What is Scientology all about?

Credit: PictorialEvidence

When someone mentions Scientology, you either picture Louis Theroux being followed with cameras in his face or an excitable Tom Cruise in promotional videos.

But there’s a lot more to Scientology than meets the eye.

If you head over to Scientology’s website, the current leader of the church of David Miscavige says there’s a search for “what is Scientology” every six seconds. I believe it too, as it’s something that interests me and a lot of people I know.

But what actually is Scientology?

Scientologists call it a religion, critics call it a “cult”, but however you perceive Scientology, it has a following of approximately eight million people worldwide.

L.Ron.Hubbard, an American author of science fiction novels founded Dianetics and the Church of Scientology in the 1950s. Hubbard described Dianetics as the “hidden source of all psychosomatic ills” when he introduced the idea of Dianetics into the world.

Within Scientology there is a keen feeling to aspire to be spiritual beings, which, I guess we all are right? Wrong, say Scientologists, we need to be in tune with ourselves and further our Operating Thetan levels to gain the spiritual state of what they call ‘above clear’.

Of course, you have to pay if you wish to go up the levelled system, which is why critics call it a “pay as you go religion”.

Their belief is that you live well on after death, which is why they issue some of their members with billion-year contracts to show their commitment to the religion.

Scientologists believe it’s a religion like any other, with their churches, charity work and oh and wait, their membership of Hollywood celebs.

Whether you’re a critic, or a Scientologist, I think there’s one thing they can both agree on, and that is just how interesting a concept Scientology is.