Narconon International is a Scientology organization which promotes the theories of founder L. Ron Hubbard regarding substance abuse treatment and addiction. Its parent company is the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE), which is owned and controlled by the Church of Scientology. Headquartered in Hollywood, California, United States, Narconon operates several dozen residential centers worldwide, chiefly in the U.S. and western Europe. The organization was formed in 1966 by Scientologist William Benitez with Hubbard's help, and was incorporated in 1970.
The Purification Rundown, also known as the Purif or the Hubbard Method, is a pseudoscientific procedure that advocates of Scientology claim is a detoxification program. There is no evidence for its efficacy in detoxification, and significant evidence from clinicians that it is dangerous. It involves heat exposure for up to 5 hours a day and can exceed 4 weeks in length. It can potentially cause heatstroke damage, which includes brain injury, heart problems, organ failure, and death. It was developed by Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard and used by the Church of Scientology as an introductory service. Numerous individuals have been hospitalised as a result of taking part in the process.
Criminon is a program for rehabilitating prisoners using L. Ron Hubbard's teachings. Criminon International, a non-profit, public-benefit corporation managing the Criminon program, was spawned from Narconon International in 2000, and is part of Association for Better Living and Education's public outreach programs. Criminon is promoted by the Church of Scientology International. Independent experts contend that methods used by the program are not supported by any scientific studies.
David S. Touretzky is a research professor in the Computer Science Department and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition at Carnegie Mellon University. He received a BA in Computer Science at Rutgers University in 1978, and earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. (1984) in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Touretzky has worked as an Internet activist in favor of freedom of speech, especially what he perceives as abuse of the legal system by government and private authorities. He is a notable critic of Scientology.
Applied Scholastics (APS) is a non-profit corporation founded in 1972 to promote the use of study techniques created by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. Hubbard called his theories on learning and education "study technology". Applied Scholastics runs the "Hollywood Education and Literacy Project" (HELP), the World Literacy Crusade, "Education Alive", and the "Literacy, Education and Abilities Program" (LEAP).
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.
Tory Christman is a prominent American critic of Scientology and former member of the organization. Originally brought up a Catholic, Christman turned to Scientology after being introduced to the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health authored by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard while staying with her parents in Chicago. She identified with concepts described in the book including the idea of attaining the Scientology state of clear, and became a member of the organization in 1969. She hitchhiked from Chicago to Los Angeles, in order to begin the process of studying Scientology, and initially felt that it helped improve her life. In 1972, she joined the core group of staff members within Scientology called the Sea Org. After being a member of the Scientology organization for ten years, Christman reached the spiritual Operating Thetan level of OT III, and learned the story of Xenu. She subsequently rose to a higher Operating Thetan level of OT VII, the second-highest within the organization. Her medical condition of epilepsy caused difficulty while in Scientology, as the organization did not approve of taking medication in order to manage her condition.
The Concerned Businessmen's Association of America (CBAA), founded in 1983, is a Scientology-related movement directed at promoting moral education and "enhanced well-being". The organization uses L. Ron Hubbard's The Way to Happiness booklet as part of their Set A Good Example (SAGE) program, which holds children's anti-drug contests, and awards grants to participating schools. The Way to Happiness presents Scientology's religious concepts in a secular framework. The CBAA licenses the trademarks of the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE). Their office is located in Reno, Nevada.
Youth for Human Rights is a program run by United for Human Rights, an American non-profit organization managed by Church of Scientology International. Founded in 2001, its mission is "To teach youth around the globe about human rights, thus helping them to become valuable advocates for the promotion of tolerance and peace."
Clear Body, Clear Mind is a pseudoscience book published in 1990 by the Church of Scientology's publishing house Bridge Publications. It is credited to L. Ron Hubbard who died four years earlier, and is largely a compilation of material he wrote in the 1960s. It is one of the canonical texts of Scientology and mainly deals with the Purification Rundown ("Purif"). Scientologists believe this "detoxification" program, created by Hubbard, has unique medical and spiritual benefits, but has been criticized by medical professionals as "dangerous", "quackery," and "in some cases lethal".
Scientology has been established in New Zealand since 1955 and the Auckland organisation was the second Church of Scientology established in the world.
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is a nonprofit organization established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its stated mission is to "eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections." Many critics regard it as a Scientology front group whose purpose is to push the organization's anti-psychiatric agenda.
Scientology in the United Kingdom is practised mainly within the Church of Scientology and its related groups which go under names including "Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence" and "Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Centre". The national headquarters, and former global headquarters, is Saint Hill Manor at East Grinstead, which for seven years was the home of L. Ron Hubbard, the pulp fiction author who created Scientology. In the 2021 census, there were 1,844 individuals in England and Wales who listed themselves as Scientologists in their census returns, almost half of which lived in the area around East Grinstead in West Sussex, which hosts the British Scientology Headquarters at Saint Hill Manor. This is a decline of just under a quarter since census day, 2011.
Robert Bruce Adams is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) and a spokesperson for the Church of Scientology International. He attended El Camino High School during the 1960s, and was encouraged by a coach at the College of San Mateo to play football. He played for a single season at the college, during 1966, while participating in other sports at the school including track-and-field and basketball. A former coach of the College of San Mateo, Doug Scovil, recruited Adams to the College of the Pacific, where he received a full scholarship to play football there. By 1968, he was captain of the team's offense at the school.
The Second Chance Program is a controversial detoxification and rehabilitation program based on the ideas of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. It focuses on individuals convicted of substance abuse offenses. The program utilizes a combination of saunas, vitamins, minerals and oils to tackle the effects of drug addiction. Other elements of the program aim to improve the educational and social abilities of inmates, and to instil a moral code for them to live by. First established in Baja California, Mexico, in 1995, Second Chance has attracted controversy over its methods and claimed success rates.
The New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project was founded in New York City in 2003 with the stated purpose of treating rescue workers for toxins inhaled from the smoke of the September 11 attacks. It has two clinics: Downtown Medical on Fulton Street, two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center, and another at Williston Park, Long Island. The project's co-founder and top fundraiser is actor Tom Cruise. It uses the Purification Rundown, a "detoxification" program invented by L. Ron Hubbard as part of Scientology's Bridge to Total Freedom. This rundown has been criticized by many doctors as pseudoscientific and medically dangerous. It was reported in October 2007 that 838 people had completed the program.
David Emerson Root is an American physician known for promoting L. Ron Hubbard's controversial Purification Rundown to treat chemical exposure.
Scientology front groups are those groups named or operated in such a way as to disguise their association with the Church of Scientology (COS). COS uses front groups to promote its interests in politics, to make itself appear legitimate, and to recruit. Many of the groups are founded on pseudoscience, named disingenuously, and underplay their links to Scientology.
