Sie sind auf Seite 1von 3

Caleb Dowdy

Professor Lewandowski
ENC 1101
December 3, 2009
Clearwater’s Cult: Scientology

“There is a cancer at the core of Scientology and that has not


changed.”(Childs, 2009) That was an editorial quote from the Truth Rundown, St.
Petersburg Times series. The Church of Scientology is protected in the US by the 1st
amendment giving them the legal immunity they need to be considered a religion,
but Scientology should not be considered a religion because Scientology is a
dangerous cult designed to scam people out of their money and break up families.

The Definition of a religion is a specific fundamental set of beliefs and


practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons. The term “Religion” can
be used when referring to the individual or group practices, and goes by several
different names, such as “faith” or “belief system”. As Americans citizens can
believe in what they want to believe in. This is how Scientology was formed, and
protected under the first amendment. The first amendment states, “Congress shall
make no laws respecting the establishment of religion.” This grants a new religion
the legal immunity to create and establish their set of beliefs. (Convention, 2008)

“If you want to make a little money, write a book. If you want to make a lot of
money, create a religion,” that was a quote from the founder of Scientology, L. Ron
Hubbard. Scientology should not be considered a religion because Scientology is a
scam designed to take money from innocent families. Scientology is not designed
for the financially weak, with costs ranging from $16.95 for the Dianetics handbook,
to $220,000 required donation to take a two-year, 16-course upper-level training
program, called the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course. Another example of why
Scientology should not be considered a religion is the cost of taking their beginning
auditing sessions on Dianetics through the church. The cost of only a week of
beginning auditing sessions comes with a price tag of $200 (Tobin, 2009)

The most important reason Scientology should not be considered a religion is


because Scientology is a dangerous cult. According to the Scientology doctrine,
people who criticize the Church of Scientology practices or policy are criminals.
Critics of these policies, former members, or people in the church who fall out of
favor with the church are declared “Suppressive Persons” (SP). The following is an
excerpt regarding SPs from HUBBARD COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE POLIC LETTER-
October 18, 1967

ENEMY SP Order. Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by


any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be
tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed.

(HUBBARD, 1967)

Scientologists will deny that this policy exists, or they’ll claim that it was cancelled.
In reality only the term “Fair game” was cancelled due to PR reasons, the policy
Caleb Dowdy
Professor Lewandowski
ENC 1101
December 3, 2009
itself remains unchanged and in effect. Another example of why Scientology should
not be considered a religion is because of the “Lisa McPherson Trials”. 17 days
before she died Lisa McPherson was in a minor car accident amounting to nothing
more than a finder-bender. She was taken to Morton Plant Hospital, where doctors
discussed having her committed for psychiatric evaluation under Florida’s Baker
Act. Lisa was instructed to deny medical attention and use the Churches services
instead, because the Church of Scientology considers psychiatry and psychiatric
drugs evil. Instead the church offers a less intrusive and more humane treatment
plan. Lisa McPherson, 36-years-old, spent 17 days in a guarded room at the
church’s Fort Harrison Hotel. When this less intrusive treatment plan had all but
killed Lisa McPherson, they ordered her to be taken to a hospital. Lisa died in the
back seat of a van that was driving her to a hospital in the next county, passing 4
other hospitals on their route. The coroner’s report stated Lisa was underweight,
severely dehydrated, hundreds of bug bites and bruising all over her body. This
was just an average fender-bender; she did not have to die.(Jacobsen, 2008)

As time magazine put it Scientology is “The Thriving cult of Greed and


Power.”(Behar, 1991) Although the definition of a religion is a specific fundamental
set of beliefs and practices, Scientology should not be considered a religion for two
main reasons. The first reason being Religion should be free and Scientology isn’t.
However the most important reason is Scientology is a dangerous scam designed to
take money from innocent families. The so called “Church of Scientology” is
nothing more than a cult, using the tax break that religions receive for being non-
profit organizations.

Works Cited
Childs, J., & Tobin, T. C. (2009). Scientology: The Truth Rundown, Part 1 of 3 in a
special report on the Church of Scientology. St.Petersburg Times .

Convention, D. o. (2008, December 5). GPO access . Retrieved November 24, 2009,
from http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/pdf2002/019.pdf

HUBBARD, L. R. (1967). HCO Policy Letter. HCO Policy Letter Issue IV (p. 1). Saint
Hill Manor, East Grinstead, Sussex: L. RON HUBBARD.

Jacobsen, J. (2008, October 3). Lisa McPherson Memorial Page: killed by the Church
of Scientology. Retrieved November 24, 2009, from http://www.lisamcpherson.org/

Tobin, T. C. (2009, June 22). Death In Slow Motion . St. Petersburg Times , p. Not in
consecutive order.
Caleb Dowdy
Professor Lewandowski
ENC 1101
December 3, 2009

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen