Religion observation project

Learning Goal:I’m working on a social science project and need support to help me learn.

Requirements for field notes:

• 800-1000 words and at least four images. Double-spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman.
• This is not graded based on grammar. Rather, these are graded based on descriptive and engaging details.
• Include the type of religious group, the name of the house of worship, the address, and the date and time in your notes.
• Use “Guide to Making Observations” as prompts (see below)
• Avoid listing your observations by bullet points (which function to reduce information). The point of these notes is to freely and descriptively record your observations.

Categories of observation:

• Location and setting: Pay attention to the physical surroundings, environment, and neighborhood (residential or commercial); is it a busy part of town or secluded? Walk around the area to get a sense of place (you can supplement with Google Earth for a bird’s eye view).The building is not on the side of the road but in the parking lot very close to the location, facing the entrance of the parking lot is the huge logo of Scientology and the golden cross, the church of Scientology of steves Greek building gives people a very modern and new feeling. I went there at 4 pm on a weekday, so there were only 3-4 cars in the parking lot. What surprised me was that the church of Scientology had set up a reception desk, which needed to take a temperature and ask if there were any recent symptoms of illness, followed by a questionnaire that needed to be filled out, including name, age, phone number, and how to I was very surprised that the church of Scientology had a receptionist. ( I wrote)
• Physical setting and artifacts (i.e., objects): What does the meeting place look like (inside and out)? Does this affect the mood or create a particular type of setting? How is the space set up? What are some of the “props” (i.e., tables, chairs, musical instruments, microphones, candles, coffee and snacks, etc.)? Are there any symbols that represent the group? Are there pamphlets or booklets? (Or is there literature online that you can use that tells you something about the religious group?)The building of Church of Scientology is divided into two floors, and on the left hand side of the first floor is the very large “exhibition hall” which houses the “Testing” and evulacate center. I was greeted by Mr. Robin, who was dressed in a white shirt, black pants, and black tie. On the left side of the showroom there were a lot of bookshelves, some of them were for sale, on the right side of the showroom there were several giant TVs, each TV had a different advertisement about scientology, there were two posters next to each TV, and in the center of the first floor there was a “library” where there were a lot of visitors. There is a “library” in the center of the first floor where a lot of books for “classes” and Scientology badges are for sale. Next to the library there is a chapel, which is more like a small meeting room, with a capacity of about 30 people. The second floor consists of only two functional areas, one is the purification center and the other is the auditing room. The purification center has four treadmills at the entrance, two saunas and a shower room inside, and a kitchenette with different vitamins on top. Every time you go to the purification center, you can run on the treadmill for 20 minutes, then go to the sauna, and after that you can go to the kitchen to take vitamins. ( i wrote)
• Demographics: You might note the ethnic affiliation, gender, race, economic class, and age of participants. For example, what is the ratio of males to females? Are the attendees older or younger or both? What are people wearing (e.g., expensive suits and dresses, work clothes, business casual, etc.)? These may indicate economic class. Look around the parking lot, what do you see? Parking lots may provide a view of the types of cars in the parking lot (e.g., mini-vans, high-end cars, etc.). (You can use Google Earth to supplement what you see on the day you arrive.) While you’re not expected to be precise here in terms of counting types of people, cars, etc., you can use these observations to learn something about the demographics of the group.There is not many people there, I only saw 2 teenager and one senior at the purification center
• Meeting style: What is the format or structure of the meeting? Is it informal or formal? Are there clearly those who lead the meeting or does everyone take part? Is the meeting broken up into different parts? For example, is there a worship (e.g., prayer, meditation, songs, chants, clapping, dancing, etc.) part of the service that precedes the sermon? Also, how are messages communicated: spoken word, lyrics, chanting, formal prayers, or individualized prayers, etc.? Make note of the activities and styles of interaction, worship, conversation, and/or teaching style. Are overhead projectors used to create guidelines for the religious service? Do the attendees seem engaged in the meeting or bored?
• Engagement of bodies: This is especially important if in a religious group that has some worship, prayer, or meditation portion of the service that can be observed. How are the bodies of practitioners engaged (e.g., singing, clapping, swaying or perfectly still, hands in the air or folded in one’s lap, etc.)? Are they sitting or standing? What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel while participating or observing this? What do you think participants are experiencing based on their body language or facial expressions?
• Narratives: You may also hear stories about the group in sermons. Or you may read about these stories on the organization’s website, on social media, or in their pamphlets. What are some of the stories people are telling one another about themselves or their religion? Do these relate to the organization or one’s identity with the religion? What do these narratives tell you about the history or mission of the group, and their identity? How do such stories situate people in a moral/ethical landscape?

Addtional resource attached

~RIEF HISTORIES OF RELIGION SERIES
ffers brief, accessible and lively accounts of key
and religion. Each volume presents
k and general readers with a selected history of
have had a profound effect on religious and cule word “history” is, therefore, understood in its
:ural and social sense. The volumes are based on
larship but they are written engagingly and in
, understood by general readers.
1 theology
Alister E. McGrath
G. R. Evans
Tamara Sonn
Douglas J. Davies
Lawrence S. Cunningham
Carter Lindberg
Peter S. Hawkins
Philip Sheldrake
v Religions Douglas E. Cowan and
David G. Bromley
Cults and
New Religions
A Brief History
Douglas E. Cowan
Renison College, University of Waterloo
David G. Bromley
Virginia Commonwealth University
fl)
Blackwell
Publishing
Chapter 2
The Church of
Scientology
The Question of Religion
Scientology fulfills the goal of religion by addressing the spiritual nature of man and his role in eternity. Yet it approaches the
traditional questions of religion from a standpoint of reason,
an approach that science can hardly argue with. The scope of
Scientology is immense. The full body of knowledge that comprises the religious Scripture 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.
(Church of Scientology International, Scientology: Theology and
Practice of a Contemporary Religion)
In a wide variety of publications, the Church of Scientology
International (CSI) claims to be “the fastest growing religious
movement on Earth” (see, for example, CSI 1998; 2004a;
2004b), and “arguably the only great religion to emerge in the
twentieth century” (CSI 1998: 561). From the opening pages of
its seminal text, Dianetics (Hubbard [1950] 1990), to the nearly
100 sermons contained in The Background, Ministry, Ceremonies
and Sermons of the Scientology Religion (CSI 1999), Scientological
literature is filled with similar claims. In the latter, for example,
we read that “Scientology is the most vital movement on Earth
today” (CSI 2002: 166), and that “in Scientology, we possess a
practical system of ethics and justice, based solely on reason.
No such system has ever existed before” (CSI 2002: 389),
claims the Church, and that “anything religious teachers said
or Buddha promised, even the visions of Christianity, are all
attained in Scientology as result” (CSI 2002: 503).
While it is often in the nature of religion to make hyperbolic claims – many religious traditions have their own version
of extra ecclesiam nulla salus (“outside the church there is no
salvation”) – most are at least regarded as religions. Scientology, however, has struggled for acceptance on that very issue.
Officially recognized by Australia in 1982, for example, the
Church was banned for many years prior to that. On October 1, 1993, after a two-decade battle for reinstatement, the
US Internal Revenue Service restored the Church’s 501 (c) 3
tax exempt status as an “exclusively religious or charitable
organization.” A week later, thousands of Scientologists gathered in Los Angeles to hear the official announcement and to
celebrate what the Church considers an “historic victory for
religious freedom” (CSI 2002: 236). In other countries, their
struggle has been less successful. While Italian courts ruled
in 2000 that Scientology does qualify as a religion, and New
Zealand granted the Church limited tax exemption in 2002,
its application for charitable status in England and Wales was
denied a year earlier (Meek 1999).
Over the past decade, though, countries in western Europe
have offered the stiffest opposition to recognizing Scientology as a legitimate religion. In 1997, a Greek court “called the
Church of Scientology a danger to society and ordered it to
close” (Carassava 1997). In 1998, after a two-year investigation by Die Enquete-Kommission “Sogenannte Sekten und
Psychogruppen” (the Commission of Inquiry into So-called
Sects and Psychocults), the Church of Scientology was listed
The Church of Scientology
25
as one of a number of groups German authorities considered
dangerous enough to label verfassungsfeindlich, a threat to the
security of the constitution (Hexham and Poewe 1999; Richardson and Introvigne 2001). Among other things, Germans
were urged to boycott films starring Tom Cruise, arguably the
most recognizable Scientologist in the world; Scientologists were
forbidden from joining the Christian Democratic Party, and
were subject to a regime of government surveillance (Staunton 1996). Similarly, under the 2000 About-Picard Law, France
included Scientology among nearly 175 groups it considered
a danger to society. Since various branches of the French government had been in conflict with the Church for nearly a
decade at that point, many commentators saw Scientology as
one of the principal targets of what is arguably the harshest
antisect legislation in Europe.
Though these actions were criticized by religious leaders,
scholars, legislators, and human rights advocates worldwide
(see, for example, Kyriazopolous 2001; Richardson and Introvigne 2001; Schoen 2002), and some of the proscriptions
imposed in Germany have been reversed, the stigma remains
and the struggle continues. However these controversies are
resolved, though, whether for the Church of Scientology or for
other marginalized religious groups, two principal questions
Ii_~ at their heart: what is a “religion,” and do these movements
legitimately qualify?
L. Ron Hubbard and the Origins of Scientology
.Claiming_ more than n~e IIly._lio~__ members worldwide, with
“more than 6,000 churches, missions and groups in 159 countries” (CSI 2006a), Scientology begins (and in many ways ends)
with Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (1911-86), a moderately successful science fiction writer who has become “the source and
26
The Church of Scientology
founder of the Scientology religion” (CSI 2002: xii). With_Qfil_
Hubbard the Church of Scientology would !!Q~xist, and the
devotion to his writings that marks Scientology today ensures
that his influence will dominate for the foreseeable future.
Indeed, the Church so values Hubbard’s voluminous output
that a special organization, the Church of Spiritual Technology, is engraving the entire corpus of Hubbard’s original texts
on steel plates that the Church insists will last for more than a
thousand years. Once engraved, these plates will be stored in
specially designed titanium containers buried deep in the New
Mexico mountains. In the event of a global catastrophe, Scientologists believe that Hubbard’s teachings will be vital for
rebuilding civilization (Leiby 2005).
As is often the case with new religious movements, critics and devotees tend to agree on the broad outlines of the
founder’s life, but diverge dramatically over the details. So it
is with the Church of Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard. Born
in Tilden, Nebraska, Hubbard’s father was a Navy ensign,
his mother the daughter of a small town veterinarian. By all
accounts, while growing up the red-headed young Ron was
convinced he was destined for greatness. By the late 1930s, he
was supporting himself writing pulp science fiction stories for
such magazines as Astounding and Unknown. Indeed, between
1929 and 1941, he claims to have published 15 million words
(CSI 1994: 11), the equivalent of 200 mass-market novels.
Hubbard was commissioned into the US Naval Reserve several months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and
worked in a variety of capacities through the Second World
War. Though there is considerable dispute about whether he
ever saw any real combat, his military career ended at Oak
Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, California, a few days after
Japan surrendered.
Hubbard returned to writing in the late 1940s, and in 1950
published both the seminal article on Dianetics – the precursor
The Church of Scientology
27
to Scientology – in Astounding Science Fidion, and the full-length
treatment, Dianetics, which he subtitled The Modern Science of
Mental Health (Hubbard [1950} 1990). Allegedly meaning
“through the soul,” Dianetics taught that the true spiritual
essence of the human being – which some religions refer to
as the soul or the spirit, but which Hubbard later called the
“t!1:etan’,- – w~~ frapped and restricted by a J_!l:Y!iad of “past
‘:?.C_Q~riences of l~~Lpagi a_g9:_];J.:QC:()nsciousn~_s~-~-(~g 2002;___l 6).
Thr:oug1!_11_dianetic: 1:berapy,” these harmfuLaccr_etionS-~were
‘~clea_~~-c:l’~ .. and __ the __person returned to what-llubba-Fa-tensidgred tg~Qtmal state of human betng.
Though the Church of Scientology has not yet released an
official biography of Hubbard, the voluminous smaller works
issued under the auspices of the Author Services Center paint
a rather more dramatic portrait of Scientology’s founder. His
father, for example, is routinely referred to as a “naval commander,” and Ron a precocious boy who excelled in everything
he tried. While the family was living in Helena, Montana,
young Ron is said to have befriended members of the local
Blackfoot tribe, who taught him their secrets and initiated him
as a “blood brother” at the age of six. While still a teenager,
he claims to have explored remote areas of Asia by himself,_
visiting Buddhist monasteries in western China, roaming the
steppes with nomadic Mongol bandits, and learning occult
secrets from a Chinese magician whose lineage extended to the
court of Kublai Khan. In the early 1930s, “already an expert in
many different cultures” (CSI 1998: 35), he enrolled in George
Washington University, and later “embarked on international
ethnological expeditions to the Caribbean and then to Puerto
Rico” (CSI 2002: 88). At the outbreak of the Second World
War, Hubbard was “ordered to Australia where he coordinates intelligence activities,” later serving as the commander
of a convoy escort vessel and a subchaser (CSI 2005). According to the Church, in addition to being a prodigious writer,
28
The Church of Scientology
Hubbard was an accomplished director, composer, choreographer, philosopher, and cinematographer and photographer
– each of which career was marked both by thorough and
comprehensive study, and by his unique contributions to the
field. Without exception, Hubbard is presented as an intrepid
e~plorer, daring pilot, master mariner, philosophical visionary,
scientific and artistic genius, and religious virtuoso.
Whatever the biographical reality, Hubbard initially submitted his investigations into the workings of the human
mind and spirit to the American Psychological Association,
but was thoroughly and somewhat summarily dismissed, a
circumstance that could explain the virulence with which Scientology has attacked psychiatry and psychology ever since.
The same year as Dianetics was published, Hubbard opened
the Dianetics Research Foundation and began to offer classes
and train individuals in “auditing,” the counseling technique
he had developed. According to the Church of Scientology,
which was officially founded in 1954, “by late fall of 1950,
there were 750 groups across the country applying Dianetics
techniques” (CSI 1998: 48). For the next three decades, Hubbard devoted himself entirely to building and expanding the
religion of Scientology.
Anyone who spends time visiting various Scientology centers,
missions, or churches (all of which are called(orgs”)J reading the literature, listening to tapes, or simply observing the
physical spaces occupied by Scientology will recognize Hubbard’s ubiquitous presence. Auditing practices are designed to
follow his written instructions without deviation. The “chapel
arrangement”Tor Sunday worship services- caps for a large
bust of Hubbard to be placed at stage right, between the lectern and the Scientology cross. Over half of the 96 officiaI’
Scientology sermons reference Hubbard directly, and every
one concludes by referring congregants either to Hubbard’s
own works or to Scientology books based on those works. In
The Church of Scientology 29
the manner of setting a place for Elijah at the Passover Seder,
every Scientology org, large or small, maintains an office for
Uiubbard in perpetuity. In Hollywood, California, the Author
Services Center is a veritable shrine to Hubbard’s writings in
all their manifold versions, editions, and translations, and the
Hubbard Life Exhibition is an excellent example of how the
Church he founded is constantly constructing his hagiogr~phy
(see Christensen 2005).
To devout Scientologists, Hubbard is the founder of the
practice, the author of the scriptures, the touchstone of belief,
and the guarantor of salvation. To others, however, he is nothing more than a fraud and a spiritual poseur. It is often in this
difference that the question of Scientology’s religious legitimacy resides.
Beliefs and Practices of the Church of Scientology
Scientologists refer to their beliefs as an “applied religious philosophy” whose “roots lie in the deepest aspirations and beliefs
of all great religions” (CSI 1998: 1 ), and whose principal goal
is “no less than the full rehabilitation of man’s innate spiritual self – his capabilities, his awareness, and his certainty of
his own immortality” (CSI 2002: 16). As it evolved from Dianetic therapy in the late 1940s to the Scientology religion in the
early 1950s and beyond, Hubbard’s thought developed into a
complex, often abstruse religious philosophy that completely
accounts for the spiritual condition of humankind, the creation and ongoing existence of the universe as we know it,
and the meaningful relationship that exists between the two.
f. In simple terms, however, there are number of basic concepts
t.:q._g!_]mderpin all beliefs and practices of the Chm.ch of s_ cientology: the reality of spiritt_ the nature of mind; and the path
to salvation. Scientologists maintain that by understanding
\ ~
30
The Church of Scientology
these principles, and by applying the techniques developed
by L. Ron Hubbard (which are collectiv~ly referred t()__?_S__ !he
“tech”), not only will the individual person find infinite and
~ t e fulfillment, but the world will eventually be cleansed
of all that prevents such fulfillment – crime, drugs, prejudice,
and warfare.
~Qt unlike many other religious systems, Scientology_~es
the human person into three parts: the spirit, the mind, and
the body. Tp.e spiritual essence, the “life force” of each person
is called the thetan, though Scientologists are quick to point
out that 12ersons do not have thetans, they are thetans. T~
are spiritual beings incarnate, rather than physical beings
that simply possess a soul. Although “the usual residence of
the thetan is in the skull” (Hubbard 1988: 64), Scientologists
believe that it exists outside the normal frames of spatial reference – “having no· mass, no wavelength, no energy and no
·time or location in space” (Hubbard 1996: 45).
.According to the Church, Hubbard’s discovery of the thetan
places Scientology at the heart of the human quest for meaning, and proves that “its origins are as ancient as religious
thought itself” (CSI 1998: 561). However, Scientology considers that its understanding of the thetan distinguishes it from
other religious traditions, especially Judaism and Christianity,
in three important ways. (fJiit,_’while many religions fuse the
concept of the body and the soul, the thetan is separate and
independent; “the mind and body are vehicles through which
the thetan interacts with the material world” (CSI 1998: 561).
~gm_cl,) unlike the three great world monotheisms, Scientofogists believe ~n reincarnation, that the thetan has lived
through many, perhaps thousands of lifetimes. Indeed, Hubbard maintains that it was through his investigation of past-life
experiences among Dianetics practitioners in the early 1950s
that he hit upon the concept of the thetan ( [1958] 1977;
1996: 52-63). {hi~q, contrary to Christian concepts of original
The Church of Scientology
31
s~cientology holds to the intrinsic goodness of the thetan,
but believes that the spiritua~ ~ss~ce has lost _touch yyjth itj’_’
tn1:~_nature. “The spirit, then, is not a thing,” Hubbard writes
( 1996: 45). “It is the creator of things.”
For Scientologists, the mind is the “communication and control system between the thetan and his environment” (Hubbard
1988: 65). Building on his understanding of Freudian psychoanalysis, which the Church claims he studied from the age of
12, Hu~d separated the mind into two main comJ;K)nent_s:
the analytical mind and the reactive mind. Earlier writings also
contain reference to a third part, the somatic mind, but the
majority of Scientology’s belief and practice revolves around
the other two. The analytical min_d_is the..tbinking minp.,…apI.Q:
active control mechanism that “observes data, remembers it,
and resolv:~s_probkms” (CSI 1998: 64). Everything the
lytical mind observes is stored in “memory banks,” and the
information used to serve what Scientologists believe is the
“primary urge” ofall life – “Survive!” (CSI 1998: 62). The analytical mind, however, does not record painful experiences,
whether emotional, spiritual, or physical. These are handled
by the r~ctive mind.,_, “a stimulus-response mechanism” that
stores each traumatic experience as a sep_arak.n1ental pj_c;tun~ called an engram (Hubbard 1988: 68). Accumulated over
th~ thetan’s· various lifetimes and buried deep in the reactive
mind, the totality of one’s negative experiences comprise one’s
time track, “the source of all travail, unwanted fears, emotions,
pains, and psychosomatic illnesses” (CSI 2002: 16). When
a person encounters a situation similar to one stored in the
reactive mind, that particular engram is reactivated and exerts
a negative influence on the person’s life.
A common technique used to demonstrate this is the “pinch
test.” While seated in front of a Hubbard Electropsychome©,
which the Church defines as a “religious artifact” for use in its
“confessional” and which is most commonly called a n ~
ana-
32
The Church of Scientology
(CSI 1998: 83), one practitioner will pinch another lightly
on the arm. In response, a needle on the E-Meter will move.
Essentially a Wheatstone bridge, the E-Meter is a low-voltage
skin galvanometer that measures changes in electrical resistance across two electrodes that are held by the practitioner.
After a few moments (or even a few months), if the subject is
asked to recall the pinch, the E-Meter needle will move as it did
before. Scientologists regard this as incontrovertible evidence
of the existence and effect of engrams stored in the reactive
mind, and the scientific ground on which auditing, their central
therapeutic and religious practice, is based.
The primary ritual in Scientological practice, the Church
refers to auditing as “a precise form of spiritual counseling
between a Scientology minister and a parishioner” (CSI
2002: 33). Using an E-Meter and strictly controlled sets of
questions and directions, auditors (ministers) guide Scientology practitioners (parishioners) through a series of graduated
processes designed to identify the particular engrams that
have accumulated in their time tracks. Once an engram is
located, further questions assist the practitioner to address
and eliminate it. The jnjtial goal of audWog is ta remove all
e:ccumulated engrams, to free practitioners from the negative
influence of past experience, and “to cast off the chains that
~row heavier from lifetime!~ lifetime” (CSI 2002: 34). “The
fact is,” claims the Church, “Scientology works 100 percent of
the time when it is properly applied to a person who sincerely
desires to improve his life” (CSI 1998: 215). Any lack of success is attributed either to “tech” that has been misapplied by
an auditor or to unwillingness on the part of the practitioner
to embrace the process fully and honestly.
Auditing proceeds along two parallel tracks known as “training” and “processing,” and as they complete the various coursei
levels, and intermediate steps known as “rundowns,” practitioners move up what Scientologists call “The Bridge to Total
The Church of Scientology
33
Freedom” (or, simply, the Bridge). Newcomers to Scientology
begin as preclears, that is, those who are still in thrall to the
reactive mind and the engrams stored within it. Their initial goal is to become Clear, a process that requires numerous
courses of auditing and which can take up to two years. Clear
is the first significant milestone on the Bridge, and once practitioners have “gone Clear” they are considered free from
all accumulated engrams and no longer subject to the irrational control of their reactive minds. Scientologists believe
that these pneumo-therapeutic results are unique in human
history. Indeed, “while the Clear is analogous to the state of
awareness in Buddhism called the Bodhi, or enlightened one,
the Clear is a permanent level of spiritual awareness never
attainable prior to Dianetics and Scientology” (CSI 2002: 16).
O~ce Clear,a~actitioner cag~in to move through the l5
upper levels known as OT, or Operating Thetan. These advanced
courses of auditing are only avaifa6Ie at a few select centers
around the world, and contain teachings the Church reserves
for its most devoted followers. At these levels, auditing is often
conducted alone, with the practitioner providing both the
questions and the answers depending on the stated purpose
of that level. Since the reactive mind was eliminated when
the Scientologist went Clear, the main goal of the OT levels is
to increase spiritual and mental awareness by reacquainting
the practitioner with the “native abilities” of the thetan (CSI
1998: 167), the true nature that has been masked throughout
one’s time track by the reactive mind. The Church of Scientology International’s standard reference work on the theology
and practice of the religion states it thus:
In this spiritual state it is possible for the thetan to possess complete spiritual ability, freedom, independence and serenity, to be
freed from the endless cycle of birth and death, and to have full
awareness and ability independent of the body (CSI 2002: 37).
34
The Church of Scientology
Whether preclear, Clear, or Operating Thetan, the various
courses of auditing are offered through a strictly controlled
organizational hierarchy. Individual churches, or “orgs,” are
licensed as franchises, and provide auditing services to practitioners on a fee-for-service basis. In many countries, the
Church’s religious tax-exemption requires that these fees be
called donations, and the Church maintains that it operates
on a strictly not-for-profit basis. Introductory courses can be
had for less than US $50, though ongoing auditing can cost
hundreds of dollars per week or more. Upper-level courses
are considerably more expensive, and practitioners can spend
hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete the Bridgt;:__The
hi~p.~ost_()t?:ll_ditigg h_as 1:>_een a sourc~_2_f _c::onsiderable tension
between the Cburch_oiScientology_and_its_critics. While the
Church proudly proclaims that less than 2 percent of its membership receives government social assistance (CSI 1998: 467),
this makes sense given the high cost of Scientology services.
Not all Scientologists pay equally, however. Rather than requiring only a fee-for-service, practitioners are also encouraged to
train as auditors and then co-audit each other, something that
is said to reduce the cost significantly, and which also serves to
reinforce participants’ commitment to the Church of Scientology and its multiple organizations. Those who choose to join
the staff of an org and work for the Church either full or part
-time may also receive auditing as part of t~c(ftnpensation.
The Organizational Structure of the Church of Scientology
L~~_its theology, the Church of Scientology’s organizational
structure is complex, multi-faceted, and highly bureaucratized. Each element in that structure is minutely managed, and
every org is responsible for following precisely the instructions,
procedures, and policies Hubbard laid out in his 12-volume
The Church of Scientology
35
“administrative technology.” In broad strokes, every element
in 4he organizatiorL.falls.J.nto_~n~. ofthree main caiegones:
Scientology senz:ices_an_d_PJQci_ll_C!(S; ~m~~~ie~~Ilt,
suppm:t,and-pu.hlic-1:elationi)sertlces_;_and_ (pmtriiihity_l:)~!!er_me~rnj_e..cts..
,__________ — —
\d-ei~i¥)~£
‘((\ D..ellil.e.I¥- services form the ecclesiastical structure of the
,____ Church, and .range from field auditors (individuals, couples, or small groups who offer introductory lectures and the
most basic auditing services) to the Flag Ship Service Organization, which is based aboard the 440-foot MV Freewinds,
and provides “a safe, aesthetic, distraction-free environment
appropriate for ministration” of the highest levels of Scientology auditing and training (CSI 1998: 296). Between these,
a number of organizational levels are arranged hierarchically: Scientology Missions, Class V Organizations, Saint Hill
Organizations, Advanced Organizations, and the Flag Service Organization, which is located in Clearwater, Florida and
which serves as a “worldwide focal point for the religion” (CSI
1998: 295). Each org in the system is licensed by the Mother
Church to provide all the auditing and training services available at lower-level orgs, but may not offer courses for which it
is not licensed. An important part of the daily routine of any
org is the gathering of “stats,” a variety of performance indi- ·
cators that areTevtewed regularly and on the basis of which
each org’s effectiveness is evaluated. 9rgs retain the right to
d~liver services only so long as they maintain quality standard~_~_pd production_g_”!lQ!~~ setJ?Y. th~ _C:p.11rch qf S_~igntglogy
International.
If the hierarchy of auditing delivery services constitutes the
ecclesiastical structure of the Church, the various manq_g~~ support, and public relations services are its corporate __
structure. Rather than auditing and training, these organizations are responsible for the planning, implementation,
oversight, and advertisement of Scientology activities world-
@
–
36 The Church of Scientology
wide. The Church of Scientology International (CSI), located
in Los Angeles, California, is the corporate head of the ecclesiastical structure – the Mother Church. Through a variety of
subordinate organizations, such as Scientology Missions International and the International Hubbard Ecclesiastical League
of Pastors (I HELP), the CSI works to ensure the expansion
of Scientology worldwide and the penetration of its principles
into all levels of society. Formed in 1982, Author Services Inc.
(ASI) is the repository of Hubbard’s literary legacy, and the
agency charged with the continual publication of his works,
as well as the maintenance of copyright over those works.
In addition to Hubbard’s own writings, ASI also produces a
number of magazines and books featuring stories about Hubbard and excerpts from his “never before published” work. The
Office of Special Affairs (OSA), on the other hand, is “responsible for directing and coordinating all legal matters affecting
the Church” (CSI 1998: 541). Many critics consider the
to be little more than a rehabilitated version of the Guardians Office, a branch of Scientology responsible for a number
of criminal acts in the 1970s, and for which nine Scientolo:::-1,
gists (including Hubbard’s wife, Mary Sue) were fined and
imprisoned in 1979 (cf. Miller 1987: 336-64 passim). There is,_
however, little concrete evidence to support these allegations.
Scientology is also involved in a wide variety of c.Q_mmu- z-.
(CSI 1999). _No variation or elaboration is permitted. Though
meeting rooms are arranged in very similar fashion to Protestant churches – a central table, a lectern, a pulpit-size copy
of The Background, a bust of Hubbard, and the Scientology
cross – there are no rooms or buildings devoted entirely to this
purpose. Within each org, multipurpose rooms become sanctuaries as the need demands and the time approaches. Since
worship services are not 2_~rt of_ the.__Bridge-11LT0t1:1-l Freedo:ui
they are not central to the life of many practitioners, and org_s
that claim thousands of regular practitioners may see on.l.y__g_
handful of the faithful at any given worship service.
For the faithful, however, tq.e most dedicated of Scientologists, there is the Sea Organization, known as the Sea Or~ (cf.
Christensen 1999; Melton 2003). D