Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was an American author and the founder of Scientology. A prolific writer of pulp science fiction and fantasy novels in his early career, in 1950 he authored Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health and established organizations to promote and practice Dianetics techniques. Hubbard created Scientology in 1952 after losing the intellectual rights to his literature on Dianetics in bankruptcy. He would lead the Church of Scientology, variously described as a cult, a new religious movement, or a business, until his death in 1986.
Disconnection is the severance of all ties between a Scientologist and a friend, colleague, or family member deemed to be antagonistic towards Scientology. The practice of disconnection is a form of shunning. Among Scientologists, disconnection is viewed as an important method of removing obstacles to one's spiritual growth. In some circumstances, disconnection has ended marriages and separated children from their parents.
The Church of Scientology maintains a wide variety of beliefs and practices. The core belief holds that a human is an immortal, spiritual being (thetan) that is resident in a physical body. The thetan has had innumerable past lives, some of which, preceding the thetan's arrival on Earth, were lived in extraterrestrial cultures. Based on case studies at advanced levels, it is predicted that any Scientologist undergoing auditing will eventually come across and recount a common series of past-life events.
Since its inception in 1954, the Church of Scientology has been involved in a number of controversies, including its stance on psychiatry, Scientology's legitimacy as a religion, the Church's aggressive attitude in dealing with its perceived enemies and critics, allegations of mistreatment of members, and predatory financial practices; for example, the high cost of religious training:191 and perceived exploitative practices. When mainstream media outlets have reported alleged abuses, representatives of the church have tended to deny such allegations.
R2-45 is Scientology slang for murder or suicide by gun. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard described it as "an enormously effective process for exteriorization but its use is frowned upon by this society at this time". In Scientology doctrine, exteriorization refers to the separation of the thetan (soul) from the body, a phenomenon which Hubbard asserts can be achieved through Scientology auditing. R2-45 is said to be a process by which exteriorization could be produced by shooting a person in the head with a .45 caliber pistol. This literal meaning is acknowledged by the Church of Scientology, although they deny that it is meant seriously.
Auditing, also known as processing, is the core practice of Scientology. Scientologists believe that the role of auditing is to improve a person's abilities and to reduce or eliminate their neuroses. The Scientologist is asked questions about past events while holding two metal cylinders attached to an electrical resistance meter (galvanometer) with a dial. The term "auditing" was coined by L. Ron Hubbard in his 1950 book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, which describes the process. Auditing uses techniques from hypnosis that are intended to create dependency and obedience in the subject.
The term fair game is used to describe policies and practices carried out by the Church of Scientology towards people and groups it perceives as its enemies. Founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, established the policy in the 1950s, in response to criticism both from within and outside his organization. Individuals or groups who are "fair game" are judged to be a threat to the Church and, according to the policy, can be punished and harassed using any and all means possible. In 1968, Hubbard officially canceled use of the term "fair game" because of negative public relations it caused, although the Church's aggressive response to criticism continued.
The Foster Report is a 1971 report titled Enquiry into the Practice and Effects of Scientology, written by Sir John Foster for the government of the United Kingdom, regarding the Church of Scientology. The report made its case with L. Ron Hubbard's own words and reprinted a number of the Church's internal Ethics Orders. It did not ban Scientology outright, but asked for legislation to ensure that psychotherapy in the United Kingdom is "a restricted profession open only to those who undergo an appropriate training and are willing to adhere to a proper code of ethics," and that the Scientology ethics and justice system did not meet such criteria.
Suppressive person, often abbreviated SP, is a term used in Scientology to describe the "antisocial personalities" who, according to Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard, make up about 2.5% of the population. A statement on a Church of Scientology website describes this group as including notorious historic figures such as Adolf Hitler.
Bare-Faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard is a posthumous biography of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard by British journalist Russell Miller. First published in the United Kingdom on 26 October 1987, the book takes a critical perspective, challenging the Church of Scientology's account of Hubbard's life and work. It quotes extensively from official documents acquired using the Freedom of Information Act and from Hubbard's personal papers, which were obtained via a defector from Scientology. It was also published in Australia, Canada and the United States.
Scientology ethics and justice are a collection of policies and procedures by L. Ron Hubbard and used by the Church of Scientology. Scientology defines ethics as "the actions an individual takes on himself", and justice as "the action taken on the individual by the group when he fails to take these actions himself". The body of writings include techniques and policies of moral choices, and the rules of conduct to be followed by scientologists.
When the individual fails to put in his own ethics, the group takes action against him and this is called justice.
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 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.
Religion Inc. The Church of Scientology is a book about Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard, written by Stewart Lamont and published in 1986.
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.
Pat Broeker is a former high-ranking member of the Church of Scientology who, along with his wife Annie Broeker, was one of the few people in direct contact with L. Ron Hubbard in his final years. He and his wife, and driver Steve "Sarge" Pfauth, left with Hubbard from his home in Hemet, California in 1980 and travelled around California in a motorhome until buying and settling at a ranch in San Luis Obispo County in 1983. The Broekers and Pfauth stayed with Hubbard until his death in January 1986. Due to ongoing investigations by the FBI and IRS following the arrests of high-ranking Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard over Operation Snow White, the location of the ranch was kept secret and visits from Church management were forbidden while Hubbard was alive.
Excalibur is an unpublished manuscript written in 1938 by L. Ron Hubbard, later the founder of Scientology. The contents of Excalibur formed the basis for Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (1950) and some of Hubbard's later publications.
From 1953 to 1967, L. Ron Hubbard was the official leader of the Church of Scientology.
