THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY®
- A SHORT HISTORY 1950-85 BY ERIC TOWNSEND
Copyright (c) 1985 Eric Townsend
ISBN 0-9510471-0-8
*Published by
Anima Publishing
PO Box 10, *Printed in Great Britain by
Bramhall, Deanprint Ltd.
Stockport, Cheadle Heath Works,
Cheshire SK7 2QF. Stockport,
England* Cheshire SK3 0PR*
INDEX
*Chapter* *Page*
*One* Why this Book was written 1
*Two* Dianetics - What's it all about? 3
*Three* ...and then there was Scientology 7
*Four* Ron Hubbard - his early life 11
*Five* The 1950's 15
*Six* Saint Hill 1959-66 23
*Seven* The Life on the Ocean Wave 27
*Eight* The Wasp Response 31
*Nine* Landfall 35
*Ten* Ron Hubbard's Legacy 41
*Eleven* The Church in the 70's 49
*Twelve* What price Happiness? 55
*Thirteen* The Events of 1982 59
*Fourteen* The Emergence of Independent Scientology 67
*Fifteen* The Church since 1983 73
*Sixteen* The Present and the Future 79
APPENDICES
A 'The Road to Total Freedom' by Roy Wallis. 85
B Suggested reading and reference material. 87
C Contact Points. 89
D Open letter to the Church of Scientology. 90
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eric Townsend has developed his interest in the subjects of
Scientology and Dianetics over the last ten years. During this time he has
undertaken courses of study with the Church of Scientology, trained as
an Auditor himself and has received auditing services from the Church.
He has combined his interest in Scientology with a busy business
and academic career. He worked on research and marketing for a number
of multi-nationals prior to starting his own successful business. In addition
he has been active in representing trade associations, management
representative bodies and developing youth training projects.
Eric Townsend was brought up as a Roman Catholic but rejected
formal religious beliefs while at University. In middle life he found a need
for greater spiritual awareness and fulfillment. After trying a number of
avenues he found that Scientology most adequately filled this requirement.
While he has had immense spiritual and practical benefits from
Scientology, he does not feel that it is the right way for everyone.
However, under-informed public opinion, plus sensationalist press
coverage, means that many people may reject the subject on inadequate
information.
His aim in writing this book is to provide a brief and balanced summary
of how the subject has developed. By doing this in a way that tries to
be fair to all sides, he hopes that the open-minded reader will have enough
information to make a rational decision about whether to take their interest
in the subject further or not.
1
CHAPTER ONE
WHY THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN
This book was written to help anyone who knows a little about
Scientology and Dianetics and who wants to get some unbiased
information which will enable them to make a better assessment of this
controversial subject.
It is also intended to assist some of the many thousands of people
who have at sometime taken an active interest in Dianetics or Scientology
but found themselves unable to continue with it.
In many cases this will have been because of the mystifying things
they found to be associated with the subject of Scientology or the way
the Church operates. It may have been because they felt unable to proceed
at their own speed and that the pressures exerted on them by officers
of the Church caused them to give up the whole thing. It may just have
been that press coverage and public opinion led them to feel that it would
be a risky path for them to follow any further.
These reasons are very understandable and this book attempts to
explain how they may have come about without attempting to belittle
them. A third of a century has passed since Dianetics first appeared. We
can now begin to make some assessment of the impact of the movement
that grew out of it and which is said to be the fastest growing religion
in the world.
Whether it deserves to be called a religion is an open question and
the reasons why it so styles itself are to some extent dealt with in this
book. It is worth mentioning at this stage however that our view of what
constitutes a legitimate religion tends to revolve round the idea of a single
supreme Divine Being. A large proportion of the world s population has
religious beliefs in which there is no single God or in which the nature
of the Supreme Being is not of paramount importance! Thus Scientology
should not be disqualified as a religion just because it does not worship
the Christian or Jewish God.
The other major difficulty that people have with Scientology is that
it does not fit into established categories. In his book 'The Road to Total
Freedom', Roy Wallis wrote in 1976 The boundaries between church,
business science and to a lesser extent psychotherapy are relatively clearly
drawn Scientology infringed these boundaries and behaved in ways
2 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
characteristic of them all. Since it behaved as a business as well as a
religion (and that of a singularly alien form), many argued that its religious
claim must be purely 'a front', and Scientology 'a confidence trick'.' Nearly
ten years on there has been no reduction in either the confusion or
scepticism with which most people respond to the subject.
This book aims to give the factual background about how Scientology
and Dianetics developed and how the Church has operated over the years.
It is not written as an attack on, or defence of, the Church. It is hoped
that a simple statement of the main available facts about the history and
the organisation of the Church will enable readers to arrive at their own
assessment of this body.
It is written in language that the author hopes is comprehensible to
the non-Scientologist. Where specialised terms are used, a definition has
been included. If however readers come across any word they do
not understand they should get it defined in a suitable dictionary before
proceeding any further.
3
CHAPTER TWO
DIANETICS - WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?
The contrast has often been remarked between the different
responses that physical and mental illness get from the general public.
Injured people who can show blood and bandages receive immediate aid
and support. In our society there is also a ready sympathy for cripples,
the aged and the infirm. The existence of mental illness was largely ignored
until this century. Even during the First World War, victims of shell shock
and nervous breakdowns were regarded by many as malingerers.
Public awareness of mental illness has increased since then but it is
still not a subject that gains ready sympathy or support. The largest group
of patients in the care of the National Health Service are those suffering
from mental illness and related conditions. Mental hospitals are still feared
and joked about, and this sector of medicine still does poorly in the
competition for financial and human resources. The most that can be said
is that there is now some recognition that stress and nervous tension can
cause temporary disability and that some medical conditions, such as
allergies and migraine, are 'stress related'.
Over the last thirty years a number of fundamental discoveries have
been made about how the human mind operates and why it causes so
many people distress and unhappiness. This has happened against a
background of popular belief that not much can be done about the mind.
The mainstream medical profession seems to have given up hope of finding
cures for mental illness and places its reliance mainly on suppressant drugs.
The universities have largely intellectualised the subject of Psychology
(study of the mind) and concentrated mainly on producing longer and
more complicated descriptions of symptoms and conditions.
The human mind is not a subject which is easily confronted or talked
about by the man or woman in the street. It may seem unrealistic to expect
an open and sensible debate about theories of the mind in terms which
can be understood by the lay person. Fortunately, we do not need to make
the assessment in medical terms but in the more practical way of asking -
'Does it help people?'. If the new understanding of the way the mind works
can lead to doing things that make people feel better, helps them to get
rid of stress and tension and to control their body and environment better,
then that is the only test that we need be concerned with.
4 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
This is the key test we should apply in looking at Dianetics. It was
first released to the public in 1950 in the form of the book 'Dianetics -
Modern Science and Mental Health' by L. Ron Hubbard. How it came
to be written and what happened as a result of the remarkable interest
it produced is covered later in this book.
The Theory section of 'Dianetics - MSMH' takes the position that
the mind is a machine, just like your television or motor car. In the case
of the mind, it is a processor of information for living. Because it is a
machine it operates according to predictable patterns and, when working
properly, serves us very well. Hubbard maintains that there are a limited
number of things that cause it to go wrong and these can fairly easily
be identified and remedied Basically, he makes the case that the mind
is not an over complicated mechanism, even though it is extremely
powerful and has enormous capacity.
In addition to providing a comparatively simple explanation of how
the mind works, the book also contains a practical therapy section. This
covers how a person may venture into the darker recesses of his mind
and dig out the source of the mental aberrations that cause undesirable
variations from usual thinking or behaviour. By finding and identifying the
hidden causes of these things, the person would be cured of the
compulsions and inhibitions that they had previously suffered from,
Suddenly the possibility of removing the phobias, obsessions and feelings
of guilt that many people are afflicated by seemed available. Experience
can now be called on to show that the therapy method, and its later
refinements, has actually produced this for many people. In fact it has
produced improvements quite quickly in the majority of cases
Some people who remember the 1940's and 1950's may recognise
something of the principles outlined in the book as stemming from
Sigmund Freud and his idea of the subconscious mind This said that those
the mind found too unpleasant to face were suppressed
below the level of normal recall into a subconscious region of the mind.
From here they could not be brought up in normal memory but were still
able to influence the ideas and behaviour of the person. This is indeed
the starting point of Hubbard's work. What he provided, that was new,
was a systematic and easily learnt method of enabling the person to dig
out these suppressed memories. Until then the only help that had been
was the psychoanalyst's couch, maybe combined with hypnosis,
for the fortunate few.
CHAPTER TWO 5
It will have become apparent already that this therapy method was
of a rather different nature than breathing exercises or twice daily
meditation done by people on their own. The method involves the person
under treatment receiving help from another person, called an Auditor
The word is used in the original sense of a 'listener'. The Auditor or listen
both listens and directs the attention of the person being treated.
So far, this is not so very different from the traditional picture we
have of Psychoanalysis carried out by Freud and his pupils in Vienna before
the First World War. These ideas had been developed and applied by mar
in the twenties, thirties and forties. Many books were written on the subject
and an indication of its widespread acceptance at the time can be seen
in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller 'Spellbound', released in 1948.
What was different about Dianetics was that Hubbard claimed that
the Auditor could train himself by reading the book. Provided he follow
the procedure and rules in the book he could quite easily cure people
their mental troubles and physically related ailments. As a development
from this came the equally revolutionary idea that two people could
together and audit each other in turn to achieve mental and physical gains.
7
CHAPTER THREE
...AND THEN THERE WAS SCIENTOLOGY!
As Dianetics was taken up with great enthusiasm around the world
in the early fifties, the research and monitoring of results by Hubbard and
others went on. The object was always to free the patient from the fixed
mental conditions that many people were set in, and thereby remove their
anxieties and those physical illnesses that had a mental origin.
The continuing research and development of Dianetics produced new
techniques but also went deeper into the human mind. By 1952 it was
evident that the starting question about mental causes for physical ailments
had been broadened to a much bigger question and answer. That answer
was the beginning of Scientology!
The action of searching through the mind for lost or hidden memories
that caused the patient upset or distress was termed 'clearing' the mind.
At the end of the process the person whose mind contained no more
aberrative material, namely memories capable of upsetting the person and
making him behave irrationally, was termed a 'Clear'.
The concept of Clear is very important, not least because one of the
many jargon terms to emerge is the description 'Pre-Clear' for someone
who had not yet reached that happy state. The words are often shortened
to PC.
For many people compulsions and irrational needs exert a major
driving force on the way they live their lives and the goals they strive for.
When such a person's mind has been cleared of this aberrative material,
the question can then be asked-What or Who drives the person now?
Thus in solving the problem of why many people behave or think
irrationally a bigger problem emerges. Once the mind is clear and operating
rationally, who controls it? To return to the analogy of the mind being
a machine, if the motor car is freed of its faults and is working smoothly,
who decides when and where it should go?
The answer to this question emerges as the spirit or soul. Hubbard
used the word 'Thetan' to describe the essential being which each of us
is. It follows then that each individual human being consists of three
elements, a body, a mind, and a life-giving spirit.
While many people do have an innate conviction of the existence
of the spirit or soul, it is not a popular belief for the second half of the
8 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
twentieth century. Psychology is taken to mean the study of the mind
The term Psyche is however derived from the Greek word that means
Soul or Spirit. The substitution of Mind for Spirit came about around the
middle of the last century. Among the possible reasons for this was that
it permitted the study of human behaviour to free itself from the remaining
vestiges of religious control. If philosophers of those times could claim
there was no spirit or soul, then they could disregard criticism by the
Churches.
With the emergence in Hubbard's work of a definite spiritual entity.
as distinct from the body and mind, we get the beginning of Scientology
The shortest definitions of Scientology are the 'Science of Knowledge
or 'Knowing about Knowing'. What is referred to as knowledge here is
the awareness of the underlying truths of life and existence.
Since there has been a steady effort by man over many centuries
to find the certain truths of life, it is understandable that yet another
contender would be treated with some scepticism. Once again however
we can see Hubbard's severely practical approach. He says that if the
truths that emerge do not help people to live better and happier lives, there
isn't much point in knowing them. He also says that for most people the
surest way for them to prove whether ideas are valid is to apply them
to their own lives by a gradual step-by step process.
As in Dianetics, there is at least as much emphasis on effective
therapy as discussion of theory. Scientology therapy serves to let a person
become more aware of his existence as a spiritual being and a little less
cramped and constrained by the circumstances of his day to-day life. The
gradual step-by-step approach enables a person who is burdened by many
worries and seemingly intractable problems to win back control of his life.
The progress is usually for people first to see their problems as they are,
then to realise that they can handle them, and finally to take the concrete
action necessary to do so.
The mechanism by which Scientology brings about this effect is
twofold. Both parts need to be undertaken to achieve the personal gains
that the individual can make.
First there is the need to read and study the principles involved. Much
medical therapy surrounds itself in mystique and discourages the patient
from asking questions. Quite the reverse is true in Scientology, although
the patient is only required to study and understand sufficient material
for their next processing step.
Processing is the second part of Scientology therapy. Once again
it involves working with another person, an Auditor. The Auditor takes
the patient through a series of drills, usually in the form of questions. The
CHAPTER THREE 9
person being Audited takes as long as he or she needs to find the answer
to each question and then tells the Auditor.
Because of its apparent simplicity it has been difficult for authoritative
medical bodies, or even sophisticated lay people, to believe that
Scientology therapy could be so beneficial to an individual. The greatest
benefits have often therefore come to those people with sufficient humility
or courage to try it. By their own accounts and those of their friends and
relatives, those people who have tried it have usually been able to change
their own lives significantly for the better.
To summarise, Dianetics started off by examining how malfunctions
of the mind and irrational thinking often caused physical ailments and
distress. It came up with plausible reasons as to why these things
happened, and evolved a workable therapy to correct them. During the
course of this work concrete evidence emerged of the existence of the
individual spirit or soul. Many cultures and religions have claimed that a
Soul or spirit does exist in each of us, but could never prove it!
Having identified this individual spirit it was then found that its self
awareness and abilities could be significantly enhanced by Scientology
Auditing. This included enabling it to become more effective in its
relationships with other people and coping with the day-to-day pressures
of living. In fact increasing an individual's ability to deal with life was
found to be a necessary precondition for the more advanced steps of spirit
enhancement.
It is obvious that a person who may be having difficulty holding
job, whose marriage is in jeopardy, who can't communicate with
children, or who is in a financial mess, is not likely to be receptive to ideas
of spiritual enhancement. It became apparent that physical improvement
from Dianetics were also dependent on a person getting his life into so
order. Dianetics could not usually help him much until he had been helped
by Scientology to get in more control of his day-to day life an
circumstances.
Thus we end up with two closely related subjects which can best
be defined as follows.
DIANETICS derived from the Greek words for through (DIA) an,
soul (NOUS). This addresses the body and deals with its problem
concerning behaviour and psychosomatic illnesses, which are seen a
largely created by mental states,
SCIENTOLOGY derived from Latin for to know (SCIO) and the
Greek for inward thought or reason ( LOGOS). This is a philosophy of the
spirit which. through applying its principles and practices, can bring about
desirable changes in the conditions of life.
11
CHAPTER FOUR
RON HUBBARD - HIS EARLY LIFE
In considering the Founder of Dianetics and Scientology, we are faced
with many problems. At the time of writing we are not even sure if Ron
Hubbard is alive or dead.
The events of his early life have frequently been written up by the
Church in the short biographical notes included in Church publications.
Evidence is now emerging however that a number of the traditional
claims about his early life seem to have little basis in truth. This new data
will have a disturbing effect on many people who believed that the man
himself was perfect even if the acts of his creation, the Church of
Scientology, were sometimes dubious,
A fully researched and balanced biography will no doubt emerge in
due course. In the meantime we must be careful not to over-react. It is
intended here to concentrate on the work he did and its potential
usefulness to our society rather than an assessment of Hubbard as a
person. It will still be useful to review the official version of Hubbard's
early life, based mostly on his own and the Church's statements about
his activities.
Lafayette Ron Hubbard was born in Tilden, Nebraska in 1911. His
name was shortened for popular consumption to L. Ron Hubbard but
among his many enthusiastic followers he is known as 'Ron' or LRH.
He was the son on a US Naval Officer and experienced a nomadic
youth. The frequent moves resulted in his education being fragmented.
He became interested by the religious philosophies of the Far East which
he encountered when he visited there in his late teens.
Ron Hubbard spent some time in the early thirties at George
Washington University Engineering School but did not complete his
studies there. He developed a wide range of interests, including exploring,
flying, photography and film making. He is said to have supported himself
by writing about these and other subjects. During the 1930's he seems
to have spent his life as an unashamed adventurer, in the sense of someone
seeking out adventure.
He gradually gained reputation and material success as a writer of
detective stories, westerns and mysteries for popular magazines. He also
spent some time in Hollywood and reputedly wrote some film scripts.
12 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
Towards the end of this period in 1938 he started to gain a reputation
- a Science Fiction writer.
During the war he held a commission in the US Navy. During this
period he is said to have started to formulate his ideas on the human mind
and behaviour by observing the effects of wartime stress on service
personnel. Towards the end of the war he spent some time in military
hospital and started to apply his early Dianetic techniques to the
rehabilitation of injured servicemen and ex-prisoners of war. The claims
that Hubbard was decorated as a war hero and that he used his therapy
methods to effect a miracle cure on himself are among those now being
disputed.
In his taped lecture on The Origins of Scientology and Dianetics Ron
Hubbard states what he did on demobilisation. He had some money
accumulating in a savings account from a film script he had written before
the war. He took this money and bought a boat which he took cruising
n the Caribbean until the money ran out. He then returned to the United
States and set himself up as a practising therapist using the elements
of Dianetics that he had developed during the war. During these years
his practice and reputation expanded as he continued to develop and refine
his techniques. He wrote up the elements of Dianetics in 1948, later
published as The Original Thesis. It was not possible to find a publisher
at the time and attempts to get articles on the subject published in the
medical or psychiatric journals also failed.
During this time Hubbard continued to write Science Fiction and
participated in the 1940's boom, subsequently known as 'The Golden Age
of Science Fiction'. Many of these works still exist and his reputation in
this field is still remembered by Science Fiction enthusiasts.
In 1950 Ron Hubbard decided to write a popular handbook on Dianetic
theory and therapy, and used his Science Fiction contacts to get it
published. What emerged was 'Dianetics Modern Science of Mental
Health'. It was a 400 page book divided into three sections. The first
covered the fundamental philosophy, the second a theory of Dianetics
and finally a practical therapy section.
The form of presentation contrasted strongly with the closely qualified
academic style in which ideas on medical science are usually presented.
Hubbard wrote the book with characteristic colourful phrasing and
humorous asides. It is unfortunately marred by some extravagant claims
for unvarying effectiveness, which were not subsequently substantiated.
The book does however outline a theory and methodology which many
found plausible, and were willing to try.
Groups of people eager to become practitioners of Dianetics sprang
CHAPTER FOUR 13
up in self-help groups throughout the United States and abroad. Ron
Hubbard had said that Dianetic therapy techniques were accessible to all
and that anyone with the common sense and guts to follow the
instructions could help others. That is exactly what they did. Hubbard
was now at the centre of a growing movement for self-improvement with
an enormous number of requests for information and clarification being
directed at him.
His answer was to produce more written material. Articles and books
flowed from him in profusion. The first major follow-up to Dianetics
Modern Science of Mental Health was Science of Survival (506 pages)
in 1951. Then followed Advanced Procedures and Axioms, Evolution of
a Science, Self Analysis, Handbook for Pre-Clears, plus a considerable
number of taped lectures, some of which have since been published.
These later works on Dianetics were follow ups to the first book but
they were much more technical. To be able to understand their meaning
and implications fully one really had to have read and practised the theory
contained in 'Dianetics - Modern Science of Mental Health.'
Meanwhile this stirring of ideas in the field of health care, and in
particular mental health, had not gone unnoticed. Hubbard had expected
that his ideas and therapies would be taken up by the medical
establishment as a new way forward in the stultified area of mental health.
For various reasons this was not the response he got. Instead he met
a broadly hostile closing of ranks. He must have been regarded from the
outset as an unqualified interloper and the fact that he was also a noted
Science Fiction writer cannot have improved the climate in which his ideas
were received. In addition his evident impatience with the medical
establishment probably also contributed to the reaction that Dianetics
received.
15
CHAPTER FIVE
THE 1950's
The official publications of the Church of Scientology give very little
information about the early 1950's. I am reliant therefore on the extensive
research work done on this period by Roy Wallis, for his book 'The Road
to Total Freedom', published in 1976. My views on the usefulness of this
book as a whole are given in Appendix A. The piecing together of the
events of the early history of Dianetics and Scientology by Roy Wallis
makes a useful contribution to understanding the form the movement took
in its subsequent development.
As mentioned earlier, the publication of 'Dianetics - Modern Science
and Mental Health' in 1950 caused a wave of interest around the United
States, At the same time the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation was
set-up in Elizabeth, New Jersey. This was close to Bay Head, New Jersey
where Hubbard was living at the time. The Board of Directors of the
Foundation included Hubbard's main two supporters at the time, John
W. Campbell, editor of 'Astounding Science Fiction', and Joseph Winter,
a medical doctor.
During 1950 demand grew for auditing facilities. Branches of the
Foundation were established in Los Angeles, New York, Washington,
Chicago and Honolulu. The main auditor training centres were in New
Jersey and Los Angeles. Graduates of the four week course were certified
as professional auditors.
In parallel with this, 'grass-roots' groups emerged who began training
themselves and co-auditing. Some publicised their activities in the papers,
some wrote to booksellers or the Foundation to make contact with others
in their area interested in Dianetics. Extensive written communication took
place between the groups and with the Foundation. This correspondence
discussed case histories, new ideas on therapy and practice, and ideas
on development of the movement. Groups started to produce their own
newsletters and the Foundation produced its own journal. This included
articles by Hubbard and other Foundation staff plus details of courses and
books available,
There was no attempt however by the Foundation to control or
structure the field groups. Auditors trained by the Foundation were left
to apply their new skill how and where they wished. Some joined or led
local groups, others set up as solo-practitioners.
16 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
None of the Board members of the Foundation were obviously good
administrators and the central organisation was not well managed.
Hubbard himself was primarily concerned with research and lecturing at
this time and was commuting between Los Angeles and New York. When
he did get involved in administration, his authoritarian style antagonised
other Board members.
Staff were recruited in large numbers and money was spent in the
belief that the booming interest in Dianetics would continue. However
by early 1951 income started to drop as the difficulties of getting
predictable and reliable results from Dianetics started to become evident
There had also been hostile criticism by doctors and psychiatrists who
pigeon-holed Dianetics with psychoanalysis and hypnotism. In addition
there was a lot of publicity given to Hubbard's divorce from his second
wife, a supposed 'Clear'. The biggest disappointment for many however
was that the attractive state of Clear was not achieved as easily or quickly
as the book had promised.
Gradually Hubbard's colleagues resigned from the Board and the
Foundation moved towards bankruptcy. Another supporter of Dianetics
Don Purcell, stepped in to provide a financial injection to the Foundation
He closed down the branches and relocated the Foundation in Wichita
Kansas. Purcell became President of the Foundation with Hubbard as
Chairman of the Board and Vice-President.
In early 1952 Purcell and Hubbard split up. It was agreed that Hubbard
would resign, sell his stock for a nominal figure to Purcell and set up an
independent Hubbard College in Wichita.
In April 1952 the Foundation finally went bankrupt. Its assets were
bought by Purcell. These included the sole right to the name 'Hubbard
Dianetic Foundation' and the publishing rights and copyrights on all the
Foundation's publications, including 'Dianetics-Modern Science and
Mental Health'.
Hubbard had meanwhile transplanted the Hubbard College to Phoenix
Arizona, where he established Scientology. This seems to have been a
conscious decision to abandon the Dianetics field for the moment.
The conflicts that had led to Hubbard's isolation, or isolation of
himself, were fundamental. It was as if an isolated community living in
an area surrounded by impenetrable mountains had built a flying machine
which would let them contact surrounding valleys. The main inventor
however now wanted to use this machine to go to the moon whereas
his colleagues still wanted to fulfil the original objectives.
Most particularly Dr Winter wanted to get Dianetics accepted by the
scientific and medical community. Hubbard's moves towards the spiritual
CHAPTER FIVE 17
and the apparently occult were felt to be making this goal unachievable.
Purcell wanted a sound commercial operation which could provide the
backing and support that the popular movement needed. Hubbards
impetuous and grandiose money raising schemes, such as 'Allied Scientists
of the World', were out of keeping with the respectable image he wanted
Hubbard s first major supporter, John Campbell, withdrew in reaction to
Hubbard s authoritarian style and his unwillingness to accept the
intellectual contributions of others.
Meanwhile the field groups were also in a state of discord. These
groups were jealous of their independence They did not all agree that
Hubbard needed to be the head of the movement. While acknowledging
his initial breakthrough, some felt that further refinement and development
could equally well be done by others. Some felt that other techniques
could be incorporated into Dianetics and others felt that several different
therapy methods could emerge An indication of the vigour of the
controversy was the evolution of a whole range of magazines, including
The Dianews. Dianotes, and Dianetics Today.
In addition to mainstream Dianetics, other breakaway methodologies
appeared led by individuals who hoped to pick up the mantle that Hubbard
had droPped as leader of Dianetics Among these were Ron Howes and
the Institute of Humanics, A. L. Kitselman with the E-Therapy, and Art
Coulter with Synergetics.
In the UK the development of Dianetics followed a similar pattern
to the early days in the United States. The loose coordinating body was
the British Dianetic Association which was succeeded by the Dianetic
Association Ltd. Their main function was to get hold of American material
and distribute it in the UK. In 1952 the Dianetic Association Ltd was
absorbed by the Dianetic Federation of Great Britain. Like its American
counterpart it exercised virtually no control over the multitude of field
groups and auditors. Very few of these auditors had been to the United
States to be trained at the Foundation.
From his new base in Phoenix, Hubbard started to establish the new
subject of Scientology. As explained earlier this grew out of the further
development work he did on Dianetics with more advanced auditing
procedures.
By 1952 he had moved beyond the exclusive area of the human mind
to dealing with its 'animator'. This animator is the concept of a spiritual
being that determines the action of the mind and body. In our normal
experience our spiritual awareness becomes largely obscured by the
physical and mental inefficiencies that we pick up during our growth to
adulthood. With the development of techniques for increasing our
18 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
awareness of existing as a spiritual being, separate from our body and
mind, Scientology was born.
Hubbard established the Hubbard's orbit
as the HAS, in Phoenix. He began Scientology auditing and training of
interested members of the Dianetics community there. He also started
a periodical called the Journal of Scientology.
From this new platform he began to attack Purcell's Dianetic
Foundation in Wichita, claiming that it was profiteering from Dianetics.
He made a strong appeal to Dianetics followers which produced many
converts to Scientology.
As the HAS grew it changed its name to Hubbard Association of
Scientologists International (HASI) and became tougher in the control
it exerted over its members using Scientology techniques. Hubbard was
obviously determined to avoid a repeat of the uncontrolled evolution of
field auditors and groups that had happened with Dianetics. Only
organisations affiliated to the HAS were permitted to have and use
Scientology materials. To qualify as an affiliated group all members had
to be individual members of the HASI and monthly reports of activities
were required. Groups that did not toe the line had their certificates
withdrawn and became ineligible for new Scientology materials.
Independent practitioners were similarly controlled and these now included
quite a few former Dianetics practitioners who were drawn back into
to be individual members of the HASI and monthly reports of activities
were required. Groups that did not toe the line had their certificates
withdrawn and became ineligible for new Scientology materials.
Independent practitioners were similarly controlled and these now included
quite a few former Dianetics practitioners who were drawn back into
The Wichita Foundation had not thrived since Hubbard's departure
and was having to contend with law suits from Hubbard. In late 1954
Purcell decided he would give up Dianetics and he would switch his
support to the breakaway group, Synergetics. He agreed to return the
Dianetic copyrights and publishing rights to Hubbard.
The HASI now had full control of both Scientology and Dianetics
materials and could set about ending fringe practices that used Dianetics
in combination with other therapies. Those groups and magazines which
did not come back to Hubbard and HASI gradually joined the breakaway
groups, Humanics and Synergetics, or extended their interests into other
practices such as Yoga, Hypnotism and Numerology.
In Britain the Dianetic Federation was apprehensive of the effect of
a subsidiary HAS being founded as it would reduce the autonomy of the
Dianetic Groups. Hubbard made it clear that he regarded the failure of
the earlier Dianetic Foundations as due to him not having complete control.
In the end he by-passed the leadership of the Federation and set-up a
HAS in London, It made a broad appeal to the field groups and support
moved quickly over to it once Hubbard started to visit the UK. As a result
CHAPTER FIVE 19
virtually all the independent Dianetics groups in the UK had disappeared
by 1955.
Despite the turmoil and problems of these times, Hubbard continued
researching and lecturing on a massive scale. There are several hundred
taped lectures from the period. The three most famous of these are
available in book form as Notes on the Lectures (1951). The Philadelphia
Doctorate Course delivered in Philadelphia in 1952 and the Phoenix lectures
delivered in that City in 1954. There are in addition tapes of introductory
lectures and radio broadcasts that he did all over the US during the early
50's.
The other thread in Hubbard's work was the production of material
to introduce new people to the subject. In 1953 the following books were
published: 'This is Scientology The Science of Certainty'; 'Introduction
to Scientology' and 'Self Analysis in Scientology'. Among the books
published in 1954 were: 'Group Auditors Handbook' (Vols I & II) and
'Dianetics 55'. In 1955 there followed nine books including 'Scientology-
Its contribution to knowledge: The Elementary Scientology Series' and
'The Creation of Human Ability'. In 1956 there were again many advanced
technical publications, usually presented in the form of 'Professional
Auditors Bulletins and also Scientology The Fundamentals of Thought';
'Creative Learning - A Scientological Experiment in Schools' and 'The
Problems of Work'. By the late 50's the flow of books reduced to three
or four a year and these were mostly more technically specialised for
professional auditors.
The flow of lectures continued unabated until 1960. Prior to 1953 Ron
Hubbard had moved around the country to deliver them. Now the large
numbers of people wanting to learn the techniques of Dianetics an.
Scientology were more ready to come to him. At first this was to Phoenix
Arizona, but after the setting up of the Church in Washington DC in 1955
he centred his activities there. In February 1954 the first religious flavour
appeared with founding of the first Church of Scientology, in Los Angeles
n 1955 Churches were founded in New York and Washington DC
interestingly a Church was also founded in Auckland, New Zealand in 1954
In the later 50's Hubbard made more visits to Britain and in the Spring
of 1959 purchased Saint Hill Manor, in Sussex. This was to become h
home and the centre of Scientology operations for the next few years.
The most obvious question that springs from this period is why did
the Scientology movement take on the title of a church and thus a religion?
Also why did Ron Hubbard move from the United States to the UK in
1959?
A significant paragraph appears in the section on Ron Hubbard's life
20 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
history in the Church's book 'What is Scientology'. This says that in the
early 50's the US government tried to monopolise his researches to use
them for mind control of people. It then says that after the government
failed to get Hubbard's agreement to this, it embarked on a campaign
of covert attacks on his work. This is the earliest reference In the Church's
published history to deliberate discrimination and attacks by government-
backed agencies. Most frequently referred to are the efforts of the
American Psychiatry Association to discredit the movement. This belief
in a campaign of covert attacks has grown into massive paranoia within
the Church over the years.
It could be that these real or imagined pressures were more important
in deciding to become a Church rather than a belief that Scientology
needed to be a Church to be effective in doing its job of Improving the
mental and spiritual health of people.
In the United States, and all English-speaking countries, the liberty
and tolerance extended to religions is obviously much greater than to para-
medical practices. There were many practical advantages therefOre in
repackaging Scientology and Dianetics as a religion and therefore a
Church. The individual Churches in each State applied for and got
exemption from Federal Taxes, as they were entitled to do as religious
and educational bodies
In 1958 the Federal Tax agency started to change its view and began
to withdraw the tax exempt status from some of the Churches. This led
to a series of extended legal battles with the US Inland Revenue Service.
It was not until 1975 that the Church of Washington regained full tax
exempt status. During that year most of the other Churches also regained
tax exemption. It would appear however that not all of the Churches within
the United States did regain exemption.
This was the first of many aggravating governmental actions against
Scientology in the United States, and later in other countries of the world.
Whether the actions were justifiable for the public good then or now is
difficult for us to pass judgement on. What we can see is that the legacy
of these governmental actions is considerable paranoia within the Church,
and also on the part of Ron Hubbard himself.
Whatever views we may have on the right of government and its
agencies to make life difficult for fringe groups, the actions of the US
Internal Revenue Service and later the Federal Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) did not halt the growth of Scientology They can
be seen now as no more than irritating side issues in relation to the
continuing expansion of the movement during the fifties. Getting into the
subject of Scientology requires some intelligence and a fair level of
CHAPTER FIVE 21
education In addition the promise to the individual of the benefits of
increased awareness and abilities is quite specific. If these promises were
being fulfilled to some degree, then the Church's nationwide
continuing growth during this period could not have happened.
By the end of the fifties Scientology had established a network
Churches throughout the United States. Churches had also been set u
in New Zealand and South Africa. There were in addition groups active
in many other places and Scientology was already well on the way t
becoming a world movement-
With the official attitude to Scientology in the United States being
somewhat hostile, it seems probable that Hubbard considered it better
to set up his Worldwide headquarters somewhere with a freer and more
benign climate in which to operate. The peace of the Sussex countryside
and the strong following Scientology had already gained in Britain probably
accounts for his choice of Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead.
23
CHAPTER SIX
SAINT HILL 1959-66
During the six years that Hubbard lived at Saint Hill Manor, East
Grinstead, he was engaged on several major projects.
There was however a minor project which drew disproportionate
attention and lives on in a curious way. As part of his research into the
nature and behaviour of different life forms, he undertook son
experiments with tomato plants. This included taking readings of the
state of well-being on the E-meter The E-meter (E is for Electro-
psychometry) was developed in the 50 s as a guide to the Auditor to tell
him which of the items the PC mentions is charged and to assist the
Auditor in running-out this item without the PC being overwhelmed. The
PC holds two electrodes (usually tin cans), one in each hand. An
undetectably low electrical charge passes through the PC. Contact wit
an item that contains emotional charge disturbs the current and registers
on the meter.
As a result of talking to these tomato plants and checking their
responses on the meter, Hubbard conducted a form of auditing on them.
The plants are said to have responded by growing to unusual size and
giving abundant crops of tomatoes. Although it is now more readily
believed that plants respond to being talked to, when this work was
published it was greeted with derision. As a result some of the local people
living around East Grinstead have been known to describe Scientologists
as Tomato Worshippers.
During this period international expansion of Scientology was
continuing. Churches, more usually known as Organisations and referred
to as 'Orgs', were opened in Paris, London, Capetown, Port Elizabeth,
Detroit, Seattle and Hawai. Hubbard's clear intention was to set up a
centre for running Scientology worldwide at Saint Hill. In addition to the
Management Centre, an International Council for Dianetics and
Scientology was set-up there in 1959.
It may have been at this time that the goal of the movement was
established. This is to 'Clear the Planet'. The word Clear is used in the
sense that an individual can be cleared' of his irrational reactions an
impulses. It is these irrational responses that are seen as the source r
criminal and other acts harmful to oneself or society. A cleared Planet
24 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
would be one where all the population was free to behave rationally and
society was free of all anti-social behaviour. Moving towards this goal was
seen as not only being desirable for individual happiness and well-being
but also as the best preventative action against a degenerating society
and even nuclear war.
Saint Hill became an international centre in another sense. People
came from all over the world to learn the theory and practice of Dianetics
and Scientology techniques. The enormous quantity of discoveries and
therapies were at this time being streamlined into a workable system which
would enable an auditor to process individuals from whatever physical
and mental state they found them in, by gradual steps of improved
awareness and ability, to Clear and beyond.
The priority given to this work of systematisation was to ensure that
every step was proven and would produce predictable results. This
introduction of certainty of benefit to the broad area of psychotherapy
led to the term 'technology' being applied to methods and processes used.
So emphatic was Hubbard that the proven workable processes should
be used in an unvarying manner that the term 'Standard Tech' was coined
and became the motto on the Auditors' badge and certificates.
The out-buildings at Saint Hill Manor were converted into classrooms
and auditing rooms. One of the most memorable legacies of this period
is the special course which Ron Hubbard assembled, known as the Saint
Hill Special Briefing Course, which is still delivered there today.
The methods by which a person studies a subject effectively and
efficiently came under Ron Hubbard's scrutiny at this time. The principles
evolved were very practical and ensured that students on these courses
understood and could apply the materials they were working on, before
they moved on to the next stage.
So effective were these methods that people on courses at Saint Hill
could not believe how easy it became to study. This was in sharp contrast
to most people's experience at school or college. Another feature was
how enjoyable it was to study. People exhibited great enthusiasm to study
and at the end of set study periods shower! little inclination to finish
promptly.
In parallel to making Saint Hill the most advanced study centre of
Dianetics and Scientology in the world, Hubbard also set up and ran a
processing and training centre or Org, for the local population. This was
to be the prototype of the way Church Orgs were to be run throughout
the world.
In 1982 a booklet called 'How Big was Old Saint Hill' was published.
This gives some idea of how successfully this Org operated. The data we
CHAPTER SIX 25
have in the booklet runs from the beginning of 1965 to September 1967
,The start of the operation coincides with a reliable method of achieving
the state of Clear. Prior to that time it had been a pretty hit and miss
process and most of the people who had achieved the state had beer
cleared personally by Ron Hubbard. Now a programme of steps was
available which comparatively new auditors, not necessarily Clear
themselves, could be taught to deliver.
The operation started with less than six staff and during its first quarter
was turning over an average of L1,490 per week (at 1965 values). Growth
in turnover and staff was very rapid. Within six months turnover had
reached an average of L4,521 per week and staff were approaching the
200 mark. Over the next 12 months staff numbers levelled off at 250 but
turnover reached a weekly average of L9,532. By the end of the final year
for which we have figures average weekly turnover had reached L19,261.
Much more important than turnover figures were the actual products
of the activity. Clears were being mass produced. At its peak Saint Hill
produced 21 Clears in one week, There was a delivery staff of 50 Auditors.
Twelve of these were 'Review Auditors' whose job it was to sort out any
case that got bogged down. There were 200 people training to be auditors
plus another 100 studying other things. The number of students
completing courses in any one week averaged between 40 and 50.
This enormous production operation needed a very well-oiled System
to operate. Ron Hubbard evolved a structure of seven separate
Departments or Divisions to perform all the f unctions of delivering, training,
quality control, dissemination to new people, internal and external
communication, staffing, staff training, finance and premises. The
structure to do this was laid out on an organisation chant, known as an
'Org Board', and it is still used in the running of the Church Orgs today.
For those fortunate enough to have been there at the time it must
have seemed like the dawn of a Golden Age. Some of the letters published
in the booklet 'How big was Old Saint Hill' give the flavour very clearly.
People crowded in to be audited and trained on the new processes that
Hubbard was developing. These were what were termed Power Processing
and were a Scientology method of achieving the state of Clear. The first
Clears were achieved by this method in early 1966 and then started to
come through in increasing numbers after that.
During this time of growth of the local Saint Hill Org, Hubbard was
carefully observing the working of the 'organisation' and how it could be
improved. He applied elementary 'work study' principles to it just as if
it was a factory or car repair garage. From this emerged a whole series
of written procedures, known as Administrative Bulletins, which have since
26 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
been bound into seven volumes and are still used extensively in the
operating of Church Orgs today. These Administrative procedures became
known as Admin. Tech. They were mimeographed in green ink and are
often referred to as 'Green on White'.
A selection from all the volumes was made to produce the
organisation Executive Course. A businessman who today sat down and
absorbed the principles and practice expounded in that course, and then
applied them in his own business, could gain considerable benefits, even
if only in reducing the stress and strain he subjects himself to.
The attention that Hubbard devoted to systematising administration
shows the lesson he had learned from the early chaotic days of Dianetics.
As Scientology became a world movement, the danger of it fragmenting
or getting into financial difficulties were that much greater. Until then Ron
Hubbard s personal authority held things together, but that could not be
relied on forever.
If growth was to continue, it needed to be on the basis of a secure
organisational structure. Many of the people coming into the movement
had a strong desire to help others and change the world. The experience
of the fifties showed that these qualities were not usually combined with
good organisational or financial management skill. The method of
organisation he evolved was a self-controlling bureaucracy that could
produce a minimum standard of efficiency with whatever resources were
available to it.
More important than efficiency was the need to keep the auditing
technology 'standard'. The bureaucratic structure would ensure that
standard processing was delivered in all the Church Orgs and that individual
variations or other therapies were not permitted to adulterate proven
Scientology and Dianetic processes.
In 1965 a further step towards depersonalising control was taken This
was with the establishment of the post of Guardian. The Guardian and
his staff were responsible for protecting the technology of Scientology
from adulteration issuing and enforcing policy within the Church and
defending the Church from attack.
On 1st September 1966 Hubbard resigned from the post of Executive
Director and the Board of Directors of the Church and took the title
Founder. The reason given is that he wished to continue his writing and
research. He had already that year released the auditing procedures for
the first two levels above Clear. These were known as OT (Operating
Thetan) I and II. Through the late 60's the other OT levels followed up
to OT VII which was released in September 1970.
27
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE LIFE ON THE OCEAN WAVE
Ron Hubbard had always had a strong affinity with the sea. Some
of his pre-war exploring had been of coastal waters and he was in the
Navy during the war. After his recovery from injuries he states he spent
a period cruising in the West Indies. It was perhaps natural, after sixteen
hectic years establishing Dianetics and Scientology, that he should return
to the sea.
After relinquishing the post of Executive Director in 1966 he acquired
a sailing yacht. This may have been intended originally for his personal
use but then came the idea of using ships as a training environment. Ships
of any size need crews and it was a natural step to use young
Scientologists as crew members. Training in the technical skills of auditing
and organisation and the toughening up to be gained from shipboard
discipline were considered to be a happy combination.
During the course of 1967 two other vessels were acquired and
constituted a small fleet. The flagship was a converted Channel ferry called
the Royal Scotsman and renamed the Apollo. The other two vessels were
smaller, the Athena and Diana, and were used for special assignments.
Over the years a succession of enthusiastic young Scientologists.
spent training periods on the ships. The appeal must have been
considerable to anyone who had reached some level of understanding of
what Dianetics and Scientology could supposedly do for the individual
and mankind. Who could resist the combination of extended cruising in
the Mediterranean and the chance to get co-auditing, that is exchange
auditing with a fellow trainee auditor, under the best technical supervision
available? In addition there was the chance to be near the discoverer and
developer of Scientology. Hubbard was always a man of enormous
charisma and charm, to those who were not overwhelmed by his
somewhat flamboyant style.
Thus we have the emergence of the 'Sea Organisation'. Hubbard no
had enough experience of running things to know that the only way that
the ships could operate effectively was if they were run on a similar pattern
to the very successful delivery Centre he had evolved at Saint Hill.
Lectures and Bulletins emerged about training new crew intakes r
procedures and even such things as How to Keep Watches. Hubbard
28 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
himself had always liked to dress up and look the part, and the role of
Naval Commodore suited him admirably. Naval Uniforms and ranks were
evolved. Much of the maritime terminology which was adopted in the
administration of the shipboard organisation lives on in the Church Orgs
today, even though the ships have long since gone.
We can see here the emergence of an elite corps. The Sea
Organisation (Sea Org) members were encouraged to feel that they had
a particular role and right to claim pre-eminence in the mission to improve
the world. The Sea Organisation members of today still wear the naval
uniform and pledge themselves to an open-ended contract to work for
the goals of Scientology.
Despite his claim to have given up direct management of the Church.
Hubbard was not without considerable influence on the running of the
Church. Looking back at this period of Scientology one is reminded of
the practice of Japanese Emperors in the middle ages of retiring to a
monastery. Unfortunately, they did not relinquish all their influence and
kept a court around them and a finger in the pie of government. This
obviously made life a little difficult for the new Emperor trying to establish
himself. A similar situation could be said to have come about within the
Church, assuming that Hubbard had genuinely passed running of the
Church to others at all.
Ron Hubbard was never one to stop thinking and improving. Although
he spent much of his time on developing the OT levels, he wrote a lot
about running Orgs and Staff Management. It was also during this time
that he did a major up-date on Dianetics, the first since he had started
on the development of Scientology in the early 50's. This format of the
late sixties became known as Standard Dianetics. It was further up-dated
in the late 70's to become New Era Dianetics (NED). During this time on
the ships the first Advanced Org was established. This was a delivery
centre for auditing the OT levels with the necessary support functions
of Case Supervisors and Quality Control. From this first mobile advanced
Org, teams were sent out to set up land based Advanced Orgs at Los
Angeles, Edinburgh and Copenhagen in the 1968-69 period.
Thus we have some very valuable and positive benefits of this
shipborne period. We have the development of the higher OT levels and
their systematisation for standard delivery. Also we have the start of the
Advanced Organisations which could deliver these services to the general
public. These Advanced Orgs (AO's) are quite separate from the normal
Orgs which deliver auditing up to Clear. There are today five Advanced
Orgs run by the Church throughout the world.
On the other hand this period also produced the more doubtful benefit
CHAPTER SEVEN 29
of the elite corps known as the Sea Org. The combination of youthful
idealism and isolation from national boundaries in a floating world of their
own could be expected to produce a distinctive attitude.
All young people want to do something useful to improve the world.
These youngsters would not have been able to believe their good luck
in finding themselves in the vanguard of a movement that claimed to do
that. Add to that the special language that has developed in Scientology
as a necessary shorthand for quite complicated ideas; the necessary
discipline of being on a ship; and the panoply of ranks and uniforms, and
we can predict the emergence of a moral fervour in which the individual
willingly pledges himself to the cause with selfless zeal.
Prior to the period on the ships Hubbard had developed and run the
movement with whoever had responded to his ideas and been willing to
help. This included people of all ages and social backgrounds. The Saint
Hill booklet shows a genuine popular movement with people from all walks
of life giving their time and enthusiastic support, but still combining this
with living and working in the outside world.
With the establishment of the Sea Org, we can detect a change.
Recruitment would have been mostly from middle class youth,
understandably disaffected by a world embroiled in a futile war in Vietnam.
The moral purpose offered by Scientology would have had great appeal
in contrast with the amorality of the Sixties. The accent on 'tough'
dedication to the purpose predictably led on to an almost competitive
atmosphere of self-denial and aggressive demonstration of 'toughness'.
The arrival of a Sea Org mission was dreaded by the local Orgs. In their
anxiety to demonstrate their dedication to the cause, these Sea Org
members Sometimes did more harm than good. Their purpose was too
obviously to find fault. One of the most feared criticisms was to be termed
'a Dilettante', indicating a lack of dedicated committment to the cause.
One interesting by product of the period of the ships was that there
were a number of children on board. Contrary to popular belief,
Scientology is protective of family bonds. The children of established
marriages among crew members stayed with their parents. They were
however in danger of becoming a nuisance on the ships. Ron Hubbard
put them to work carrying messages and operating the internal
communications on the ship. They were given the status of being 'his
eyes and ears' Any insult to them was an insult to him. They were known
as the Commodores Message Organisation, (CMO), and were to become
an important influence later in the development of Church affairs.
31
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE WASP* RESPONSE
*WASP = White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.
As mentioned in an earlier chapter the Church was involved in
extended dispute with the US Internal Revenue Service about its rig
to tax exemptiOn as a Religion. This started in 1957 and was not resolved
until 1975. An almost equally long running dispute was taking place with
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which is also a US Government
Department This dispute concerned the use of the E-Meter in auditing
and whether or not the meter is a medicinal tool. For an explanation
the E-Meter see page 00.
In 1963 the FDA asked a court in Washington DC for a warrant to
seize the E-Meters from the Washington Org because they were being
used for medicinal purposes The warrant was granted and the
Washington Church was raided by US Marshals who removed meters,
books, tapes and files.
Four years later the case came to trial in the Washington Court and
the Court ordered the materials to be destroyed. The Church appealed
and won its case in the Court of Appeals in 1969. The FDA asked for a
rehearing of the case and the case was heard again in 1973 in the Court
of Appeals. The Court recognised the Church as a bona-fide Religion and
ordered the return of the meters and other materials seized in the raid
10 years earlier.
In Australia there were several initiatives to ban Scientology by
individual States, with the Federal Government only becoming involved
at the end. In 1965 the State of Victoria passed the Psychological Practices
Act which had the effect of prohibiting the practice of Scientology.
initiative for this had come from complaints by the Victoria He
Authority to the Minister of Health which had led to a Board of Inquiry
In 1968 similar bills were passed in the parliaments of Western
Australia and Southern Australia, The Church in all these states changed
its name to the Church of New Faith and carried on its development.
With the change of the Australian Federal Government to Labour,
a more liberal climate came about. In 1973 the Attorney General recognised
the right of the Church to perform marriages. Slowly the practice of
32 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
Scientology was rehabilitated in Australia and the prohibition Acts
repealed. The Church was granted tax exemption and finally in 1975 all
restrictions on the use of the word 'Scientology' in Australia were removed.
In New Zealand in 1968 a petition was presented to Parliament
requesting an investigation into Scientology and requesting legislation
against it. A commission was set up to conduct an enquiry in 1969. It
recommended that no legislative action be taken.
In Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) a Control of Goods Act was
introduced in 1968. This prohibited the importation of material that related
to Scientology. In 1975 the Rhodesian Court of Appeals ruled this Act
to be invalid, because Scientology was a bona-fide Religion.
South Africa followed the usual pattern of an official enquiry into
Scientology in 1968. The report of this Enquiry was not accepted or
rejected by the government but it was published for public information.
Subsequently the history of Church and government action in South Africa
has centred on the Church's newspaper 'Peace and Freedom' and its
efforts to expose conditions in South African mental institutions.
In Britain matters were handled in a less formal way. At about the
same time as all the other initiatives, mid 1968, the Minister of Health stated
that he was satisfied that Scientology was socially harmful. The Home
Office introduced an Administrative Order banning Foreign nationals
coming to Britain to study Scientology. Ron Hubbard himself had left Saint
Hill in 1967 and was developing the Sea Org. He was however informed
by the Home Office that his visa would not be renewed if he wished to
come to Britain again.
An enquiry into Scientology was set-up in 1969. The recommend-
dations of this were published in 1971. They were firstly that all
psychotherapy should be organised as a regularised profession. Secondly
the financial privileges of religions that did not have large followings and
did not engage in overt acts of worship should be reviewed. The
Commission did however say that people who were otherwise entitled
to come to the UK, should not be prevented from studying Scientology
if they wished to do so.
Nothing was done to implement the Commission recommendations,
nor was the ban lifted. In 1973 a Dutch Scientologist declared at the port
of entry that she was coming to study Scientology. She was refused entry
and this test case was then referred to the European Court of Justice.
The ban was finally lifted in 1980 but probably less because of the
European Court than the sustained lobbying of the Home Office by British
lAP's. The Church in the UK seems to have been effective over the years
n steadily winning the support of some influential MP's.
CHAPTER EIGHT 33
Overall this adds up to a sad saga of heavy-handed government action
throughout the White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant world. One is left with the
question, why did it all happen?
The Church and Ron Hubbard would claim that it stemmed from the
medical establishment. They would say that the medical psychiatric
practitioners were incensed at this body of knowledge and its practices
invading their privileged province.
It is true that in most of the countries instanced above, the initiative
did come from the Ministry of Health. It was only after repackaging itself
as a religion that Scientology was able to escape the efforts by the health
lobby to restrain it.
This leads to another question. Why was it so difficult to get
acceptance of its honest claims to be a religion? After all, religions have
traditionally brought relief to mental stress and peace of mind, and this
is exactly what Scientology and Dianetics claims to do. The reader will
in the end have to try to answer this question according to his own beliefs.
The starting point is probably what Professor Joad of the Brains Trust
would have said, 'It all depends what you mean by a Religion'.
It may be useful at this point to look at the role and motivation of
the media in all this.
At the outset it must be obvious to anybody who has read this far
that any fair minded discussion of Scientology and Dianetics must take
time to agree to its starting point and tools of examination. In addition
anyone who takes the claims of the subject at all seriously would appreciate
that it relates to the most deeply held personal views about life and
immortality.
Unfortunately we do not have, even in the best of our media, any
forum for such an examination to be done justice. It may seem glib but
regrettably appropriate to quote the maxim about our press 'They make
the trivial important and the important trivial.' Unfortunately this
description also seems to apply to the media of most countries of the Free
World.
In facing a subject of the complexity of Scientology the media seems
to have two goals. The first is to 'pigeon-hole' it. That is to find some
category that it is similar to. In this case 'Cults or Sects' are a convenient
category because they contain overtones of wrenching impressionable
youngsters from their homes, 'mind manipulation' and even 'white slaver'.
The second goal would be to impute improper financial motives to the
people founding or running the movement.
The Church claims that such destructive accusations indicate
conspiracy with Government. Probably we don't need to look that deeply
34 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
into their motives for discrediting anything new and strange. Their need
is to sell newspapers. Cult religions, laced with financial exploitation, is
good self-righteous headline copy which can be used again and again.
It might be said that the onus is on Scientology to prove that it is
doing good work to the benefit of society. This is quite correct. The task
is made much more difficult however by superficial media treatment of
the subject. This treatment creates a negative image in the public mind
and thus prevents open-minded examination and discussion.
A recent example of the British media in action on the subject took
place in July 1984. A verdict in the High Court awarded custody of two
children, from a marriage between two Scientologists, to the mother who
had by then left the Church. In giving his judgment in open court, Mr.
Justice Latey strongly criticised the Church for its behaviour in attempting
to dissuade the mother from pursuing her claims to the children. He also
made it clear that he would deal with any further harassment or
intimidation of the mother with the 'utmost severity'. He then went on
to give his opinion of the Church and its practices and to criticise Hubbard
for his false claims and financial motivation. His statements and criticism
were presumably based on the evidence placed before him at the hearing.
The Daily Telegraph reported Mr. Latey's comments as such, in inverted
commas, and also reported a statement by a representative of the Church
made in its defence. The article was overall very critical of the Church
but factual in that it reported what the Judge had said.
What was striking however was the response of the popular press.
The Daily Mail and The Daily Express in particular used the Judge's
statement to launch into several pages of invective, mostly a rehash of
previously used material about the Church and its activities. Here there
was no attempt at balance. There was a strong self-righteous undertone
and a strong 'we told you so' flavour to the copy.
While the popular press handling was perhaps predictable, the
handling given by the BBC was not. In their 'World at One' programme
the next day, they gave ten minutes to ill-informed comment on the
subject, including a recording of part of an interview with Hubbard made
about fifteen years earlier. In the interview a challenge is made by Hubbard
to the interviewer to study the subject for himself. The challenge was
ignored. At the end of the interview the listener's attention was directed
by the Radio 4 commentator to the nature of Hubbard's laugh. This was
actually instanced as an indication of his doubtful motives!
35
CHAPTER NINE
LANDFALL
The sea-based operation continued until 1975. The first few years
of the Sea Org were a time of great vigour and excitement. Hubbard was
combining technical development of the OT Levels with refining the
training programmes for Auditors.
Although from 1970 he did some valuable gap filling in further refining
auditing routines, he concentrated more and more on developing
techniques for managing and promoting the Church. From this time
emerged the Flag Executive Briefing Course and the Administrative Series
of Bulletins. Management of the Church did not just cover internal
management but also dealt with the management of communication with
the outside world. This included how to disseminate (spread the message
of Scientology) and Public Relations. He also became involved
photography, music and film making, as part of the promotional activity
of the Church.
The Church itself was expanding all over the world. It is probably
worth restating that Ron Hubbard claims that he was not at this time
running the Church. Whatever the truth of this claim Hubbard obvious
had immense influence on those whose job it was to run the Church an
it must have been difficult for them not have been aware of Ron's keen
scrutiny. His criticism of things that came to his attention as not being
right could be extremely direct and withering.
From about 1970 it seems the sea-borne operation started to go sour.
The events of this period are reported in the Zegal tapes - see Appendix
B and the warning included there. After the romantic idea of a fleet of
ships spreading the religious philosophy of Scientology throughout the
world, came the further idea of finding a safe place to set up a central
point which could become the world focus for Scientology, its own Mecca
or Jerusalem.
To do this would not just require a suitable location but also a degree
of sympathy and support from the local government. Hopes ran high for
a University of Philosophy on the island of Corfu. This project reportedly
went wrong when unjustified claims of Greek government support were
made. It is reported that the ships were ordered to leave Corfu harbour
in March 1970.
36 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
The next prospect became Tangiers. Again negotiations broke down
with the Moroccan government. The Scientology contingent and ships
were apparently ordered out in December 1972.
It seems that good relations were then established with Portugal. A
Telex office was set up in Lisbon and a lot of time was spent around the
island of Maderia, which is a dependency of Portugal. It is reported that
this prospect came to an end in a particularly unpleasant way in October
1974. The Flagship Apollo was stormed by an angry crowd on the quayside
at Funchal, the capital of Maderia. The crowd believed that ship and
Church were a cover operation for the CIA. Soon after this the Telex Office
in Lisbon was raided by Portugese government officials.
The ships sailed for the American continent in late 1974 and spent
the next year in the West Indies. This was not as pleasant as it sounds.
The small island governments of this area were probably aware of the
reputation of these travelling Scientologists for trying to exercise influence
over government officials. In more and more ports it was made clear that
they were not welcome for extended periods.
This period must have been one of increasing frustration and
disillusionment for Ron Hubbard. He was actually on the Apollo when
the incident in Funchal harbour had taken place. It must have seemed
to him that more and more doors were closing against his hopes of
establishing Scientology as a reputable movement for world improvement.
In October 1975 the ships were reportedly docked in the Bahamas
and the crews dispersed to several different locations in the United States.
For reasons that are unclear, Ron Hubbard and the Sea Organisation
remembers were not expecting a warm welcome in the United States. The
return was unobtrusive and from this time secrecy and security became
high priority.
It was decided to set up a land base at Clearwater, Florida. This was
to be the main management and training centre for the Church Worldwide.
It became known as Flag, after the flagship of the fleet Apollo.
This obvious transfer of power and authority from the ships to Flag,
accompanied by the arrival of the person of Ron Hubbard, indicates that
by this time control and management of the Church was back in his hands.
For reasons of secrecy the buildings at Clearwater were allegedly
purchased by a cover corporation called the United Churches. To further
preserve secrecy Ron Hubbard himself lived in an apartment separate from
the main buildings.
At some time in 1976, the local press discovered that Ron Hubbard
was in Florida and the real identity of the United Churches came out.
Hubbard himself went to Washington DC and laid low there for some
CHAPTER NINE 37
months. He then moved with a small staff to an inconspicuous location
on the West Coast of the United States, near Los Angeles.
For the next five years Ron Hubbard stayed mostly on the West Coast.
There seems to have been a lot of legal activity both against the Church
and initiated by the Church. The background and justification for all this
legal activity are far from clear. The priority however was to protect Ron
Hubbard himself from being drawn into these legal battles. Hence the
continuing restatement that he had not been involved in directly managing
the Church since 1968, and keeping his whereabouts a secret.
His relocation did however coincide with a power-shift to the West
Coast. An International Management Centre, known as 'Int', was set up
in one of the many locations that the Church acquired in Southern
California. Hubbard himself is reported to have moved around with a small
retinue, living in a variety of ranches and apartments. We are told that
during this time his health started to deteriorate. In 1978 he had some
sort of stroke and in 1979 he had an operation. In both cases he reportedly
had auditing and assists which helped his recovery.
People may wonder how someone with his technical knowledge on
physical and mental health could get ill and have to have medical
treatment. It is therefore worth remembering that he was probably a
somewhat disappointed man. For nearly thirty years his ideas had bee
subject to hostile attack. Although he had a dedicated following he had
not achieved the large scale respectability and official recognition that he
must have hoped for. By his own creed, ill health is usually a sign of failing
to be self-determined in some aspect of one's own life.
Despite all the upheavals of this period Hubbard initiated and
supervised continuing research for auditing the more advanced levels o
spiritual awareness. From the mid-seventies we start to get some major
new 'technical' developments. The term 'technical' is used by the Church
to refer to anything to do with auditing processes and techniques. This
is to distinguish it from bulletins or instructions of a management o
promotional nature, which are referred to as 'administrative'. From some
years previously, the levels of gain and ability available from auditing has
been organised as a progression known as 'The Bridge'. Each stage ha
a definite completion point and predictable 'End Phenomena'. Different
people would require differing programmes of processes to achieve the
appropriate end phenomena of each stage. Both process delivery an
auditor training levels were organised to coincide with these stages. The
progression of stages would firstly get the individual's body into reasonably
physical shape, including freeing it from the residual effects of drugs. The
there are the Levels, a series of steps of mental rehabilitation leading
38 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
to New Era Dianetics and then to the revised state of Clear. Clear was
now seen as a staging post to achieving the state of a free spiritual being,
known as an Operating Thetan or OT. This state is arrived at on completion
of OT Levels I, II and III.
Prior to 1978, the highest previously released OT level had been OT
VII, released in 1970. During this late 70's period Hubbard and his co-
workers reviewed both the higher OT levels and a more streamlined
method of running Dianetics. At first sight these would appear to be
unrelated activities, at different ends of The Bridge. In fact the two were
combined to produce a revised range of levels from OT IV to OT VII. These
involved running the new form of Dianetics, New Era Dianetics, on people
who were at OT III or above. This range of levels was known as NED
for OT's, then shortened, inevitably, to NOTS.
To complete this last burst of activity we have a complete review
of the lower part of the Bridge. This revised lower Bridge was released
in 1981. It was so fundamental a change that it was unlikely that it would
have been done without Ron Hubbard's involvement. It is actually
necessary to state this because it seems likely that his increasing
withdrawal and alleged failing health meant that much of this technical
development work must have been done by other people.
The technical development team may have been located in Florida
but the main link person with Ron Hubbard on this work was David Mayo.
He was later to become Case Supervisor International, the top post in
the technical hierarchy and also Hubbard's personal auditor.
During this period a subtle change was taking place to Hubbard's
personal image. Prior to 1975 he had been referred to widely by his christian
name, or more deferentially as Mr. Hubbard. From the mid-seventies or
so the term LRH was substituted and his presence and influence was
referred to in less human everyday terms. The practice of other people
issuing both administrative and technical instructions, using his name,
started to happen.
This on occasion led to some ludicrous situations. The supposedly
real LRH would send out bulletins to cancel or amend others which he
complains were not actually written by him. The trouble was that there
was no way of knowing which one was really written by him. More recently
the revocation of previous instructions as not being written by Ron
Hubbard himself, but 'by others', has been used to restyle the management
of the Church.
The underlying reason for this confusing practice was to provide a
measure of continuity for the Church. The stable human figure at the
pinnacle was very important. It has always been a practice to encourage
CHAPTER NINE 39
Church members to write directly to Ron Hubbard. In early days those
letters were no doubt answered personally. Subsequently the volume
would have made this impossible. It is widely believed that a clerical team
handle this correspondence, most of which would follow predictable
patterns, and could therefore be answered according to preset patterns
A further step in Hubbard's withdrawal process was the establishment.
of the LRH Communicator Network International in 1977. All
communications with Hubbard went up through this Communicator
Network and came down through it. Although it carried the implied link
directly to Ron Hubbard, there was no way of knowing who was producing
the material that carried his name.
Whatever the balance of reasons, the withdrawal of Ron Hubbard
from day to day management of the Church's affairs during this period
probably allowed others genuinely to take responsibility for running the
Church. The Church in the late seventies seems to have moved into one
of its most productive periods.
41
CHAPTER TEN
RON HUBBARD'S LEGACY
A full biography of Ron Hubbard and a balanced assessment of h
achievements will no doubt be written one day. It is too early to attempt
anything more than a brief assessment now.
It cannot be overemphasized that Ron Hubbard and the Church
Scientology are not the same thing. There are many people around the
world who have washed their hands of the Church but who would willing
assist him as an individual if he needed it. They would do so as the least
they could do for the man who had enabled them to change their vie
of life and to achieve purpose and peace of mind.
Our first impression of Ron Hubbard is probably somewhat distasteful.
The various groups who have held sway in the Church over the years have
always had a tendency to idolise him. The present management of t,
Church has taken this even further and virtually deified him.
In the early days he must have gone along with the tendency to put
him on a pedestal, probably without too much concern about where
might lead. There is plenty of evidence in his writings and taped lectures
of his view of himself. He regarded himself as fortunate to have stumbled
into such a fruitful area of research. He has said however that each person
should assess for himself the validity of his findings and only accept what
fits in with his own experience of life hitherto.
To see his work in context we should bear in mind his life before the
emergence of Dianetics and then Scientology. He was in his mid-thirties
by the time he started systematic work on Dianetics. As a young man
he was obviously an adventurer. He was very interested in exploring
anything new.
Both the words adventurer and explorer can be used dismissively if
we choose, but they represent his inclinations very well. His intense interest
in the exciting things of the day, aviation, exploration, films and science
fiction are all to his credit.
He had always been interested in the functioning of the mind. This
was in part due to the introduction he had to the subject from Commander
Thompson, said to have been a pupil of Freud.
We may see this interest in the mind as a bit strange for a non
professional. We should however remember that Freud was still alive in
42 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
the 1930's and the controversy that his ideas had started was still raging
among professional and lay people alike. It is only since the 1950's that
ordinary people have been willing to leave this subject to the professional
psychiatrists and philosophers. These professionals have intellectualised
the subject out of all recognition. One brave attempt to put it back within
the reach of the lay person was the 1984 Reith Lecture Series (broadcast
by the BBC) on Minds, Brains and Science given by John Searle,
Professor of Philosophy at the University of California.
It may seem trite, but there is a logic in an explorer turning his
attention to exploring the mind. Hubbard was an inveterate asked of
questions and could not pass by a subject without probing for reasons
why things happened, what rules could be formulated and how the subject
could be improved.
He has been characterised as a modern Philosopher, particularly by
the Church of Scientology That may well be true, but philosophers are
a little remote from our every day lives and philosophy is not a subject
of popular concern. Hubbard has also been described as a Scientist in
that he always looked for the fundamental principles of a subject which
could be shown to operate in a predictable pattern. While this has been
true, he has never spent a great deal of time expanding theory. He has
actually placed much more emphasis on putting the findings of his research
to use. He would have much more sympathy with the description of an
that he always looked for the fundamental principles of a subject which
could be shown to operate in a predictable pattern. While this has been
true, he has never spent a great deal of time expanding theory. He has
actually placed much more emphasis on putting the findings of his research
to use. He would have much more sympathy with the description of an
Engineer, because an engineer puts discovered scientific principles to work
the form of technology.
Ron Hubbard was very impatient with science for science's sake. He
wanted to know how it could be used to do something or improve
something. In one of his typical comments on medical psychiatry he states
that no patient was ever helped by giving a fancy name to his condition.
He said of his discoveries that they are only as valuable as the use that
can be made of them. If they can't be applied to bring about benefit, better
forget about them.
In looking at his work and achievements, the dominating feature is
of course clearing the reactive mind and opening the way for the spiritual
gains available to the individual from the OT levels. The problem is however
that these are very difficult subjects to make real to a person who had
no exposure to them. Why should the man in the street take the time
and trouble to consider these ideas among so many others?
The best answer to this question is to state that at least 30,000 people
throughout the world have attested to going Clear. Going Clear means
no longer having a reactive mind to cause the person to do things
irrationally or bring about unwarranted feelings of anxiety or guilt.
CHAPTER TEN 43
Many more have started out on the journey but have stopped part
way, not because they ceased to believe in its value but because they
found it very hard work. In addition others have become disheartened
because of the action of the Church and the endless controversy over
what it should cost. Probably over a million people have been exposed
to his ideas.
Despite all the setbacks, Ron Hubbard has pointed a route out of
unhappiness and confusion, and many have followed it. For those who
have made it their debt to him is incalculable and their wonder at his having
found it is unceasing.
In a completely different area, Ron Hubbard developed something
which has been of incalculable value to children and young people and
bears no recognisable imprint of Scientology to the outside observer.
Mention was made earlier of the work Hubbard did on techniques
of studying when setting up the training college at Saint Hill in the early
sixties. The precepts for good and effective study were then consolidated
into a Study course which became the first step for all student auditors.
So successful was this that several simplified courses have been
developed for use by children and young people who are having difficulty
at school. The methods taught for studying are very simple and practical
and many young people have found their performance at school
transformed within months.
The spread of this study method is handled by a separate body called
the Effective Education Association. It runs short teacher training courses
and publishes study materials.
The controversial Greenfields School near East Grinstead has been
set up to educate the children of local Scientologists. There may be
questions about early influencing of young people towards a particular
religion but nonetheless the school uses the study methods and has
produced exceptional results at O and A level examinations. In the United
States, the schools run on Hubbard study principles are known as Delphi
Schools.
In fairness it should be said that in the last 20 years some of these
study techniques have been discovered by others and can be seen to some
degree applied in modern education methods.
Another useful by-product of Ron Hubbard's work is what he found
out about how people communicate and how they can do it better. This
originated from training Auditors to be effective. From this have evolved
several independent Communication Courses.
The benefit that has been gained by individuals from these
Communication Courses include considerable increases in confidence,
44 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
improved concentration, and even curing stammerers.
Another area of remarkable achievement is in providing a means of
immediate help to the sick and injured. There is a wide range of techniques
that can relieve pain and discomfort. They are known as 'Assists'. These
Assists were a by product of auditing technique. One does not have to
be a fully trained auditor to administer an Assist. With only minimum
training one person can reduce or remove anothers backache, headache,
or virtually any other physical discomfort. For a person who has a broken
limb, which should of course be set immediately by a qualified medical
person, the speed of bone knitting can be accelerated by a simple Assist
done for a few minutes each day.
Assists can be used to help an adult ot child recover from an upsetting
emotional experience. This can be anything from a domestic argument
to a bereavement. An Assist exists to reduce the temperature level in a
feverish patient. There are even assists that one can administer to oneself.
The apparent miraculous nature of these may prompt one to think
of faith healing. It is worth quoting Ron Hubbard who says that the person
receiving the Assist does not have to believe in it, just allow it to be done
to them. He didn't mention the person delivering the Assist. They would
only need to have seen it work once to believe in it.
As a result of having this technology, Scientologists have little use
for pain killing drugs. In fact their view of drugs is that while they may
be necessary occasionally, they do inhibit the effective working of the
mind at the time and do leave harmful residues in the body.
The Scientologist's view of narcotics is even stronger. Addiction to
street drugs, alcohol or tranquillisers are all equally abhorrent. They
represent both a failure of the individual to handle the problems in his
life and a steady poisoning of the body.
A beneficial by product of Hubbard's work is the use it has been put
to helping addicts to free themselves from drug taking. The Narconon®
(Non Narcosis) Programme was initiated by an inmate of Arizona State
Penitentiary who had been a drug addict for nineteen years. A copy of
'Fundamentals of Thought' by Ron Hubbard was given to him by another
prisoner in 1966. From his initial studies and experiments, William Benitez
went on to found the Narconon programme and was released before the
end of his sentence to develop his work.
He received encouragement from Ron Hubbard and assistance in
developing the content of the programme. The success rates quoted for
people undergoing the programme are impressive. By 1972 Narconon was
running residential courses for addicts who were not in prison. Many of
the staff running the courses, both in prisons and residential centres, were
CHAPTER TEN 45
ex-addicts who had been helped by Narconon and then wanted to help
others.
By 1978 there were thirty-one Narconon groups operative throughout
the world. In the United States Narconon groups have received financial
support from local government and private charities. More recently groups
have developed in Sweden and Italy and it is hoped there will be one
operating in the UK soon.
Returning to the individual improving his normal day-to-day life, some
mention has already been made of Hubbard's work in business
management and administration theory. When he ran Saint Hill, he
introduced what was called a Personal Efficiency Foundation Course for
newcomers to Scientology.
The basic thinking was that a person would not be able to sort out
his deeper mental and spiritual problems if his home life was in chaos or
he was worried about losing his job. Over the years the content of the
course was chopped and changed but the name carried on, as did its
purpose.
The elementary steps involved in the course showed one how to
identify the things that might be going wrong in one's life. With the usual
accent on practicality, members on the courses were encouraged to do
something about it and get themselves back at 'cause' in their lives. Many
of the elements of these courses were published as booklets and are still
available to assist the person who feels that life is running them rather
than they are running it.
Another major legacy that we have from Hubbard's work is his
practical guidance to being happy. He acknowledged that many obstacles
to happiness and peace of mind lie in our past and he developed Dianetic
auditing to handle these. However, he also pointed out that if there are
damaging things we are doing to ourselves or troublesome situations in
our lives at present, then these too are obstacles to our happiness.
This area is known as Ethics. The term has a head masterly ring about
it but Ron Hubbard took great pains to say it was not about being in the
wrong. It was more about the options that are open to us in the way we
live our lives. Nearly always there are a variety of ways we can deal with
most situations. The factors we take into account in making our choice
need to be seen as having broader implications than just self interest.
It is worth mentioning that Ron Hubbard does not favour the total
denial of self implicit in many religions. We are brought up with the
traditional belief that we are weak and bad and therefore need to punish
ourselves. A person who makes themselves a drudge of a demanding
relative or child is not making the most ethical choice. They may be
46 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
benefiting another human being, but at the loss of their own self-
determinism, their development and ultimately their happiness.
It is not just a question of analysing a situation to establish the most
'ethical' solution. Ron Hubbard also provided a series of progressive steps
that an individual could take to remedy an unsatisfactory situation. This
'Ethics Tech' has been applied to produce marriage guidance counselling
techniques and help for ailing businesses.
Regrettably over zealous use of this 'Ethics Tech' by the Church in
its internal affairs in recent years has brought the subject into disrepute.
Nonetheless the body of thought which Ron Hubbard evolved in the mid
60's on Ethics still stands and is extremely useful. A little booklet called
'The Way to Happiness' published by the Church is probably the best
introduction to this very helpful subject.
There are many other areas where Hubbard has left us valuable and
useful ideas. It was his nature not to be able to walk past a problem without
analysing it. If asked how much milk should be ordered the next day, his
response would be to try to get the questioner to work it out for himself
and to assist him he would probably write a bulletin on what factors to
analyse to produce a correct level of milk ordering in all circumStances.
Thus there are bulletins and taped lectures on music, photography, public
relations, bringing up children, printing, choreography, and even how his
car should he washed!
Finally in this catalogue of identifiable benefits that Ron Hubbard the
man has left us, it is worth mentioning him as a source of common advice
for living. There was a regular publication called 'Advance' which was
produced by the Church until about 1980. Its purpose was to link the
religious aspects of Scientology with other religious and mystical thinking.
There were usually two articles in it by Ron Hubbard. One would explore
the parallels and relevance of Scientology principles and findings with other
religions and traditions. The other would be more practical advice or
guidance on living everyday life, particularly how to see and interpret what
is going on around one. In these essays he restated simple truths for which
one can usually see immediate applications. These may have concerned
communication, sense of purpose, aspirations, marriage, self-management
and even money
His view of money is extremely simple. It is a medium of exchange.
If you do something that is useful and of value to others money will come
to you. He sees money as inert and useless in itself. He says many people
make the mistake of putting too much attention on it and treating it as
an end In Itself. Instead of worrying about money he says, we should worry
about what we are doing that is of use to those about us.
CHAPTER TEN 47
In addition to his valuable insights, it is worth mentioning Ron's
exhuberant style. To make a point he would often exaggerate grossly or
give an outrageous example. It is up to the reader not to take these too
seriously but see the serious point being made underneath.
In this chapter it may appear that an attempt is being made to put
Hubbard on a pedestal and play down his faults. Elsewhere in this book
the consequences of his failings and misjudgements can be judged by
the reader. Wider knowledge ot the events summarised in this book and
the additional evidence which is likely to emerge in the future, will lead
to further condemnation of Hubbard. This chapter tries to redress the
balance a little in the light of Shakespeare's warning in Julius Ceaser: 'The
evil that man do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones'.
49
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE CHURCH IN THE 70's
The setting up of a network of Scientology Churches across the
United States, Canada, Europe, South Africa and Australasia was largely
complete by 1972. These Churches came to be known as Orgs. They were
run by staff directly employed by the Church. They were equipped to
deliver all the necessary auditing steps to get a person to Clear and to
train competent auditors. Training as an auditor very much accelerates
the speed at which an individual's own state of spiritual awareness can
progress so all newcomers to the subject are encouraged to train as
Auditors. In addition the Org would provide a range of introductory
courses, films and group activities for people new to Scientology.
The Mission programme got started in the 70's. Its aim was to make
Scientology available more locally than just major cities. These were geared
to provide the basic introductory courses to Scientology and lower levels
of auditing and training. Between 1971 and 1977 over 100 Missions were
set up in the United States, 30 in continental Europe, and 8 in the UK.
They were run by a Mission Holder who was a Franchisee of the
Church. They employed their own staff and were required to charge at
least the same for their services as their nearest Org.
The intention was that the Mission would produce a flow of people
ready to go to the higher levels of auditing and training at the nearest
Org. The Org would in turn provide support, guidance and training to the
Mission Holder and his staff. The Org would also assist any other local
groups or individual Field Auditors operating in its area.
During this period some necessary consolidation of the written
materials of Scientology and Dianetics was done. One of the problems
with the rapid growth of the subject was terminology. With Hubbard's
emphasis on fully understanding words, it became necessary to produce
a Technical Dictionary defining the Scientology and Dianetic terms in
regular use. The advances made in Dianetics were assembled and
published in Dianetics Today in 1975. A further major advance was a book
on applying Scientology in the community to help others. This was the
Volunteer Ministers Handbook published in 1976.
Although the Church had its own publishing house in Copenhagen
other writers and publishers were not discouraged from producing book
on Scientology. One very successful publisher was Scientology Ann Arbor
50 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
of Michigan. They produced some very useful basic Scientology booklets.
These dealt with such subjects as Personal Efficiency, Happiness, and
Ups and Downs in one's personal state of mind, All these books could
be read and applied by someone knowing nothing previously about
Scientology.
Another successful contribution came from an author called Ruth
Minshull who wrote books about applying Scientology to bringing up
children and how to recognise and handle people who could upset you.
Other authors wrote books on money management and how to be more
successful in daily life. Due acknowledgement was made in all these books
to the origin of the principles and it was hoped people who gained benefit
from them would then want to know more about Scientology.
One very successful initiative was a comprehensive explanatory book
called 'What is Scientology?' published by Scientology Ann Arbor in 1974.
So successful was this book that it was taken over and published by the
Church from 1978.
All these works were acknowledged by the Church as helpful and
were on sale through the network of Orgs and Missions, alongside the
many books by Ron Hubbard himself,
During this time the Church became more active in the field of social
services. Mention has already been made of the Educational Programme
and the programme for the rehabilitation of drug addicts called Narconon,
The 'Citizens Commission on Human Rights' (CCHR) is dedicated
to the elimination of psychiatric abuse. It believes that mental patients
constitute one of the most oppressed and least represented minority
groups across the world. One of its first major successes was in obtaining
the release of a Hungarian, Victor Gyory, from a mental hospital in
Philadelphia in 1969. He had attempted suicide but spoke little English.
He was held against his will, drugged and forcibly given electric shock
treatment (which kills part of the brain tissue). The CCHR took his case
to court, got leave to get their own medical examination done and got
a writ of Habeus Corpus from the courts to release Victor Gyory.
This shows graphically the field that CCHR is addressing itself to.
They are not alone in this concern. Two books on the subject are
'Psychiatry in Dissent' by Anthony Clare (Tavistock Publications, London
1980) and 'Limits to Medicine' by Ivan Illich (Pelican, 1984). For many
the best insight into the subject is the setting of the story filmed as 'One
flew over the Cuckoo's Nest' with Jack Nicholson.
Citizens Commission on Human Rights groups have been set-up in
various parts of the world. In 1976 the CCHR played an important role
in getting a law passed in California making it a requirement for the patient
CHAPTER ELEVEN 51
to be informed of the nature of Psychosurgery and Electro-Convulsive
treatment (ECT) and for his consent prior to treatment being obtain
without duress.
The reasons Scientologists are so concerned by these abuses are,
firstly, the irreversible damage done to the brain in psychosurgery may
prevent that person ever freeing himself of the mental states that are
oppressing him. Secondly, Scientologists believe that there are far more
practical and effective methods of dealing with mental problems.
The 'Commitee on Health and Public Safety' (COPHS) was set up
with Church support to probe the cost effectiveness of health care. In
the United States many individuals do not have health insurance and have
to pay heavy medical bills themselves. The costs of treatment and drugs
are at least as high in the United States as in the UK, and the effectiveness
of drug dependent medical therapy was already being questioned in the
early 70's.
The COPHS published details of alternative health care facilities. It
also attacked the health care monopoly exercised by the American Medical
Association and the pharmaceutical industry. It claims that this alliance
works against alternative forms of help such as osteopathy, nutrition
analysis and vitamin therapy. Once again the Scientological viewpoint
opposed the heavy use of drugs and tranquillisers as being both wasteful
and ineffective.
Other areas of social services are the Gerus Society which concerns
itself with the conditions in which elderly people are kept in institutions
particularly with the heavy use of drugs to keep them quiet. The National
Alliance on Alcoholism, Prevention and Treatment (NAAPT) was set up
to change the attitude that alcoholism was a psychiatric condition with
drug treatment being the only recourse, Also started in this era was CREO
(Committee to re-involve Ex-Offenders) and Task Force on Mental
Retardation. Both groups aim to shake fixed views on these problems and
how they should be handled.
This work to improve the lot of the weaker members of our society
expanded in the 70's and was extended from the US to many other
countries. However, it was and is quite separate from the network of Orgs
and Missions which constitute the Church and does not involve the staff
who work for the Church.
The average member of Church staff is encouraged to keep his
attention on his job and the affairs of his Org. It may seem that this is
because it makes him easier to control but it does increase the chance
that he will make some effective contribution to the Church's progress.
Most people who come into brief contact with the Church will
52 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
naturally make their initial assessment based on the people they encounter.
If this includes meeting members of the Church staff, then they will
inevitably be influenced to some degree by their impression of them.
Regrettably, they will too often not form a good initial impression.
The key to understanding how this comes about is the nature of the
Church's recruitment policy. Most Church staff are recruited from people
passing on the street. The usual method of getting people interested is
the 'free personality test'. There is an open-door policy for staff recruitment
with very few disqualifications from joining Staff are paid a fixed
proportion of the income to their Org. This comes from sales of books,
courses, auditing services and training. The proportion of income going
to wages does not vary with the number of staff and is thus divided among
however few or many there are. Church staffing policy maintains that the
more staff you have the more activity will be generated and this will
produce increasing revenue. Therefore almost anyone who wants to join
the staff can do so.
The method of recruitment and terms of employment offered means
that the staff acquired fit a predictable pattern. They are mostly young
and unattached. They do not need to maintain a high income and are
prepared to put idealism before practical needs. It could be said that they
are also impressionable and easily duped. On the other hand they are at
least open-minded and willing to see if this new way of thinking and living
is actually better.
Inevitably recruits include many who have previously been dropouts
from mainstream society. These include those disillusioned with education
or traditional social patterns. They are looking for a better way of living,
and in Scientology they judge that they have found it. Many of the
enthusiastic young recruits run true to their previous form and fade away
after a few weeks, but some stay on.
Those that stay beyond the first few months do get some training
in both Scientology and doing their jobs. They may also receive some
auditing. but not usually much in their first year or two. They are given
very specific responsibilities and basic training on how to fulfil them
Although training is usually less than it should be, the study methods used
are such that they find that maybe for the first time in their lives, they
can learn things and take responsibility as a member of a team.
One thing that is worth noting is that the whole organisation genuinely
gives Equal Opportunity. Women and blacks hold high positions without
it being a matter of any significance. Creches are even provided in the
Sea Org for young children.
The major problem for staff members is the tendency towards
CHAPTER ELEVEN 53
isolation from the outside world. Although some staff members hold
ordinary jobs, they tend after a while to drop them in order to work full
time in the Church. The jargon of Scientology has almost become a special
language, and for many staff members is a comfortable overcoat. Generally
they are unable to reduce the subject to simple terms comprehensible to
outsiders. As a result they inevitably distance themselves from family and
friends.
The problems of opening up the subject of Scientology to people
who know nothing about it concerned Ron Hubbard, and he wrote a lot
about it. Unfortunately the solutions he produced were only partial and
not very simple. The average staff member thus retires into the smaller
world of people who already understand the subject and where he can
communicate comfortably.
The staff in the Org are strongly motivated to get results. Hubbard
was the classic scientific manager. Every job should have its quantifiable
results and those should be measured regularly. Scientific management
may have been reappraised in recent years by large centralised multi-
nationals but not yet in the Church of Scientology. The Church is an
extremely centralised organisation. There is a regular flow of
communication both ways. However, while the flow from the centre is
management orders and filtered information, the upwards flow is largely
of statistical results.
There is no opportunity for worker participation in the running of the
Church. Almost all the actions taken in an Org are laid down in
management policy and they are done in the same way in Milwaukee and
Munich. There is little scope for local initiative and few Church executives
have the experience or confidence to pit their judgment against 'policy'.
Too often therefore executives stick to the book, repeating actions they
have seen fail already, but at least confident that they cannot be accused
of being 'off-policy'.
By the end of the seventies, the Church was probably becoming top
heavy. There was a steady flow of people up through the Church's
organisation to the central management and administrative departments.
Any staff member in a local Org could move him or herself up at anytime
by volunteering for the Sea Org, which still continued its separate existence
even after the demise of the ships. There was a continual hunger for people
in the Sea Org. Assuming one met the minimal qualifications for the Sea
Org one could get in, and their recruiters were always on the look-out
for likely talent.
The Sea Org by now had taken over operations of the more
prestigious delivery points. Saint Hill Advanced and Foundation Orgs were
54 THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
taken over by them in 1970.
Many Executive Directors of local Orgs must have had the
disheartening experience of sending a good staff recruit to Saint Hill for
training, only to find he had been persuaded to join the Sea Org. This
would mean that he would become a staff member at the Saint Hill Org,
or be moved into an administrative job, or taken into FOLO (Flag
Organisation Liaison Office). So big did Saint Hill become that FOLO was
pushed out and acquired premises at Rottingdean on the south coast.
The organisational structure designed by Hubbard for running the
Church was well balanced and potentially very effective. Like all large
organisations however, it does not seem proof against empire building
executives and bureaucracy. Highly trained Sea Org members were used
on central administrative functions and there was little use made of them
to support the local Orgs. More usually Sea Org members are seen only
on flying visits, known as 'Missions'. These are intended to sort out lack
of results in a particular Org, or to try to sell services for the Org where
those Sea Org members are based.
The other area that seemed to have lost its original sense of purpose
was the Guardians Office. It had got itself more involved in legal battles,
many with governmental bodies, than ensuring that whole structure was
efficiently delivering 'Standard Tech' and operating 'On Policy'. The extent
of this battling with government can be judged by the raid carried out
by the FBI on the Churches in Washington DC and Los Angeles in 1977.
Many documents were seized in these raids though some were returned
by court order.
These events may be connected with the subsequent prosecutions
of a number of members of the Guardians Office, including Mary Sue
Hubbard, Ron's third wife. At all events Mary Sue Hubbard and her co-
defendants were tried and admitted guilt to various charges of theft of
materials from government offices. They were sentenced to periods of
imprisonment of one to four years each in 1981.
Thus the 1970's represent a period when significant progress was
made by the Church in establishing Scientology as a beneficial movement
for humanity. Its setbacks were mostly of its own making and it seemed
unable or unwilling to extricate itself from the courts.
55
CHAPTER TWELVE
WHAT PRICE HAPPINESS?
The idea of Churches charging money for the services they provide
has always been contentious. Paying for special masses in the Catholic
Church or paying tithes to the Church of England have both been sources
of great controversy in the past.
The Church of Scientology has always had the reputation of being
financially motivated. The fact that a Church should have to charge
anything for its services seems dubious. Even if one is prepared to
contribute to the repair of the Church roof or the maintenance of the
Vicar's family, the idea of paying when you need pastoral guidance or
counselling seems inappropriate to us.
Thus the level of payment for services of the Church of Scientology
is secondary to the issue of whether one should pay anything at all for
religious guidance or support.
This attitude is probably reinforced in Britain by our method of paying
for Health Care. We pay for the services of the National Health Service
mostly through taxation and find ourselves resenting even the subsidised
charges we have to pay at the dentist or for a prescription.
In the United States the individual usually pays directly for health care,
even if they then claim the costs back on health insurance. The closest
anology to Dianetics and Scientology counselling for many would be
'going to an analyst'. This is a practice we are led to believe is common
in the United States. Such one-to-one attention by the ho
Forward: For a systematic, detailed, professional exposure of
Scientology's "Narconon" front group, visit the
Narconon Exposed web site.
THE SAD TALE OF SCIENTOLOGY
A SHORT HISTORY 1950-85 BY ERIC TOWNSEND
ANIMA PUBLISHING