- Ukraine:
How Much Happiness would you like for Your Money
by Taras Pano
translated from Russian text at Zerkalo-Nedeli.com -
April 8, 2006
Yekaterina
Pano
There are not too many religious organizations in the world that could
present their successes as bombastically and categorically as the Church of
Scientology does. "The fastest-growing religion in the world." Celebrity
followers. Dozens of books from the father-founder on best-seller lists.
Never-ending Lawsuits. Controversy in the press. And "success stories" -- any
number of them. "Everything in my life was ruined." "I had a hard time meeting
girls." "Doctors threw up their hands in despair at me."
As people say wisely, everything that glitters is not gold. The lunatic's
successes of the Scientologists basically exist on paper and in the appeals to
the public by church management who are trying, in accordance with the marketing
manual, to have their successes overshadow their losses, thereby creating a
positive consumer image.
It's odd to talk about religious ideas as if they were goods. It's not only
odd for us with our Christian patriarchal tradition, but the governments of
whole countries in Europe periodically have doubts about the exclusively
religious character of Scientology and so have begun to demand taxes. This is
understandable. Scientology is an example of how a religion can make money.
After all, the charm of a religious organization lies in what makes people give
it money -- mainly persuading Pinnochio to part with his coins -- and the
paper-pushers from the tax and other government agencies can recite the law on
freedom of conscience by heart. The Scientology cult is actually a profit-making
enterprise. Start with the fact that this is the only religion of its type that
has the practice of patenting and licensing its "sacred scriptures," practices,
symbols and even its name
In the opinion of religious studies specialists, Scientology fits the
definition of an "eclectic cult." In Scientology you'll find everything you
want. It's similar to psychotherapy. Similar to confession. Similar to network
marketing. Scientology is lucky that neither Christ nor Buddha ever took it into
their heads to patent or license anything. An eclectic cult comes from a lack of
imagination and a postmodern confidence that nothing new will ever come up. An
eclectic cult is one more convenience in dealing with consumers.
It is significant that the experts and "official" Scientology itself keeps
quiet about the existence of "enemies" in Scientology. Grisly stories about
"suppressive persons" (people not susceptible to the teachings and practices,
and who are difficult to impress) being dangerous for the advancement of
Scientologists toward a "clear" state on a planetary scale; in articles by
anti-Scientologists one can usually find citations from Hubbard's "fair game"
rule (the merciless attitude toward these people). Scientology and the experts
near to them maintain that this part of Hubbard's doctrine was "purged" from the
teachings after his death, and since then they have been purely benevolent.
First, the text on the pages of the Religious Technology Center has this analogy
of an inquisition and at the same time they are the holder of the rights to the
trademarks of Scientology and Dianetics. Secondly, it's a strange religion whose
father-founder's texts are regarded so selectively -- we read here; we don't
read there; we pay special attention there.
In the last half of the 1990s, Scientology, or rather, Dianetics, arrived in
Ukraine. As we hear it today, people who practiced Dianetics and believed in the
Scientology religion filled the corridors of law enforcement agencies and got
close to the president of Ukraine.
A source in the Kiev police was told by observers how Scientology infiltrates
the Ukrainian masses. For example, several trained agencies began their work
with candidates whom they offered to test -- something like the "Oxford Test" of
the Scientologists, which the candidate by Ukraine law is not obligated to take,
but it was not made clear to the clients what was behind this test or why it was
being given. Another method of infiltration is the introduction of Hubbard's
management technology to Ukraine businesses. According to a contract with the
boss of a company, they work with personnel -- they test, give courses and
lectures, a result of which, as the managers say, is "increased effectiveness"
for personnel, who from then on are supposedly ready to work more and demand
less. According to the police official, that sort of work with an enterprise
which has 100 employees will cost management nearly 50,000 dollars. There are no
large businesses yet in Ukraine that have been inculcated with Hubbard's
management technology, like in Russia, where those "processed" include GAZ while
it was under B. Nemtsov and KamAZ. Nonetheless, not one organ of state power in
Ukraine has come under the influence of Scientology (although there have been
other influences). This could involve the Institute of Forensic Medicine, but
they need an order, and corresponding funds, from the concerned state organ to
operate. And no one is ready to pay for this sort of investigation yet.
-- Yekaterina Penkova, Public Affairs Officers for Church of Scientology
Kiev.
- Why is the Church of Scientology not registered in Ukraine as a religious
organization ?
-- In 2004 we submitted documents to the city administration for registration
and received a rejection. Just recently we tried to register with the State
Department for Issues of Religion, but they took away the documents.
- Why
?
-- We understand that they refused us -- the situation for us is not
favorable now. Unfortunately the decision in the Department was not very
objective.
- Why don't you take them to court
?
-- We don't want to. It is expensive and takes a long time. Indeed, our court
system is not very perfect -- we understand that we would have to go through all
the court hearings and that the result would be incomprehensible. For example,
the Moscow Church had to go to the European Court for Human Rights. The judgment
is supposed to be released next year. We'll be waiting for it, and because it's
a European court, its decision will undoubtedly reflect on the situation in
Ukraine. We are ready to cooperate and work within the framework of the state's
requirements. But we were asked about our registration. You are there, and we
don't bother you. It's not essential to register under Ukraine law.
- So why aren't you registered? You are there and nobody is bothering
you.
-- We would like to get the status of legal person. Then we would have more
opportunities. We would be able to rent a respectable office, and print
material. Not have problems with getting packages from overseas. Sometimes books
arrive at the customs office and we, not being a legal person, are not able to
retrieve them.
- So far as we know, the Church of Scientology operates not only as a church,
but also the Dianetics Center, which has the status of social organization. Are
they in a position to fulfill the necessary legal formalities ?
-- This is not correct. We are still a religious, not a social, organization.
The practice of registering religious organizations as social organizations
exists in Russia, where there is a common law for religious and social
organizations. We are a religion and should be registered as religion. We have a
religious cult -- we conduct baptismal ceremonies, funerals, weddings and we
practice auditing. This is a spiritual practice. This, by the way, is written in
the expert opinion of the Institute of Philosophy, Ukraine National Academy of
Science.
- And who commissioned the study
?
- This study was done for the Church of Scientology. We did it in preparation
to submit documents for registration. We were told that the matter first had to
be researched. The city administration told us that the expert appraisal would
not happen -- we did not have a chance. So we took it to the Institute of
Philosophy.
- Are there many Scientology communities in Ukraine
?
-- In Ukraine Scientology, despite the official non-acknowledgment, is
spreading energetically. We have 20 religious communities in various Ukraine
regions. Those are only the communities of the Church of Scientology. The
biggest ones are in Kiev, Kharkov, Kremenchug, Odessa and Uzhgorod. There are
nearly 3'000 practicing Scientologists in Kiev, and several thousand in Kharkov.
Besides that we have social organizations that are engaged with a few other
operations. It's important that you understand the difference: there is the
religion of Scientology and then there are social organizations that are built
on the methods of Lafayette Ron Hubbard in different areas.
- And what kind of people go to Scientology
?
-- All kinds. Scientologists are relatively young, on the average between 20
and 50 years old. Basically, of course, these are people with a high level of
education, since Scientology, although it is for everyone, but not everyone can
read a book and delve into the terminology.
- What social organizations associated with the Church of Scientology operate
in Ukraine ?
-- Narconon, for example. This organization is involved in giving lectures
about harm from drugs in schools and universities. Now these lectures have
received approval in the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry for
Youth Affairs and the Ministry of Health. We've received excellent press.
Everybody recognizes their effectiveness. Statistics show that in the Kharkov
region where the lectures are given, the level of drug addiction is receding
compared to other regions. These lectures -- and they are being given in all the
Kharkov schools -- are based on the methods of Lafayette Ron Hubbard.
- When these lectures are given with the ministry's approval, are people told
these are the methods of Ron Hubbard ?
-- Well, these are not entirely Hubbard's methods. The lectures are based on
the methods of Ron Hubbard. There is a spot in the lectures that talks about
this. Experts rate it highly.
- An odd imbalance of the state machine: on one hand you are denied
registration as a religious organization, but on the other, your organization
has received approval to operate, including in children's institutions.
-- This is difficult to explain.
- Are the Dianetics associations, which number more than a few in Ukraine,
associated with the Church of Scientology ?
-- Yes, they are associated with us. But in Ukraine there are only a few.
- Why
?
-- These associations are mainly involved in distributing books, giving
seminars and training. But at the moment we would not want them to be religious
associations in the full sense. Distributing books and training is a small part
of operations. Religious communities, with a broader range of operations, can do
all that too. Dianetics Centers are a part of the structure of the Church of
Scientology and should be considered religious organizations.
- Are all organizations that use Dianetics located in your structure or are
there people who use it for themselves ?
-- That's how it is. In Kiev several organizations use the methods of
Dianetics and Scientology illegally. Since all our methods -- the modern
technology -- were created in the 1950s by Ron Hubbard, who copyrighted his
material, there are patents and trademarks. They are all the property of the
Church of Scientology. Only the church can print and distribute books and use
the technology. In Ukraine we keep the copyrights on the books and the
technology. There are copyright pirates who steal this technology and use it in
their own way. They can also alter it and change it. We, of course, take a dim
view of this. Here is how they do it sometimes: we publish the book, they buy
it, remove the page with the address of our organization and paste in their
own.
- Why don't you go after them with a court order
?
-- We cannot do that while we do not have the status of a legal person. That
is why we are still trying to get this status.
- So far as one can understand the holder of the copyrights is the Religious
Technology Center. If Microsoft can defend its rights on Ukrainian soil, why
can't they ?
-- We're planning to. Now we are in negotiations with the legal people and
before long, I think, we'll do it. People need to get our technology without
distortion, in a pure form.
- Altogether strange - most religions, on the contrary, try to get as wide a
distribution as possible for their books and teachings. Nobody uses copyright to
protect the Bible, for instance.
-- But if you ask Orthodox or Catholics how they regard a group which
assembles for the sake of studying the Bible, they say it is a sect.
- It's possible. But they have nothing against the distribution of the Bible.
In particular, against distributing it for free. Nobody is being threatened in
court for distributing Bibles.
-- We are also for the distribution of our books, but for the legal
distribution. Not removing the pages and not pasting in another's
advertisement.
- So, if we publish this book and distribute it, you will have nothing
against that ?
-- We will. Because of the copyright you would be violating. Only the Church
of Scientology may publish and distribute books on Dianetics and
Scientology.
- What position does the Church of Scientology in Ukraine take on the Free
Zone, which has been distributing Dianetics in our country for a long time ?
-- That is an organization that uses Scientology illegally. We do not support
them and are not connected with them. They steal our technology. In certain
cases they distort it -- "Russian Dianetics" and so forth. Of course only we
have the possibility of operating in the area of trademarks and copyrights. We
are making an attempt to influence this.
- Copyright is a question of money. And in the case of the wide distribution
of technology that's a lot of money. Is that why they call you a commercial
cult ?
-- Every church has a way of financing itself. Some use tithes, some lease
pews and others use donations. Different ones have different abilities. For us
financing happens because of services rendered -- psychological auditing and the
study of Ron Hubbard's philosophy.
- But a donation is simply that, and not for a service. If it is for a
service, that is a payment.
-- No, in our doctrine there is such a concept as exchange. If a person
receives something, he should not receive it as a gift, otherwise this could end
badly. He needs to give something in exchange. According to our doctrine there
are four types of exchange in society: criminal, when you take and give nothing
in return; incomplete exchange, when you are given less than the promised value;
a full exchange, when the exchange is equivalent; and exchange with excess, when
you get more than you gave in exchange. We believe there should be an exchange.
This is our philosophy. And when people get auditing or study something, they
give a donation. This is the way we finance ourselves.
- Is the practice of auditing a necessary part of the Scientology way of
life ?
-- What does "necessary" mean? We don't force anyone to do anything, auditing
included. We say that this would be very desirable. We believe that with the
help of auditing a person goes up to a higher level of spiritual existence.
- That is if you are a Scientologist, you feel the necessity of doing this,
even if no one is forcing you? Like Christians and confession ?
-- Yes. And this is really very similar to confession. Auditing is also
performed by a minister in a question-and-answer form.
- Still in Ukraine most churches consider themselves to be Christian. What
posture do you take towards Christian churches ?
-- We recognize the right of a person to practice any religion.
Scientologists can practice any religion, too. This is written in the Creed of
Scientology.
- But any religious doctrine will eventually come into conflict with other
religious doctrines -- this is unavoidable. It's not possible for one person to
have two faiths.
-- We, the Scientologists, believe that this is possible. You can be a
Christian and profess Scientology. We have practicing Christians in church who
study Scientology.
- And no discrepancies in doctrine come up
?
-- They come up, but then they stop. Besides that, there are different
Christian churches. Many Protestants, including church leaders, think well of
Scientology.
- Precisely which ones, if it's not a secret
?
-- I would not like to name them.
- It has become fashionable in politics for a person to keep his religion to
himself, but those in Scientology have been in the news a lot. Are there
followers of Hubbard's doctrine among our stars or top people ?
-- Absolutely there are. And these people who have accepted Scientology in
their lives are well enough known. There are people who study Scientology, but I
don't know if they would consider themselves Scientologists or whether I have
the right to give their names to the press. That could be unpleasant for
them.
- But are there politicians or government officials who use Scientology
technology in their professional activities ?
-- Yes, they apply Ron Hubbard management technology. Although it is very
difficult to introduce something new into our country the situation has started
to change with the ethics of management.
- Are you speaking about a certain system of management
?
-- Yes, this is the technology of Lafayette Ron Hubbard for business
administration. In the 1950s after the Dianetics book was published in America,
centers for the study of Dianetics spontaneously began to spring up. Then Ron
Hubbard realized that this would all need to somehow be organized, and he
started developing methods of management. His technology is very effective. Many
businesses, in the USA as well as in Europe and in Russia use this technology in
business. For example, everyone knows that the KamAZ plant in Naberzhniy Chelniy
uses this method with great success.
- Are there businesses like that in Ukraine
?
-- Yes, there is the very large business, "Gerold-Master" which produces
badges and awards. This was a very small business that started five or six years
ago, then grew when it used Ron Hubbard's technology. Now it's the most
successful in its field. It's taking many orders, including at the government
level. We have schools where they study Ron Hubbard's management methods for
business managers.
-- Vladimir Petukhov, psychologist, chairman of the board for the Family and
Personality Protection Society and FECRIS member
- How far has Dianetics and Scientology spread in Ukraine
?
-- It's spread enough through the Dianetics centers. Besides that, once
people start taking Dianetics courses, they do their best not to let them out
again. You can pay until it hurts. Once your money is gone, you have yourself to
offer, your labor.
Our Church of Scientology reports to Moscow. That is a very strong
organization. Those who have been to training in the Moscow center say that
there is nothing more to do even in New York after studying in Moscow. In
Ukraine the Church of Scientology is still in the formative years as a religious
organization. But don't let that deceive you. The organization has a definite
strategy of infiltration. Like here they've begun to infiltrate in the capacity
of Dianetics centers that are engaged in introducing Hubbard's technology on
administration. The first wave of infiltration and entrenchment are people in
the areas of business or who are acquainted with politicians, that way they can
exemplify them as products of their technology. At the next level there is the
creation of Dianetics centers, which operate as social organizations. And then
the first Church of Scientology appears and begins carrying out a complex
program.
- There is this "standard model" of infiltration, so how can the Church of
Scientology operate under diverse circumstances in each individual country ?
-- That is the point, they can't. They have a strategy and technology to
infiltrate society. Everything is licensed. Everything is arranged by the
Religious Technology Center. And nothing will be done, written or distributed
without a resolution from that center. The Church of Scientology has a strict,
hierarchical structure. At its center is the Sea Organization, a small elite --
Religious Technology Center, which controls the right to the "Dianetics" and
"Scientology" trademarks, the Church of Scientology International, the
international mission and the local missions. But this rigid structure is awash
in a mass of associated programs. For example, the program to fight psychiatry
is opening up. Its registered as a social organization, distributes information
about abuse by psychiatrists, says its goal is fighting them and calls this
"fighting for human rights." It should be said though that at the same time a
different division of the church would not scorn psychiatrists who published
positive results about their work if they were to succeed in obtaining such a
result. In Russia, for example, an independent psychiatric center writes
laudatory articles about them, but the Serbskiy Institute criticizes their
activities. It does not make sense here to uncritically believe all
psychiatrists.
- In Ukraine are the Dianetics centers all associated with the Church of
Scientology and do they openly admit this ?
-
Is it possible that people do not
know what is behind this religion when they run into Scientology ?
-- There are courses based on Hubbard's technology not within the framework
of the Scientology organization. If this is their course, sooner or latter they
will reveal their relationship to the Church of Scientology.
- They say that Dianetics technology works.
-- One of the forums said it well, so what other technology have you tried
besides Dianetics? So try it. Could it work worse? They promote Narconon as an
effective program to fight drugs. However scientific research shows there is
nothing particularly effective in it. Nevertheless they managed to get a
decision from the Ministry of Education and Scientology that their preventive
lectures would be good to read in Ukrainian schools.
- Does Narconon try to hide its connection to Scientology
?
-- They say they have a purely preventive program. In their program of eight
stages detoxification is actually in last place. They put the emphasis on their
preventive educational measures. In Kharkov the Institute of Postgraduate
Education, which makes expert opinions on school programs, gave a negative
review to the Narconon program. But the team from regional administration acted
to authorize it. The initiator of the program, Marina Gribanova, herself
actually believes in it and is very sincere. This is awful, because blind faith
does not give room for doubt or for departure from the general line. That is why
we call this sort of organization totalitarian.
- How do you rate the expert conclusion created by the staff of the Institute
of Philosophy, National Academy of Science ?
-- At first glance this research was completely to Scientology's advantage,
but at the same time - a delayed-action mine placed under them. Everything
depends how it is read - there is much truth in it.
- The Church of Scientology is much more visible in the world than here --
celebrities are for it, courts are against it.
-- It's not that serious in Ukraine. For the time being they are more afraid
of what they can do. They are not coming out into the open, they are trying not
to be involved in public scandals and to not start court proceedings. This would
be disadvantageous for them. They are having problems and not enough support
right now. The organization is materially deteriorating, no competence at all.
If they went public now, all this would be exposed.
- Have you come across people in your work who have fallen into dependency on
Scientology ?
-- Yes, there is a system that brings people into a state of dependency. But
with us this work is very complex. The point is that, for instance, in America
they talk about cults and the consequences of their actions, and they can study
them freely. But here we constantly have to get our bearings - like we have to
be careful what we say. And with us, too, the cult is often connected with
politics, crime or finance, and this complicates the problem all the more.
Following up all this activity in Ukraine is very difficult. For example, if I
were to call up the authorities and say: guys, this religious organization stole
millions from the government and these millions are lying in a safe at
such-and-such an address, then the guys would go and get into the safe without
delay. But to know where these millions might be lying about you have to work
like crazy, whether this is a religious organization or not. And then there is
the spiritual sphere. From that area the men with the badges don't like to hear
anything. In a case like that the officers begin to think about these
organizations having different statuses in different countries. Somewhere it
might be religious, somewhere else social. Somewhere it is profit, somewhere
else non-profit.
- How does a person usually get into the Church of Scientology or into
Dianetics courses ?
-- For instance, I dropped in at the supermarket in Kharkov. On the counter
were books, 70% of them by Hubbard. They grabbed my sleeve and pushed
"Dianetics" into my hand. "Do you have higher education?" Yes? Look here,
everything you studied is unimportant. You'll find everything in this book, and
understand that this is true science. Not a single word about religion. Nobody
can tell you this is religion. Besides that, in most cases, if you say they are
dealing in religion they'll say we are the Dianetics center. We are a social
organization! And the rank-and-file are perfectly sincere. And in this case
there is one manager. Sometimes you hear something like, "We are only taking
advantage of what Hubbard wrote, but we are not Scientologists." They try to
create the impression that Scientology is one thing, but Hubbard's book are
another. But that's a lie. They are overstocked. The Hubbard Institute makes the
arrangements and the Religious Technology Center stands behind the purity of
technology.
- What about the "Free Zone"? It seems to us they don't have too good a
relationship with the Church of Scientology.
-- That organization was one of the first to appear and is mainly engaged in
using the commercial version of the technology. They had a consensus with the
Church of Scientology worked out a long time ago. The Free Zone does without the
religious doctrine and is directed towards people who have a pragmatic view of
these things. But the ones who are behind all of this are the same ones. It is
just a matter of under which roof they are operating. For example, as a social
organization they operate in breach of law. They covertly rent a room and turn
it into a Dianetics center. 700 griven a book. Is that a good social
organization? And people buy them! And they have another program to process
clients -- they say that you have to have this book. You buy it if you are
persuaded that this book will solve all your problems. Why shouldn't the
solution to all your problems cost 700 griven? People come under the influence
and the methods of influence are well-known, described and widely adapted,
especially group influence. In Scientology this sort of influence is set up as
an assembly line. Unfortunately most people do not readily recognize it in
context.
- Why do people go there
?
-- This is a club of interests. Whatever reason people have, there is only
one purpose, as in any totalitarian organization. They can serve this up to you
with any sauce you like depending on your mental state of mind, education or
scientific worldview. Whatever it takes to snag you, they snag. For example, if
you have an interest in psychology, they "snag" you for testing. Psychology
recognizes their "Oxford test" as invalid. Naturally, they don't tell you that.
Same as they don't talk about the experiments with engrams that were conducted
with the support of the Church of Scientology itself. There they explained there
are no engrams. But people go there and will continue to do so. Because someone
needs this.
- Why
?
-- Money and power. Old as dirt, but it works. In this organization you can
actually have a sense of yourself as a superhuman. We went to the head of the office for religious affairs for Kiev's city
administration, Anatoli Lysenko, with questions about the official status of the
Church of Scientology in Kiev city.
- Why exactly was the Church of Scientology turned down for registration
?
-- At the time the matter about registering the charter of the Church of
Scientology with Kiev city was being examined it came to light that from 17 to
18 May 2003, with the assistance of the Russian structural unit of the Church of
Scientology ("IHELP" 19-a Galushkina St., Moscow), a management skills training
seminary was given in the conference auditorium of the "Turist" hotel complex (2
R. Okipnoi St.)
That event was a violation of art. 24 of Ukraine Law "On freedom of
conscience and religious organizations," where it says that clergymen, religious
preachers, instructors and other representatives of foreign organizations in
which citizens of other countries appear and which take place in Ukraine, may
engage in preaching religious beliefs, carrying out religious rites or other
canonical activity only in those religious organizations from whom they have
received an invitation, and with the official coordination of state organs with
whom the charge (status) of the corresponding religious organization has been
registered.
That event took place without informing the appropriate state organs and
without their permission.
On February 18, 2004 Kiev citizen V.M. Pushkin filled out an application in
the city government administration in which he asked that the activities of the
Scientology center be stopped, and he based this on the negative influence the
Church of Scientology activities had had upon his daughter. After taking courses
at that church she gave the director of the center 1,500 griven. After her
father intervened and appealed to the Denprovsky district prosecutor of Kiev
city, the money was returned to the family.
In this way, one may consider that the establishment of a fixed sum of
payment for receiving auditing and study of Scientology scripture in agreement
with established church fees are a compulsory imposition upon believers and a
violation of art. 18 of the Ukraine Law "On freedom of conscience and religious
organizations."
Art. 4 of the Ukraine Law "On freedom of conscience and religious
organizations" proclaims equal rights for citizens regardless of their attitude
toward religion. Restrictions for the citizen who expresses a desire to attain a
higher level of perfection through Scientology but who does not have the means
to pay the Church's "voluntary donations" puts him in an unequal position to
other people and violates his right to freedom of conscience, this is proclaimed
in art. 3 of Ukraine Law "On freedom of conscience and religious
organizations."
Taking into account the interpretation provided by article 15 of the Ukraine
Law "On freedom of conscience and religious organizations," Kiev's city
government administration passed order No. 1774 of September 23, 2004 "On the
denial of registration for the charter of the religious community 'Church of
Scientology City of Kiev."
The order does not violate the citizen's rights guaranteed by the
Constitution of Ukraine, the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine or the
standards for international rights recognized by Ukraine, the social justice,
equality and protection of rights and legal interests of citizens regardless of
their attitude toward religion, and provides for the observation of the
obligations of religious organizations by state and society.
- The Church of Scientology has received a quite positive expert opinion from
the religious studies department of the Institute of Philosophy of Ukraine's
National Academy of Science. Could this influence the decision for
registration ?
-- In response to inquiry No. 015-1012 of 14 December 2005 from deputy
chairman V. Ilgova of Kiev's city government administration to
correspondent-member National Academy of Science (NAS) Ukraine, the director of
G. Skovorody Institute of Philosophy NAS Ukraine, doctor of philosophical
science professor M. Popuvich with regard to the official conclusion of G.
Skovorody Institute of Philosophy NAS Ukraine about the religious and cult
practices of the Church of Scientology, an answer was received from the deputy
director of the department of religious studies of the G. Skovorody Institute of
Philosophy NAS Ukraine, A. Kolodny, of July 2, 2005, ser. no. 37, that said
Scientology was a complicated phenomena, but in its operations Scientology went
beyond the limits of that which would be called a religious cult. Thus a
definitive determination on the Church of Scientology as a religious community
in Ukraine does not exist.
- Don't they consider the operations of this religious organization as those
of a destructive cult ?
- The terms "totalitarian sect" and "destructive cult" do not exist in the
legislation of Ukraine, so therefor the answer to your question does not fit in
the competency of the main administration.
Vitaliy Konstantinov, psychiatrist
- Could Dianetics be used for the treatment of mental illness or as a method
of psychological correction ?
-- Dianetics categorically cannot be used to treat mental illness as that
requires, first of all, medicament intervention. At the present stage of the
development of medical science pharmacotherapy is yielding the best results.
Unfortunately, in my practice cases have not been observed in which serious
mental illness has been cured without drugs.
As to using Dianetics for psychological correction, I give preference to
academic psychotherapy as the most justified for attaining prolonged remission
(improved state of health) for patients. The positive results that Dianetics
promises those under its care could have only a temporary effect. Afterwards a
worse condition ensues, and sometimes a course of illness. The desired "state of
clear" is attained by extremely inaccurate and destructive methods that, for the
person involved, hide the way to genuine recovery. They've made commerce out of
this science, and that might explain its popularity. Every individual would like
to attain the perfect "state of clear" and have uncommon abilities but, alas,
this is impossible. Because often in the mentality of a person one quality
predominates while others are lacking, and this gives an impulse to development.
For example, often a person, who is in the medical profession, does not himself
know what to study to sort out his personal problems. I would advise selecting a
specialist who uses time-proven methods of psychological correction.
The Church of Scientology appeared in the United States of America under
science fiction writer Lafayette Ronald Hubbard after the release of his book,
"Dianetics: the Modern Science of Mental Health" (1950) and consolidated by
admirers of the self-improvement methods Hubbard made up. The Church of
Scientology was founded in 1954.
In the system of Scientology practices Dianetics is a method or technology of
Scientology. It proceeds from the assertion that the human mind fixes on and
conceals recordings of trauma (engrams), the aggregate of which is the "reactive
mind," as though this was the reason for all problems in life, mental as well as
physical. By applying the technology of Dianetics it is alleged to be possible
to rid oneself of these traumata and attain a state of "clear" and to fully
uncover one's potential.
Dianetics includes auditing, a face-to-face discussion between "preclear" and
auditor in which engrams are located with the help of an "electropsychometer"
("e-meter"). Engrams are supposed to disappear as a result of successful
auditing. After clearing away all the engrams the person supposedly turns
"clear" and can continue self-improvement and be freed from the restrictions of
the material world up to the state of "operating thetan."
A believer's position in the church hierarchy proceeds from the level of
advancement. Each step has improvement courses that have to be learned to
proceed on to the next step.
The rites and ceremonies of the Scientologists, in expert opinion, most
resemble those of Christianity -- services once a week with a sermon, reading of
the "creed" and group auditing. There are also rituals for weddings, naming
babies, funerals and ordinations that are conducted by chaplains or Scientology
ministers.
Scientologist holidays are: L. R. Hubbard's birthday, a day giving thanks to
the clergy, the day the "Dianetics" book was released, the day the IRS
recognized Scientology as religion and the day the International Association of
Scientologists was created.
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