &mdash; quoted in


 * You can't drive past an accident, because as a Scientologist you are the only one who can help.
 * Tom Cruise &mdash; quoted in


 * The secret feeling that you’re basically superior to your fellow man is probably more human than anything, except the related doubt that you’re superior to anyone. Racism is based on the need to believe in superiority, and one of the basic factors underlying many neuroses is the doubt of even equality. L. Ron Hubbard has capitalized on this situation in a book—printed by Hermitage House—Dianetics, available to all at $4.00 per copy. It isn’t at all surprising that the book has been a best seller, since it gives the credulous reason to believe that he can really be the superman he always felt he was. It also purports to be a science, which is the current catch-word to replace the older black-magic in the popular mind. The fact that it lacks a fundamental scientific basis has little to do with the average, untrained reader’s idea that he is being scientific in trying out the “experiments”—totally without controls or any basis of objective evaluation—in the book.
 * Lester del Rey, Superman—C.O.D. in Marvel Science Stories (May 1951), p. 116


 * People mistake L. Ron Hubbard and his Scientology. They see the apparency, and not the actuality. By design. Scientology does not work as stated; but as intended. As intended by its creator L Ron Hubbard. To keep the Doorway open. To remain in the realm of the Great Beast. To feed the hunger of the Will. His Will. When he emptied the purse of man and the heart of women; it seeks onward and outward. Appetite. Forever appetite. Scientology is the snare. The passion flower. the Cloak of Lights. The glow of power. A power always wanting. Always needing. The Will never satisfied.
 * Ron DeWolfe eldest son of Hubbard (born L. Ron Hubbard, Jr.) (1980), The Telling of Me, by Me (1981)


 * The trade secrets that they're trying to protect, all that science fiction space opera stuff at the end of the road, it's already on the hard load--hard drives of millions of people. In other words, the cat's out of the bag. So anybody that cares to investigate this organization are just a few keystrokes away from finding the truth-- and it's out there.
 * Mark Ebner &mdash; quoted in


 * The Celebrity Centre is just like, you know, the stable datum of like, growth and sanity, and growing as an artist, and, um, it's just like I'm always safe when I come here.
 * Jenna Elfman &mdash; quoted in


 * I got a lot of benefit from auditing. It was the fastest and deepest way to handle situations that I had yet encountered. I immediately wanted to learn to do it. … With Scientology, I was able to characterize the Mind more accurately, and to cease justifying it. This greatly clarified what I was doing. … After my experience with Scientology, I saw what it means to see the Mind as a machine. I can now operate my Mind accordingly, with exactitude. I can do the familiar mind over matter experiments - the control of pain and bleeding, telepathy, those things.
 * Werner Erhard (former Scientologist), Interview with William Warren Bartley, cited in


 * I felt great and I got rid of some stuff that I didn't realize that I was dragging around. And I said, "Whoa, I think I've become a Scientologist."
 * Isaac Hayes &mdash; quoted in


 * Scientology means 'scio', knowing in the fullest sense of the word and 'logos', study. In itself the word means 'knowing how to know'.Scientology is a 'route', a way, rather than a dissertation or assertive body of knowledge. Through its drills and studies one may find the truth for himself. The technology is therefore not expounded as something to believe, but something to 'do'.
 * L. Ron Hubbard, Basic Dictionary of Dianetics and Scientology, Bridge Publications, Inc., p. 34.


 * The Aetherius Society is technically a “UFO religion,” in that it depends upon a belief in extraterrestrial entities operating UFOs. There are many such religions, the largest of which is Scientology.


 * Why Scientology is a religion? Religion is about the spirit, and Scientology deals with the spirit. We are in the tradition of the much older religions -- Buddhism, Hinduism -- helping the person as a spiritual being improve himself. That is what religion is about. That is why this is a religion. It doesn't fall into any other field.
 * David Miscavige &mdash; interview in


 * But we’re friends with Penn Jillette, and Showtime wouldn’t let him do an episode of Bullshit! on Scientology..And hearing other people say, "You can’t do that,"—you can only say "You can’t do that" so many times to Matt and me before we’re gonna do it..So we realized we had to do it, and now that we’ve done it, now it’s like we’ve sort of opened the floodgates. People will be less scared.
 * Trey Parker &mdash; quoted in


 * Scientology is thus one of several groups that form part of the Human Potential Movement (HPM) - an umbrella term for organization that offer enhanced quality of life.


 * What was most incredible about being with him [L. Ron Hubbard] was that he made you feel that you were important..He didn't in any way promote himself or his own self-importance. He was very, very loving and had the widest range of knowledge and experience that you could possibly imagine -- he'd studied everything.
 * Mike Rinder &mdash; quoted in


 * Many of the new religions attract individuals by the promise of peace of mind, spiritual well-being, gratifying experiences, and material success. In doing so they stress their concern for the individual and highlight one's personal worth and self-development. This is especially so in human growth movements such as Scientology.


 * I took a couple of courses. One of them was in communication, and I learned some things about communication that really got my act going...They have a lot of very good technology. That’s what really appealed to me about it. It’s not faith-based. It’s all technology. And I’m obsessed with technology.
 * Jerry Seinfeld (former Scientologist), Interview in


 * I knew Ron Hubbard before he ever started Scientology. I was in a writing group with him in Greenwich Village and he kept saying, "You know, the only way to make any money, you can't do it with pulp writing, you got to, you start a religion." And nobody took him very seriously.
 * Lyle Stuart &mdash; quoted in


 * Now, to those who are for dianetics: ITEM: Only a fool will accept the whole because one or two of its parts acceptable. To observe some of the remarkable effects of dianetic therapy and thereby conclude, without evidence, that all Hubbard’s theories are correct, is about as intelligent as trying to chew into a peach-tree because you found the peaches good. ITEM: There is a deplorable proclivity in the human animal to get faddistic about certain ideas. Faith is a beautiful thing. So are forest fires, and the color of gangrene. I think faith—especially capital-F Faith—is more dangerous and more disgusting than either. It is a substitute for thought. Dianetics, for all its effectiveness, is not a panacea, and Ron Hubbard is not the Messiah. If you are feeling either of these two things, go take a cold shower.
 * Theodore Sturgeon, How to Avoid a Hole in the Head in Marvel Science Stories (May 1951), p. 115


 * A new mediation is necessary, one which was already in existence and practice in the time of Esotericism and Theosophy but has since been lost. “Secular” and “religious” are not categories in contrast to each other: they must go together. Scientology – in my opinion - through its new “physical” and “spiritual” principles signals this new direction that religions and humanity as a whole, perhaps, ought to follow.


 * Almost all the information in the show is taken from their own literature..We thought that the best way to satirize the Church of Scientology was to let the Church speak for itself.
 * Alex Timbers &mdash; quoted in


 * This is how they suck you in, they offer these innocuous-seeming self-improvement courses for 40 bucks, then they start to interest you in Dianetic auditing..It's a kind of crack psychotherapy.
 * David S. Touretzky &mdash; quoted in


 * I'm part of a, of a frontier in a way, you know, that very few people ever get to be part of. Like a pioneer in many, in many ways, and I've, I've seen my efforts come to fruition.
 * John Travolta &mdash; quoted in


 * The cutting edge on such battles is often the Church of Scientology..They have very well honed procedures and tactics to remove information that they find objectionable.
 * Jonathan Zittrain &mdash; quoted in