Among their beliefs:
- A "Supreme Being" exists. The church is not Christian and does
not worship any god.
- Humans are reincarnated, spiritual beings.
- Ever-higher states of spiritual enlightenment can be attained
through courses and "auditing," which is done with the use of a lie
detector-like device called an E-Meter.
- People are weakened by harmful experiences engraved in mental
pictures called "engrams." Through auditing, this "reactive mind" can
be eliminated. Past lives are audited, too.
- Disembodied spirits implanted with false memories and sent to
Earth 75 million years ago by Xenu, an evil galactic warlord, cling to
humans and create unhappiness and strife.
- Seventy percent of illnesses - including arthritis, migraines,
asthma and ulcers - are psychosomatic and curable without doctors.
What they do:
- Fight illiteracy through "study technology," a practice of
reading and study advanced by founder L. Ron Hubbard.
- Encourage people not to use drugs through education, drug
treatment and work with youth.
- Encourage the use of Hubbard's work in business settings through
the work of the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, an
international organization which promotes Hubbard's approaches in
business and management.
- Campaign against psychiatry and psychiatric drugs.
But critics say:
- Scientology is an authoritarian, money-making cult that
masquerades as a religion.
- The organization uses "training routines" that employ classic
mind-control techniques.
- Scientology is based on faulty or outdated psychology and medical
theories.
- Scientology-related entities around the world are front groups
designed to hide the church's involvement and mask its controversial
teachings.
- The organization breaks up families by pushing individuals to
sever contact from relatives and friends critical of Scientology.
The money behind Scientology
How much money does Scientology collect each year?
No one except top members knows for sure, since the church's
tax-exempt status allows its financial resources to be shielded from
public scrutiny. Church officials won't discuss Scientology's gross
income or net worth.
But a look at some of the numbers shows:
$398 million: Assets of the worldwide church in 1993, the last year
the church had to declare income.
$300 million: Amount the church earned worldwide in 1993 from
investments, counseling fees and book sales.
$300,000 and up: Potential cost to individual members to take all the
church's courses and auditing sessions in order to climb the "Bridge
to Total Freedom."
9 million: Number of members the church claims to have worldwide,
about half in the United States. Critics and former members assert the
number is closer to 150,000 to 200,000.
500: Number of Scientologists in Buffalo, according to church
officials.
$2 million to $2.5 million: Amount spent on renovation of the Buffalo
Church of Scientology building, according to its primary financial
backer.
Unknown dollar amount: Value of the church's extensive land holdings
around the world, plus the dollar value of the generous donations made
to the church by Hollywood stars and other wealthy members.
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