Why the name “PseudoScientology?”

Why the name “PseudoScientology?”

Simple … we believe, as does mainstream society, that Scientology is a “Pseudo” religion.

Pseudoreligion (or pseudotheology) is a generally pejorative term applied to a non-mainstream belief system or philosophy which is functionally similar to religious practices, typically having a founder, principal text, liturgy and faith-based beliefs.

Belief systems such as Theosophy, corporate Kabbalism and the Nation of Islam have all been referred to as pseudoreligions, as have humanism and various New Age religions, as well as political ideologies such as Nazism, Marxist Communism. Within the academic debate, ideologies that resemble religion are sometimes referred to as political religions.

While the more serious-minded participants in these groups may prefer to consider themselves part of a proper religion, or not part of a religion at all, the mainstream ascribes to them fringe status. Such groups as the Raëlian Church, Heaven’s Gate, or Scientology, when seen as dangerous, exploitive, secretive, or closed, have been classified as pseudoreligious cults.

The following letter, written by L. Ron Hubbard, was discovered by the FBI during its 1977 raid on Scientology headquarters. The letter shows Hubbard turned Scientology into a “religion” for financial reasons:

(1953)
DEAR HELEN
10 APRIL
RE CLINIC, HAS

The arrangements that have been made seem a good temporary measure. On a longer look, however, something more equitable will have to be organized. I am not quite sure what we would call the place – probably not a clinic – but I am sure that it ought to be a company, independent of the HAS [the Hubbard Association of Scientologists] but fed by the HAS. We don’t want a clinic. We want one in operation but not in name. Perhaps we could call it a Spiritual Guidance Center. Think up its name, will you. And we could put in nice desks and our boys in neat blue with diplomas on the walls and 1. knock psychotherapy into history and 2. make enough money to shine up my operating scope and 3. keep the HAS solvent. It is a problem of practical business. I await your reaction on the religion angle. In my opinion, we couldn’t get worse public opinion than we have had or have less customers with what we’ve got to sell. A religious charter would be necessary in Pennsylvania or NJ to make it stick. But I sure could make it stick. We’re treating the present time beingness, psychotherapy treats the past and the brain. And brother, that’s religion, not mental science.

Best Regards,
Ron

Source: American Psychological Association (APA):
Pseudoreligion. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved February 22, 2008, from Reference.com

Additional biographical article on L. Ron Hubbard from Slate.

In his writing, Bad Religions and Good Religions, James D. Carmine reminds us that “…all religions are not equally good. Some, in fact, are downright bad.” He goes on to say “In a word, we have an absolute right to have bad religions and say stupid things, but it is immoral for us not to allow others their right to have bad religions and say stupid things. So lots of bad religions and stupid things abound in America, and our tolerance of this makes none of it less bad or less stupid.” But he hastens to remind us that, “We are also required to argue vigorously against those with whom we disagree.”

Our agreement with Carmine’s idea’s is focused upon his observation that, “A pseudo-religion like scientology is open to any who want to pay to join.” And more specifically, “As astrology, psychoanalysis and creationism are pseudo-sciences, so too are scientology, new-age-eco-feminism and Heaven’s Gate pseudo-religions.” James D. Carmine is chair of the Philosophy Department at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Finally, we turn to Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard, whose very words form the essence of our disdain for the organization known as the Church of Scientology. Words are important, and for the Church, Hubbard’s words are gospel, forming the chief constituent of their doctrine. His writings are the sacrosanct elements of their belief system. They are so important that they are stored in titanium capsules, as part of Scientology’s ongoing $226-million effort to archive Hubbard’s writings. His words are imprinted on stainless steel plates, stored in the capsules, then wrapped in Kevlar and placed in underground buildings to protect them from nuclear or natural disaster. All this to house mere copies of the original works, which include 500,000 pages of Hubbard writings, 6,500 reels of tape and 42 films.

Scientology’s theology is scattered among the voluminous writings and tape-recorded discourses of the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, who founded the religion in the early 1950s. Following are some quotes which represent a minute number of words, compared to the thousands which were written during his lifetime … but for us, they speak VOLUMES!

“An enemy… may be injured by any means or tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed. […] Start feeding lurid, blood sex crime actual evidence on the attackers to the press.” – L. Ron Hubbard, HCO Policy Letter, 18 Oct 67 and HCO Policy Letter, Attacks on Scientology (Additional Pol Ltr), 25 Feb 66

“Handling truth is a touchy business … Tell an acceptable truth.” – L. Ron Hubbard, The Missing Ingredient, 13 August 1970.

“Churches are looked upon as reform groups. Therefore we must act like a reform group.” – L. Ron Hubbard, 1966, According to Jon Atack’s The total freedom trap.

“MAKE MONEY. MAKE MORE MONEY.” – L. Ron Hubbard, HCO PL 9 Mar 72.

“I’d like to start a religion. That’s where the money is.” – L. Ron Hubbard to Lloyd Eshbach in 1949; quoted by Eshbach in Over My Shoulder.

“This is useful knowledge. With it the blind again see, the lame walk, the ill recover, the insane become sane and the sane become saner. By its use the thousand abilities man has sought to recover become his once more.” – L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology: A History of Man. Foreword.

“I don’t know how they found it; either by watching madmen or something. But since that time they have used it. And it became what is known as Christianity. The Man on the cross. There was no Christ!” – L. Ron Hubbard, Class 8 Auditor’s Course (Confidential), taped on the ship Apollo in Corfu, Greece.

“The purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than to win…The law can be used very easily to harass, and…will generally be sufficient to cause [the enemy’s] professional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly.” – L.Ron Hubbard, Magazine articles on Level O Checksheet, American Saint Hill Organization 1968.

And let us not forget Hubbards modus operandi statement from “Ethics Protection,” “We are not in the business of being good boys and girls.”

More quotes can be found here.

Scientology considers the belief in a God or gods as something personal and therefore offers no specific dogma, plus they completely dismiss the reality of hell. Of salvation in general, Hubbard said, “In all the broad universe there is no other hope for man than ourselves.” — from Ron’ s Journal 67

A pretty lofty statement for a man who is now experiencing first hand, that which he ridiculed and denounced … according to these words written by the God he knew nothing about:

Revelation 20:11-15
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.