When dealing with the belief system of Scientology, you will find that it is a way of thinking that focuses on technology and techniques meant to make lives better. Where many religions praise a God or more, believe in a definite afterlife or deal with main religious ideas, Scientology rarely touches upon these factors. The main focus of Scientology is humanity.
This religion makes mention of a belief in God, but does not deal with the details or principles regarding God. The founder of the belief system, L. Ron Hubbard made it clear that there was an importance in believing in a Higher Being over all others. God is referred to as the Eighth Dynamic, which can also be mentioned as Infinity. When a Scientologist reaches the Eighth Dynamic, they have come to certain conclusions in regards to what the Higher Being means to them.
In line with Hubbard’s teachings, Scientologists believe that the human is comprised of three different parts, which are the body, the mind and the thetan. The body includes the brain and is not the same as referring to the mind. The importance of the brain is to relay messages throughout the body. The mind is a build-up of all of the life experiences, decisions, memories and conclusions that affect a person. A person’s perception of all things is included. The thetan refers to the soul, which all know as being the essence of a person. Hubbard did not want his definition of the soul to be confused with the numerous other interpretations, so he created this term from the Greek letter theta.
When dealing with the afterlife, Scientologists do not address this issue or give a definite thought about the thereafter. Relating to this religion, individuals may undergo a process called auditing, where one may remember past lives or encounters the idea of being reborn into another body. The religion believes in reincarnation.
The religion was founded in 1954 in the sunny state of California. The founder of this religion is recognized as L. Ron Hubbard, who researched and wrote numerous publications regarding the religion. His texts, Dianetics and Scientology are mostly used to convey the message of this belief system. Today, the main location of this religion is said to thrive in the western part of the United States. A symbol that is associated with Scientology is a double “S”, as well as the shining cross.
Spiritual leaders within this religion are referred to as an auditor and Scientologists meet within their own churches. Scientologists believe that the main purpose of life is to gain spiritual freedom, which can be achieved by shedding one’s “mind of engrams,” which means losing the mental pictures that represent pain and unconsciousness. Further terms associated with this religion can be found in the article titled, “The Ins and Outs of Scientology 3: Terms and Beliefs.”
The prime achievement of this religion is to reach what is called the Eighth Dynamic, also known as Infinity. The Eight Dynamics that a Scientologist follows are:
Self: Surviving as an individual
Creativity: Surviving through family
Group Survival: Surviving through a group, such as a community
Species: Surviving through the survival of the human species
Life Forms: Refers to the urge for life itself
Physical Universe: Refers to the urge of the universe to survive
Spiritual Dynamic: Refers to the urge for the survival of the life source
Infinity: Refers to the urge to exist as infinity or God
