Church of Scientology Las Vegas

A video of the opening of the new Church of Scientology of Las Vegas:

Scientology: Have you ever felt harassed, persecuted or stereotyped because of your religious beliefs?

Steph asked: Have you ever felt harassed, persecuted or stereotyped because of your religious beliefs?

Yes. The current hate campaign by members of the Internet hate group "Anonymous" is straightforward harassment. Some members of this hate group also attempt to persecute members of my religion by putting their names and addresses on the net in the hopes that others won't want to do business with them, etc.

They promote lies about my Church in order to demonize Scientology and Scientologists. That gives them the excuse to carry out their harassment and to pull in others to help them.

The venom and lies these people spew out on the Internet is disgusting.

You can read more about them here: Anonymous.

I also feel an element of harassment from certain members of the news media who are not interested in truth or facts but only in "controversy" and "conflict". The lies and twisted facts coming out of these creeps is also disgusting. You can read about an example of such a twisted news outlet here: Inside the St. Petersburg Times.

Scientology: Is it easy or difficult to be a Scientologist in America? Why or why not?

Steph asked: Is it easy or difficult to be a Scientologist in America? Why or why not?

It has not been difficult to be a Scientologist in the parts of America in which I have lived. People in California are pretty easy going. Florida has also been fine. I find that once you get to know a person they realize that any false ideas they may have picked up from the media or crazy websites are easily handled because here I am, a regular, standing right in front of them.

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Scientology: How does your religion help you transfer the faith to your children? Do you worry about that?

Steph asked: How does your religion help you transfer the faith to your children? Do you worry about that?

The Church leaves it up to the parents. There are courses for children to help them understand the wisdom and practial practices. But we also have a rule that a person should only take part in Scientology Training or Scientology Auditing if he or she wants to. A parent cannot force Scientology onto their child.

Personally I always tried to explain things to my kids so they would understand it and be able to make up their own minds. I'm happy that they both chose to be Scientologists. If they hadn't I would have been disappointed, but that would not affect my relationship with them.

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Scientology: Are you encouraged to share your belief with others in the hope that they will "join" your religion? Why or why not?

Steph asked: Are you encouraged to share your belief with others in the hope that they will "join" your religion? Why or why not?

Sure. We feel that if people understand the wisdom of Scientology then that will improve them and help achieve the goals of Scientology that I described earlier.

On the other hand a person can be a Scientologist and a member of another religion, so there is no "conversion" in the Western religious sense of the word. We are more interested in people understanding and applying the wisdom because that's what will make a difference in the world.

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Scientology: How does this place of faith view the commandment, or a similar one, to "multiply and replenish the earth"?

Steph asked: How does this place of faith view the commandment, or a similar one, to "multiply and replenish the earth"?

That isn't part of Scientology. We view man as a spiritual being, so whilst reproduction of bodies creates more vessels for beings to operate, it isn't a spiritual activity and so is left up to the individual.

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Scientology: Is it important that you marry someone of this religion? Why or why not?

Steph asked: Is it important that you marry someone of this religion? Why or why not?

That's a really good question to answer on Valentines Day :)

There is no requirement from the Church or from any teachings in Scientology. The Church does not interfere in its members' personal lives.

Personally, when I was single, I found it easier to date Scientologists because of the shared reality about life and personal goals. I'm sure members of other religions would probably say the same about dating people in their own faith. But that's just a personal observation.

I have a good friend whose husband is not a Scientologist. He's a great guy and it's not a problem.

I know people who are Scientologists and they date non-Scientologists. It's really just personal preference.

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Scientology: Does your religion encourage you to keep a particular day of the week "holy"? If so, how do you do that? Or is this not important?

Steph asked: Does your religion encourage you to keep a particular day of the week "holy"? If so, how do you do that? Or is this not important?

No. There is no holy day of the week in Scientology.

Scientologists I know usually follow the traditions in which they were raised.

Scientology: How often do you attend services? Do you think that is enough or do you feel you should attend more often?

Steph asked: How often do you attend services? Do you think that is enough or do you feel you should attend more often?

In Scientology we go to Church for specific purposes, such as to get auditing or training. So there is no set attendence schedule. For example, a few years ago I went on full-time training at my church for 5 months. Then I went off and applied it and didn't need to go back for more services for another 6 months.

Of course, if you are on course or receiving auditing then there is a schedule you follow. But when you are not, there is no requirement to go to Church.

However, when not on services, many Scientologists do go into their church (me included) to do volunteer work, for the purpose of helping others in the community.

And there are Sunday Services that anyone can attend.

Scientology: If you have a holy book, are members encouraged to read it? If so, how often? How do you use this holy book in your life?

Steph asked: If you have a holy book, are members encouraged to read it? If so, how often? How do you use this holy book in your life?

We have a lot of books: Scientology Basic Books. We are definitely encouraged to read them and understand them. There are courses available for every book. Scientologists are encouraged to take those courses and then use those books in their lives. There is no particular requirement to read them often, just to get through the courses so you understand them and can use them in life.

I use the books in most parts of my life. For example: I use the "conditions formulas" from "Introduction to Scientology Ethics" a great deal. Everything is in some sort of condition and these formulas can be applied to improve the condition. So, for example, I wanted to lose weight, so I started on a really grate program (Eat to Live). When my weight went down a little (what I wanted) then I applied the "Normal" formula, when it went up a little (not what I wanted) then I applied the "Emergency" formula. I have now lost 40 lbs and am back at the weight I was in my early 20s :)

Another example is when my wife had a major operation and was in great pain. I gave her Scientology Assists (a form of auditing directed at helping a person recover from physical problems: Scientology Assist ). After a few hours of assists she was able to come off heavy pain killers and next day was able to come off all pain killers.

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Scientology: What are the most important values in life to you? Do these come from a religious background?

Steph asked: What are the most important values in life to you? Do these come from a religious background?

Honesty, integrity, helping others.

See the Code of Honor

The moral code a Scientologist follows is captured in the secular book "The Way To Happiness. To me, the 21 precepts described there are the most important values in life.

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Scientology: What do you think of people who are apathetic about religion and ethical values?

Steph asked: What do you think of people who are apathetic about religion and ethical values?

Peoples' attitude to religion is their own choice. No one can successfully enforce a belief system on another. Even if extreme duress is used and the victim says they believe, they don't really. I think it is important for a person to have some religious belief, even if it is different to my own, but other than that I think it is up to them.

In Scientology, ethics is defined as the actions one takes towards survival. For example: if one takes harmful drugs then that is unethical because it harms ones survival. So if a person is apathetic about ethical values then they are apathetic about living and won't survive well or for very long. I guess a quick answer to your question is that I think they need help.

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Do you often discuss your religious faith (or lack) with other people? If so, why? If not, why not?

Steph asked: Do you often discuss your religious faith (or lack) with other people? If so, why? If not, why not?

On this blog I definitely often discuss it. In-Real-Life, not often. I don't get the chance much. If someone expresses an interest I will certainly talk to them about it. But if I'm at work, them I'm working and I feel it is inappropriate to prosthelatize in the work place. If I'm at a restaurant then I and the other people there are out for a meal, so it wouldn't be appropriate.

But every now and then I get the chance to talk to someone about it and I do.

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Scientology: How do you show tolerance for other religious faiths if you believe yours is the only true one?

Steph asked: How do you show tolerance for other religious faiths if you believe yours is the only true one?

Tolerance is very important. We don't believe our religion is the "only true one". We believe that it is a workable path to spiritual freedom, but we don't discount the fact that there could be others.

A person can be a Scientologist and a member of another religion. In my years as a Scientologist I have met Scientologists who are also Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu. As long as being in another religion doesn't get in the way of your spiritual advancement then there is no conflict.

My church is a big supporter of human rights and sponsors a human rights educational campaign (Youth for Human Rights and Human Rights ). Freedom of conscience and religion is a basic human right, and in order to allow others to practice this right one must practice tolerance.

On a personal level, I try to never make fun of or denigrate another's beliefs or religious ideas. If I get into a discussion with others about their religion I always validate what they are doing because I feel that having a grounding in the spiritual side of life is very important.

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Scientologists in Haiti: A Report

Here is a report from the Today Show on what the Scientology Volunteer Ministers are doing in Haiti:

Scientology: How does your religion differ from others?

Steph asked: How does your religion differ from others?

While it certainly contains ceremonies of a spiritual nature for marking the major steps in a person's life, and has Sunday Services, Scientology does not contain traditional Judaeo-Christian-Islamic forms of worship. The concentration in Scientology is on learning and using practical skills to help others and to attain spiritual improvement. Belief in a god or gods and methods of worship of them are left up to the individual. That's one major difference when comparing it with the Judaeo-Christian-Islamic tradition.

Another difference is that Scientology is all-denominational, meaning that people can be Scientologists and members of any other religion. Although this is not uncommon in Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, it is unusual in the West.

Another difference between Scientology and traditional western religions is its practical nature. There is no requirement to believe anything: you learn a technique or piece of wisdom, you use it and you see if it works or not. Faith doesn't enter into it. There are some eastern religions that have a practical nature and Scientology is more related to them than to the traditional western religions.

There is a rather long treatise on Scientology written by sociologist Brian Wilson, Ph.D. that does a very good job of comparing Scientology with other religions. I've given some links here to specific parts, but I recommend reading the entire treatise if you are interested in the full answer to Steph's question:
(From the Treatise on Scientology by Brian Wilson, Ph.D.)
- Scientology: Similarity to Buddhism and Hinduism,
- L. Ron Hubbard as Religious Leader
- Scientology: Religion and Church Organization
- Differences in concepts of worship between religions
- Worship in Scientology
- Scientology and Other Faiths

Here is another treatise: The Relationship Between Scientology and Other Religions by Fumio Sawada a Shinto scholar. I did not have time to go through this one and pick out particular pieces, so you're on your own with this one.

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