Critical Thinking on Cults & AntiCults
When you look at the cosmology of Scientology from the viewpoint of social science – its rituals such as auditing, training, dissemination, and its clearly religious teachings on the thetan, the mind, and even Xenu – it is inescapable that Scientology is a religion.
Michael Shermer has written two books, “The Believing Brain” and “Why People Believe Weird Things”, which have been life-changing reads for me. There are several key points made in these books which can help a person understand Scientology, and Scientology-like experiences, in brand new ways. For me, a key point came early in “The Believing … Read more
Your assumptions can be quite insidious. You must study the actual subjects that Hubbard “spun” for you – from sources completely independent from L Ron Hubbard – so as to challenge your own assumptions, separate out Hubbard’s installed ones, and inspect them for their weaknesses.
Once I’d spotted that my thinking was tribal, I was no longer consumed by my tribe’s survival. I resented that the tribe had taken over my thinking. I could finally see the eclipsed and thoughtless cruelty of my former tribe.
Looking into The Source Family cult is a good “parallel study” for some who have been involved in Scientology. You can gain a little better context for your Scientology experience.
If you were not abused in Scientology, and you say so in the various social media platforms on the Internet, then you can be accused of being heartless to those who were. A common way to avoid that is to forget your own viewpoint and to take up other peoples’ problems of abuse as your … Read more
In the same way that asking critical thinking questions can get you out of Scientology, asking critical thinking questions can get you out of Anti-Scientology, too.
The truth about Scientology, as with almost all other things in life, is dissonant: It is both the good and the bad mixed together.
Don’t catastrophize Scientology or your experiences in it. Always work to keep your experiences in Scientology in perspective.
One of the most hysterical & unscientific beliefs of AntiCultism is that “brainwashing” & “Mind Control” are at work whenever anyone becomes a member of a “cult”.
Celebrity anti-Scientology is a hell of a drug. Presenting all your trauma, over and over to a sympathetic audience on TV can create and maintain your whole self-identity for you. And it can get you all the status & fame you desire. But is it good for you?
I’ll hand this to Tony, whenever it is to his own advantage, he does make stabs at being intellectually honest. In this case, he published a response to his criticism of professor Hugh Urban and his stereotyping of all social scientists who study religion as “religious studies types”. Professor Hugh Urban is the Director of … Read more
Apostasy: It’s not just for the Bitter Ones Sitting on the Porch of Infinity on the Fringes of the Internet any more. Don’t look now, but it could be you!
Jeff Hawkins wrote a post a few years ago detailing much of the basics behind Cognitive Dissonance Theory, and I am very grateful that he did, as this theory is fundamental to understanding not only how cult dynamics work, but how human beings work. I’m currently listening to free online lectures from a Social Psychology … Read more
For years, I thought of my own past involvement in Scientology exclusively using the ideas provided to me by the anti-cult movement. Not any more.
Scientology is a religious choice. And the people who get themselves involved and stay involved for years, do so knowingly and willingly.
Did they just pay for for travel and lodgings while at a conference? Or did they slip them wads of cash to write what they wanted?
Many people have listed the parts of Scientology involvement, especially Arnie Lerma at his seminal Lermanet.com blog. This is one I developed for a project I am working on.
The Truth Rundown in Scientology tries to force Scientologists to delude themselves into believing they never saw what they saw with their own eyes.
