Scientology: An Inside Look

Scientolgy Presentation

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Clifford's Geertz's definition of religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long lasting noods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic. Does the concept of scientology fit into this definition?

The Beginnings: L. Ron Hubbard was born in 1911 in Tilden, Nebraska. Being the son of a person involved in the Navy, Hubbard moved around a lot with his family. After graduating from high school, he attended George Washington University. Hubbard majored in civil engineering. However, he dropped out of school and pursued his passion. He became a science fiction writer. Some of his most famous works were The Secret of Treasure Island and Dianetics. Dianetics is a self-help book that was published in 1950. The main ideas in Dianetics is the essence of the religion of Scientology.

The Beliefs: Scientology has two main beliefs that help followers get back to remembering their true nature. One belief is solely about the follower while the other is about the journey that a follower has to endure. The concept of thetan, which is symbolized with a theta, has to do with the follower. Thetan is a similar concept to the spirit in other beliefs. It says that a thetan is an immortal spiritual being. Scientologists say that the thetan reincarnates and have lived on different planets. After a follower is able to understand this idea of thetan, he/she is able to start his/her journey through the eight dynamics. The eight dynamics included urges towards survival, including existence and sexual activity. This journey allows for the finding of their true nature.

The Symbol: The symbol for the belief of scientology is the letter S with two triangles intertwined into it. It is evident that the S stands for scientology. However, the two triangles are a little harder to decipher. Both triangles represent concept maps, which show the relationship between three different things. The KRC triangle, the top one, represents the connection between knowledge, responsibility, and control. The ARC triangle, the bottom one, represents the connection between affinity, reality, and communication. The KRC triangle represents what Scientologists strive to be while the ARC triangle represents what Scientologists are hindered by.

The Religious Symbol: After the Church of Scientology was established in 1954, another symbol was formed that is used during religious gatherings and events. The middle of the symbol looks a lot like the traditional Christian cross, however it has a different meaning to it. The horizonal bar represents the material universe while the vertical bar represents the spirit. The vertical bar is rising while the horizontal bar is transcending. In other words, the spirit is rising while the material world is transcending. In addition, the eight points on the symbol represent the eight dynamics that Scientologists believe in.

The Headquarters: The headquarters of the Church of Scientology is now located at the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, Florida. The hotel opened in 1926 and has a lot of history to it, the Rolling Stones wrote their hit Satisfaction there. In 1975, the Church of Scientology bought the hotel under the cover name United Churches of Florida. In the 1980s, the Church of Scientology restored it to what it is today. The building is used by parishioners who are studying at very high levels of scientology and is also used for different administrational things.

The Chapel: The ceremonies that occur in the Church of Scientology can be broken into two groups. Some are communal while others are independent. Most of the community events that occur with Scientology occur in the chapel. The chapel has both weekly and ceremonial events. Weekly events are similar to services of different religions. There is a leader that gives an inspirational talk, there are prayers being said, and there are hymns being sung. In addition to these weekly events, more ceremonial events occur as well. These events include weddings, child naming, and funerals. These ceremonies allow for Scientologists to achieve their true nature in a community setting.

The Ways of Self Growth: The other kinds of ceremonies that Scientologists take part in are on an individual level. These ceremonies allow for followers to go through the eight dynamics while bettering themselves as individuals. There are three different kinds of ceremonies that take place. The most intimate is called auditing. It is said to increase spiritual awareness and physical benefits. During the process, a Scientologist sits down with a counselor. The counselor helps them discover engrams, and helps the follower get over them. (Engrams are records of painful past events.) An e-meter is used during the session to find these engrams. The second ceremony is more of a spiritual college of sort. A person can take different classes in many areas, such as a class on how to be a better citizen. The last ceremony is a purification rundown. It helps free a person from different drugs and toxins. This occurs through different saunas and cardio exercises. All three of these ceremonies are used to better the Scientologist in all aspects of life.

The Generalizations: In the last couple of years Scientology has become very big in the media. It started with Tom Cruise's affiliation with Scientology, and the concept heightened in popularity after that. There have been negative connotations developed about it. Some include that the Church of Scientology is a cult and that its main purpose is to take their followers' money. There have also been different things created from these connotations. A shirt and an episode of South Park are just a few examples. While some of the comments about Scientology that are made are true, it has been blown out of proportion with all of the media attention it is receiving.

Looking back on Clifford Geertz's definition of religion, I think that Scientology can be seen as a religion. There are symbols throughout the religion that give followers the same message. This message being to restore themselves to their true nature. In addition, this is done with an aura of factuality that is felt by the Scientologists. It is clear that they really believe all of the ideas behind Scientology.

For some reason the powerpoint is cut off a little bit, I am sorry about that.

Baha'i Temple in Chicago

The Baha'i Temple is an extraordinary place right outside of Chicago. I had many opportunities to visit the Temple, because I live about twenty minutes away from it. The glorious gardens, intricate stone art, and overall beauty awes me every time I go and visit there. However, it was not until I learned more about the Baha'i Faith in my religious studies class that I was able to connect aspects of the temple to their unique belief system. I never realized that there were so many connections present between the temple and the religion.

One of the things that is very predominant in the Baha'i Temple of Chicago is the number nine. For example, on the dome of the temple, there are nine angles/ridges. In addition, there are nine entrances into the Baha'i Temple. The number nine is significant for two reasons. The first reason is that it symbolizes completeness and fulfillment. In addition, it symbolizes the nine prophets that have been present in this world. (Baha'is believe that whenever a new prophet comes, people should follow them and not fixate on a former prophet. The last prophet was Baha'u'llah.) Due to this idea of former prophets, the temple is also decorated with many other religious symbols. These symbols include the cross, star of david, and the crescent moon to name a few of the symbols.

Finally, the last thing that is really important in the Baha'i Temple are the gardens that surround it. During Baha'u'llah's life, the Ridvan Gardens were very important. The Ridvan Gardens were where he spent the latter part of his life. The Ridvan Gardens are also where he told his followers the essence of the Baha'i Faith, the idea of the changing of prophets, for example. Moreover, Baha'is believe that everyone is an individual and when they come together a strong unity and power can be formed. This same concept can be applied to the gardens. The gardens have so many different kinds of flowers, and they come together to make something truly powerful and beautiful!

Discrimination in Religion

Today, a group of friends and I were discussing the amount of discrimination that is represent in our society today. Groups of people facing discrimination are due to their marital status, their sexual orientation, and their race, to name a few things. Discrimination occurs in all places around the world, some being feasible than others. Sure, people are discriminated in the workplace at the time. (I am not by any means condoning this, but people are able to accept this a little more than discrimination in other places. Just hear me out before bashing my ideas!) However, a horrible place where people are discriminated all the time is their own religious sects.

Religion is used by people to find themselves and be able to develop their connection with a higher power. Religion is a very intimate thing for everyone, and the idea that people are persecuted in their religious sects is just unfathomable to me. A person should be able to be themselves in their religious sects, and not have to hid in fear of persecution. It's true that mostly orthodox religious are more strict about these things, but the issue still exists. Why are divorced women and people from the LGBT community discriminated in the Catholic Church?

The idea of religions persecuting people because of different things in their lives in completely horrible. To me, these persecutions against groups of people contradicts the essences of what religion is and the motives it has!

Elements for Establishing New Religion

After reading the first four chapters of Baha'u'llah: A Short Biography, I was able to learn a lot about how the Bahai Faith started. I was able to see the important elements that go into the founding of the Bahai Faith and I am now able to make a broader claim on the important elements that go into creating any new religion. In the case of the Bahai Faith, and any other religion for that matter, there are four distinct elements that I could see that are very important in forming new religions. These elements are all apart of a long process that include having a good leader, a group of followers, and the use of different more established religions.

I think it is common knowledge that the founding of a new religion is a long process. It takes time for a charismatic leader to rise and for a big group of people to start following the leader's beliefs. In the case of the Bahai Faith, Baha'u'llah was exiled from his native land for decades. He was constantly moving all over the Middle East spreading his teachings and his beliefs. During his journey, he was able to get a group of people to believe in his ways and teachings, these people were known as the Bahais. The Bahais helped spread Baha'u'llah's teaching all over so that they would be able to get a bigger group of followers. Any new religion forming needs to have a leader and a group of people that believe the leader's teachings and will spread the teachings.

Finally, the last element that is important in the creation of a new religion is the use of other elements in different religions that are already strongly established. At the beginning, the Bahai Faith was taking the teachings of Islam and changing it to better relate to their lives and in ways they saw fit. Today, the Bahai Faith believes in messengers of God. The messengers include the important figures in all major religions, such as Jesus and Buddha. It is clear that other religions blend ideas from other religions as well. For example, Christianity uses and believes the Old Testament, which is the Torah in Judaism.

Here is a cool website about the life of Baha'u'llah.

Here is a website about the Bahai Faith.

Contemporary Religions...

Today in class Jaclyn brought up the idea of contemporary religions. The term contemporary religion can be used to refer to religious that are changing as time changes, to blend into the time period. At least, this is how I interpret it. Religion can be contemporary in many ways. One example is the idea of christian rock. Christian rock is a genre of music that has the same musical instrument set-up as a rock group, but they sing about God. Another example of religions becoming contemporary can be seen just down the street from Lawrence University. An old movie theatre has been turned into a church. As Emma was saying in class, there are still a lot of lights, a gift shop, and even movie theatre seats present in the church.

It is clear that this level of contemporary varies by religion. Religions that are more orthodox than others are less likely to incorporate some of these things into their beliefs/rituals, like christian rock. But, how far will religions go to become contemporary? Will the latest trend in religion be that no one goes to a central location anymore, and that religious services are conducted on facebook and/or twitter? (I would not be surprised if this already existed.) In addition, why are religions becoming contemporary, in a sense? I believe it is because the religions want to relate to the "always on the go" person that enjoys things in society like rock music and gift shops.

Bob Marley and the Rastafari Movement

For class we have to watch the video above. The video is about a group of Bobo Santis living in a small village in Jamaica. The group of people are preparing for the journey across the Atlantic Ocean, back to Africa. The video shows the day to day life of a Bobo Shanti living in this village. It is very clear that this video has a lot of symbols in it that we discussed in class on Monday. In class, we discussed different symbols of the Rastafari Movement.

There are five distinct symbols that I saw on the video that we discussed during class on Monday. Firstly, the predominant Ethiopian colors of green, gold, and red were everywhere on the video. The villagers' houses were painted in those colors. In addition, the changes in personal dress that are shown in the Rastafari Movement were also seen in the video. Villagers had their hair in dredlocks and wrapped up in a turban. Moreover, their ceremonies with ganja, or marijuana, were also seen in the video. Finally, their uniqueness of speech was also seen in how they spoke during their interviews.

Now, the real question is how does the version of Rastafari life in the video differ from the version that is portrayed by Bob Marley?

I think that the similarities are undeniable. Both Bob Marley and the villagers take part in the same ceremonies and ritual practices. Both parties have dredlocks, cherish the colors of the Ethiopian flag, and speak differently to name a few similarities. However, the main difference I see is the group's ways of conveying the message of the Rastafari Movement. Bob Marley, being a famous singer, was able to convey his beliefs/messages clearly with the world through his songs. However, this little village was not able to do the same thing. They conveyed the messages of the Rastafari Movement in more subtle

ways than Bob Marley did.

Is President Obama an incarnation of God?

In class tomorrow, we will start discussing the Rastafari movement. The Rastafari movement takes place in Ethiopia. Believes taking part in the Rastafari movement believe that Haile Selassie I, the former emperor of Ethiopia, is the incarnation of God. Haile Selassie I is seen as the long awaited messiah that is promised in the Bible. Here is a website with more information on the Rastafari movement. I decided to see what kinds of videos youtube.com would have on this interesting movement. The video, above, is the one that I found the most interesting of them all.

The video shows a crowd in Ethiopia. The crowd is screaming and shouting in happiness for the arrival of Haile Selassie I. A complete parade and celebration occurred in his honor. His importance is very evidence to the people of Ethiopia, and in reality, to anyone else believing that he is an incarnation of God. I want to take this idea a little bit further. What would happen to the world if movements like this occurred all the time? What if each county felt that their ruler was an incarnation of God? I think this scenario, hopefully impossible, would create situations that would both be scary and unsatisfying. I don't know if unsatisfying is the right word, but I will use it for now.

If this situation somehow occurred, meaning that each country believed their leader was an incarnation of God, what would be different from what happens today? Well, I think the easy answer is that everything would change. There are already so many tensions between major religions, but the tensions of so many different countries' "religions" would be unbearable. War World III would break out! In addition, I feel there is a certain sense of community when you know someone across the world believes the same things you do. It has a certain comfort and belonging that this type of community has. In this simulation, this sense of community would be lost. It is clear to me, that if a Rastafari-like movement occurred in every country, I might want to move to the moon!