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This is what Lifton calls "sacred science."
Scientology to a Scientologist is absolute truth, and there is a
certain comfort in this belief. Having black and white answers to the
complex questions of life shields one from the insecurity and
uncertainty of ambiguity, and this is one of the great attractions of
Scientology for its members.
Hubbard, a persuasive and dynamic speaker, makes many claims about
the scientific validity of his science, none of which have ever been
subjected to the rigors of the scientific method, but which are accepted
at face value by his trusting disciples.
The language of the totalist environment is characterized by the
thought-terminating cliche ... [it is] the language of non-thought. (19)
Scientologists have their own dictionary. A conversation between two
Scientologists might not make sense to a non-Scientologist. Lifton
states:
The effect of the language of ideological totalism can be summed up
in one word: constriction. He is, so to speak, linguistically deprived;
and since language is so central to all human experience, his capacities
for thinking and feeling are immensely narrowed. (20)
An example of this kind of constriction of thought is the phrase in
Scientologese: "My 2-D and I are in ARC," which can be translated as:
"The person I am romantically involved with, either as a lover or a
spouse, and I have a great deal of love for each other, we share
basically the same beliefs, we communicate well with each other, and
there is a shared understanding between us which is very positive."
Other examples of loaded language are the words "reality," "ethics,"
and "suppressive," the latter containing a world of meaning for a
Scientologist.
Lifton also describes the primacy of doctrine over person:
...the demand that character and identity be reshaped, not in
accordance with one's special nature or potentialities, but rather to
fit the rigid contours of the doctrinal mold. (21)
A Scientologist is never allowed to think about the "tech," or the
"science" developed by Hubbard. To alter the "tech" in any way is
denounced as "squirelling," for which crime one can be expelled from
Scientology. Questioning the doctrine is forbidden. Doubts or questions
are euphemistically relabelled as "M/Us", or misunderstood words on the
part of the student.
The totalist environment draws a sharp line between those whose
right to existence can be recognized, and those who possess no such
right ... known as nonpeople. (22)
In Scientology there are two types of "nonpeople": "wogs" and "SPs."
Wogs are those who have yet to become enlightened as to Scientology.
"SPs" or suppressive persons have no right to exist and this is declared
by Scientology's "Fair Game Law," which states that enemies of
Scientology can be "sued, tricked, lied to or destroyed." This is the
dispensing of existence within Scientology.
One of the phenomena common to many cults is the personality change
in the cult member after conversion. This has been a frightening
experience for many families. Sometimes the change comes about
gradually, and in other cases it occurs in a single experience called
"snapping" by one team of researchers. (23) The
cult personality is radically different from the pre-cult personality.
There is evidence that this change is organic as well as
psychological. Exposing a person to a radical change in environment and
an overload of new and radically different information may actually
cause a change in the neurotransmitters in the brain. The substances
norepinephrine and serotonin in the brain have similar chemical
composition as mescaline or LSD. When sensory flow to the brain becomes
either severely restricted or suddenly overloaded, it can trigger a
state of increased suggestibility or the symptoms of dissociation or
hallucinations.
In Scientology, this can occur in the hypnotic practice of TR-0, or
during the long hours on the Scientology courses.
Psychiatrist Dr. John Clark of Harvard University believes that the
cults, including Scientology, are psychologically dangerous:
In cults, people are presented with stressful circumstances,
especially huge loads of new information at times in their lives when
they are vulnerable, and they dissociate. What the ... Scientologists
and all the other dangerous cults do is maintain the dissociation.
They keep the parts of the mind -- the connections inside the central
nervous system -- divided in function, in action, and in their
connection with the outer world. It's a way of controlling them, and the
longer it goes on, the further apart all of this gets to be -- like the
chronic schizophrenic. (24)
Did Hubbard really believe in Scientology, or was he just a
calculating con man?
Estabrooks describes what he calls the "sincere dictator":
The dictator may be, generally is, a man of great personal courage.
He plays along grimly till the last throw of the dice and meets his fate
with his chin up. This may be because he is perfectly sincere. This
sounds like a strange contradiction, but we must accept it. The dictator