I’m not a scientologist but I have been through a sort of scientoloy self help introductory course, it’s what they give people who have some sort of initial interest.
I don’t know about the specifics of their religious belief in terms of events like the ones parodied in south park, but I think they believe that peoples personalities are largely effected by trauma and the auditing system is a means to process trauma, They try to get you to access your painful memories in order to re-experience them and regain the sort of energy trapped in shutting them away, the more trauma you process, the closer you are to life itself, and the purest experience of life itself is their conception of god.
I know they get into the news for some strange things, but a lot of their ideas on what causes peoples motivations and their idea of how to move towards god or truth is pretty much synonymous with a lot of other religions. A lot of the ideas are just basic spirituality, and they also focus a lot of being healthy physically like making sure not to take certain drugs and they drink filtered water etc.
Also I got like 2 phone calls a few months apart after my meeting and I still get mail but they weren’t really that intrusive… I think a lot of whats said/reported on them is hyperbole.
No, it isn’t hyperbole, it’s all true. You only did a “self help introductory course”, so you had an extremely limited experience with them. I have posted before on this forum that I participated in Scientology for around 5-6 months. I did a number of things (the Personal Efficiency Course, Success Through Communication Course, Basic Study Manual course, Dianetics Seminar, Life Repair auditing, and the Hubbard Qualified Scientologist course). I attended a number of Scientology events, and was being recruited by them to join staff. After awhile I just walked away.
Scientology is a typical cult (I don’t use that word lightly. While some may view other religious groups, such as Mormonism as cults (I view that one specifically as having “cult-like” aspects, but not necessarily a cult), Scientology is actually a cult). It all seems somewhat plausible at first, and that’s how they get you. After awhile, they start to drive up the commitment. They want you to come in more days, for more hours. They want you to spend more money (this is really what got me to walk away, as interesting, even helpful, as the beginning stuff seemed). They want you to buy all these books and lectures that you absolutely must have (I was pressured for over an hour to buy the “Basics” books and lectures, for like $5000 (HA!)). They want you to attend events, events where you’ll be asked to donate even more money. Then they want you to join staff and work for them for pennies (which shouldn’t matter, since you’re saving the planet!). This isn’t all made up stuff by disgruntled ex-members, it’s what I actually experienced, and therefore know that they aren’t just making it up. Scientology literally wants all your time and money.
Because you only did an introductory seminar, it’s no wonder they only called you twice in a few months. When I left, they called me every day, multiple times a day. They sent multiple letters, emails, texts, Facebook messages, etc. Luckily they never showed up at the house, but I’m sure others with more extensive experiences have had that happen.
I could go on and on about my experience and how Scientology isn’t just this benign science/religion of the mind that just wants to help people, from my own personal experience, over a period of months.
Also, the events in the South Park episode, about Xenu, aliens 75 trillion years ago, and the body thetans, really are what they believe (as revealed on the OT III level). And you don’t have to get there to even realize the weirdness. Go to your library and find the book “Scientology: A History of Man”. It’s hilarious. But again, they expect you to go through all of this in a stepwise manner, so you’re fully indoctrinated before you get to the weird stuff.
