Religious Beliefs
At times, L. Ron Hubbard seemed to reject the term “religion” for Scientology beliefs and practices. For example, he once stated that Scientology “is not psychotherapy. It is a body of knowledge that affords the individual freedom and truth.” 13In this regard, however, Hubbard seems to have distinguished between the formal aspects of religion, such as creeds, practices, or membership, and the liberating truth. Distinguishing between “religion” and “truth” in such a way is a common religious strategy. For example, Christian theologian Karl Barth insisted that his gospel was not religion, but the truth. Maududi claimed the same of Islam, Franz Rosenzweig of Judaism, and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan of Hinduism. In all these cases, religious thinkers have explained the ultimate meaning and power of their “truth” by distinguishing it from religion. 14
Hubbard also felt that the term, “religion,” when properly defined, could be used to describe the liberating truth of Scientology. “Scientology,” Hubbard declared, “is a religion in the oldest and fullest sense.” More than just a “religious practice,” however, Scientology is a “religious wisdom.” 15 According to Hubbard, the term “religion” can include “sacred doctrine, wisdom, knowledge of gods, souls, and spirits.” 16 In these terms, therefore, Hubbard claimed that Scientology should be recognized as a religion.
Hubbard indicated the Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist roots of this religious wisdom. Like certain forms of Hinduism, especially Advaita Vedanta, Scientology supports the recognition that the human self is the ultimate greatest divine power of the universe. In the Sanskrit formula of Vedanta, Atman (the human self) is Brahman(the divine). Like Buddhist practices, however, Scientology outlines a step-by-step trajectory of liberation from ignorance, like Buddhism’s “Eightfold Path.” This Buddhist path goes through the stages of understanding, devotion, communication, behavior, way of life, effort, awareness, and meditation, to reach a state of joyful liberation, detached from the world. Scientology similarly distinguishes a religious path, or bridge, which indicates progress toward liberation. However, while the Buddhist path was basically designed for a monastic life faraway from ordinary human relationships and pursuits, the Scientology path has more in common with a Taoist approach to attaining spiritual harmony in full life. In the Taoist sense, liberation may be a state of balance, during which a person’s being is consonant with all the conditions of existence. Scientology aims to achieve a similar harmony.
In its cosmology, Scientology distinguishes three basic aspects of reality — the life force referred to as theta, the Supreme Being, also known as Infinity, and the physical universe of matter, energy, space, and time, represented by the abbreviation MERT.
For that reason, echoes of these ancient Asian religions can be found in the religious beliefs of Scientology. Hubbard concluded, however, that the last word goals of those religions of spiritual liberation, knowledge, and harmony were rarely achieved in practice. Reflecting on his Asian travels, Hubbard observed that while many people studied, very few succeeded. According to Hubbard, the ancient religious paths lacked the awareness of the “necessity required to succeed.” 17 A modern religion, he concluded, had to do more than just set spiritual goals; she had to provide the practical means to reach them.
Scientology also shares many similarities with the choice ancient Christian and Jewish religious movements referred to as Gnosticism. Like the ancient Gnostics, Scientology teaches that human beings are essentially spirit beings with divine souls of pure light, who have become entangled in the darkness of the material world. In its cosmology, Scientology distinguishes three basic aspects of reality — the life force referred to as theta, the Supreme Being, also known as Infinity, and the physical universe of matter, energy, space, and time, represented by the abbreviation MERT. As a personified form of the life force, the human soul, the thetan, has become entangled in the powers of MERT. In the cosmic view of Scientology, the thetan are often rescued from that entanglement within the conditions of the physical universe.
Scientology sets this liberation from the thetan as a matter of survival. Scientology’s “Eightfold Path” is formed by the “Eight Dynamics” which represent successive stages of expansion in the basic urge for survival. The first four Dynamics are the “urge to exist” of one’s self, family, group, and humanity; the next two are the urge to survive on the plane of life forces and therefore the physical universe, and therefore the refore the seventh and eighth Dynamics represent the last word spiritual survival on the extent of souls and the God . As Hubbard stated, “Progress toward survival on higher levels is also progress toward God.” 18In this sense, the Eight Dynamics indicate a path not only for the liberation of the soul from the limitations of the physical world, but also to attain an ultimate realization of God by existing on the level of the Supreme Being.
Like other religions, the Church of Scientology has a formal creed that reflects its basic beliefs. Four important aspects can be distinguished from this credo. One: The Scientology creed emphasizes four basic human rights. These rights are binding on every level of existence and therefore represent human souls’ rights as free spiritual beings. They all have the same and inalienable rights to freedom of religion, association, thought, expression, life, health, self-defense, and reproduction. To underscore the ultimate nature of these rights, the creed affirms that “no agency less than God has the power to suspend or override these rights, overt or covert.” Two: the creed expresses a commitment to the religious healing of the human mind. That obligation is formulated in the belief that “the study of the mind and the cure of mentally induced illnesses should not be taken from religion or allowed in non-religious fields.” Three: the creed embodies an ethical orientation towards life which implies that “human beings are essentially good”. While that basic goodness is realized in harmony with others, “God’s laws” forbid all acts that would destroy or diminish the survival of another’s life, health, or soul. Finally, the Scientology creed declares an obligation to attain salvation.
