The Church of Scientology Western United States (CoSWUS) is a Californian 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, located in Los Angeles. [1] CoSWUS is integrated within the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Church of Scientology. The corporation is composed of several individual Scientology organizations and entities, among them churches, such as the "Church of Scientology of Los Angeles", which delivers services to public members of Scientology. [2]
In its application for tax exemption, CoSWUS described the structure of the corporation as follows:
"The CSWUS corporation houses six distinct ecclesiastical organizations that includes three churches, each of which ministers religious services at a different level of the religious hierarchy described above; two supervisory organizations and an ecclesiastical support organization. [...] Except for the Church of Scientology of San Diego, all of these church organizations are located in Los Angeles where they share a large complex of buildings and facilities. [...]" [3]
The core of CoSWUS' organizations are located around L. Ron Hubbard Way in Hollywood, where three so-called "service organizations" are located: the aforementioned "Church of Scientology of Los Angeles", the "American Saint Hill Organization" (ASHO) and the "Advanced Organization Los Angeles" (AOLA). In this area is also the former "Cedars of Lebanon" Hospital located, which was purchased by the Church of Scientology during the 1970s and which serves today as a dormitory for the Scientology staff members, who work in the adjacent buildings or elsewhere in Los Angeles.
On April 8, 1971, a new Scientology organization was incorporated in San Diego – the "Church of Scientology of Jolla". [4] Its name was later changed to "Church of Scientology of San Diego". Finally, on May 20, 1985, the organization was transferred and re-incorporated in Los Angeles under the new name "Church of Scientology Western United States". [5] The board of directors of the newly named corporation had adopted the organization's new bylaws on May 19, 1985. [6]
At present the official address of CoSWUS is 1308 L. Ron Hubbard Way, Los Angeles CA 90027.
In 1993, the Church of Scientology International submitted to the Internal Revenue Service a list with all the corporate officers of the Scientology network. At this time, CoSWUS was officially managed by a board of trustees. Its members were Mariette Cynstein, Ivan Obolensky and Mary Pinat. The organization's board of directors was composed of Linda Sereda, Lawrence Lynn and Eugene Skonetski. The president of CoSWUS was Lawrence Lynn, with Linda Sereda as secretary and Eugene Skonetski as treasurer. [7]
On August 18, 1993, CoSWUS filed an application for tax exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. [3] In the same year, the Internal Revenue Service granted CoSWUS' request for exemption. [1]
As of March 11, 2000, CoSWUS had the following corporate officers: Vicki Shantz (chief executive officer/president), Wayne Carnahan (secretary) and Vincenzo Contrafatto (chief financial officer/treasurer). [8]
As of May 2, 2008, CoSWUS' official agent has been the attorney Jeanne Gavigan. Her official address is 6400 Canoga Park Avenue, Canoga Park, CA 91367. [9]
The Religious Technology Center (RTC) is the holder of Scientology's trademarks and service marks. As such, RTC entered with the CoSWUS on May 23, 1985, an organizational covenant, granting CoSWUS the right to sell and deliver the "Advanced Technology" to its public members while guaranteeing weekly payments of 6% of the monetary value of the "Advanced Technology"-services that are being delivered to the public from CoSWUS towards RTC. [10]
The Church of Scientology International (CSI) presents itself as the mother church of the Church of Scientology worldwide. [11] As such, it has the right to use and sub-license various Scientology trademarks and service marks. Consequently, CSI has entered a number of agreements with other subordinate organizations in the Scientology hierarchy, such as the CoSWUS:
According to its 1993 application for tax exemption, the corporation CoSWUS consisted at that time of six different sub-organizations or sub-entities: [3]
"[...] 1. Church of Scientology Advanced Organization of Los Angeles ('AOLA') - AOLA is one of four advanced organizations in the world and the only one located in the United States. As an advanced organization AOLA is authorized to minister the Scientology advanced technology to the level of New OT V and religious training to the level of Class VIII auditor as well as most of the lower levels of auditing and religious training. [...] AOLA's activities consist of the ministry of religious services and administrative and executive functions necessary to support this ministry. AOLA's staff includes auditors, case supervisors, course supervisors and other staff directly involved in administering services, as well as executive and administrative staff [...]"
"[...] 2. American Saint Hill Organization ('ASHO') - ASHO is one of only four Saint Hill Organizations in the world [...], and the only Saint Hill Organization in the United States. Saint Hill Organizations are so named because they specialize in delivering the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course ('Briefing Coursel') and other Scientology religious services at a comparable level. The Briefing Course is a very extensive, advanced course in auditor training which includes a chronological study of the written and recorded Scientology Scriptures. ASHO also ministers other religious training and lower-level and intermediate level auditing. The religious services ministered by ASHO generally emphasize training. [...]"
"[...] 3. Church of Scientology of San Diego - Church of Scientology of San Diego is a Class V church of Scientology and is authorized to minister Scientology auditing to the State of Clear and auditor training to the level of Class V auditor. It is a local church of Scientology for the San Diego area."
"4. Continental Liaison Office West U.S. ('CLO WUS') - CLO WUS is an intermediate level ecclesiastical management organization which acts as a liaison for CSI. [...] CLO WUS administers Church programs and provides guidance and advice to Scientology churches in the Western United States. There are 30 separate churches under CLO WUS's ecclesiastical jurisdiction [...] CLO WUS reviews operations of the Scientology churches within its ecclesiastical jurisdiction and liaises with CSI. [...]"
"[...] 5. Commodore's Messenger Organization Pacific ('CMO PAC') - CMO PAC oversees the execution of programs from the Commodore's Messenger Organization International of CSI and acts as a liaison between CSWUS and CSI with respect to those programs."
"6. Pacific Base Crew ('PBC') - PBC is the organization responsible for maintaining the complex of Scientology buildings and other facilities used by CSWUS and other Scientology organizations in Los Angeles. PBC is responsible for renovations, some construction and most repairs to these facilities. Its staff also provides meals and berthing to the staff of all Scientology organizations located in the Scientology complex. [...]"
The Fishman Affidavit is a set of court documents submitted by self-professed ex-Scientologist Steven Fishman in 1993 in the federal case, Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz (Case No. CV 91-6426.
The Religious Technology Center (RTC) is an American non-profit corporation that was founded in 1982 by the Church of Scientology to control and oversee the use of all of the trademarks, symbols and texts of Scientology and Dianetics. Although RTC controls their use, those works are owned by another corporation, the Church of Spiritual Technology which is doing business as L. Ron Hubbard Library, registered in Los Angeles County, California.
David Miscavige is the second and current leader of the Church of Scientology. His official title within the organization is Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center. RTC is a corporation that controls the trademarks and copyrights of Dianetics and Scientology. He is also referred to within the Scientology organization as "DM," "COB" and "Captain of the Sea Org."
The Way to Happiness is a 1980 booklet written by science-fiction author and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard listing 21 moral precepts. The booklet is distributed by The Way to Happiness Foundation International, a Scientology-related nonprofit organization founded in 1984.
The Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California, established by the Church of Scientology. It states that it is "dedicated to creating a better future for children and communities." It promotes secular uses of L. Ron Hubbard's works, and has been classified as a "Scientology-related entity". Founded in 1988, ABLE's main office is located at 7065 Hollywood Boulevard, the former headquarters for the Screen Actors Guild.
The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The movement has been the subject of a number of controversies, and the Church of Scientology has been described by government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgements as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit-making business. In 1979, several executives of the organization were convicted and imprisoned for multiple offenses by a U.S. Federal Court. The Church of Scientology itself was convicted of fraud by a French court in 2009, a decision upheld by the supreme Court of Cassation in 2013. The German government classifies Scientology as an unconstitutional sect. In France, it has been classified as a dangerous cult. In some countries, it has attained legal recognition as a religion.
In the 1950s and 1960s, a HASI was an organization where people would go for Scientology training, auditing, books, tapes, and e-meters. There were HASI organizations across the western world. The use of the word "HASI", pronounced "hah-zee" or "ha-zee", could refer to either a local organization or the international management corporation.
[L. Ron Hubbard] is governing director of Hubbard Association of Scientologists International, the operative company of the HASI, over which he exercises complete and autocratic control.
The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) is a California 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, incorporated in 1982, which owns all the copyrights of the estate of L. Ron Hubbard and licenses their use. CST does business as L. Ron Hubbard Library. The Church of Spiritual Technology points to Hubbard as the “focal point,” with the structure designed to realize what Scientologists understand to be his vision. The stated purpose of the archive in CST, according to the church is “so that future generations will have available to them all of L. Ron Hubbard’s technology in its exact and original form, no matter what happens to the society.”
Gerald "Gerry" Armstrong is a critic of the Church of Scientology and a former member. As an archivist and assistant to L. Ron Hubbard's biographer, he discovered the truth about Hubbard's life history which impugned the Church's fantastic and idealized version. When Church management refused to correct the record, Armstrong left Scientology with copies of some of the documents. For decades he was harassed by the Church and pursued through the court systems, bankrupting him, in an attempt to keep the materials and facts undisclosed. But with each successive court case, more documents were inevitably disclosed as evidence and became part of the court's records and accessible to the public.
This is a Timeline of Scientology and its forerunner Dianetics, particularly its foundation and development by author L. Ron Hubbard as well as general publications, articles, books and other milestones.
This bibliography of Scientology includes Scientology and Dianetics-related books, periodicals and other issues authored by L. Ron Hubbard and those produced by the Church of Scientology and its related organizations. Books bearing L. Ron Hubbard's name are considered texts of Scientology's canon.
The amount of material on Dianetics and Scientology is extensive, to say the least. This material is composed of books by L. Ron Hubbard ; compilations of his works; taped lectures; auditor training materials ; course packages; booklets; a large number of magazines and annuals; and video recordings of the major annual events.
Scientology Missions International (SMI) is a Californian 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, which is located in Los Angeles, California. SMI is part of the Church of Scientology network.
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a cult, a business, a religion, a scam, or a new religious movement. Hubbard initially developed a set of ideas that he called Dianetics, which he represented as a form of therapy. An organization that he established in 1950 to promote it went bankrupt, and Hubbard lost the rights to his book Dianetics in 1952. He then recharacterized his ideas as a religion, likely for tax purposes, and renamed them Scientology. By 1954, he had regained the rights to Dianetics and founded the Church of Scientology, which remains the largest organization promoting Scientology. There are practitioners independent of the Church, in what is referred to as the Free Zone. Estimates put the number of Scientologists at under 40,000 worldwide.
The Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, also known as Flag or FSO, is an American 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Within the worldwide network of Scientology corporations and entities, the FSO is officially referred to as the "spiritual headquarters" of the Church of Scientology. The organization is located in Clearwater, Florida.
Guaranty Building, also known as Guaranty Building and Loan Association, Hollywood Guaranty Building, Allstate Title Building, and L.Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition Building, is a historic high-rise Beaux Arts office building located at 6331 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It is currently owned by the Church of Scientology.
Kendrick Lichty Moxon is an American Scientology official and an attorney with the law firm Moxon & Kobrin. He practices in Los Angeles, California, and is a lead counsel for the Church of Scientology. Moxon received a B.A. from American University in 1972, and a J.D. degree from George Mason University in 1981. He was admitted to the Washington, D.C., bar association in 1984, and the State Bar of California in 1987. Moxon's early work for the Church of Scientology involved legal affairs, and he also held the title of "reverend". He worked out of the Scientology intelligence agency known as the Guardian's Office (GO), and was named as an unindicted co-conspirator after the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into criminal activities by Scientology operatives called "Operation Snow White". An evidence stipulation in the case signed by both parties stated he had provided false handwriting samples to the FBI; Moxon has since said that he did not "knowingly supply" false handwriting samples.
The Church of Scientology International (CSI) is a California 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Within the worldwide network of Scientology corporations and entities, CSI is officially referred to as the "mother church" of the Church of Scientology.
The tax status of the Church of Scientology in the United States has been the subject of decades of controversy and litigation. Although the Church of Scientology was initially partially exempted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from paying federal income tax, its two principal entities in the United States lost this exemption in 1957 and 1968. This action was taken because of concerns that church funds were being used for the private gain of its founder L. Ron Hubbard or due to an international psychiatric conspiracy against Scientology.