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The Church of Scientology was founded in 1953 by the late fiction author L. Ron Hubbard . BELIEFS AND PRACTICES For the main article, see Scientology Beliefs And Practices HISTORY AND CONTROVERSIES Hubbard's stated claims of Scientology were: "''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.''" "Aims of Scientology by L. Ron Hubbard" at official site In 1979 , Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard along with ten other highly placed Church Executives were convicted in United States federal court regarding Operation Snow White , and served time in a US federal prison. This involved infiltration, wiretapping, and theft of documents in government offices, most notably those of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The nature and legal status of the Church Continue To Arouse Controversy around the world. The governments of Germany and Belgium officially regard the Church as a Totalitarian Cult ; in France , a parliamentary report Classified Scientology As A Dangerous Cult ; in the United Kingdom and Canada , the Church is not regarded as meeting the legal standards for being considered a '' Bona Fide '' Religion or Charity . However in 1993 the U.S. Internal Revenue Service recognised the Church as a "non-profit charitable organization", and gave it the same legal protections and favorable tax treatment extended to other non-profit charitable organizations. A :"The following actions will be considered to be a material breach by the Service: ... The issuance of a Regulation, Revenue Ruling or other pronouncement of general applicability providing that fixed donations to a religious organization other than a church of Scientology are fully deductible." In a legal case involving a married couple attempting to obtain the same deduction for charity to a Jewish school, it was stated by Judge Silverman:Concurrence by Judge Silverman in "Sklar vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue" opinion :"An IRS closing agreement cannot overrule Congress and the Supreme Court. :If the IRS does, in fact, give preferential treatment to members of the Church of Scientology—allowing them a special right to claim deductions that are contrary to law and rightly disallowed to everybody else—then the proper course of action is a lawsuit to put a stop to ''that'' policy." To date, such a suit is not known to have been filed. Hubbard had direct control of the Church only until . In May 1987, David Miscavige , one of Hubbard’s former personal assistants, assumed the position of Chairman of the Religious Technology Center (RTC), a non-profit corporation that owns the trademarked names and symbols of Dianetics and Scientology. Although RTC is a separate corporation from the Church of Scientology International, whose president and chief spokesperson is the Reverend Heber Jentzsch , Miscavige is the effective leader of the religion. CHURCHES, MISSIONS AND MAJOR SCIENTOLOGY CENTERS in London ]] Scientology churches and mission franchises exist in many communities around the world. Scientology calls its larger centers ''orgs'', short for "organizations." The major Scientology church of a region is known as the local org, e.g., "the New York org", or "the Washington, D.C. org". Members of the public entering a Scientology church or mission are offered a Free Personality Test followed by a suggestion of which Scientology courses and "auditing" would benefit them. The churches and people performing the tests get a commision from any fees for future tests. Courses, books and counselling are available for a "fixed donation." The Church of Scientology also has several major headquarters, including: Saint Hill, Sussex, England See Also: Saint Hill L. Ron Hubbard moved to England shortly after founding Scientology , where he oversaw the worldwide development of Scientology from an office in London for most of the 1950s. In 1959 , he bought Saint Hill Manor near the Sussex town of East Grinstead , a Georgian manor house formerly owned by the Maharajah of Jaipur. This became the worldwide headquarters of Scientology through the 1960s and 1970s . Hubbard declared Saint Hill to be the org by which all other orgs would be measured, and he issued a general order (still followed by the Church today) for all orgs around the world to expand and reach "Saint Hill size." The Church of Scientology has announced that the highest levels of Scientology Teaching , ''OT 9'' and ''OT 10'', will be released and made available to church members when all the major orgs in the world have reached Saint Hill size. Flag Land Base, Fort Harrison Hotel, Clearwater, Florida See Also: Fort Harrison Hotel Today, the worldwide spiritual headquarters of the Church of Scientology is located in the city of , rallied strongly against Scientology establishing a base in the city (repeatedly referring to the organization as a cult), but Flag Base was established nonetheless. In the years since its foundation, Flag Base has expanded as the church has gradually purchased large amounts of additional property in the downtown and waterfront Clearwater area. Its relationship with the city has repeatedly moved between friendly and hostile, but the church has worked with the city to establish better relations. At the same time, it opposed the local '' St. Petersburg Times '' and protested the Clearwater police department. Scientology's largest project in Clearwater has been the construction of a huge high-rise complex called the " Super Power Building ," an enormous structure whose highest point, when completed, will be a huge Scientology cross that will tower over the city. PAC Base, Hollywood, California Los Angeles, California , has the largest concentration of Scientologists and Scientology-related enterprises in the world. Scientology has established a highly visible presence in the Hollywood district of the city. The church owns a large complex on Fountain Avenue which was formerly Cedars of Lebanon hospital. It contains Scientology's west coast headquarters, "Pacific Area Command Base," often referred to as "PAC Base." Adjacent buildings include headquarters of many of Scientology's internal divisions, including the American Saint Hill Organization; the Advanced Organization of Los Angeles; Los Angeles Organization, founded February 18 , 1954 , and the offices of Bridge Publications , Scientology's publishing arm. The Church of Scientology successfully campaigned to have the city of Los Angeles rename one block of a street running through this complex 'L. Ron Hubbard Way.' The Street has been paved in brick and kept in pristine condition by Scientologists. Also in Hollywood is Scientology's main Celebrity Centre , which caters to arts professionals. On Hollywood Boulevard, a multi-story building houses the executive offices of the Church Of Scientology International and an open-to-the-public exhibition devoted to the life of L. Ron Hubbard . Also in the area are the headquarters of Author Services, Inc. (Hubbard's Literary agency), the Association For Better Living And Education (ABLE), which administers social programs based on Hubbard's writings, (including Narconon and Applied Scholastics ), the World Institute Of Scientology Enterprises (WISE), which promotes Hubbard's business management techniques and facilitates a network of Scientology-related businesses, and the Citizens Commission On Human Rights , a Scientology-affiliated group that focuses on alleged abuses of psychiatry, and includes a "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" museum. Today, the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles is one of the largest Scientology facilities of its kind in the world. Church executives-in-training from every international Scientology organization now apprentice at the LA church before assuming their executive positions. Gold Base, Gilman Hot Springs, California See Also: Gold Base Another headquarters for Scientology is Gold Base , located near Hemet, California , about 80 miles (130 km) southeast of Los Angeles. It is also known as "INT Base". The facility is owned by Golden Era Productions and is the home of Scientology's media production studio, Golden Era Studios. According to many accounts by journalists and former scientologists, Gold Base is the central headquarters for the entire network of Scientology-related enterprises. Gold Base reportedly contains the headquarters of the which owns the trademarks and copyrights connected with Scientology and Dianetics . The existence of Gold Base is not broadly publicised as is the case of the other headquarters mentioned here: the RTC lists a Los Angeles address on their publications and web site. The existence of Gold Base was kept secret, even within Scientology, in the pre-Internet era. The facilities at Gold Base are surrounded by razor wire, floodlights, and video observation cameras. Trementina Base See Also: Trementina Base The Church of Scientology maintains a large base on the outskirts of symbols on the ground caused media interest and a local TV station broke the story in November 2005 . According to a Washington Post report, the Church attempted to coerce the station not to air the story, to no avail. {Link without Title} Flag ship, Freewinds See Also: Freewinds The Cruise Ship ''Freewinds'' is the only place the current highest level of Scientology training ( OT VIII ) is offered. It cruises the Caribbean Sea, under the auspices of the Flag Ship Service Organization. The Freewinds is also used for other courses and auditing for those willing to spend extra money to get services on the ship. SEA ORG See Also: Sea Org The ''Sea Organization'' (often shortened to "Sea Org") was founded in 1967 by L. Ron Hubbard , as he embarked on a series of voyages around the Mediterranean Sea in a small fleet of Scientology-crewed cruise ships. Hubbard—formerly a disgraced Lieutenant junior grade in the US Navy—bestowed the rank of "Commodore" of the vessels upon himself. The crew who accompanied him on these voyages became the foundation of the Sea Org. "Orgs," such as "Los Angeles Org" are semi-autonomous organizations which staff themselves as they see fit. But the Sea Org is a more dedicated, more elite group within Scientology which exclusively staffs the higher Orgs. Advanced Organization of Los Angeles, for example, is staffed by Sea Org members. While every Org enforces rules and administers disciplinary procedures within its own portion of the larger organization which is the CoS, Sea Org members hold the highest jobs. The Sea Org is frequently characterized as the "elite" of scientology, both in terms of power within the organization and dedication to the cause. Scientologists seeking to advance within the church are encouraged to join the Sea Org, which involves devoting their full time to Scientology projects in exchange for meals, berthing, and a nominal honorarium, amounting to a vow of poverty. Members sign a contract pledging their loyalty to Scientology for "the next billion years," committing their future lifetimes to the Sea Org. The Sea Org's motto is "Revenimus" (or "We Come Back"). Disciplinary procedures and policies within the Sea Org have been 's Carnegie Mellon site. Members who violate rules within the Sea Org are sent to perform physical labor in the Rehabilitation Project Force , such as janitorial duties. When rehabilitation is judged to have happened they are then given a Sea Org job again. VOLUNTEER MINISTERS See Also: Volunteer Ministers The Church of Scientology began its " Volunteer Ministers " program as a way to participate in community outreach projects. Over the past several years, it has become a common practice for the organization to send teams of Volunteer Ministers to the scenes of major, headline-grabbing disasters in order to provide assistance with relief efforts. According to critics, these relief efforts consist of passing out copies of a pamphlet authored by L. Ron Hubbard entitled ''The Way To Happiness'', and engaging in a method of calming panicked or injured individuals known in Scientology as a " Touch Assist ." The Volunteer Minister program most heavily promoted by Scientology took place in the immediate aftermath of the . "Due to some brilliant maneuvering by some simply genius Sea Org Members we tied up the majority of the psychs who were attempting to get to families yesterday in Q&A, bullbait and wrangling. The Scientology Volunteer Ministers were commended by the New York Fire Department for the assistance given at Ground Zero. Transcript of address by Stephan Hittman , Chief Executive Officer of the 9/11 Foundation and Honorary Commissioner of the New York Fire Department at grand opening of Church of Scientology, New York The Scientology Volunteer Ministers helped with disaster efforts in Southeast Asia following the Tsunami there. In the immediate aftermath of the 7 July 2005 London Bombings their Volunteer Ministers were sighted at one London hospital, offering their services to those affected by the events."'This isn't ideology, this isn't perverted faith. It is murder' The day a holy war came to the heart of London in the morning rush", The Herald . July 8 , 2005 . Available through pay archive or Google's cache A team of 39 Volunteer Ministers from Clearwater is currently onsite in New Orleans , helping with the disaster that followed Hurricane Katrina . They expect to be in Louisiana for a minimum of thirty days. The Volunteer Ministers trained for and belong to the State of Florida's Certified Emergency Response Team (CERT). RELIGIOUS TECHNOLOGY CENTER (RTC) See Also: Religious Technology Center Around 1982 , all of the Church's Intellectual Property was transferred to a newly formed entity called the Church Of Spiritual Technology (CST) and then licenced to the '' Religious Technology Center '' (RTC) which, according to its own publicity, exists to safeguard and control the use of the Church of Scientology's copyrights and legal protections. The RTC employs a small army of lawyers and has vigorously pursued individuals and groups who have legally attacked Scientology or who are deemed to be a legal threat to Scientology. This has included breakaway Scientologists who have tried to practice Scientology outside the central church and critics, as well as numerous government and media organizations. This has helped to maintain Scientology's reputation for litigiousness (see Scientology And The Legal System ). LEGAL WAIVERS Recent legal actions involving the Church's relationship with its members (see Scientology Controversy ) have caused the church to publish extensive legal documents that cover the rights granted to followers. It has become standard practice within the church for members to sign lengthy legal contracts and waivers before engaging in Scientology services, a practice that contrasts greatly with many mainstream religious organizations. They must also pay a $240.00 fee, which is why many question the tax-exempt status of the organization (see " Church Or Business? "). In 2003 , a series of media reports examined the legal contracts required by Scientology, which state, among other things, that followers deny any psychiatric care their doctors may prescribe to them. Reproduced version of Introspection Rundown Release Contract
See Also: Introspection Rundown WORLD VIEW OF SCIENTOLOGY Official reports in countries such as Britain , South Africa , Australia and New Zealand have yielded unfavorable observations and conclusions. In Britain, Scientologists were banned from entering the country between 1968 – 1980; more recently, an application by Scientology for charitable status was rejected after the authorities decided its activities were not of general public benefit. In Germany and Russia , official views of Scientology are particularly harsh. It is seen as a totalitarian organization, and is or has been under observation by police and national security organizations. In Israel, Scientology is restricted by Israeli anti-missionary laws. There are many active Jewish religious organizations that confront Scientology like Lev L'Achim . They provide hotlines and other services to warn citizens of the many seemingly legitimate fronts Scientology hides behind. The Church claims that in 1994 , a joint council of Shinto Buddhist (Yu-itsu Shinto) sects in Japan not only extended official recognition of Scientology, but also undertook to train a number of their monks in its beliefs and practices as an adjunct to their own Meditation s and Worship . This continues, according to Scientology, a long tradition of Eastern faiths of assimilating or adopting elements of other faiths which they find harmonious with their own. This may be a reflection of Hubbard's acknowledgment of a strong Buddhist influence in forming his personal philosophy. However, academic researchers have noted Hubbard's grasp of eastern religions was shallow and often inaccurate (see Prof. Stephen A. Kent, ''Scientology's Relationship With Eastern Religious Traditions'' ). FINANCES Scientologists are expected to attend classes, exercises or counseling sessions, for a set range of fees (or "fixed donations"). Charges for auditing and other church-related courses run from hundreds to thousands of dollars. A wide variety of entry-level courses, representing 8 to 16 hours study, cost under $100 (US). More advanced courses require membership in the , a website critical of the Church, estimated the cost of reaching "OT IX readiness", one of the highest levels, is US $365,000 – $380,000. Estimate of Scientology costs at Operation Clambake Updated prices for 2006 at Operation Clambake Scientologists are frequently encouraged to become Professional Auditors as way earning their way up the Bridge. As a Field Auditor, auditors can receive commissions on people refered to Orgs and a 15% FSM commission on completed services. Auditing as a Career , American Saint Hill Organization. Critics say it is improper to fix a donation for religious service; therefore the activity is non-religious. The Church points out many classes, exercises and counseling may also be traded for "in kind" or performed cooperatively by students for no cost, and members of its most devoted orders need donate nothing for services. A central tenet of Scientology is its Doctrine Of Exchange , which dictates that each time a person receives something, he or she must pay something back. By doing so, a Scientologist maintains "inflow" and "outflow", avoiding spiritual decline. ''Hernandez v. Commissioner'', U.S. Supreme Court MEMBERSHIP STATISTICS It is difficult to obtain reliable membership statistics for the Church. The Church itself issues only vague figures (without breaking them down by region or country), and public censuses have only recently included questions about religious affiliations. The Church has claimed anywhere from eight million to fifteen million members world-wide, and has stated that Scientology is "the fastest growing religion in the world." "Scientology Works" at official site Critics, however, state evidence suggests otherwise. The International Association of Scientologists (IAS) maintains a list of Scientologists world-wide. However, not every active Scientologist is a member of the International Association of Scientologists.
SCIENTOLOGY SPLINTER GROUPS See Also: Free Zone (Scientology) The Church denies the legitimacy of any splinter groups and factions outside the official organization, and has actively sought out these "rogue" Scientologists and tried to prevent them from using officially trademarked Scientology materials. These independent Scientologists are known as Squirrels within the Church, and are classified as Suppressive Person s ("SPs") — in other words, opponents and enemies of Scientology. Despite the Church bearing considerable legal and social pressure, the number of Scientologists who have broken away from the Church has increased since Hubbard's death. Many groups refer to themselves under the Umbrella term of "Free Zone". CHURCH OR BUSINESS? From 1952 until 1966, the Scientology was administered by a secular organization called the government accepts it as a religion. In other countries, though, the Church is not acknowledged as a bona fide religion or charitable organization, but is regarded as a commercial enterprise. In early 2003 , in Germany , Scientology was granted a tax-exemption for 10% license fees sent to the US. This exemption, however, is related to a German-American double-taxation agreement, and is unrelated to tax-exemption in the context of charities law. In several countries, public proselytizing undergoes the same restrictions as commercial advertising, which is interpreted as persecution by the Church. In Israel , Scientology does not use "Church" as part of its name, possibly because of the Christian connotation of the term in Jewish culture. When asked, most Israeli Scientologists deny Scientology is a religion, and low-level adherents appear genuinely surprised when confronted with English material in which the word "Church" appears. Something similar happens in Scotland , where Scientology operates as the "Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence." Like many cults and unlike many other well-established religious organizations, the Church maintains strict control over its names, symbols, religious works and other writings. The word ''Scientology'' (and many Related Terms , including ''L. Ron Hubbard'') is a registered Trademark . The Church takes a hard line on people and groups who attempt to use it in organizations unaffiliated with the official Church (see Scientology And The Legal System ). AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS There are many independently-chartered organizations and groups which are staffed by Scientologists, and pay licence fees for the use of Scientology technology and trademarks under the control of Scientology management. In some cases, these organizations do not publicize their affiliation with Scientology. ABLE See Also: Association for Better Living and Education Founded in 1989, the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE) is an umbrella organization that administers four of Scientology's social programs:
CCHR See Also: Citizens Commission on Human Rights The Citizens' Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), co-founded with Thomas Szasz in 1969, is an activist group dedicated to exposing "psychiatric abuse," furthering Scientology doctrinal opposition to mainstream psychiatric therapies. WISE See Also: World Institute of Scientology Enterprises Many other Scientologist-run businesses and organizations belong to the Umbrella Organization World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE), which licenses the use of Hubbard's management doctrines, and circulates directories of WISE-affiliated businesses. WISE requires those who wish to become Hubbard management consults to complete training in Hubbard's administrative systems; this training can be undertaken at any Church of Scientology, or at one of the campuses of the Hubbard College Of Administration , which offers an Associate of Applied Science Degree.
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