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Followers of the Scientology movement maintain a wide variety of beliefs and practices. The core belief holds that a human is an immortal, spiritual being (thetan) that is residing in a physical body. The thetan has had innumerable past lives, some of which, preceding the thetan's arrival on Earth, were lived in extraterrestrial cultures. Scientology doctrine states that any Scientologist undergoing auditing will eventually come across and recount a common series of past-life events.
Scientology describes itself as the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others, and all of life. Scientologists also believe that people have innate, yet suppressed, power and ability; these abilities can purportedly be restored if cleared of engrams, which are believed to form a "reactive mind" responsible for unconscious behavioral patterns and discomforts.[1][2][3] Believers reach their full potential "when they understand themselves in their true relationship to the physical universe and the Supreme Being."[3] There have been many scholarly studies of Scientology, and the books are freely available in bookshops, churches, and most libraries.[3]
The Church of Scientology believes that "Man is basically good, that he is seeking to survive, (and) that his survival depends on himself and his attainment of brotherhood with the universe", as stated in the Creed of the Church of Scientology.[4]
- ^ "Road To Total Freedom". Panorama. BBC. April 27, 1987.
- ^ Farley, Robert (May 6, 2006). "Scientology nearly ready to unveil Super Power". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on July 5, 2006. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
- ^ a b c Gutjahr, Paul C. (2001). "Reference: The State of the Discipline: Sacred Texts in the United States". Book History. 4: 335–370. doi:10.1353/bh.2001.0008. JSTOR 30227336. S2CID 162339753.
- ^ Lewis 2009, p. [page needed].
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