American Scientology

Scientology http://www.scientology.org/

Scientology was founded in 1952 by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. Scientology was based on Hubbard’s system of Dianetics, which he called “the modern science of mental health”. Dianetics was supposed to be an alternative to modern psychology, which Hubbard claimed was lacking. According to those who have left the cult, the core tenets of Scientology are hidden from members until they attain a certain level in the cult. The early stages involve manipulation of theoretic life force energy, called “theta”, which represents the true identity of a person.

Manipulation of this force helps one get “Clear”, done through an “auditing” process by higher ranked members. Thetans are also a race which created the universe for their own enjoyment, but at higher levels, members are introduced to the story of Xenu, a tyrant who rules the Galactic Confederacy. 

Hubbard wrote that Xenu was the ruler of a Galactic Confederacy 75 million years ago, which consisted of 26 stars and 76 planets including Earth, which was then known as "Teegeeack".
The planets were overpopulated, containing an average population of 178 billion. The Galactic Confederacy's civilisation was comparable to our own, with aliens "walking around in clothes which looked very remarkably like the clothes they wear this very minute" and using cars, trains and boats looking exactly the same as those "circa 1950, 1960" on Earth.

Xenu was about to be deposed from power, so he devised a plot to eliminate the excess population from his dominions. With the assistance of therapists, he gathered billions of his citizens under the pretence of income tax inspections inspections, then paralysed them and froze them in a mixture of alcohol and glycol to capture their souls. The kidnapped populace was loaded into spacecraft for transport to the site of extermination, the planet of Teegeeack (Earth).The appearance of these spacecraft would later be subconsciously expressed in the design of the air plane popular in Hubbard's time. When they had reached Teegeeack, the paralysed citizens were unloaded around the bases of volcanoes across the planet. Hydrogen bombs were then lowered into the volcanoes and detonated simultaneously, killing all but a few aliens.

This revelation caused some members to leave the cult, while the Church of Scientology’s heavy-handed tactics (isolation, lawsuits) have not only kept many members in line, but also served to maintain a conspiracy of silence among former members, for fear of legal retribution. It can be argued the Church of Scientology is not a cult, based on its recognition by the IRS as a church (for tax purposes). Italy, Spain, Portugal, Taiwan, and a number of other countries have recognised Scientology as a church. At the same time, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium, Greece, and Canada have all deemed Scientology a cult and refuse to recognise its legitimacy.

 

In my opinion Scientology is and American faith due to the large amount of famous celebrities within its ranks such as Tom Cruise who are American. It can also be considered a mainly American faith due to its founder having been an American science-fiction writer. However, the main scientology website doesn't not advertise any sense of the faith being mainly 'American', this anyone can identify with faith, this is also seen through the amount of diversity present in the website, as they claim they can change 'your' life regardless of your background.