Book Report- Going Clear

 Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

General Overview: The book Going Clear by Lawrence Wright discusses the origins and current status of the Church of Scientology. The book starts with the man who created this polarizing religion, L. Ron Hubbard. Wright takes us through Hubbard's life of shortcomings that brought him to create Scientology. Which Wright later mentions that the purpose of Hubbard creating Scientology was driven by money, as he believed it was profitable. He had believed that Hubbard wanted tax and legal benefits reserved for religious groups, as Hubbard had always struggled with money his entire life. On top of that, The Church of Scientology is a very controversial group, often being investigated for abuse amongst other things. But what makes Scientology the most intriguing, is Hollywood's and celebrities involvement in the church. A celebrity already has a high rank in the church just based off their social status, and an example of a high ranking scientologist is actor Tom Cruise. Like other scientologists, he encourages others to join the church, but won't discuss their practices. He gives people just enough information to intrigue them, and once people are hooked it's too late. If you want to know the secrets of Scientology, Going Clear is a great place to start.

Favorite Part: Throughout the entirety of the book, my favorite part is still the first few chapters discussing the origins of scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard. It's very interesting how someone such as Hubbard, with no extraordinary achievements and nothing special about him, created the polarizing "religion" of scientology. As someone who couldn't hold a steady job, Hubbard was always relying on small minuscule jobs to stay afloat. Similar to his so-called "career", Hubbard could never stay faithful in any of his marriages(3). In which he then blamed his wives and their inability "to take care of him" as the cause of his infidelity, and they forced him to look else where for love. But throughout his life, Hubbard has always blamed his shortcomings on something, even when they clearly are a direct consequence of his choices. He was failed scriptwriter, sailor, naval officer, and husband. He often spewed lies about the life he lived, often trying to make himself feel more important that he actually is. He exhibited a lot of traits relating to narcism, like believing he could do no wrong and playing his failures off on others. He was perceived as, "uncooperative, and lacking leadership skills". As bad of a person as Hubbard was, he was no idiot. Hubbard is what we call a "Selfish Critical Thinker". He's a very intelligent man and has very good analytical and comprehension skills, but instead of using these skills to help others he uses them to push his own agenda. Hence, the Church of Scientology. Manipulation under the guise of religion and science. Creating scientology earned him thousands of loyal followers and a feeling of power and importance that he had been yearning for his whole life. 

Related: One of the abilities of high ranking scientologists, also known as "Thetans", is their so-called telepathic abilities. They partake in a part of Scientology called Dianetics, in which these Thetans are able to achieve "the clear". In which they become aware of everything around them and achieve out of body experiences. This can directly be related to our 3rd lecture, in which people often believe that we only have access to 10% of our brains. But when we've finally unlocked the other 90%, that we can achieve telepathic abilities and psychokinesis. One of the core principles of Scientology is the so called super-human abilities that come with becoming "clear". Many scientologists have claimed to have out of body experiences as a result of following Hubbard's religious lessons, and have been able to move object with their mind or sense changes in energy. 

Creative: While I myself did not create this presentation, I believe this one throughly covers the ins and outs of Scientology. https://prezi.com/0dgevnhdembl/scientology-presentation/

Extension: From my own experience, oddly enough, I was first introduced to what Scientology was by Tom Cruise. How you may ask? When I was younger, I was watching Top Gun with my grandparents, and I remember my grandfather making a comment about what an excellent Cruise was. But, he was such a strange guy for joining scientology. At that point in time, I had no idea what he was talking about. Now, I just find it rather ironic that Tom Cruise was the first mainstream influence of Scientology I heard about, now knowing that's the reason why celebrities are recruited into the church. Quite frankly, the issue with scientology is the promise of whatever a person may desire, as long as they sign a billion-year long contract to the church. It's hard to get in, and even harder to get out. This "religion" is genuinely fall advertisement, and plays on people's belief in the super natural. Scientology uses Hollywood and celebrities such as Tom Cruise to manipulate others into joining.