Scientology is an organisation that has evolved from a series of concepts developed by L Ron Hubbard. While publicly presented as a religion, its history reveals a complex entity with deep ties to intelligence operations, resembling a tax-exempt intelligence operation rather than a typical religious sect. Its influence extends across various sectors, including government, finance, and entertainment.
Origins and Core Tenets
L. Ron Hubbard, a prolific science-fiction author, began his ventures into the study of the mind prior to authoring _Dianetics_ and founding Scientology. His initial work, _Dianetics: The Evolution of Science_, was published as an article in _Astounding Science Fiction_ magazine in May 1950. This led to the establishment of the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation.
The epistemological framework of Scientology, as conceived by Hubbard, posits that the lowest form of knowledge is scepticism, aligning with states where spiritual beings, known as Thetans, have not postulated any games or are entirely trapped in matter. The highest level of understanding, however, is achieved at the Operating Thetan (OT) level, where individuals realise their ability to postulate and control the rules of reality, rather than merely following existing laws.
Hubbard’s cosmology describes Thetans as spiritual entities. They originate in a state of multiplicity and, through mutual agreement, postulate "games" – realities that involve space, time, energy, and mass. For these games to have reality, Thetans must, to some extent, forget their role in postulating the rules, leading to their entrapment within the created reality.
Central to Scientology's doctrine are several "incidents" that explain the current human condition.
Incident One describes a process where Thetans began to postulate processes that became difficult to control and almost impossible to end, leading to a compulsive, reactive engagement with existence.
This is followed by Incident Two, the infamous Xenu myth, which occurred approximately 74 to 75 million years ago. In this narrative, Xenu, an elected supreme ruler of a planetary confederation, sought to resolve an overpopulation crisis by capturing billions of Thetans, transporting them to Earth (then called T Vact), and implanting them with a "concretised film" known as R6. This R6 implant depicts a composite human being undergoing crucifixion, torture by psychiatrists and surgeons, symbolising eternal pain and a failure to survive. Hubbard asserts that this incident is the source of concepts such as the devil, hell, and even Christianity, viewing Western civilisation as a "dynamic crucifixion" resulting from this implanted imagery.
Scientology’s methodology involves auditing sessions using e-Meters, designed to help individuals confront and overcome "engrams" – traumatic memories, including those from past lives, that hinder survival and clear the reactive mind. The organisation also explicitly rejects psychiatry, viewing it as unworkable and ineffective.
Despite its scientistic veneer, Hubbard’s teachings also embrace a Gnostic structure, which suggests that true knowledge is reserved for those who ascend through its pay-to-play hierarchy. This is exemplified by the existence of a Celebrity Centre in Los Angeles, which offers a "different track" and preferential treatment to film stars, demonstrating a tiered approach to its adherents. The appeal to Hollywood figures stemmed from Scientology’s promise to bridge science and spirituality, offering both empirical truth and success, fulfilling a "gaping void with meaning" for those in the entertainment industry.
Intelligence Connections and Operations
The untold history of Scientology paints a picture of an organisation resembling a tax-exempt intelligence operation, supported by "the highest members of the CIA and its primordial OSS". Its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, had an intelligence career that included work at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. in the 1930s, a hub for psychiatric research related to Project Bluebird and Project Artichoke, precursors to the CIA's infamous MK Ultra mind control program**. Hubbard boasted of tricking hospital staff using advanced hypnotism during this period.
Hubbard also infiltrated [[Jack Parsons]]’ occult-influenced rocket program, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which became a scientific foundation for NASA. Parsons, a prominent figure in the [[Ordo Templi Orientis]] (OTO) and a disciple of Aleister Crowley, was involved in "Sex Magick" rituals and established an occult commune called The Parsonage. Hubbard became deeply involved with Parsons, living at the Parsonage and participating in rituals like the "Babalon Working". He also notably eloped with Parsons' partner, Sara Northrup. Parsons later lost his security clearance and died suspiciously in an explosion in his workshop.
The initial formation of the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation involved primordial intelligence ties. Its secretary and general counsel, Charles Parker Morgan, was a former special agent for the FBI and appeared on a government list of OSS Agents. Donald H. Rogers, the Foundation's Director of Research, was also a former FBI agent.
When facing lawsuits from the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners, Hubbard was advised by intelligence officers, including Parker Morgan and John Starr Cooke (who later became the first "clear" in America), to incorporate Dianetics as a religion for legal defence.
The Church of Scientology has cooperated with the CIA in gathering intelligence, serving as a great asset due to its international reach and pose as a religion, useful for collecting information on "high value potential targets". Evidence suggests an intelligence sharing relationship between Scientology and the CIA from the 1960s onward, as cited by former CIA officer Miles Copeland. Copeland's work on "Occultism in High Places" (OHP) described how "charismatised leaders" in key bureaucracies could be influenced by beliefs, potentially enabling an "enlightened American foreign policy". He specifically mentioned "arrangements" with Scientology.
Scientology maintains its own private intelligence network, known originally as the Guardian's Office and later the Office of Special Affairs (OSA). This group performs counter-intelligence and intelligence functions, including Operation Snow White, where they broke into government offices, stole documents, bugged offices, gathering blackmail material, and harassing defectors.
Their ability to operate in this manner suggests a degree of high-level protection. For example, in Russia, Scientology organisations have been raided due to suspicions of collecting sensitive information on people, government, law enforcement, and security services, leading to their treatment as foreign intelligence agencies.
The organisation’s ties to intelligence are further evidenced by its involvement in drug running and money laundering. The Sea Organisation (Sea Org), a paramilitary fleet established by Hubbard in 1967, is seen as a successor to the CIA’s Sea Supply operation, which was involved in trafficking.
Documents indicate suspicions of Scientology promoting and smuggling drugs. Sea Org members were also allegedly involved in arms-for-drugs trade, smuggling money, and engaging in "James Bond stuff" – intelligence missions like infiltrating the U.N. and foreign governments, as well as political manipulations. Reports from the US Consulate in Tangier noted "rumors in town that the Apollo a Sea Org vessel is involved in drug or white slave traffic".
This intelligence-adjacent activity has historical parallels.
The manipulation of religion has been a recurring strategy, seen in instances like the Yale Divinity School in China being linked to Anglo-American financial interests, and the CIA funding Protestant evangelicals for anti-communist crusades in the Third World.
Other organisations, such as the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), primarily active in Latin America, have been accused of drug trafficking, human trafficking, emerald and uranium smuggling, and waging germ warfare. Further examples include the alleged CIA connections to Jim Jones and the People's Temple, which involved psychotropics and a first-rate medical facility, suggesting a mind control aspect. World Vision, a missionary organisation, has also been implicated through its connections to individuals involved in high-profile incidents. The Roberto Calvi P2 Lodge scandal involving the Vatican Bank and Operation Gladio demonstrates the intersection of major religions, occult groups, secret societies, intelligence agencies, and organised crime, often used for money laundering and covert operations. The Knights of Malta are noted as a vehicle for infiltrating religious institutions, with prominent intelligence figures such as Allen Dulles being members.
The concept of a "Masonic Intelligence Complex" is raised, suggesting that many leaders of intelligence agencies like the CIA were Freemasons, raising questions about who truly directs whom. Even Russian political figures, such as Yeltsin, have been ceremonially made Knights of Malta, indicating a potential vehicle for infiltration. This strategy, often referred to as a strategy of chaos or tension, aims to destabilise societies, undermine morale, culture, and traditional religion, replacing them with a "Disneyland style consumer religion". The ecumenical movement is cited as potentially contributing to a syncretistic drive towards a "one world religion".
Scientology’s aggressive tactics came to a head with Operation Snow White, the largest infiltration of the US government in history. This extensive espionage operation aimed to steal documents and infiltrate over 30 countries and numerous US government agencies, including the IRS, Treasury, FDA, Pentagon, State Department, NSA, Army, Navy, US Customs Service, and Interpol. The Church’s policy for Snow White was "Attack is necessary to an effective defence". This resulted in raids on Scientology headquarters in 1977, revealing lock picks, pistols, wiretapping equipment, and tens of thousands of stolen documents. While 11 Church leaders were imprisoned, L. Ron Hubbard went into hiding.
In 1991, under the leadership of David Miscavige, Scientology reached an unprecedented settlement with the IRS, in which the Church agreed to cease Operation Snow White and drop all lawsuits in exchange for regaining its tax-exempt status. Remarkably, the IRS even allowed Scientology to draft the fact sheet describing its organisation, which the IRS then distributed globally.
With the proliferation of the internet, Scientology’s intelligence-adjacent operations did not diminish but became more influential and consequential. The Church’s Office of Special Affairs (OSA) developed strategies to manage electronic criticism and control the dissemination of Church secrets, particularly the Xenu story, which had begun to spread widely online.
EarthLink, a pioneering internet service provider, was founded by second-generation Scientologist Sky Dayton with funding from Scientologists, to enable the Church to surveil dissidents, push back on criticism, censor copyrighted materials, and spread its teachings. Dayton's portfolio of ventures, including NeoPets, Boingo Wireless (the world’s largest WiFi provider, servicing major airports and US military bases), Swarm Tech (linked to SpaceX’s satellite fleet), Ring (home surveillance), and Age of Learning (educational software partnered with government), further demonstrate Scientology’s reach into critical data infrastructure and its continued involvement in intelligence-like activities.
Scientology in Popular Culture
The Church of Scientology has frequently been depicted and satirised in popular culture, particularly in film, which often offers insights into its practices and public perception.
The Master (2012), a film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, is widely recognised as being inspired by L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. The film explores the dynamic between the charismatic cult leader, Lancaster Dodd (a Hubbard-like figure), and a drifting, troubled man named Freddie Quell. Quell, seeking a father figure and a means to address his inner turmoil and alcoholism, finds himself drawn into Dodd’s movement, referred to as "the Cause".
The film highlights how cults can appeal to individuals by filling missing archetypes and providing a "narrative story and explanation for one's life". Quell's "processing" in the film eerily mirrors trauma-based mind control, and Dodd is portrayed as a "charismatic slimy master of human manipulation". The film also obliquely references Hubbard’s "assist lecture", which described an almost orgasmic reaction to auditing sessions. While not a direct critique, the film suggests that the attraction of such movements lies in their ability to address deep-seated yearnings for personal truth, even if the eventual "answer" is not Scientology itself. The use of language and imagery in the film, including Hubbard's own belief that reality is akin to a "Hollywood film," further underscores the thematic parallels.
Schizopolis (1996), directed by Steven Soderbergh, is a more abstract satire that also references Dianetics. The film features a fictional movement called "Eventualism" and its leader, Azimuth Schwitters, who serves as a stand-in for L. Ron Hubbard. The film’s opening, which features an exploding volcano, directly mocks the cover art of Dianetics. _Schizopolis_ explores themes of linguistic play and the schizophrenic nature of modern culture, where individuals, like the main character Fletcher Munson, become cogs in a wheel, operating within a system that caters to base desires for survival.
The film implies that cult ideologies thrive in a culture of "mindless mundane day-to-day job" and "pragmatic get to the top monopolistic capitalism". The absurdity of the film, with its nonsensical dialogue and character Elmo Oxygen representing "lowest ID oriented type base or desires," contrasts with Scientology’s emphasis on precise word meaning and the suppression of critical thought, illustrating the manipulative use of language in cults.