Earl Crow taught religion and philosophy at High Point University. He majored in religion at Duke University and attended the Duke Divinity School and has studied at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and received his doctorate from the University of Manchester, England. He writes a weekly religion column for the Winston-Salem Journal and his column this week focused on the Scientology religion which he describes ad the religion about which he receives more questions from his students than any other religion.
“The first Church of Scientology was founded in 1954,” he begins. “Presently, there are 10,000 churches worldwide. Scientology was founded by L. Ron Hubbard, who was born in 1911 and died in 1986. He became interested in philosophy at a young age, and his travels to Asian countries nurtured this interest. He was particularly interested in Buddhism.
“Scientologists practice ddianetics.’ The dictionary explains that it “is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body.” “It seeks to alleviate harmful emotions and fears.” They believe that humans are immortal spiritual beings, which is the reason that it concentrates on the mind and spirit but not the body. They also believe that humans are by nature good and have unlimited possibilities. It is not a dogmatic, doctrinal, religion, but much like Buddhism strives for spiritual enlightenment.
He goes on to give an accurate description of Scientologists’ belief in the Supreme Being and quotes L. Ron Hubbard from his book Science of Survival: “No culture in the history of the world, save the thoroughly depraved and expiring ones, has failed to affirm the existence of a Supreme Being. It is an empirical observation that men without a strong and lasting faith in a Supreme Being are less capable, less ethical and less valuable to themselves and society….A man without an abiding faith is, by observation alone, more of a thing than a man.”
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