Financial Burden as one of the Cults Predominant Attributes
Throughout the 1970s, cults became big businesses and a notable social event. However, there has never been any accurate coverage of Scientology in the disarray of books published on these unique religious movements. Nevertheless, its history is rich in outrageous and sinister twists and lawsuits. Despite the lack of complete information about the organization, its secrecy reinforces the assumption that Scientology is the most pronounced representative of the cult.
Scientology is a remarkably expensive religion, and every aspect of it has a fee, which is already a sign of danger. Any donations must be voluntary, but in this case, the church lives on mandatory contributions, which increase with every further step (Cusack, 2020). Each member signs an invisible and almost irrevocable agreement on financial obligations by crossing the Scientologists threshold. History is replete with issues where the inability to pay for the following phase has led people to bankruptcy or suicide. Donations are mandatory, and all courses and pieces of training are chargeable (Rigal-Cellard, 2019). Only preliminary testing aimed at attracting new members is free, and this only affirms the fact of cultism. Religion assumes the possibility of choice and voluntary donations. Moreover, it should alleviate people’s suffering, but this trait is absent in the Church of Scientology. The financial burden is one of the primary attributes of a cult, and it falls on every member of the Scientology establishment.
Misconception as the Essence of Scientology
Any legitimate ideology must have a rational explanation and basis. Nevertheless, Scientology is a specific force in society that evades a clear definition. Its founders claimed that it was primarily a new science and manipulated that argument to attract people (Kent & Manca, 2014). However, almost all researchers refute, rather than support, the concept of Scientology. Claiming religious status, it occasionally passes itself off as psychotherapy, a successful business methodology, a children’s educational system, or a drug rehabilitation program (Ralphs, 2018). It is essential to state that Scientology is not a projection of any traditional religion. It is a complete, complex system of spiritual beliefs, techniques, and rituals developed by one man: L. Ron Hubbard.
Its methodology, auditing, involves “team” hypnosis in which the hypnotist gains control over the patient, and it is evident that this has nothing familiar with the religion. In addition, Scientology was the first establishment to confirm itself as an international business, with marketing, public relations, legal services, and even its intelligence service (Thomas, 2021). All these signs indicate that the purpose of the Church of Scientology is more than the mere grouping of people for a common goal. Its concept is faithless, and its primary goal is zombification and profit, which are direct signs of a cult.
Features of Scientologists
Cult followers are usually portrayed as teenagers, quickly drawn into destructive groups because of their inadequacy. However, Scientology attracts doctors, lawyers, astronomers, and graduates of the world’s most prominent universities. Scientologists’ techniques force a person to reveal all secrets and spend the rest of their lives in fear of exposing them (Thorn, 2021). Therefore, any individual who enters an organization has no way to escape it. Still, the general idea is obvious: in auditing, a person tells virtually his entire life, emphasizing the most painful, including shameful, experiences (Weightman, 2020).Freedom of choice is everyone’s inalienable right, and any organization must follow this regulation. Moreover, all associations of people, whether religious or not, assume voluntariness (Wheeler, 2020). One can leave an organization when it no longer serves one’s interests or beliefs, but there is no such option in Scientology (Westbrook, 2020). Every individual wishing to leave the Church of Scientology faces the fear of blackmail. The founders desire to retain participants at all costs; they care about numbers rather than steadfast support of ideas. Absence of choice, financial burden of the participants, their zombification, and the lack of a unified purpose and ideology attests to a definite conclusion: Scientology is a cult.
References
Cusack, C. M. (2020). Apostate memoirs and the study of Scientology in the twenty-first century. Implicit Religion, 23(2), 148-155.
Kent, S. A., & Manca, T. A. (2014). A war over mental health professionalism: Scientology versus psychiatry. Mental health, religion & culture, 17(1), 1–23. Web.
Ralphs, C. (2018). Clear because they’re clear: Life inside a’cult’. TLS. Times Literary Supplement, 6027, 29-30. Web.
Rigal-Cellard, B. (2019). The visible expansion of the Church of Scientology and its actors. Cesnur, 3(1), 8-118. d
Thomas, A. (2021). Free Zone Scientology: Contesting the Boundaries of a New Religion. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Thorn, M. (2021). Seeing “Apostates” Clearly: Reconsidering the Legitimacy of Ex-Member Testimony in Documentary Representations of Scientology. Journal of Media and Religion, 20(1), 17-37. Web.
Weightman, M. (2020). Scientology and times of uncertainty. Routledge.
Wheeler, A. (2020). Separating religion from cult: An analysis of cult-like organizations. MacEwan Journal, 4(1), 12-17. Web.
Westbrook, D. A. (2020). Scientology Studies 2.0: Lessons learned and paths forward. Religion Compass, 14(2), 1-5. Web.