Scientology

The Church of Scientology is a cult/religion created by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s. The Church is extremely wealthy and draws attention from the fact that several prominent celebrities are members. The Church is avidly opposed to the fields of psychiatry and psychology. It is notorious for using legal threats and action to intimidate and silence its opponents, especially those who try to convince Scientologists to leave the organization, those who attempt to demonstrate the cult-like nature of the organization, and those who expose Scientology secrets that are supposed to be reserved for senior-level Scientologists. Scientologists are encouraged to shun family members and friends who do not approve of Scientology.

It is a proselytic organization, drawing in new members through free personality tests. No matter how one scores on the personality test, the tester informs the inductee that that there is something wrong with their personality that Scientology can help with. This leads to a process called "auditing", involving a device called an E-meter. The E-meter is a device with two handles that measures the electrical resistance in the human body. According to Scientology doctrine, this device measures "thetans", which are distraught souls inhabiting our body.

Scientology has various stages that members pass through, which get progressively more expensive as the Scientologist is compelled to purchase more and more materials and books related to the doctrine. After spending about $360,000, the Scientologist reaches stage OT III, where the story behind the thetans is revealed.

It begins 75 million years ago with a galactic dictator named Xenu, who had a problem with overpopulation on many of the planets he ruled over. He tricked billions of aliens into being frozen and loaded onto rocket ships which were exactly like DC-8 airliners except with rocket engines. The rocket ships were sent to Earth, then called "Teegeeack", and the aliens were placed next to several specifically named volcanoes (most of which were not even in existence 75 million years ago, unbeknownst to geologists of Hubbard's time), and exploded with hydrogen bombs. The souls of the dead aliens are said to have roamed the Earth until they could find human bodies to attach to. Scientologists proclaim that thetans occupying our bodies are the source of all our mental problems, and that Scientology is the only way to get rid of the thetans.


 * "I’d like to start a religion. That’s where the money is."
 * —L. Ron Hubbard to Lloyd A. Eshbach, in 1949; quoted by Eshbach in OVER MY SHOULDER: REFLECTIONS ON A SCIENCE FICTION ERA, Donald M. Grant Publisher. ISBN 1-880418-11-8, 1983

And so it can be assumed from the above quote and from the sheer absurdity of the cult itself (even with regard to religion) that Scientology is nothing more than a grandiose money-making scheme invented by an unscrupulous charlatan with no regard for the psychological well-being of others.

E-meter
The E-Meter is a variation of a Wheatstone Bridge, which determines resistance of an unknown component, in this case, the skin of the subject. Due to galvanic skin response, the resistance of skin can vary significantly in conjunction with the state of mind of the subject.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=3290589

Security Checks
The e-meter is primarily used as a tool for "auditing", however, it is also used as a makeshift lie detector during "Security Checks", which are semi-annual interrogations used to discover criminal and subversive behavior in people as young as 6 years. The church may use information derived from these checks to blackmail individuals who become critical of the cult. The church has methods of interrogating even uncooperative subjects. By strapping the e-meter's electrodes to the soles of the feet, or into the armpits of the subject and asking questions, the interrogator can determine answers even if the subject refuses to speak.

Podcasts

 * The Way of Reason - The Truth About Scientology
 * Dogma Free America - Interview with Valerie Emanuel of scientology-kills.org