News The Church of Scientology Comes Out Against Psychedelic Therapy

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

What AREN'T they against? Didn't Tom Cruise repeatedly berate Katie Holmes when she was taking an SSRI to treat her severe (postnatal?) depression?

 

[Uden]

The Church of Scientology is just another cancer in a sea of cancers.

 

[4DQSAR]

What AREN'T they against? Didn't Tom Cruise repeatedly berate Katie Holmes when she was taking an SSRI to treat her severe (postnatal?) depression?

Not a name to me but the whole essence of Scientology is that THEY have all the answers.

Disempowering the individual is more or less a cornerstone when defining a cult. While I'm not religious in any way, I don't mind if people of faith find it valuble in negotiating this life. But cults go one further. It isn't just a part of an adherent's life - it's the totality of that life.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

Not a name to me but the whole essence of Scientology is that THEY have all the answers.

Disempowering the individual is more or less a cornerstone when defining a cult. While I'm not religious in any way, I don't mind if people of faith find it valuble in negotiating this life. But cults go one further. It isn't just a part of an adherent's life - it's the totality of that life.

I assume by "not a name to me" you mean Katie? She's an actress and was married to Tom Cruise. They had kids together and he publicly berated her for taking anti-depressants. He and the cult also tried to prevent her from having any access at all to any of their kids after the divorce because she is/was not a Scientologist herself.

 

[4DQSAR]

I assume by "not a name to me" you mean Katie? She's an actress and was married to Tom Cruise. They had kids together and he publicly berated her for taking anti-depressants. He and the cult also tried to prevent her from having any access at all to any of their kids after the divorce because she is/was not a Scientologist herself.

I read she sort of became a Scientologist but some people will adopt a faith just to please their partner, she only did it for that reason, as far as I can tell.

But a cult is based on removing ALL external influences so a person is, in effect, disempowered. While I am skeptical of organized religion, I can't think of any major religion that forbids adherents from seeking medical support.

My 'antidote' to Scientology comes in the form of Kris Korda - a founder of 'The Church of Euthenasia' who is a DJ/Producer. If I even put a link to the video of 'I Like to Watch', I would be banned forever. In spite of that, I feel the imagery while deeply upsetting, does point out that US culture does seem to consider scenes of violence to be an 'acceptable form of pornography'.

 

[SotPoker1012]

I read this and it reminds me very much of Christian (evangelical) groups.

And this goes for those groups I mentioned, too.

Personally, I found more useful wisdom in Hubbard's writings than in the New Testament. But maybe that's because I'm not much into psychedelics.

I'm not a Christian at all, quite the opposite, but I can say that I got more out of the New Testament than anything I've read of Hubbard. The good points seem largely along the lines of basic self help stuff. Regardless of the merit or lack of merit to his work, scientology as an organization has a pretty negative history. A better comparison, in my opinion, is not between scientology and christianity broadly, but between scientology and certain insular, controlling christian sects. "cults" - I don't like using that term though because I am primarily a historian, and in an academic context, many forms of religion are accurately described as a cult without an inherent negative connotation. My issues with scientology have nothing to do with their stance on psychedelics, I only intended to say that I do not think very highly of their opinion on them because of that.

Personally, the philosophies I've gotten the most out of is stoicism and platonism. A bit of Nietzsche and Guenon, albeit critically. Some ideas coming from the hindu-buddhist tradition are also of interest to me. I am not a theist though, at least not in any strict sense.

I don't know, but would assume so given that there are so many documented cases of adehents finding the location ex-members even if the ex-member moves home, even to a different nation.

In effect, they have their own security service which is highly dubious. But I suggest it would ALSO be a useful asset to the various security services around the world.which is possibly why it has been allowed to continue.

But at the end of the day, like all faiths it misrepresents unfalsifiable statments (beliefs) as facts (evidence).

Much of what is known about scientology is so outlandish one would prefer it to be a mere conspiracy theory.

 

[4DQSAR]

"cults" - I don't like using that term though because I am primarily a historian, and in an academic context, many forms of religion are accurately described as a cult without an inherent negative connotation.

I think only modern usage has those negative connotations.

I'm aware that Greek and Roman society had a plethora of cults ranging from the imperial cults through various cults whose devotees shared the same trade or occupation right up to the more unusual Greco-Roman mystery cults in which, as far as I can tell, shared only the fact that only initiate could pray to a specific aspect of a specific god.

My knowledge of history is very limited but as far as I know, none of the above sought to be the sole influence on the lives of it's initiates. In fact, I sort of understood that the whole point was that members were not evangelical. Many more people were turned away than were accepted.

I sort of assume that if they were part of Greco-Roman culture, likely they occured in other cultures.

 

[SotPoker1012]

I think only modern usage has those negative connotations.

I'm aware that Greek and Roman society had a plethora of cults ranging from the imperial cults through various cults whose devotees shared the same trade or occupation right up to the more unusual Greco-Roman mystery cults in which, as far as I can tell, shared only the fact that only initiate could pray to a specific aspect of a specific god.

My knowledge of history is very limited but as far as I know, none of the above sought to be the sole influence on the lives of it's initiates. In fact, I sort of understood that the whole point was that members were not evangelical. Many more people were turned away than were accepted.

I sort of assume that if they were part of Greco-Roman culture, likely they occured in other cultures.

That's what I was referring to. "Cult" in an academic (at least historian) sense is along the lines of what you describe. I would only add that I don't think lack of evangelicalism is a defining feature, as, for example, most Romans were expected to participate in cultic rites to the emperor. Jews, for example, were exempt* whereas Christians were generally not, at first. The mystery cults in particular are secret religions (mystery here is being used analogously to secret). Rather than evangelize, they would often seek converts on an individual basis, members carefully deciding who to let in and grooming** them for it.

There are definitely parallels in other cultures. Off the top of my head, the various Hindu, Jain and Buddhist sects are cultic in nature, though they tend to lack the secrecy and insular nature of the Roman mystery cults. Various daoist lineages in China. Sufi orders in the Islamic world. Perhaps kabbalah organizations within Judaism, though I don't know enough to be sure.

*Rather than perform the sacrifices and rituals, they were required to recite a prayer to yahweh for the emperor.

** Grooming here in the sense of "grooming an heir" rather than predatory sexual grooming as the term often refers to today.

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

Bit rich of a brainwashing cult to complain about 'mind control'.

 

[4DQSAR]

Bit rich of a brainwashing cult to complain about 'mind control'.

Well, it's hardly unique in that.

But a study of many major religions suggests that only the Christian Science movement that escews all medical interventions.

You know, it did cross my mind that confusion between the Christian Science and Church of Scientology might be a feature rather than a bug for the latter. After all, the CoS has appropriated the Christian cross. The CoS is adamant that their iconography differs but I put it to you that the four smaller 'rays' are also used by several Chritian denominations. Bug or feature?

With due respect to @SotPoker1012 I suggest that the modern usage of the term 'cult' shows the CoS ticks all of the boxes.

While the usage of the words 'faith' and 'cult' can be a matter of opinion, I suggest a reasonable definition of the latter might be:

'Any faith that seeks to isolate and disempower adherents with the ultimate goal of robbing said adherents of agency while making the faith the sole locus of power and arbiter of every aspect of the lives of adherents.

Yes, it is rather a long sentence but I'm hoping someone more able than myself can rewrite the definition.

I guess it demonstrates that failures are still of value - at least we have identified a definition that is imprecise but possibly useful if revised.