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was at this time that he began to make noises to friends in Philadelphia
that he might transform Scientology into a church -- for legal
protection and for tax purposes. He knew that as a church his
organization would be afforded protections that otherwise would not
exist.
Accordingly, in December of 1953, Hubbard incorporated the Church of
Scientology, and the Church of American Science. A year later the Church
of Scientology of California was incorporated as a subsidiary of the
Church of American Science.
In its Articles of Incorporation, the Church of American Science
sounded vaguely like a Christian church. Included in the purposes listed
in its original charter are:
To train and indoctrinate ministers and brothers and sisters in the
principles and teachings of the Church of American Science.
To prepare them and ordain them to carry forward the work of the
Church of American Science, and to conduct churches and minister to and
conduct congregations.
To resolve the travail and difficulties of members of congregations,
as they may appertain to the spirit.
To conduct seminaries and instruction groups. (8)
And listed in the Creed of this church are:
That God works within Man his wonders to perform.
That Man is his own soul, basically free and immortal, but deluded
by the flesh.
That Man has a god-given right to his own life.
That Man has a God-given right to his own beliefs.
That a civilization is lost when God and the spirit are forgotten by
its leaders and its people. (9)
The beginning of 1954 saw the birth of the first actual Scientology
"church," the Church of Scientology of California, as well as the birth
of Hubbard's second child by Mary Sue, a son named Quentin. A second
church was soon formed in Auckland, New Zealand.
Hubbard registered the umbrella organization, the Hubbard
Association of Scientology International, to oversee all of his new
"churches."
Now that he had churches, he needed "ministers," so Hubbard created
the Scientology minister's course, on which the Scientologists learned
to perform the "sacred ceremonies" of Scientology, including a wedding,
a christening, and a funeral.
The christening ceremony, as an example, goes as follows:
"Here we go." (To the child:) "How are you? All right. Now your name
is _________. You got that? Good. There you are. Did that upset you?
Now, do you realize that you're a member of the HASI? Pretty good, huh?"
The child is introduced to his parents and godparents and the
ceremony concludes: "Now you're suitably christened. Don't worry about
it, it could be worse. OK. Thank you very much They'll treat you all
right." (10)
In 1955, the "Founding Church of Scientology" in Washington, D.C.
became the new world headquarters of Scientology.
In 1956, in Washington, D.C., Hubbard held the "Anti-Radiation
Congress," at which he revealed that Scientologists could become
radiation-proof by taking niacin tablets which he was marketing under
the name Dianezene. Shortly after the congress, the F.D.A. arrived on
the scene and seized 21,000 illegal tablets. This was just the beginning
of Hubbard's trouble with the F.D.A.
By July of 1957, more than one hundred Scientology organizations
existed in the United States, and they were flourishing.
In 1958, Scientology's tax exempt status was denied. The Washington,
D.C. church appealed to the U.S. Court of Claims, which upheld the
original decision, ruling that Hubbard and his wife were profiting
beyond "reasonable remuneration" from Scientology. Hubbard was at that
time receiving a ten percent tithe from all the organizations worldwide
and he had also received a $108,000 gift from the church. Mary Sue was
also receiving money from the church.
Hubbard's paranoia was greatly exacerbated by these encounters with
government agencies. He began to issue policies railing against the
"enemies" of Scientology, stating that the only way to deal with them
was to attack even harder.
If attacked on some vulnerable point by anyone or anything or any
organization, always find or manufacture enough threat against them to
cause them to sue for peace.... Don't ever defend, always attack. Don't
ever do nothing. Unexpected attacks in the rear of the enemy's front
ranks work best. (11)
Hubbard had been spending more and more time in Europe, and in the
spring of 1959, he surprised his American followers with the purchase of
a large Georgian manor in East Grinstead, England, which was to become
the new international headquarters of Scientology.
To hide the fact that his new home, named St. Hill, was the seat of
a world wide management and control center for Scientology, Hubbard made
it known locally that he was conducting important horticultural
experiments in the greenhouse of his new estate. He claimed that by
bombarding plants with radiation, he could greatly increase their
yields. He also pioneered the auditing of tomatoes, by hooking the
plants up to the E-meter and then claiming that they registered pain on
the meter when he pinched off a leaf.