Friday, November 18, 2011

Scientology or Above others-ology?



The symbol for Scientology and at first glance, one may ask… “What in the heck does that mean?” However, as the image tells you, it stands for the things that are a main staple in the religion. 

Also, The cross of Scientology:

has 8 points, which stand for the eight dynamics of Scientology. 1. The self. 2. Creativity, sex, procreation. 3. Group, society, community. 4. Species Survival. 5. Life forms in general. 6. Matter. 7. Spirit. 8. Infinity of the Supreme Being.

What is scientology? For some, you may know this answer, however, I didn’t know what this religion was, even after we saw the video of Tom Cruise talking about it. Scientology is a religion that offers a precise path leading to a complete and certain understanding of one’s true spiritual nature and one’s relationship to self, family, groups, Mankind, all life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the spiritual being. (scientology.org) Scientology like most religions has a system of beliefs that they follow adamantly. It was created in 1952 by science fiction and fantasy author, L. Ron. Hubbard
            Man is an immortal being.
            His experience extends well beyond a single lifetime.
            He capabilities are unlimited, even if they aren’t presently realized.
While I was navigating through the scientology website, I noticed that almost every link you clicked on there was a video to explain what you needed. Also, in one of the videos someone had mentioned that inside the church there are video clips that explain concepts and someone just has to push a button and they can learn about the concept in a short two minutes.



 Scientology presents itself as a very technologically driven group of people. I mean look at that piece of technology they are presenting to the public. And not to mention they had multiples of these throughout the building. Technology is an important practice throughout this religion because it is the methods of applying the principles of something, as opposed to mere knowledge of the thing itself. This is important in Scientology because they are applying the beliefs they have to their lives, and within that application they are bringing those beliefs to life, and into practice, and they are following through with the methods of Scientology.
 

Even in the designs of the churches, it’s different than most churches that I have seen.
One the top is a picture of the Cathedral Bassilica in Saint Louis, Missouri and on the bottom is a picture of a Church of Scientology located in Spain.




From the two pictures listed above, I get the idea that the Church of Scientology is purposely avoiding the universal designs of typical churches such as the arched doorways, and stained glass windows, and possibly domes on the top of the buildings. The Church of Scientology doesn’t show any arched doorways and it has normal windows. Also, while the top image seems to look more like a castle, the bottom image seems to start narrow and branches out, representing a need in a way for expansion. Also, something else I noticed was that in most catholic churches or churches in general, they typically have a dome located on the top at some point, and that to me represents a way of getting closer to God, or the higher power. However, the Church of Scientology doesn't do this. I think that if someone where to see these two very different designs that may not even consider the "church" of Scientology a church because of the grave differences that are obviously apparent. I think that the Church of Scientology purposely makes these distinctions so that they can consider themselves greatly different than other religions.  

In the video of Tom Cruise that we saw in class, I thought it was interesting the way he portrayed himself as a scientologist. He portrayed himself as a person who believes that he is the only one that can help. I find this slightly selfish, because what happens in the case where multiple scientologist show up at the scene, do they begin to argue over who is best fit to lend their assistance? I find that if someone in the future were to see the video posted below they would probably think that Scientology is a selfish religion that places themselves above others.


As soon as the video starts Cruise says, “I think it’s a privilege to call yourself a scientologist. And it’s something you have to earn.” Now, I do not know much about religion, but, I do know that you should not have to earn the right to be a member of a certain religion.

He also mentions that being a scientologist means that if you drive by an accident, you get out and help because you “know” you’re the only one who can help in that situation. However, I find it difficult to believe that they are the only ones who can help in a dire situation. For example, unless there is a doctor who is a scientologist, they can’t help someone who just had a heart attack. For this reason, I find it hard to believe that this “religion” does not place themselves above others and other religions.

People are going to have different views on the religion of Scientology. I believe that when looking at such a different religion than most people are used to, one shouldn't look at it with a closed mind. They should look at it as if it's something that their religion was like, so when they observe their symbols and reasoning, they can find a contextual purpose for it, and not just shun it off as if it has no importance. 

1 comment:

  1. You should find it hard to believe that this "religion" does not place themselves above others considering they hundreds (if not thousands) of pages of doctrinal policies mandating totalitarianism and extreme bias against those who do not agree with their beliefs and therefore treated as enemies without basic rights.

    As such, I strongly disagree with your concluding comment on opting for the perspective of seeking similarities in what undeniably a dangers sect. For more food4thought on this, see the following collection of publications:

    http://www.scribd.com/collections/3084764/Scientology-Religiosity

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