121-569: The E-Meter (also electropsychometer and Hubbard Electrometer ) is an electronic device used in Scientology that allegedly "registers emotional reactions". After claims by L. Ron Hubbard that the procedures of auditing , which used the E-Meter, could help heal diseases, the E-Meter became the subject of litigation. Since then, the Church of Scientology publishes disclaimers declaring that
242-416: A HASI (short for Hubbard Association of Scientologists International ) was an organization where people would go for Scientology training, auditing , books, tapes, and e-meters . There were HASI organizations across the western world . The use of the word "HASI", pronounced "hah-zee" or "ha-zee", could refer to either a local organization or the international management corporation. [L. Ron Hubbard]
363-430: A scam . Hubbard initially developed a set of ideas that he called Dianetics , which he represented as a form of therapy. An organization that he established in 1950 to promote it went bankrupt, and Hubbard lost the rights to his book Dianetics in 1952. He then recharacterized his ideas as a religion, likely for tax purposes, and renamed them Scientology. By 1954, he had regained the rights to Dianetics and founded
484-582: A bust or large framed photograph of him on display. The Church of Scientology is headquartered at " Gold Base " in Riverside County, California , where the highest Sea Org officials work, and at "Flag Land Base" in Clearwater, Florida . The organization operates on a hierarchical and top-down basis, being largely bureaucratic in structure. It claims to be the only true voice of Scientology. The internal structure of Scientology organizations
605-421: A calendar in which 1950, the year in which Hubbard's book Dianetics was published, is considered year zero, the beginning of an era. Years after that date are referred to as "AD" for "After Dianetics ". They have also buried copies of his writings preserved on stainless steel disks in a secure underground vault in the hope of preserving them against major catastrophes. The Church of Scientology's view of Hubbard
726-613: A commercial company. Each franchise sends part of its earnings, which have been generated through beginner-level auditing, to the International Management. Bromley observed that an entrepreneurial incentive system pervades the organization, with individual members and organisations receiving payment for bringing in new people or for signing them up for more advanced services. The individual and collective performances of different members and missions are gathered, being called "stats". Performances that are an improvement on
847-553: A confidence trick to obtain money from its targets. The scholar Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi observes that "the majority of activities conducted by Scientology and its many fronts and subsidiaries involve the marketing of secular products." In a report by the European Parliament , it is observed that the group "is a cool, cynical, manipulating business and nothing else." Scholars and journalists note that profit
968-400: A congregation that believes in and helps spread its teachings. Allan W. Black analysed Scientology through the seven "dimensions of religion" set forward by the scholar Ninian Smart and also decided that Scientology met those criteria for being a religion. The sociologist David V. Barrett noted that there was a "strong body of evidence to suggest that it makes sense to regard Scientology as
1089-609: A current within a current. This machine is relatively simple, but it's a current floating inside another current ... And I am, by the way, very much indebted to Mathison just on this basis of all of a sudden having a pilot. Mathison began working with L. Ron Hubbard in 1951 and that year filed application for his first E-meter patent, U.S. Patent 2,684,670 . After the partnership broke up in 1954, Mathison continued improving his E-meters with additional patents ( U.S. patent 2,736,313 , U.S. patent 2,810,383 ), marketing them through his own company and publications, retaining many of
1210-421: A dangerous cult and as a manipulative profit-making business . These institutions and scholars state that Scientology is not a religion. Scientology has experienced multiple schisms during its history. While the Church of Scientology was the original promoter of the movement, various independent groups have split off to form independent Scientology groups. Referring to the "different types of Scientology",
1331-569: A deity. They regard him as the preeminent Operating Thetan who remained on Earth in order to show others the way to spiritual liberation, the man who discovered the source of human misery and a technology allowing everyone to achieve their true potential. Church of Scientology management frames Hubbard's physical death as "dropping his body" to pursue higher levels of research not possible with an Earth-bound body. Scientologists often refer to Hubbard affectionately as "Ron", and many refer to him as their "friend". The Scientology organization operates
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#17327807549871452-424: A document which they assert all those who undergo auditing or processing must sign which states that Scientology is "a spiritual and religious guide intended to make persons more aware of themselves as spiritual beings, and not treating or diagnosing human ailments of body or mind, and not engaged in the teaching of medical arts or sciences * * *." Finally, with respect to their claim to be a religion and hence within
1573-531: A healthy living discombobulated many observers when it first started. Dericquebourg comments that the same things can be found in established churches. The word Scientology , as coined by Hubbard, is a derivation from the Latin word scientia ("knowledge", "skill"), which comes from the verb scīre ("to know"), with the suffix -ology , from the Greek λόγος lógos ("word" or "account [of]"). Hubbard claimed that
1694-730: A license. In 1958, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized and destroyed 21,000 Dianazene tablets from Hubbard's Distribution Center Inc. , charging that they were falsely labeled as a treatment for radiation sickness. On January 4, 1963, in service of an FDA complaint, more than 100 US marshals and deputized longshoremen with drawn guns raided the Founding Church of Scientology in Washington, D.C., and confiscated more than three tons of property, including 5,000 books, 2,900 booklets, and several hundred E-meters. The FDA accused
1815-561: A minimum of payments to the Scientology organization of $ 350,000 to $ 400,000 (equivalent to $ 542,000 in 2023). OT levels six and seven are only available at Clearwater. The highest level, OT eight, is disclosed only at sea on the Scientology ship Freewinds , operated by the Flag Ship Service Org. Scholar of religion Aled Thomas suggested that the status of a person's level creates an internal class system within
1936-490: A mission wherever they wish but must fund it themselves; the missions are not financially supported by the central organization. Mission holders must purchase all of the necessary material from the central Church of Scientology; as of 2001, the Mission Starter Pack cost $ 35,000 (equivalent to $ 60,200 in 2023). Each mission or Org is a corporate entity, established as a licensed franchise, and operating as
2057-574: A new trial with the mandate that the trial court could not forbid auditing, use of the E-meter, or purveyance of the literature within a religious context. The FDA appealed the decision, but in 1969, the US Supreme Court declined to review the case, commenting only that "Scientology meets the prima facie test of religion". In his 1973 judgment, District Court Judge Gerhard Gesell ruled that: Hubbard and his fellow Scientologists developed
2178-476: A number of characteristic needle movements , each with a specific significance. Religion scholar Dorthe Refslund Christensen describes the e-meter as "a technical device that could help the auditor locate engrams and areas of change when auditing a preclear ". Scientology concepts associated with the E-meter and its use are regarded by the scientific and medical communities as pseudoscience , as
2299-575: A pilot; I had to have some method of metering preclears which was not dependent at all upon opinion or judgment. And I went out and looked at the existing lie detector equipment and I could not find anything which would do a job of work. Now, Volney Mathison out on the Coast heard a talk out there one day, and I mentioned this fact. ... I had one of the fanciest electroencephalographs made and it didn't do anything very much, police detectors didn't do anything very much, and Mathison went to work and he floated
2420-625: A planetary ruler 70 million years ago who brought billions of aliens to Earth and killed them with thermonuclear weapons . Despite being kept secret from most followers, this forms the central mythological framework of Scientology's ostensible soteriology . These aspects have become the subject of popular ridicule. Since its formation, Scientology groups have generated considerable opposition and controversy. This includes deaths of practitioners while under Church of Scientology care, several instances of extensive criminal activities, and allegations by former adherents of exploitation and forced abortions. In
2541-489: A religion is strongly opposed by the anti-cult movement . Its claims to a religious identity have been particularly rejected in continental Europe. Grünschloß writes that labelling Scientology a religion does not mean that it is "automatically promoted as harmless, nice, good, and humane". . The multi-faceted nature of the Church of Scientology that includes pedagogy, communication theories, management principles and methods for
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#17327807549872662-430: A religion", while scholar of religion James R. Lewis comments that "it is obvious that Scientology is a religion". The scholar Mikael Rothstein observes that the Scientology "is best understood as a devotional cult aimed at revering the mythologized founder of the organization". Numerous religious studies scholars have described Scientology as a new religious movement . Various scholars have also considered it within
2783-467: A religion, but the early history of the Scientology organization, and Hubbard's policy directives, letters, and instructions to subordinates, indicate that his motivation for doing so was as a legally pragmatic move to minimize his tax burden and escape the possibility of prosecution. In many countries, the Church of Scientology has engaged in extensive litigation to secure recognition as a tax-exempt religious organization, and it has managed to obtain such
2904-413: A religion. The sociologist Bryan R. Wilson compares Scientology with 20 criteria that he associated with religion and concludes that the movement could be characterised as such. Wilson's criteria include: a cosmology that describes a human reality beyond terrestrial existence; ethics and behavior teachings that are based on this cosmology; prescribed ways for followers to connect with spiritual beings; and
3025-685: A religion: "We don't want a clinic. We want one in operation but not in name...It is a problem of practical business. I await your reaction on the religion angle". In reaction to a series of arrests of his followers, and the prosecution of Hubbard's Dianetics foundation for teaching medicine without a license, in December 1953 Hubbard incorporated three organizations – Church of American Science, Church of Scientology, and Church of Spiritual Engineering. In 1959, Hubbard purchased Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, Sussex, United Kingdom, which became
3146-610: A status in a few jurisdictions, including the United States, Italy, and Australia. The organization has not received recognition as a religious institution in the majority of countries in which it operates. An article in the magazine TIME , " The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power ", describes Scientology as a ruthless global scam . The Church of Scientology's attempts to sue the publishers for libel and to prevent republication abroad were dismissed. Scholarship in psychology and skepticism supports this view of Scientology as
3267-494: A supernatural source. He published hundreds of articles and books over the course of his life. Scientologists regard his writings on Scientology as scripture . Much basic information about the Scientology belief system is kept secret from most practitioners. The scholar and historian of Scientology Hugh Urban observes that: A great many aspects of Scientology are shrouded in layers of secrecy, concealment, obfuscation , and/or dissimulation . In Scientology Hubbard's work
3388-418: Is a Wheatstone bridge , an electrical circuit configuration invented in 1833 that enables the detection of very small differences between two electrical impedances (in this case, resistances ). The E-meter is constructed so that one resistance is the subject's body and the other is a rheostat controlled by the operator. A small voltage from the battery is applied to electrodes held in the subject's hands. As
3509-464: Is an activity known as " auditing ". It takes place with two Scientologists — one is the "auditor" who asks questions, and the subject is termed the "preclear". The stated purpose is to help the subject to remove their mental traumas (ostensible recordings in the mind which Hubbard termed "engrams"). Scholarship in clinical psychology demonstrates that the purpose of auditing is to induce a light hypnotic state and to create dependency and obedience in
3630-400: Is charged for each session of "auditing". Once an "auditor" deems an individual free of "engrams" they are given the status of " clear ". Scholarship differs on the interpretation of these beliefs: some academics regard them as religious in nature; other scholars regard them as merely a means of extracting money from Scientology recruits. After attaining "clear" status, adherents can take part in
3751-403: Is considered an immortal being who has been reincarnated many times over. Someone who has died is said to have "dropped the body". Scientology refers to the existence of a Supreme Being , but practitioners are not expected to worship it. No intercessions are made to seek this being's assistance in daily life. The mythological framework which forms the basis for what Scientologists view as
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3872-554: Is governing director of Hubbard Association of Scientologists International, the operative company of the HASI, over which he exercises complete and autocratic control. The Hubbard Association of Scientologists ( HAS ) was an American corporation formed by L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 in Phoenix, Arizona . HAS was a secular (non-religious) organization for operating a training facility, publishing books, and selling e-meters . Soon after
3993-460: Is greatly increased. This simple electrical device is not, of course, the sole basis for the condemnation of scientology, but without the E-meter scientology would be partly disarmed. Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard , and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a cult , a business , a religion , or
4114-508: Is not a curative or medical device. The E-meters used by the Church were previously manufactured by Scientologists at their Gold Base facility, but were being manufactured in Hong Kong and Taiwan as of 1998. According to Hubbard, the E-meter is used by the operator for three vital functions: The Church claims that the E-meter can be used to assess the emotional charge of single words, whole sentences, and questions, as well as indicating
4235-411: Is often criticized for the prices it charges for auditing, and examinations of the group have indicated that profit is the group's primary purpose. Hubbard stated that charging for auditing was necessary because the practice required an exchange, and should the auditor not receive something for their services it could harm both parties. During auditing, a device called an electropsychometer ( E-meter )
4356-429: Is one of the factors recorded by polygraphs , and EDA meters are often used in human studies to gauge psychological responses. Most prominent on the face of the e-meter is a display with a needle pointer. There are several dials and knobs, and modern e-meters have several LCD displays. All models have knobs for turning the device on, testing it, setting the sensitivity, and boosting the device. The primary control for
4477-425: Is posited as complete spiritual freedom in which one is able to do anything one chooses, create anything, go anywhere — an idea which has appealed to many. The scholar Hugh Urban describes the supernatural powers promoted as being gained by an Operating Thetan as: The liberated thetan could even freely create a personal paradise, populating it with heavenly beings and infinite pleasures at will. ... As such,
4598-407: Is presented in their hagiographical biography of him, seeking to present him as "a person of exceptional character, morals and intelligence". Critics of Hubbard and his organization claim that many of the details of his life as he presented it were false. Every Scientology Org maintains an office set aside for Hubbard in perpetuity, set out to imitate those he used in life, and will typically have
4719-449: Is regarded as perfect, and no elaboration or alteration is permitted. Hubbard described Scientology as an "applied religious philosophy", because, according to him, it consists of a metaphysical doctrine, a theory of psychology, and teachings in morality. Hubbard incorporated a variety of hypnotic techniques in Scientology auditing and courses. These are used as a means to create dependency and obedience in followers. Hubbard said of
4840-531: Is strongly bureaucratic with a focus on statistics-based management. Organizational operating budgets are performance-related and subject to frequent reviews. By 2011, the organization was claiming over 700 centres in 65 countries. Smaller centres are called "missions". The largest number of these are in the U.S., with the second largest number being in Europe. Missions are established by missionaries, who are referred to as "mission holders". Members can establish
4961-554: Is the primary motivating goal of Hubbard's Scientology groups. Those making this observation have often referred to a governing financial policy issued by Hubbard that is to be obeyed by all Scientology organization staff members, which includes the following [uppercase in original]: Make sure that lots of bodies move through the shop...A. MAKE MONEY. ... J. MAKE MONEY. K. MAKE MORE MONEY. L. MAKE OTHER PEOPLE PRODUCE SO AS TO MAKE MONEY...However you get them in or why, just do it. Some scholars of religion have referred to Scientology as
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5082-453: Is the primary motivating goal of the Scientology organization. Following extensive litigation in numerous countries, the organization has managed to attain a legal recognition as a religious institution in some jurisdictions, including Australia, Italy, and the United States. Germany classifies Scientology groups as an anti-constitutional sect , while the French government classifies
5203-419: Is used. Scientology's primary road map for guiding a person through the sequential steps to attain Scientology's concepts of "clear" and OT is The Bridge to Total Freedom , a large chart enumerating every step in sequence. The steps past "clear" are kept secret from most Scientologists and include the founding myth that seeks to explain Scientology doctrine. Hubbard taught that there were three parts of man:
5324-430: Is very important not to go past a word one does not understand. A person should instead consult a dictionary as to the meaning of the word before progressing, something Scientology calls "word clearing". According to Scientology texts, its beliefs and practices are based on rigorous research, and its doctrines are accorded a significance equivalent to scientific laws. Blind belief is held to be of lesser significance than
5445-535: The Church of Scientology , which remains the largest organization promoting Scientology. There are practitioners independent of the Church, in what is referred to as the Free Zone . Estimates put the number of Scientologists at under 40,000 worldwide. Key Scientology beliefs include reincarnation , and that traumatic events cause subconscious command-like recordings in the mind (termed " engrams ") that can be removed only through an activity called " auditing ". A fee
5566-476: The Introspection Rundown , a brutal and inhumane method to allegedly solve psychotic episodes. The rundown came under public scrutiny when in 1995 Scientologist Lisa McPherson suffered a mental breakdown and was removed from the hospital and held in isolation at a Church of Scientology for 17 days before she died. Scientologists view Hubbard as an extraordinary man, but do not worship him as
5687-532: The Ontario Court of Appeal . The Church of Scientology was convicted of fraud by a French court in 2009, a judgment upheld by the supreme Court of Cassation in 2013. The Church of Scientology has been described by government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgments as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit-making business . Numerous scholars and journalists have observed that profit
5808-596: The Operating Thetan levels, which require further payments. The Operating Thetan texts are kept secret from most followers; they are revealed only after adherents have typically given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Scientology organization. Despite its efforts to maintain the secrecy of the texts, they are freely available on various websites, including at the media organization WikiLeaks . These texts say past lives took place in extraterrestrial cultures . They involve an alien called Xenu , described as
5929-568: The cerebral cortex of the brain affects the current directly. This phenomenon is not completely understood, and further research needs to be performed. The medical establishment had been watching Hubbard's enterprises since 1951, when the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners prosecuted the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation ( Elizabeth, New Jersey ) for practicing medicine without
6050-429: The 1900s. E-meters are used by Scientology practitioners known as " auditors ". Scientology materials refer to the subject as the " preclear ". The auditor gives the preclear a series of commands or questions while the preclear holds a pair of cylindrical electrodes ("cans") connected to the meter, and the auditor notes both the verbal response and the activity of the meter. Auditor training includes familiarization with
6171-645: The 1970s, Hubbard's followers engaged in a program of criminal infiltration of the U.S. government , resulting in several executives of the organization being convicted and imprisoned for multiple offenses by a U.S. federal court. Hubbard himself was convicted of fraud in absentia by a French court in 1978 and sentenced to four years in prison. In 1992, a court in Canada convicted the Scientology organization in Toronto of spying on law enforcement and government agencies and criminal breach of trust, later upheld by
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#17327807549876292-467: The Church of making false medical claims that the E-meters could treat physical and mental illnesses . The FDA also charged that the meters did not bear adequate directions for treating the conditions for which they were recommended. The Church claimed that they had not written any publication that the E-meter could or would heal anything and sued to get the property back. Years of litigation ensued. In
6413-489: The Constitution and Usefulness of Knowledge , which used the term to mean the science of science . It is unknown whether Hubbard was aware of either prior usage of the word. As the 1950s developed, Hubbard saw the advantages of having his Scientology movement legally recognised as a religion. In an April 1953 letter to Helen O'Brien, his US business manager, he proposed that Scientology should be transformed into
6534-452: The E-Meter "by itself does nothing", is incapable of improving health, and is used solely for spiritual purposes. Volney Mathison built an EDA meter based on a Wheatstone bridge , a vacuum tube amplifier , and a large moving-coil meter that projected an image of the needle on the wall. He patented his device in 1954 as an electropsychometer or E-meter, and it came to be known as the "Mathison Electropsychometer". In Mathison's words,
6655-476: The E-Meter "used for Scientology" was a "psycho-galvano-meter" and was "dangerous in unqualified hands". He said that if the E-meter "was suggested to possess mysterious powers" to someone who did not understand that it had "been thoroughly discredited as a lie detector" then "that person would be suggestible to ideas foisted on him by the operator". The final report of the inquiry stated that the E-meter enabled Scientology to assume, intensify and retain control over
6776-414: The E-meter "has a needle that swings back and forth across a scale when a patient holds on to two electrical contacts". Mathison recorded in his book, Electropsychometry , that the idea of the E-Meter came to him in 1950 while listening to a lecture by L. Ron Hubbard : In 1950 ... I next attended a series of lectures being given by a very controversial figure, who several times emphasized that perhaps
6897-419: The E-meter has never been subjected to clinical trials as a therapeutic tool. Scientologists claim that in the hands of a trained operator, the meter can indicate whether a person has been relieved from the spiritual impediment of past experiences. In accordance with a 1974 federal court order, the Church of Scientology asserts that the E-meter is intended for use only in church-sanctioned auditing sessions; it
7018-401: The E-meter was "developed by Volney Mathison following Hubbard's designs", or that Hubbard invented it. Hubbard falsely claimed to be the inventor of the E-meter, a claim which is in keeping with the Scientology stance that Hubbard is the "source", or "the only originator of all Dianetics and Scientology material". The E-meter was not part of the early days of Dianetics and Scientology. Auditing
7139-707: The GO infiltrated the IRS and numerous other government departments and stole tens of thousands of documents pertaining to the Church, politicians, and celebrities. In July 1977, the FBI raided Church premises in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, revealing the extent of the GO's infiltration into government departments and other groups. Eleven officials and agents of the Church were indicted; in December 1979, they were sentenced to between 4 and 5 years each and individually fined $ 10,000 (equivalent to $ 42,000 in 2023). Among those found guilty
7260-525: The Nazis into mass murderers, and the Holocaust. The Scientology organization operates the anti-psychiatry group Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), which operates Psychiatry: An Industry of Death , an anti-psychiatry museum. Though Hubbard had stated psychosis was not something Scientology dealt with, after noticing many Scientologists were suffering breakdowns after using his techniques he created
7381-522: The Scientologists and the like, displays several kinds of electrodermal activity (EDA) on the one dial without distinction, including changes in resistance and bioelectric potential. Researchers in psychophysiology are also exploring admittance and impedance aspects of EDA that can be observed only with alternating current . The E-Meter, measuring variations in electrodermal activity (which can be highly responsive to emotion), functions on
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#17327807549877502-432: The Scientology network of corporations was transferred to the Church of Scientology of California (CSC)—which had been incorporated in 1954 under a different name, then renamed "Church of Scientology of California" in 1956. Then in 1981 management was transferred to the new Mother Church, Church of Scientology International . Having lost tax-exempt status for HASI over time, this shifting of corporations and headquarters
7623-469: The Scientology organization stated that OT levels nine and ten would only be released when certain benchmarks in its expansion had been achieved. The Church of Scientology has gone to considerable length to try to maintain the secrecy of the texts, but they remain widely available on the internet. This is partly due to litigation involving Scientology, whereby the Fishman Affidavit was leaked to
7744-500: The Scientology organization. The Scientology organization claims that the material taught in the OT levels can only be comprehended once its previous material has been mastered and is therefore kept confidential until a person reaches the requisite level. Higher-level members typically refuse to talk about the contents of these OT levels. Those progressing through the OT levels are taught additional, more advanced auditing techniques; one of
7865-865: The Sea Org, rose to prominence. Hubbard died at his ranch in Creston, California, on January 24, 1986, and David Miscavige succeeded Hubbard as head of the Church. In 1993, the Internal Revenue Service dropped all litigation against the Scientology organization and recognized it as a religious institution. Hubbard lies at the core of Scientology and his writings remain the source of its ideas and practices. Sociologist of religion David G. Bromley describes Scientology as Hubbard's "personal synthesis of philosophy, physics, and psychology". Hubbard claimed that he developed his ideas through research and experimentation, rather than through revelation from
7986-501: The Xenu myth can be harmful for those unprepared for it, and the documents discussing Xenu are kept secret from most members. The teachings about Xenu were later leaked by ex-members, becoming a matter of public record after being submitted as evidence in court cases. They are now widely available online. Members who have been given the teachings routinely deny these teachings exist. Hubbard however talked about Xenu on several occasions,
8107-512: The Xenu story bears similarities with some of the science-fiction stories Hubbard published, and substantial themes from the Xenu story are in Hubbard's book Scientology – A History of Man . The degrees above the level of Clear are called "Operating Thetan" or OT. Hubbard described there being 15 OT levels, although he had only completed eight of these during his lifetime. OT levels nine to 15 have not been reached by any Scientologist. In 1988
8228-411: The auditor is the tone arm (a rotating lever) which is held throughout auditing and operated by one hand while the auditor writes with their other hand. As the needle on the display moves off the right or left of the dial, the tone arm is used to bring the needle back on the dial. During an auditing session, the auditor writes down questions he has asked the preclear, the preclear's answers, and activity of
8349-446: The beliefs that: A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war; where the world can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology. Hubbard developed thousands of neologisms during his lifetime. The nomenclature used by the movement is termed "Scientologese" by members. Scientologists are expected to learn this specialist terminology,
8470-640: The birth of HASI and the Church of Scientology, Hubbard began "franchising" (a term he used frequently) new churches through the United States and the United Kingdom. As one former member put it, Scientology had become the "McDonald's hamburger chain of religion," increasingly adopting the mass-production and marketing aspects of American Commerce. In 1954, the HAS was dissolved and the Hubbard Association of Scientologists International ( HASI )
8591-618: The category of Western esotericism , while the scholar of religion Andreas Grünschloß noted that it was "closely linked" to UFO religions , as science-fiction themes are evident in its theology. Scholars have also varyingly described it as a "psychotherapeutically oriented religion", a "secularized religion", a "postmodern religion", a "privatized religion", and a "progressive-knowledge" religion. According to scholar of religion Mary Farrell Bednarowski, Scientology describes itself as drawing on science, religion, psychology and philosophy but "has been claimed by none of them and repudiated, for
8712-510: The church and six of its members of organized fraud. The Court's decision followed a three-week trial, where two plaintiffs alleged they were defrauded by the organization. One plaintiff's complaint involved the use of an E-Meter by Scientologists with medical implications. This plaintiff claimed that, after being audited with the device, she was encouraged to pay tens of thousands of euros for vitamins, books, and courses to improve her condition. She argued that amounted to fraud. The Court agreed, and
8833-473: The church in Confessionals and pastoral counseling only. Judge Gesell also ordered the Church to pay all the government's legal fees and warehousing costs for the confiscated property for the nine years of litigation. He also required the church to pay the salaries and travel expenses of FDA agents who might, from time to time, inspect for compliance with the court's order. The raid was ruled illegal, but
8954-482: The concepts and terms from his time with Hubbard. In a separate line of development, EDA monitors were incorporated in polygraph machines by Leonarde Keeler . Rigorous testing of the polygraph has yielded mixed results, and some critics classify polygraph operation as a pseudoscience . The E-meter was adopted for use in Dianetics and Scientology when Mathison collaborated with Hubbard in 1951. Some sources say
9075-438: The diagnosis, treatment or prevention of any disease. It is not medically or scientifically capable of improving the health or bodily functions of anyone. The church adopted a modified version of that statement, which it still invokes in connection with the E-meter. The current statement reads: The Hubbard Electrometer is a religious artifact. By itself, this meter does nothing. It is for religious use by students and Ministers of
9196-420: The e-meter such as needle movements and tone arm settings There are ten main "needle actions" that an auditor is trained to spot, including a "fall," a smooth needle motion to the right; a "rise," a similar motion to the left; and a "free needle," or more commonly called a " floating needle ," which is "a rhythmic sweep of the dial at a slow, even pace... back and forth." One of E-meter's primary components
9317-402: The early 1950s. Hubbard and his early Dianetics organization were prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license in the early 1950s. Hubbard taught that psychiatrists were responsible for a great many wrongs in the world, saying that psychiatry has at various times offered itself as a tool of political suppression and that psychiatry was responsible for the ideology of Hitler, for turning
9438-616: The eight dynamics , the ARC and KRC triangles , the "S and double triangle" symbol, the Scientology cross , and many others . Scientology celebrates seven calendar events including L. Ron Hubbard's birthday, Auditor's Day, and New Year's. There is a Sunday service which is primarily of interest for non-members and beginners. Weddings and funerals are also held. Scientology is vehemently opposed to psychiatry and psychology, and wants to replace them with its own methods. The clinical and academic psychiatry community rejected Hubbard's theories in
9559-418: The electrical properties (electrodermal activity) of the subject's body change during the counseling, the resulting changes in the small electric current are displayed in needle movements on a large analog panel meter. The dial face is without numbers because the absolute resistance in ohms is relatively unimportant, while the operator watches primarily for characteristic needle motions. The voltage applied to
9680-526: The electrodes is less than 1.5 V, and the electric current through the subject's body is less than a half a milliampere . In the Scientology E-meter, the large control, known as the "tone arm", adjusts the meter bias , while a smaller one controls the gain . The operator manipulates the tone arm to keep the needle near the center of the dial so its motion is easily observed. A simple E-meter powered by direct current, such as that used by
9801-472: The entirety of Scientology's "Bridge to Total Freedom" (equivalent to $ 542,000 in 2023). In a 1964 letter, Hubbard stated that a 25-hour block of auditing should cost the equivalent of "three months' pay for the average middle class working individual." In 2007, the fee for a 12 and a half hour block of auditing at the Tampa Org was $ 4000 (equivalent to $ 5,880 in 2023). The Scientology organization
9922-605: The event that one of them fails to operate. According to anthropologist Roy Rappaport, the E-meter is a ritual object, an object that "stand[s] indexically for something intangible". Similar devices have been used as research tools in many human studies and as one of several components of the Leonarde Keeler 's polygraph (lie detector) system, which has been widely criticized as ineffective and pseudoscientific by legal experts and psychologists. EDA meters are used in both therapist-patient and bio-feedback settings. EDA
10043-680: The expert testimony introduced by the Government. They have conceded that the E-meter is of no use in the diagnosis or treatment of disease as such, and have argued that it was never put forward as having such use. Auditing or processing, in their view, treats the spirit of man, not his body, though through the healing of the spirit the body can be affected. They have culled from their literature numerous statements disclaiming any intent to treat disease and recommending that Scientology practitioners send those under their care to doctors when organic defects may be found. They have introduced through testimony
10164-595: The first trial beginning on April 3, 1967, the jury found that the Church misrepresented the E-meter, and the judge ordered the confiscated materials destroyed. However, in 1969 the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed the verdict; the Church, it said, had made substantial showing that Scientology is a religion and the government had done nothing to rebut the claim. The US Court of Appeals wrote: [The Founding Church has] made no attempt to contradict
10285-524: The general state of the subject when the operator is not speaking. Few users of the E-meter claim that it does anything to the subject. To most, it does no more than suggest to the operator a change of mental, emotional, or autonomic nervous system activity. New religious movement scholar Douglas Cowan writes that Scientologists cannot progress along the Bridge to Total Freedom without an E-meter, and that Hubbard even told Scientologists to buy two E-meters, in
10406-657: The government retained copies of the documents. In 1979 in Sweden, a court forbade calling the E-meter "an invaluable aid to measuring man's mental state and changes in it" in an advertisement. The prohibition was upheld by the European Commission of Human Rights in case X. and Church of Scientology v. Sweden . In October 2009, a three-judge panel at the Correctional Court in Paris, France, convicted
10527-480: The group as a dangerous cult. The sociologist Stephen A. Kent views the Church of Scientology as "a multifaceted transnational corporation , only one element of which is religious". In his history of the Church of Scientology, the scholar Hugh Urban describes Scientology as a "huge, complex, and multifaceted movement". Government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgments describe Scientology both as
10648-485: The intervention of a mechanical gadget between the auditor and the preclear had a tendency to depersonalize the session ..." Though it seemed for a while that Scientology's more advanced techniques would serve without an E-meter, a few months later in May 1955, Hubbard wrote: And here come E-Meters back into the picture. The HASI is, at this moment, building a new and better E-Meter than has ever been built before, under
10769-408: The major problem of psychotherapy was the difficulty of maintaining the communication of accurate or valid data from the patient to the therapist. and it appeared to me that the psychogalvanometer showed most promise. Hubbard told of that encounter in a 1952 recorded lecture: This machine, the electropsychometer, has been acting as a pilot since about the first of January 1952. Very early I wanted
10890-536: The massacre, several of the officers in Xenu's service rebelled against him, ultimately capturing and imprisoning him. Hubbard claimed to have discovered the Xenu myth in December 1967, having taken the "plunge" deep into his "time track". Scientology teaches that attempting to recover this information from the "time track" typically results in an individual's death, caused by the presence of Xenu's implants, but that because of Hubbard's "technology" this death can be avoided. The Scientology organization says that learning
11011-418: The minds and wills of preclears. Fears of its abilities keep them in constant subjection. Its use can be so manipulated by cunningly phrased questions that almost any desired result can be obtained, and it is used unscrupulously to dominate students and staff alike. All the evil features of scientology are intensified where the E-meter is involved. When used in conjunction with hypnotic techniques, its evil impact
11132-460: The most part, by all". Government bodies and other institutions maintain that the Scientology organization is a commercial business that falsely claims to be religious, or alternatively a form of therapy masquerading as religion. The French government characterises the movement as a dangerous cult, and the German government monitors it as an anti-democratic sect. The notion of Scientology as
11253-501: The notion of using an E-Meter to aid auditing. Substantial fees were charged for the meter and for auditing sessions using the meter. They repeatedly and explicitly represented that such auditing effectuated cures of many physical and mental illnesses. An individual processed with the aid of the E-Meter was said to reach the intended goal of 'clear' and was led to believe that there was reliable scientific proof that once cleared many, indeed most, illnesses would successfully be cured. Auditing
11374-531: The practical application of Scientologist methods. Adherents are encouraged to validate the practices through their personal experience. Hubbard put it this way: "For a Scientologist, the final test of any knowledge he has gained is, 'did the data and the use of it in life actually improve conditions or didn't it? ' " Many Scientologists avoid using the words "belief" or "faith" to describe how Hubbard's teachings impacts their lives, preferring to say that they "know" it to be true. The central practice of Scientology
11495-451: The prayers, and minister attire suggested by Hubbard reflect his own Protestant traditions. Hubbard claimed that Scientology was "all-denominational", and members of the Scientology organization are not prohibited from active involvement in religions. Scholar of religion Donald Westbrook encountered members who also practiced Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism , and the Nation of Islam ; one
11616-453: The previous week are termed "up stats"; those that show a decline are "down stats". According to leaked tax documents, the Church of Scientology International and Church of Spiritual Technology in the US had a combined $ 1.7 billion in assets in 2012, in addition to annual revenues estimated at $ 200 million a year. Hubbard Association of Scientologists International In the 1950s and 1960s,
11737-557: The protection of the First Amendment, they have shown that the Founding Church of Scientology is incorporated as a church in the District of Columbia, and that its ministers are qualified to perform marriages and burials. They have introduced their Creed into evidence. The Government has made no claim that the Founding Church is not a bona fide religion, that auditing is not part of the exercise of that religion, or that
11858-546: The public. Materials have also been passed on to other sources and made available by publishers such as the media organization WikiLeaks . To gain the OT levels of training, a member must go to one of the Advanced Organisations or Orgs, which are based in Los Angeles, Clearwater, East Grinstead, Copenhagen, Sydney, and Johannesburg. Conservative estimates indicate that getting to OT VIII would require
11979-593: The ruling was upheld on appeal in 2013. See Scientology in France § Conviction for fraud . In 1964, the government of Victoria, Australia , held a Board of Inquiry into Scientology which returned its findings in a document colloquially known as the Anderson Report . Psychiatrist Ian Holland Martin, honorary federal secretary of the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists , gave evidence that
12100-544: The same physiological data sources as one of the parts of the polygraph , or " lie detector ". According to Scientology doctrine, the resistance corresponds to the "mental mass and energy" of the subject's mind, which are claimed to change when the subject thinks of particular mental images ( engrams ). One account tells about Hubbard using the E-meter to determine whether or not fruits can experience pain, as in his 1968 assertion that tomatoes "scream when sliced". The traditional theory of EDA holds that skin resistance varies with
12221-400: The scholar of religion Aled Thomas suggests it was appropriate to talk about "Scientologies". Urban describes Scientology as representing a "rich syncretistic blend" of sources, including elements from Hinduism and Buddhism , Thelema , new scientific ideas, science-fiction, and from psychology and popular self-help literature available by the mid-20th century. The ceremonies, structure of
12342-527: The spirit, mind, and body. The first of these is a person's inner self which he calls a " thetan ". It is akin to the idea of the soul or spirit found in religious traditions. Hubbard stated that "the thetan is the person. You are YOU in a body." Hubbard referred to the physical universe as the MEST universe , meaning "Matter, Energy, Space and Time", which includes your body. Scientologists believe that thetans can exteriorize ; leave their body. The thetan
12463-423: The state of sweat glands in the skin. Sweating is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system . Because sweat contains electrolytes (salt, etc.), conductivity is increased when the sweat glands are activated. But some advocates argue that the meter responds more quickly than would be possible by the exudation and drying of sweat. They propose an additional mechanism termed the "Tarchanoff Response", through which
12584-408: The subject. When deemed free of engrams they are given the status of "clear", and then continue doing further auditing until they are deemed to have reached the level Operating Thetan . Hubbard assigns vitality, good health and increased intelligence to those who are given the status of " clear ", having removed the source of their "psychosomatic illnesses". The further status of Operating Thetan (OT)
12705-428: The system's path to salvation is the story of Xenu . Reflecting a strong science-fiction theme within its theology, Scientology's teachings make reference to " space opera ", a term denoting events in the distant past in which "spaceships, spacemen, [and] intergalactic travel" all feature. Hubbard wrote about a great catastrophe that took place 75 million years ago. According to this story, 75 million years ago there
12826-578: The techniques taught is a method of auditing oneself, which is the necessary procedure for reaching OT level seven. Scientology has its own unique definitions for ethics and procedures for justice . According to scholar Stephen Kent, "The purpose of Scientology ethics is to eliminate opponents, then eliminate people's interests in things other than Scientology. In this 'ethical' environment, Scientology would be able to impose its courses, philosophy, and 'justice system' – its so-called technology—onto society." Hubbard created many symbolism concepts, including
12947-581: The theory of auditing is not a doctrine of that religion. Having found that Scientology was a religion, the Court wrote that the government was forbidden by the First Amendment to the Constitution to rule on the truth or falsity of the Church's doctrines and interfere with its practices, provided the claims are not manifestly insincere and the practices are reasonably harmless. The Court ordered
13068-430: The thetan who truly realized his power to create and destroy universes would in effect be "beyond God". ... The thetan has been deceived into worshipping such a God by mainstream religion and so forgotten its own godlike power to create and destroy universes. The prices to undertake a full course of auditing with the Church of Scientology are not often advertised publicly. As of 2011 it can easily cost $ 400,000 to do
13189-435: The trademarked name of Physio-galvanometer, or O-Meter. It has very little in common with the old type E-Meter. Nevertheless, an old type E-Meter can be utilized. The Scientology meter was smaller, based on transistors rather than vacuum tubes , and powered by a low-voltage rechargeable battery rather than line voltage . From then on, the E-meter was a required tool for Scientology ministers. The "Hubbard Mark II" E-meter
13310-408: The use of the E-meter was discontinued by Hubbard. Wrote Hubbard: "Yesterday, we used an instrument called an E-Meter to register whether or not the process was still getting results so that the auditor would know how long to continue it. While the E-Meter is an interesting investigation instrument and has played its part in research, it is not today used by the auditor ... As we long ago suspected,
13431-424: The use of which separates followers from non-Scientologists. The Scientology organization refers to its practices as "technology", a term often shortened to "Tech". Scientologists stress the "standardness" of this "tech", by which they express belief in its infallibility. The Church's system of pedagogy is called "Study Tech" and is presented as the best method for learning. Scientology teaches that when reading, it
13552-802: The word "Scientology" meant " knowing about knowing or science of knowledge ". The name "Scientology" deliberately makes use of the word "science", seeking to benefit from the "prestige and perceived legitimacy" of natural science in the public imagination. In doing so, Scientology has been compared to religious groups like Christian Science and the Science of Mind , which employed similar tactics. The term "Scientology" had been used in published works at least twice before Hubbard. In The New Word (1901), poet and lawyer Allen Upward first used scientology to mean blind, unthinking acceptance of scientific doctrine (compare scientism ). In 1934, philosopher Anastasius Nordenholz published Scientology: Science of
13673-555: The worldwide headquarters of the Church of Scientology and his personal residence. With the organization often under heavy criticism, it adopted strong measures of attack in dealing with its critics. In 1966, the organization established the Guardian's Office (GO), a department devoted to undermining those hostile towards Scientology. The GO launched an extensive program of countering negative publicity, gathering intelligence, and infiltrating organizations. In " Operation Snow White ",
13794-470: Was Hubbard's then-wife, Mary Sue Hubbard. Public revelation of the GO's activities brought widespread condemnation of the Church. In 1967, Hubbard established a new group, the Sea Organization or "Sea Org", the membership of which was drawn from the most committed members of the Scientology organization. By 1981, the 21-year-old David Miscavige , who had been one of Hubbard's closest aides in
13915-481: Was a Baptist minister. In practice, however, Westbrook noted that most Church members consider Scientology to be their only commitment, and the deeper their involvement became, the less likely they were to continue practicing other traditions. Debate as to whether Scientology should be regarded as a cult, a business, a scam, or a religion has continued over many years. Many Scientologists consider it to be their religion. Its founder, L. Ron Hubbard , presented it as
14036-428: Was a Galactic Confederacy of 76 planets ruled over by a leader called Xenu . The Confederacy was overpopulated and Xenu transported millions of aliens to earth and killed them with hydrogen bombs . The thetans of those killed were then clustered together and implants were inserted into them, designed to kill any body that these thetans would subsequently inhabit should they recall the event of their destruction. After
14157-945: Was christened in 1960 and the Hubbard Mark III shortly after. On December 6, 1966, Hubbard won a patent on the Mark V version under the name "Hubbard Electropsychometer". Corydon wrote that the Hubbard E-meter was actually developed by Scientologists Don Breeding and Joe Wallis, though the patent ( U.S. patent 3,290,589 ) does not list other developers. The Scientology E-meter has been redesigned and re-patented several times since its first introduction to Dianetics (e.g.: U.S. patent 4,459,995 , U.S. patent 4,578,635 , U.S. patent 4,702,259 ). Electrodermal activity meters were first developed in 1889 in Russia, and psychotherapists began using them as tools for therapy in
14278-423: Was composed of conversation and not led by a mechanical device. Hubbard introduced an E-meter prototype during the 1952 Philadelphia Doctorate Course but did not introduce his transistorized version until several years later. The E-meter became "the principal material artifact" of Dianetics and Scientology from the 1960s onward. In the book, L. Ron Hubbard, Messiah or Madman? , Bent Corydon wrote: In late 1954
14399-434: Was designed to transfer management control back under a tax-exempt umbrella, which it finally accomplished in 1966 when Hubbard transferred all HASI assets to the then tax-exempt CSC. It was short-lived, as the Internal Revenue Service stripped CSC of its tax exempt status and all the other Scientology corporations related to it. As Hugh Urban wrote, "The complex corporate structure of Scientology helped make it perhaps
14520-465: Was formed as a non-profit religious fellowship to operate as an umbrella organization (the Mother Church) for all of the separately incorporated churches and franchises under it. The HASI sold memberships, and general members would receive 10% discount on books, tape lectures and other items. HASI membership was a requirement to take services at a local HASI. In the 1960s, management of
14641-429: Was guaranteed to be successful. All this was and is false. Unable to do more under the mandate from the Court of Appeals, Judge Gesell ordered all the property to be returned to the Church, and thereafter, the E-meter may be used only in " bona fide religious counseling". All meters and referring literature must include a label disclaiming any medical benefits: The E-Meter is not medically or scientifically useful for
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