Katie Holmes "converting" to Scientology

I've seen some reports in the media about Katie Holmes "converting" to Scientology. Unfortunately the use of the term "converting" demonstrates the lack of true journalism that pervades much of the media. If these people who call themselves journalists actually were interested in accuracy rather than sensationalism they would have put some time into studying Scientology so that they could say sensible things about it.

Let me explain: The word "convert" means "to change religious beliefs" and the implication in the Western world in that you have forsaken the old religion in favor of the new one. That does not apply to Scientology because you can be a Scientologist and a member of any other religion at the same time.

It's a difficult concept to get across in a world with a 2,000 year history of exclusivity in religion. The tradition has been something like "my concept of God is right and yours is wrong." For example, it would be difficult to be both a Christian and a Muslim. Scientology doesn't intrude into the area that most religions concentrate on, it leaves the concept or description of God up to the individual. Because of this it can coexist quite happily with all religions.

Now you are probably wondering "If it leaves the concept of God up to the individual then how can it be a religion?" The answer is quite simple. Scientology is an applied religious philosophy. That means it contains knowledge and techniques that you use to improve your life and the lives of others, It's not something you believe, it's something you use. So how is that different from some other practical subject, such as engineering or auto repair? Well, the knowledge in Scientology is based on the fact that man is a spiritual being and it deals with the spiritual nature of man.

Let me give you an example. Let's say Jim calls Mary using his cell phone. The technology exists and works to do that, so mechanically there is no problem with Jim communicating with Mary. However, Mary tells Jim to go take a hike and Jim is very sad and doesn't know what to do. Why is Mary angry with him? What can he do to handle the upset? The mechanics of speaking into the cell phone, sending the signal, having it picked up at the other end, etc. are all working fine, so we see that the communication problem Jim and Mary are having doesn't lie in the area of the mechanical but in the area of the spiritual. Scientology has knowledge about communication between living beings and methods of improving communication between spiritual beings. Using this knowledge and the techniques based on that knowledge Jim can communicate with Mary and handle the upset so they are once again friends.

Hopefully, this example demonstrates how Scientology can coexist in harmony with other religions. Having a method of improving communication with ones fellows based on the idea that they are spiritual beings is something that a person of any religion can use. So now if I say that my friend is a "Jewish Scientologist" or a "Muslim Scientologist", it should make sense to you and you should now be able to see that the idea of "converting" someone to Scientology is silly.