Scientology & the Internet

Ever since its introduction into society, the internet has played a crucial role in the development of religion. The internet offers many beneficial services for all religions. It is a technology that can be used to spread religious beliefs, to practice religious rituals, and to congregate with other people who share similar or contrasting beliefs. However, the internet can also serve as a tool that negatively affects a religion. The Church of Scientology is no exception when it comes to the impact of the internet. The relationship that Scientology has with the internet is very prominent. The controversy that has been surrounding Scientology since it originated in 1952 has followed its transformation over to the internet. The internet's main influence on the Church of Scientology, which has been heavily debated, is the impact on the Church's credibility in terms of its beliefs and practices.

Scientology

"Scientology is the study and handling of the spirit
in relationship to itself, others and all of life."

"A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war,
where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights,
and where man is free to rise to greater heights,
are the aims of Scientology."

Scientology was first introduced in 1952 under the provisions of science-fiction author, L. Ron Hubbard. The beliefs and practices of Scientology are based on the set of ideals and beliefs created by Hubbard, termed Dianetics. The Church of Scientology was established and defined as a religion by Hubbard in 1953. Throughout the 1950's and 60's Scientology expanded rapidly through the United States and also went international.

Founder: L. Ron Hubbard

L. Ron Hubbard, founder

L. Ron Hubbard (March 13, 1911 - January 24, 1986, was the sole founder of the Church of Scientology and is responsible for the religion's fundamental beliefs and practices. Although best known for his work in Dianetics and Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard was also a science-fiction auther, although not highly acclaimed. Hubbard serviced in World War II as a Junior Lieutenant, most noted for being in charge of a cruise vessel. Hubbard married three times and had three children. L. Ron Hubbard spent most of his life dedicated to the Church of Scientology and was considered to be a very controversial public figure. Followers of Scientology were the majority of his supporters, while the rest of the public negatively characterized him. It is claimed that L. Ron Hubbard, at the time of his death, was worth over two-hundred million dollars.

Basic Beliefs of Scientology

The basic beliefs of the Church of Scientology are derived from the following certain fundamental truths that must be accepted in order to gain the full experience Scientology offers:

• Man is an immortal, spiritual being.
• Man has unlimited capabilities.
• Man's existence is not limited to one lifetime.
• Man is capable of achieving eternal happiness; as well as new, higher states of awarness and ability.
• Man consists of three parts:
  1. Spirit - Known as the "thetan" in Scientology, the spirit is the most important part of man and it is definition of an individual
  2. Mind - The mind operates as the control system for the spirit in relationship to its surroundsings.
  3. Body - The body, considered by Scientologists, is not what defines an individual but is the operating vehicle for the spirit.
• There are Eight Dynamics to Existence that, through the understanding of each one, increases the survival of an individual's spirit:
  • 8th Dynamic - PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
  • 7th Dynamic - SPIRITUAL
  • 6th Dynamic - INFINITY
  • 5th Dynamic - LIFE FORMS
  • 4th Dynamic - MANKIND
  • 3rd Dynamic - GROUP SURVIVAL
  • 2nd Dynamic - FAMILY
  • 1st Dynamic - SELF

These truths, that are required by the Church of Scientology, are heavily influenced by the concepts of Dianetics, set forth by the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. With these truths as the basis for understanding the processes of life, an individual's goal is to achieve complete spiritual freedom, which brings infinite capabilities and eternal happiness.

Dianetics

Dianetics was introduced to the public in 1950 by L. Ron Hubbard in his literature piece, "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health". Dianetics is a set of ideals and beliefs that are constructed around the relationship of the mind, body, and spirit. The basic concepts of Dianetics addresses the subconscious mind and how it holds a person's ability and intelligence back. A person's ability is inhibited by what the mind and body percieves as painful experiences. These experiences are known as engrams Hubbard claims that under the basic principles of Dianetics, all psychosomatic ills and human abberations can be cured. To cure these ills and abberations, riding them from the spirit of an individual, is the main goal of life, as implied by the theory of Dianetics. The process of of bringing the spirit to an ultimate level of freedom consists of the main practices and rituals performed by the Church of Scientology.

Practices of Scientology

The goal of the practices of Scientology is to bring an individual to a state of true spiritual release and freedom. To obtain this state, and individual must seperate itself from all psychosomatic ills and abberations. In the realms of Scientology, this can be done through the process of auditing, which is the main practice of the Church.

Auditing & the E-Meter

E-Meter

The process of auditing is the central practice of members of the Church of Scientology. It is the process in which one attempts to improve their awareness and increase their capabilities by eradicating their undesired and painful experiences from their subconscious. The first step in auditing is using the E-Meter to locate areas inside the body that the spirit experiences pain and distress. The E-Meter, which has no physical effect on the human body, measures the changes of the mental state of an individual. The measurement is also known as the thetan level. The highest level is called the Operating Thetan and that is achieved when the spirit of an individual is completely free of engrams. After measuring the levels of stability of the mind and spirit, the auditor, or "one who listens", proceeds with a session of questioning and analysis, focusing on the areas of distress found through the E-Meter. The confidentiality of the session between the auditior and the practitioner is of high importance.

Symbols of Scientology

Cross of the Church of Scientology

Scientology Cross - This is a representation of Church of Scientology and the "supreme being" that they worship. The eight points of the cross are symbolic of the Eight Dynamics to Existsence.

Dianetic Triangle

Dianetic Triange - This represents the basic principles under Dianetics. The green is for growth and the yellow is for life. It is seperated into 4 layers because of the four urges of humans. The shape is symbolic of a volcano which is an essential aspect of the origins of thetans in the story of Xenu, a story that is adopted in the 60's to the ideals of Dianetics.

ARC Triangle

ARC Triangle - This triangle represents the collaboration of three basic principles that, when unified, inspire knowledge and understanding. The three basic principles are Affinity, Reality, and Communication.

Symbol of the Church of Scientology

The Symbol of Scientology - This symbol is the main representation of the Church of Scientology. The 'S' stands for Scientology. The triangle on the top represents the ARC triangle that is previously discussed.

Operating Thetan

Operating Thetan - This symbol represents the highest possible thetan level, known as the operating thetan. This level of spiritual freedom has never been reached. It is claimed that once the spirit has reahed this thetan level, the laws of the material or physical universe no longer apply and abilities are infinite.

The Internet and Scientology

Internet's Effect on Religion

Internet Effects on Religion Religious practices used to be a time that communities interact with each other at certain times in church or other religious establishments. With the invention of the Internet these religious practices have been altered by the convenience and virtual capabilities the Internet offers. The Internet is able to close the gap of time and space by making all of its capabilities available at any given time. Using the capabilities of the Internet people are able to practices their religion at a time that is convenient to them in the comfort of their own home on their computer. The Internet uses its convenience and availability to draw attention from people that would like to practice their religion on their own time at their own pace. Internet religion has been practicing for almost as long as the Internet has been around and its base keeps increasing all the time because of the benefits.

Positives The benefits of practicing religion online are based around the convenience that the Internet provides its users. People are able to practice their religion online at their own home whenever they have free time. A person can be in contact with their priest or minister at all times because of the Internet. Another way that the Internet is able to impact religious practices is that it is readily available to the masses. The Internet is used in over 70% of homes in America. With an extreme amount of people that have access to the internet it is important for new religious movements to have a strong presence in the internet.

Negatives The Internet takes away form the amount that people have to sacrifice. People seem to not be as devoted to their religion because they are able to do it whenever they want. The Internet provides its users with both good and bad information. When someone logs onto the Internet they could find information that is not necessarily true. Anyone with a computer can contribute to the internet and its sites. The information that is found on the internets is wide, but some of the information may not be as credible as others.

Religious Communities Online

Along with the idea of religion online religious communities have been surfacing all over the Internet. A religious community is a group of people that practice religion together online. Some may say that practicing religion online is not necessarily a religious community, but a median to real religious practices. Others would state that certain online religious practices are actually online community by its definition. People are becoming more and more ready to practice their sacred rituals online and with the innovation of technology the internet is becoming more of a reality than a median of communication.

Media Influence on Scientology

Tom Cruise, Scientologist

Scientology has been a very debated topic in the media in today’s standards. Scientology has been able to get their practices out to many people using their high market influences they have attempted to increase scientology’s popularity among people in society. Actors such as John Travolta and Tom Cruise have used their media influences to increase Scientology’s credibility among religions today. Tom Cruise uses his influence in the movie to help scientology in its efforts to be recognized by all as a religious organization. The influence of these actors is an important part of scientology gaining credibility by society.

John Travolta, Scientologist

The media has also had negative effects on Scientology; because of their views unparallel to mainstream religions scientology has been targeted by many people online as a threat to mainstream religion. They have targeted Scientology because of its radical views and unorthodox claims, and labeled them a cult and a faulty religion. There are many websites dedicated to the fall of Scientology. These websites include claims about L. Ron Hubbard’s life and the history of scientology. Scientology’s extremist beliefs have also been a focus in medias take on scientology. Their methods in auditing prices have caught the attention of media influences and made scientology into a negative organization in the religious world. There was one story printed by the New York Times on a scientologist that could not pay his auditing fee and was drawn to kill himself. When this article was printed scientologists from all over were sending this writer death threats because his article threatened the spread of scientology. These scientologists were so avid about the health and the spread of scientology that they enforced the use of their fair game act. The Fair game act was very controversial because it promoted the harm of those that opposed the views and beliefs of scientology. Another view of scientologists that have collected many contending beliefs by mainstream religious figures is their view on healthcare and treatment of certain diseases.
Because scientology is a relatively new organization the Internet is very important towards its progression as a religion. There are many websites dedicated to the religious practices of scientology and its followers. The Internet is an important median to scientology and its members because of the availability of the system and the representation of scientology on the Internet. Members of scientology are able to take personality tests to see if scientology is able to help your life. You may also find out places that are holding auditing sessions online.
Although the internet is important for the spread of Scientology among members it is also very detrimental towards the progression of the religion and its authenticity. Scientologists and the internet have been in many disputes in late 1994 over unpublished documents allegedly written by L. Ron Hubbard. Many of these disputes were with alt.religion.scientology about the history of scientology and their views. The internet has been involved in numerous copyright infringement problems involving scientology and the writings of L. Ron Hubbard and the secrets of the organization.

• Scientology filed a lawsuit towards ex-member Arnaldo Lerma, who used Digital Gateway, and The Washington Post. They filed the Affidavit that contained 61 pages of the allegedly trade-secret and copyrighted story of Xenu.
• Zenon Panoussis, a resident of Sweden, was also sued for posting Scientology's secret materials to the Internet. In his defense, he used a provision of the Constitution of Sweden that guarantees access to public documents. He turned some of these copies into the Swedish Governement and by swedish law documents turned into authorities are public materials. This, known as the Principle of Public Access (Offentlighetsprincipen), is considered a basic civil right in Sweden. The case, however, was decided against Panoussis.
• In 1995 Scientology caused a raid on the servers of a Dutch Internet provider and sued it for copyright violations for providing confidental materialsw of scientology.
• Dennis Erlich and Scientology settled their lawsuits. Erlich withdrew from the online battle entirely, and all mention of him was removed from Church of Scientology material.
• Activist Keith Henson was sued for posting a portion of Scientology's writings to the Internet. He defended himself in court, but was holding anti-scientology picketts as well. The court found that Henson had violated the copyright laws, and the damage award against Henson was immense: $75,000, the largest scientolgy ever won from an individual. Henson's case became increasingly more complex and ongoing, with a misdemeanor conviction of interfering with religion in Riverside County, Califonia. Henson claimed that he had to flee the coutry after his hearing because he was receiving many threats.
• Scientology is one of the first organizations to make use of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). In June of 1999, Scientology used the controversial law to force AT&T Worldnet to find out the identity of a person who had been posting anonymously to alt.religion.scientology with the pseudonym of "Safe".
• In March of 2001, Scientologists forced Slash Dot to remove text from one of its discussion boards after receiving legal threats from Scientology lawyers, after an excerpt from OTIII was placed there. Slashdot noted this as the first time that text had to be removed from its system due to copyright problems.
• The organization also used the DMCA to force the google search engine to erase websites on the popular anti-Scientology entries Operation Clambake in March 2002, though the entries were revived after Google received a large number of complaints from Internet users.

References

Dawson, Lorne L. & Douglas E. Cowan(Editors). Religion Online. New York, NY: Routledge, 2004.

Scientology. www.scientology.org. Copyright 1996-2007 by Church of Scientology International. Accessed November 2007