Xenu and You
Scientology — What is it really?
Founded by a science-fiction author and having a space alien for a deity, the Church of Scientology sounds more like a nerdy fantasy than an actual religion. Compared to the histories of the Abrahamic faiths, Scientology is just a newborn at 6o years old. The Church’s rise has brought forth a horde of detractors critical of the institution’s practices. Some people call it a religion, others classify it as a cult. So what is it really?
The aspect of novelty
Battlefield Earth, Final Blackout, and Buckskin Brigades— these are just a few of the titles penned by L. Ron Hubbard. So immediately from the get-go, outsiders to Scientology are already skeptical to the prospect that a sci-fi writer could create a meaningful, let alone functional, school of faith. The very act of “creating” a religion with its own values and commandments, and then to have people live by this code is a concept that seems absurd for most people in the 21st century. It has to be considered that the creation of a new and popular world religion is something that is not commonly experienced, not since the birth of the Mormon Church two-hundred years ago. The sheer novelty of Scientology and its sci-fi roots make it hard to grasp as a legitimate religion, with new rituals, scripture, and lore that all seem so strange. The Abrahamic religions were once seen in the same light, and the reason why we find consuming the body and blood of Christ every Sunday to be a normal thing is because it’s been ingrained into our culture over millenia.
A relig-enterprise?
Aside from its novelty, a distinguishing trait of Scientology has been its embrace of capitalist spirituality. The Church has taken an intensely atomised approach to its system of worship, emphasizing self-help and attention to its followers. For a member to become more “spiritually ascended” a series of rituals need to be invested in, and this is where the controversy stems from. Scientology is different in that its hierarchy is based on how much money one devotes to the church — to gain more from the faith, you have to spend more. These practices are the backbone to Scientology’s business model of faith, with members who can’t afford to shell out hundreds of dollars for an “audit” often working for the Church to do so. Effectively, the leaders of Scientology have taken an existential, self-cleansing aspect of spirituality and transformed it into a pay-per-trial experience.
Scientology’s biggest moments in the public eye have come via celebrities who have adopted the faith. The cult of celebrity has long been a pillar of popular culture, with the masses constantly focused on what the stars are buying, what they’re wearing, etc. The Church has made an attempt to cull more followers by channeling the consumer’s desire to be like their favourite A-listers — John Travolta, Will Smith, and Tom Cruise have all acted as endorsers of Scientology, with the latter making a few noteworthy TV appearances.
A Time magazine issue from 1991 labels Scientology as a “cult of greed” and examines how the organization has profited off of millions of dollars from believers. So is it right to dismiss Scientology as less of a religion on this basis? When stacked up against the religions of old, the amount of money that Scientology has made is really nothing compared to the reserves of the Catholic Church. Ever since the separation of Church and State during the Age of Enlightenment, religions in the Western world have had to shift gears and take a more business-like approach to their promotion. Organized religions’ struggles against the “cult of consumerism” in the modern day have caused them to become focused towards the individual as a potential patron, in order to maintain their relevancy in popular culture. As with the collection basket going around during a Christian Sunday service, Scientology adheres to these practices but just happens to do so in a more explicit manner, making monetary investment essential in being a part of the faith.
Like any other religion?
Stepping away from the controversy, Scientology serves a purpose for its followers and has the same functions as Christianity, Islam, or Judaism. The services are much the same as the ones you’d see at your neighborhood Baptist church, with worshippers lined row after row — a sense of community is fostered by the Church just like any other house of worship. The mythology of Scientology is one that is bizarre to many, mainly due to its incorporation of galactic federations and space aliens as mentioned earlier. To the followers of the faith, this ethos acts as a meaning-maker — a way to make sense of the world at-large. If it can provide a social environment as well as give people meaning in their lives and a sense of acting, then who is to say that Scientology is not a religion?
