RELIGIONS
OF THE WORLD
Scientology
. Belief in Deity:
Scientology considers the belief in a God or gods as something
personal and therefore offers no specific dogma. The nature
of the Supreme Being is revealed personally through each individual
as s/he becomes more conscious and spiritually aware. There
exists a life energy or force (Theta) beyond and within all.
. Incarnations:
There are no particular human incarnations of God, as the universal
life force (Theta) is inherent in all. All humans are immortal
spiritual beings (thetans) capable of realizing a nearly godlike
state through Scientology practices.
. Origin of Universe and Life:
All is manifestation of the universal spirit, which is all that
actually exists. .
. After
Death:
Rebirths continue until one consciously confronts all pre-birth,
current-life, and previous-life traumas and realizes one's true
nature as a "thetan," immortal spirit--transcending matter,
energy, space, and time. Achieving this state enables the spirit
to escape the cycle of birth and death--to operate independently
of the physical universe and become one with God.
. Why Evil?:
Painful experiences and harmful acts in one's prebirth, current,
and past lives become imprinted in the reactive mind and lead
to irrational behavior. Departures from rational thought and
untrue ideas ("aberrations") can result in wrongdoing.
. Salvation:
Salvation is achieved through the practices and techniques of
Scientology, the ultimate goal of which is to realize one's
true nature as an immortal spirit, a thetan. The path to salvation,
or enlightenment, includes achieving states of increasingly
greater mental awareness--Pre-Clear, Clear, and ultimately Operating
Thetan. An Operating Thetan is a spirit who can control matter,
energy, space, time, thought, and life. Practitioners ("Auditors")
are regarded as ministers and counselors who assist others to
achieve self-enlightenment. Auditors help others to identify
their prebirth, current, and past-life disturbances, which are
obstacles to happiness and spiritual enlightenment.
. Undeserved Suffering:
Suffering occurs as part of the spirit's entrapment here in
the physical universe. Only when the individual is aware of
his spiritual nature can he identify his barriers within the
universe and overcome them, rising out of a lower state and
into a higher state of happiness and freedom.
. Contemporary Issues:
Scientology regards homosexuality as an illness. Based on the
belief that you cannot free yourself spiritually without working
to free others, Scientology has founded and supports many organizations
for social betterment, particularly in the areas of drug abuse,
crime, psychiatric abuse, government abuse of law, human rights,
religious freedom, education, and morality. Scientology strongly
favors the use of their methodology for spiritual/mental healing
over the use of conventional treatment.
