It needs to be argued that one of the peculiar marks of this contemporary age lies in how people appear to significantly tolerate religious pluralism like they never did before. Except for select areas where Islam is officially pronounced by a particular state as its defining religion (e. g. , those mostly found in the Middle East), there have been an increase in the numbers of newly founded religious movements, especially in countries that respect people’s fundamental right to choose their religion.
Scholars have tried to refer to these sprouting religions as – quite accurately – New Religious Movements; while other call them as alternative religion. Whichever one chooses to use though, they all appear to refer to one and the same phenomenon – the rise of minority religious expressions outside the mainstream traditions. In many respects, these movements merit scholarly appraisal because they are said to be “enjoying an increasing popularity along with a heightened profile over the last four decades or so” (Hunt, 2003, p. vi).And from among a myriad of new religious movements already in place, Scientology is – arguably – one of the most popular newly established religious organizations to date.
Scientology as a New Religious Movement Scientology is a religious organization largely identified with its founder Ronald Hubbard (1911-1986), an American writer of science and fiction. It was established in 1954; it claims to have more than eight million adherents who attend to over 3,000 churches scattered the world over (Scientology, 1998, p. 6).Its central doctrine may not be that well-defined, since it is often argued that Hubbard himself combines eclectic elements from his various influences such as “Eastern religion, modern psychoanalysis and philosophy” to create his own set of doctrines for the said religion (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1995, p.
152). At its original inception though, members of the newly founded church of Scientology was organized so as to create “a civilization without insanity, without criminals without war…where man is free to rise to great heights” (cited in Hunt, 2003, p. 194).Scientology’s doctrines originate from the writings of Ron Hubbard, who for many years have either written or spoken about salient topics such as Dianetics, mental healing and science fiction.
Specifically, it is often believed that Dianetics serves as the original concept which lent inspiration to the whole Scientology movement. As such, Dianetics – whose etymology comes from the combination of two words namely, dia which means “through”, and nous which means “mind or soul” – is argued to be a path towards personal development by both achieving significant mental health and overcoming mental illness.Hubbard taught that human mind has to arrive at a perfectly functioning state he called ‘Clear’, i. e. , “a state of complete recall of all sense impression vastly improved mental agility” (Hunt, 2003, p.
194). It was moreover taught that whoever reaches the state of “Clear” will have better functioning of the senses and increased intelligence, as well as better way of overcoming mental illness. From this narrowly defined system of mental therapy, Scientology would later on develop its own system of beliefs and doctrines.According to the religion, each person is primordially a spiritual entity called thetan. It is believed that each thetan has already occupied many bodily entities over the period of time. Which is why, one may argue that Scientology maintains the tenability of the doctrine of karma – or the eternal recurrence of life and events.
A thetan is essentially immaterial and immortal; it is a soul that inhabits the material human body.Because of such inhabiting, a thetan is able to interact with matter, energy, space and time; and these elements can become limiting factors relative to its full realization. Scientology believes such elements (matter, energy, space and time) can engender traumatic and painful experiences for the thetan; and these hindrances are called engrams. Since it is entangled with its own bundles of unwelcome experiences on account of its interaction with the material world, a thetan needs to be freed from its traumas in order to ‘recapture its full abilities’.To this end, Scientology offers a way to clear the thetan of its engrams (Wilson, 1998, p.
121) Scientology teaches that a thetan’s journey towards full recovery of its potential is intricately knitted to a person’s need to survive eight distinct but dynamic divisions of human existence. The overarching goal is to reach the last dynamic by surviving the first seven stages.These stages are as follows: the first stage is called the ‘self-dynamic’ or the urge for self-existence; the second is called the ‘sex dynamic’, i. e. the dynamic responsible for the maintenance of the family; the third stage is the ‘will to existence’, or the dynamics affecting basic societal relations; the need to maintain the existence of humankind is the fourth dynamic; fifth is the need to survive the existence in respect to all animal kingdom; the sixth stage is the ‘urge’ to overcome the elements of the universe such as matter, energy, space and time; the seventh stage is the urge “to exist as or of spirits”; lastly, the final dynamic is called the ‘urge towards existence as divinity’ (Wilson, 1998, p..
122). The eight dynamic is too often called as “God dynamic”.But while this stage is conveniently referred to as the divine dynamic, it is uncertain whether this can serve as Scientology’s belief on the element of Supreme Being. Most religious scholars agree that faith in a Transcendent entity makes an organization truly religious in character. Taylor for instance argues that religion is essentially nothing but a “belief in a Supreme Being” (cited in McCutcheon, 2007, p.
22). But Bainbridge argues that Scientologists loosely interpret the eight dynamic; and thus, it may not be taken to necessarily refer to a belief in a divine entity.Which is why, it is a commonly accepted practice for Scientologists to opt to believe on God or not, depending on their reasoned choice (Bainbridge, 1987, p. 74).
The overarching concern for Scientologists is however not the belief in a divine reality as the full attainment of a thetan’s potential. In fact, Scientology holds that it is a sin not to enjoy life, as it merely shows that one’s powers and potentials are hidden (Hunt, 2003, p. 194). In order to facilitate the emancipation process, Scientologists engage in an activity called “auditing”.This activity aims at systematically freeing the soul from engrams, and thereby making it realize its own potentials. What the process of auditing moreover does is to let the soul confront its past and bring it to transcend these negativities.
When, through this process, a thetan attains the stage called ‘Clear’, it can further elevate itself to the stage called Operating thetan – the ultimate kind of existence marked “full spiritual potential”. This state may be translated to what is otherwise commonly held as the concept of salvation (Wilson, 1998, p. 25). Conclusion This paper now ends with a conclusion that affirms the uniqueness of Scientology as a religious movement. With a significant number of adherents now subscribing to the faith, Scientology has indeed proven that it is one of the more viable alternative religions which offer the world a peculiar way of understanding salvation. In the discussions which were developed, it was learned that Scientology owes much of its doctrines from the teachings of its revered founder Ron Hubbard.
Scientology essentially, or more appropriately, successfully combines a good number of religious and scientific concepts into its doctrines. The concept of thetan for instance combines the doctrine of karma and psychology’s notion of catharsis and metal wellness. In the final analysis, it has to be acknowledged that Scientology does offer its adherents a unique way towards salvation like no other religious does. On account of its initial success in the last few decades therefore, it may not be surprising to learn that Scientology would later on become one of the major currents leading the rise of New Religious Movements.
