16.2 Is Scientology active in Black communities and countries?
16.3 Do doctors, schools, social workers, businessmen and other
professional people use Scientology?
16.4 Why has Scientology sometimes been considered
controversial?
16.5 Why has Scientology been to court a lot of times?
16.6 Are there any laws against the practice of Scientology?
Has it been banned?
16.7 How does Scientology view deprogrammers and groups that
attempt to force people to denounce their chosen religion?
16.8 Why is Scientology opposed to psychiatry?
16.9 Why do some people oppose Scientology?
16.10 Is Scientology trying to rule the world?
16.11 Can Scientology do anything to improve the world
situation?
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11. SCIENTOLOGY AND DIANETICS COURSES
11.1 What training should a person take first?
The first action a person should take in his Scientology
training is to read a book, such as _Dianetics: The
Modern Science of Mental Health_ or _Scientology: The
Fundamentals of Thought_. He can study these on an
extension course which is designed to help people
understand the basic fundamentals of L. Ron Hubbard's
books and find out about Scientology for themselves. The
lessons in the course are completed and mailed in to the
Extension Course Supervisor who grades them and informs
the student by return mail what his grade is and any
parts of the book he may have misunderstood.
After completing a book or extension course, he should go
into a church and see one of the Public Division
Registrars who can help him decide which course he should
do next. There are many different services available. For
instance, many Life Improvement Courses exist, on such
subjects as marriage, children, work, relationships with
others and personal integrity. These help a person move
from effect to cause in a specific area of life. Or there
is the Hubbard Dianetics Seminar which utilizes Dianetics
auditing techniques based on _Dianetics: The Modern
Science of Mental Health_, providing as much Dianetics
auditing to a person as he wants and giving him
experience applying Dianetics to another. There is also
the Success Through Communication Course which teaches
the basic communication skills one needs to succeed in
social or other situations.
Factually, it is best to talk to someone to find out
which of the many courses available is addressed most
directly to what one wants to handle or improve in life.
11.2 What does one get out of Scientology and Dianetics
courses?
Training gives a person the knowledge and tools to handle
life. A basic datum in Scientology is that what one
learns is only as valuable as it can be applied, and as
it helps one do better in life. This is why Scientology
is correctly called an *applied* religious philosophy.
The information and technology a person learns is not
just to increase his understanding (although it will
definitely do that as well), but it is for USE.
Although many Scientologists become practicing
Scientology ministers, many others simply use the data in
their everyday lives, on the job, and with their friends
and family members. They report that life becomes more
confrontable, their abilities increase and they are
happier because they are winning in the game of life.
11.3 How are Scientology and Dianetics training different from
studying philosophy or other religions?
The major difference is that Scientology and Dianetics
training give one *tools* to use in life. Whereas
studying other philosophies or religions may provide
information that is interesting, only in Scientology does
the individual get the exact tools he needs to change and
improve conditions in his life.
11.4 Should I get my auditing before I get trained?
L. Ron Hubbard has written many times about the fact that
50 percent of one's gains are from training and 50
percent are from auditing. It is actually impossible to
successfully make it through the upper processing levels
of Scientology without also being trained. Therefore, to
get the most from Scientology, one progresses in his
training simultaneously with or at a comparable rate to
his progress in auditing.
11.5 When can I take Scientology courses?
Most churches of Scientology are open from 9:00 in the
morning until 10:30 at night weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m. on weekends. Several different course schedules
are offered within these hours.
11.6 How are Scientology courses run?
Scientology training is unique. Each course is done by
following a checksheet. A checksheet is a list of
materials, divided into sections, that lay out the theory
and practical steps which, when completed, lead one to a
study completion. The items contained on the checksheet,
such as books, recorded lectures and other written
materials, add up to the required knowledge of the
subject. Each student moves through his checksheet at his
own rate. This ensures nobody is ever held back by slower
students, and no one is under pressure from faster
students. A trained Course Supervisor is always available
to help the student, to refer him to the exact mate-
rials, to answer his questions and to ensure he is
applying standard study technology to gain the full
benefits from his studies.
11.7 When do I actually gain experience in auditing others?
Every major training course in Scientology is followed by
an internship. This is a period of auditing others under
the supervision of technical experts. In this way, an
auditor's skills are honed and polished to a very high
level of proficiency.
11.8 When can I take the Minister's Course?
This course can be studied by any Scientologist who is
training in Scientology or Dianetics. The course provides
an appreciation of the world's great religions, the
religious background and philosophy of Scientology, the
ethical codes of Scientology and the ceremonies of the
Church. One also learns to deliver services and carry out
basic ministerial duties.
11.9 How long do courses take?
Each course takes as long as it takes -- since the
student goes through each course at his own pace, he
regulates his own progress. How long it takes depends on
how diligently he applies study technology and how
honestly he completes each item on his checksheet before
proceeding to the next. The length of each course will
also depend on how many hours he studies per week. On the
average, Scientology courses take anywhere from a few
days (for most introductory courses) to several months
(for more advanced training).
Introductory services are designed to take one week at
2.5 hours a day. Academy training to become an auditor is
generally two weeks, at forty hours a week, for each
individual level.
The required time to complete the more advanced courses
is quite extensive. The Saint Hill Special Briefing
Course, which is a chronological study of Scientology and
Dianetics from 1948 to the present, takes approximately
one year, at forty hours a week. This course gives the
Scientologist the entire philosophic and technical
development of the subject, and is the most extensive
training course in Scientology.
Church staff ensure that auditors are professionally and
thoroughly trained so that they can achieve the best
results with their preclears.
11.10 Are Scientology Course Supervisors university trained?
According to demographic studies, a high proportion of
Scientologists have graduated from college or university
studies. However, this is not a prerequisite for becoming
a Scientology Course Supervisor.
In Scientology there is a very precise technology of how
to supervise and successfully help students through their
courses. All Scientology Course Supervisors are trained
in this technology to ensure that students get the most
from their training.
12. SCIENTOLOGY AND DIANETICS AUDITING
12.1 What is the difference between the auditing and training
routes in Scientology?
The reference that best explains the difference between
these two routes is the Classification, Gradation and
Awareness Chart.
On the right side of the chart there are various steps a
person moves through as he receives auditing. Each grade
listed has a column for "Ability Gained" that describes
the increasing levels of awareness and ability achieved
at each stage. In auditing, one is working toward
improving himself and regaining recognition of and
rehabilitating his spiritual nature and abilities. This
is done on a gradient (a gradual approach to something,
taken step by step), so those states of being which are
seemingly "too high above one" can be achieved with
relative ease.
The left-hand side of the chart describes the gradient
steps of training on which one gains the knowledge and
abilities necessary to audit another on each level. Each
course listed includes a description of the subject
matter that is taught at that level. In training, one is
learning about the various facets of life with a view to
helping others.
These two different paths parallel each other. Optimally,
a person follows both paths. The chart is a guide for the
individual from the point he first enters Scientology,
and shows him the basic sequence in which he will receive
his auditing and training.
12.2 Do all the people on staff in Scientology receive auditing
as well as training?
Yes, auditing and training of staff members is part of
the exchange for their work in Scientology organizations.
12.3 Why does one have to wait six weeks for auditing if one
has been habitually using drugs?
Research has shown that it takes at least that long for
the effect of drugs to wear off. Quite simply, auditing
is not as effective while drugs are in the system because
a person on drugs is less alert and may even be rendered
stupid, blank, forgetful, delusive or irresponsible.
12.4 Will antibiotics prevent me from getting auditing?
No. Antibiotics work differently than drugs. If the
preclear has a doctor's prescription for antibiotics and
is taking these to handle an infection, he should be sure
to let his Director of Processing know, but this will not
