Scientology

Paper Summary:

This paper addresses the Church of Scientology as a social organization. It examines its critics and their claims. The paper begins with a brief introductory section with background information on the Church and its founder L. Ron Hubbard. It examines how the Church of Scientology evolved into the institution it is today. The paper then presents and analyzes the main religious and philosophical tenets of the religion.

From the Paper:

"The tenets of Scientology are more practical than theological, and in many ways the ideology resembles a New Age self help program. Although the Church of Scientology claims that faith is unnecessary, practitioners are nevertheless expected to believe that Scientology teachings offer the only solutions to their worldly problems. The Church of Scientology disavows the benefits of psychological therapy or counseling outside of the Church because its views on the nature of human life differ significantly from that of the scientific establishment. The "auditing" process in Scientology resembles psychological counseling but is done so within the parameters of the religion. Auditing involves an established set of questions and auditors use an "electropsychometer," or E-meter to assess the practitioner's responses."

Sample of Sources Used:

• BeliefNet. "What Scientologists Believe." Retrieved April 23, 2007 from http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8057_1.html
• "Scientology." Wikipedia. Retrieved April 23, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
• Scientology: Web site. Retrieved April 23, 2007 from http://www.scientology.org/

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