Scientology As A Scientologist's Role In Religion

A church is defined as a building used for public worship. From personal experience, a church is a place that brings a feeling of safety and spirituality. It is a place to be faithful and engage in an unjudged relationship with a strong spirit you worship. Scientology is expressed as a religious system based on the seeking of self-knowledge and spiritual fulfillment through graded courses of study and training. Religion is described as a particular system of faith and worship. If involved in a religion that stems from fulfillment through grading and training, it becomes apparent to me that maybe Scientologists are actually studying to look at the world in an immoral way.

A common issue Americans are affected by every day is mental
health conditions. Mood disorders, including major depression, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder, are the third most common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. Individuals living with serious mental illness face an increased risk of having chronic medical conditions and on average die 25 years earlier than those who do not, largely due to treatable medical conditions (NAMI). Without seeking psychiatric help from a professional in the medical field, an individual will continue to suffer from a mental illness. The Church of Scientology objects to psychiatric help and to the mistreatment of the insane, which is psychiatry’s “historical hallmark”. That is why the Church of Scientology supports the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) works to expose psychiatric violations of human rights and clean up the field of mental healing.
It was formed by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist-author, Thomas Szasz in 1969 (Scientology in Society ). Over the years, the CCHR has investigated and exposed thousands of cases of psychiatric negligence, abuse and cruelty. “In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, mentally troubled patients were literally subjected to torture devices. Next it was ice baths and insulin shock. Then electroconvulsive therapy that caused broken teeth and bones as well as loss of memory and regression into comatose states. Next, it was prefrontal lobotomies with an ice pick through the eye socket. Today it is drugs” (Scientology Opposed to Psychiatric Abuse). It is interesting how the Scientology website attempts to compare unsuccessful therapy exercises from the past to modernized drugs that have the highest success rate for improving a mental illness. Comparing a torture system to a single pill does not justify an
argument.

A well-known incident occurred between two famous actors who are both Scientologists back in 2005. Actress Brooke Shields revealed that after giving birth to her daughter she used an anti-depressant to treat her postpartum depression. Fellow actor Tom Cruise, who is a huge Scientology enthusiast, decided that he needed to publicly weigh in on Shields’ psychological battle. The Scientologist actor criticized Shields for turning to anti-depressants rather than trying natural methods, and added that he was “disappointed” in Shields (Lydia). The Church of Scientology is home to many fellow Americans and approximately 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness in a given year. The statistics prove that many of those fellow Scientologists suffer from a mental illness. But how are they seeking help if they do not believe in psychiatric support? Scientologists believe that mental illness is caused by trauma in one's past life or past lives, and their goal is to get control of the reactive mind.

Scientologists believe the cure for mental illness is "auditing", talking to a Scientologist counselor while holding an E-meter, a machine that is connected to a dial by wires.
An E-meter is a device that measures tiny changes in the electrical conductivity of the skin. It is similar to a lie detector. While using the E-meter the counselor makes the person talk about a painful experience over and over until he or she doesn't seem upset by it any more. This is called "clearing” (Hartesveldt). To Scientologists this is a successful and healthy way to cure a mental illness. However, my religious belief would view that as a form of torture in which Scientologists would then be contradicting their beliefs because they have stated they do not believe in psychiatric torture tactics as a way to heal mental
illness.