Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
1 galactic overlord, 50,000 members, and a billion-year contract. It’s Scientology
in numbers!
The religion of Scientology was founded in 1954, by American sci-fi author L. Ron Hubbard.
According to Hubbard, 75 million years ago a dictator called Xenu, brought billions of
people to Earth, before killing them in the planet’s fiery volcanoes.
The souls that survived went on to repopulate the Earth, corrupting society with lies.
Scientology promises to improve our understanding of human behaviour and the world around us,
by navigating its members through the 8 ‘dynamics’ of life:
[The self, creativity, group survival, humankind, life forms, the physical universe, spirituality,
and infinity.]
But in order to join Scientology, you have to sign a billion-year contract, as a symbol
of your eternal commitment to the religion.
Members of the church undergo therapy sessions called ‘auditing’, in order to progress
through the church's 3 levels and reach 'enlightenment'.
[Could show on screen leading to enlightenment: ‘Pre-Clear’, ‘Clear’, and ‘Operating
Thetan’]
The Church of Scientology claims it has more than 10 million members worldwide, but critics
argue that the actual number of people who identify as scientologists is just 50,000.
This might be because it will cost you at least $600,000 to learn all of the religion’s
practices.
But this price tag hasn’t put off celebrities. The $1.75 billion-dollar institution boasts
Hollywood recruits including Tom Cruise, Juliette Lewis, John Travolta, and Beck.
The religion’s extreme beliefs, costs, and ruthless recruitment methods, resulted in
the Cult Awareness Network rating Scientology as the number 1 most dangerous cult.
But in 1996, the Church of Scientology responded by suing the Cult Awareness Network into bankruptcy,
and then buying the company.
Hope you learnt something new. Thanks for watching Scientology in numbers.