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Conclusion
In this book, I
have tried to explain what Scientologists believe, what they do, how
Scientology started and is expanding, and what happens to a person once
he joins Scientology. One question I have not yet answered is the one
that is most frequently asked of me -- "Why do people join Scientology?"
For one thing, they haven't read this book -- or anything else that
really tells them about the group. Most of the people who attend the
introductory lecture or visit the Org out of curiosity know nothing
about: the people who joined and found that their emotional difficulties
were being aggravated instead of alleviated; the people who spent
thousands of dollars on Scientology in one year; and the people who were
harassed after they left.
The Scientologists have done everything possible to keep these stories
private. Not only have they sued and harassed those who have spoken out
publicly against the group, but they have also tried to discredit them
by sometimes "revealing" their supposed "crimes" in lurid and ludicrous
detail.
While the people who join Scientology usually have not had a chance to
hear the Scientology critics, they also haven't heard the Scientologists
themselves either. They do not really know what Scientology has to offer
or what they are getting into. Those who join the group spend quite a
bit of time in it before they find out what the Scientologists really
believe, about the Scientology auditing process, or even that there is a
Scientology auditing process.
That's because Scientologists are very evasive about their activities,
usually answering (or avoiding) questions about what Scientology is or
what Scientologists do with such statements as "it's beautiful," "it'll
make you free," and "you'll have to try it for yourself." In fact,
people have to try it for themselves for quite some time before they
discover how deeply involved both financially and emotionally they have
become. Sometimes, by that time, they are too deeply involved to leave.
For the deeper a person goes into Scientology, the deeper he may have to
go into Scientology. The more courses he takes, the more time he spends
with Scientologists. The more time he spends with his new friends, the
less time he spends with his old friends. If he leaves his job and goes
to work for Scientology, as many do, he will soon be living and working
only for Scientology, spending time only with Scientologists, and, as
many people who have met them have discovered to their dismay, talking
only about Scientology.
But while this may explain why they stay there, it does not explain
their initial attraction to the group. I think one thing that attracts
people to the group is its appearance. It appears to be religious
(ministers, clerical robes, etc.) It appears to be scientific
("Scientology"). It appears to be involved with technology (the
E-meter). It appears to have a philosophical body of knowledge
(Hubbard's writings). Another thing that attracts them is the appearance
of some of the people themselves.
Although by now it may seem that Scientologists have crazy stares, talk
gobbledy-gook language, and act as if they're from outer space, the
usual initial impression that most people acquire when they walk into an
Org is that of people who are young, very attractive, and often,
intelligent.
Furthermore, many of these young people are unattached, so that single
or lonely people are attracted to Scientology's social life. Some people
join Scientology because they have already met their mate -- a person
who was or became a Scientologist. Some of the most ardent
Scientologists admitted that they initially joined or became interested
in the group because their spouses or loved ones were Scientologists and
the only way they could continue to see that person, or have something
in common with them, was by joining the group themselves.
In addition to those who join because they are seeking a mistress or a
mate (a person), many people join because they are seeking a group to
which they can really belong and be a part. Scientology is really just
one big family. Hubbard, of course, is the father, and his wife plays
the role of the mother. Scientologists are children who, if they're
good, will be taken care of; if they're bad, and protest or question
anything, father says they will be expelled from the family unit.
Everything in their life is planned for them. There are certain courses
for them to take and certain goals they must achieve in each course. If
they disobey, or balk at any level, the punishments are rigidly set
forth. Fortunately for the Scientologists, Hubbard treats his children
somewhat kindly -- so long as they don't ever grow up and try to leave
his home.
Like any family group, or in fact any group, Scientology fulfills some
of the personal needs of its members. Someone with a strong desire to be
respected by others can easily become a Scientology minister and be
treated with the reverence generally accorded to men of the cloth.
Someone with feelings of intellectual inferiority believes he can have
his I.Q. raised by Scientology, and can, in fact, get a (Scientology)
B.A. or a (Scientology) Doctorate degree. Someone who feels lonely has a
place to go to and friends to see once he joins Scientology --
Scientology brings meaning into his life where once there was only
emptiness.
The man I described in the first chapter who said that before he
discovered Scientology he used to lie in bed and stare at the ceilings
may not have been that different from some of the others who joined. But
now that man has a place to go and something to do. People understand
what he's saying because he's speaking their language. People look him
straight in the eye when he talks to them. People like him now because
he has the same goals. More important -- now he has some goals. He is
working hard to bring everyone into Scientology so that together they
can all save this world. It would be a laudable goal, too, except for
one thing: no one is allowed to disagree with or criticize the manner in
which the Scientologists think they're going to save the world.
When all is said and done, what Scientology has to offer is merely their
treatment or processing. They believe that it is our only road to
salvation. The Scientologists like to say that there can't be two sides
to the truth. Since they believe that they have found the truth, those
who disagree with them are wrong. Perhaps. Sometimes when I am most
skeptical about the efficacy of their methods, I think back to what one
Scientologist said (using typically inflated figures) about their
membership: "Fifteen million people can't be wrong." But history has
often proven otherwise.
Many of the theories and teachings
of scientology are so fanciful that the reaction of the normal
individual on hearing them is generally one of amusement and incredulity
... the impression may exist ... that scientology is just harmless
nonsense and its followers merely queer people, that its theories are
foolish but funny and that not much harm is being done by allowing silly
people to have their silly beliefs and carry on their silly practices.
Such an attitude is welcomed by the scientologists, for it serves to
obscure the real nature of scientology.
-- from the Australian Report{1}
Incredulity of our data and
validity. This is our finest asset and gives us more protection than any
other single thing. If certain parties thought we were real we would
have infinitely more trouble ... without a public incredulity we never
would have gotten as far as we have. And now it's too late to be
stopped. The protection was accidental but it serves us very well
indeed. Remember that the next time the ignorant scoff.
-- L. Ron Hubbard{2}
_______________
Notes:
{1} (58 in Chapter
21) final quote by Australian [261]
{2} (59 in Chapter 21) final quote by Hubbard [93a]
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