Below Left: Scientologists use a device called an e-meter to measure emotional response to events, feelings and people. Below Right: The Church of Scientology of Kansas City, MO, keeps a huge library of L. Ron Hubbard's books. Posters detailing emotional states adorn the walls.
before they come in for auditing. The Auditor's Code, which is a code of conduct, says that an auditor can't audit someone with a terminal illness who expects to be cured through auditing. Though it can't cure physical illness, auditing can help speed up the healing process and take care of any spiritual problem surrounding the illness. If someone is in a car wreck and breaks his arm, for example, Scientologists say auditing can help heal the break more quickly, and it can rid a person of the emotional trauma of the accident.
The process of auditing to achieve a state of spiritual enlightenment that Scientologists call "Clear" is the ultimate goal of a church member. Attaining Clear begins with a preclear, or the person receiving the auditing. They come to the church with a problem they want to work out, and sit down with an auditor, which is defined as "one who listens."
Auditors may or may not use an electropsychometer, or an e-meter, to find a preclear's problems, but according to Adriance, an e-meter speeds up the auditing process significantly. The e-meter runs a small electrical current, which you can't feel, through the body. When a person reacts to a question, the needle on the e-meter will move. Hubbard's The Book Introducing the E-Meter says, "Tests consecutively show that an individual's emotional state, his thoughts, etc., instantly raise or lower the electrical resistance of the body." This resistance is what causes the needle to move. The auditor asks the preclear questions, and when he reacts to a question, the auditor will continue asking questions about that particular event or topic, guiding the preclear until he gets to the source of the problem.
I tried out an e-meter at a Psychic Fair in Kansas City a few years ago. As I grasped the cold metal cylinders, the auditor began to ask me questions. I watched the needle swing lazily back and forth until the auditor asked about my father. I haven't had the best relationship with my dad, and the e-meter's needle started swinging quickly. The auditor continued asking me questions about our relationship and, eventually, this process would supposedly help me find out what my big issues with my dad were so I could get over them. Preclears go through this process many times so they can rid their minds of debilitating emotions and psychosomatic illnesses.
Preclears go through many levels of auditing before they reach Clear. This process typically takes six months to several years, and it's called "crossing The Bridge" or "moving up the grade chart." In theory, once a person reaches Clear, he is more intelligent, more free with his emotions, mentally stable, self-determined, able to enjoy life to the fullest and is healthier and more vigorous. "My IQ has gone from 119 to 150," Locke, who is Clear, says. "And I'm not bound by the usual customs of how to do things. If someone says I can't do something, I ask why, and I try to find out how to make it happen." Locke says he has also rid himself of an allergy to ragweed through Dianetics.
Adriance, a Church of Scientology staff member, has also achieved Clear, and says he has gotten rid of back and neck pains, and is able to communicate more clearly with others. He also says he can now speak to large groups when he couldn't before.
Paying for religion
One thing is clear: Scientology isn't cheap, and its cost is one of the major complaints from critics. Without auditing, a person can never reach Clear. He may be able to solve some of his problems with training, but he will never cross The Bridge. So, preclears have two choices. They can pay the fees, which can amount to tens of thousands of dollars, or they can be trained to be auditors, which can defray much of the expense.
Generally, a preclear pays $3,200 for a 12-hour block of auditing, called an intensive. Just one step on the grade chart may take up an entire intensive, and the whole grade chart consists of over 150 different processes on which a person can be audited. If a preclear chooses to train to be an auditor instead of pay for all the intensives, the cost is $3,200 total. Auditors in training are not Clear, but are working toward it, just like their preclears.
Few religions require church members to pay for services. Tim Miller, University of Kansas professor of religious studies, says he has doubts about some aspects of Scientology, mostly regarding the cost of auditing. "The fees for service are too expensive. Most religions are based on tithes," Miller says. "I don't know of any others that have an exact fee. Some religions are more heavy-handed about money. Mormonism, for example, requires that people pay 10 percent of their pay, and you can't do certain things within the church without this tithing."
But Scientologists say a life without problems is worth the high price tag. "Going Clear is so utterly priceless," Adriance says of his experience with Clear. "For what it costs to go Clear, people pay more for a house, or a car to drive for a few years."
But it isn't just the price that has opponents angry. Within the past 10 years, Web sites opposing Scientology have sprung up all over the Internet. When I typed "Scientology Web sites" into Google, thousands of entries were retrieved. The alt.religion.scientology Web site, www.altreligionscientology.org, lists over 80 Web sites that are critical of Scientology. Those 80 are from the United States alone. Looking at these sites, criticisms of the Church of Scientology include lying to and inflicting mental distress on members, holding members against their will, fraud and stifling free speech by suing those who speak out against Scientology.
Andreas Heldal-Lund runs one of these Web sites, Operation Clambake, www.xenu.net. Since starting his site, Heldal-Lund has heard from thousands of current and former Scientologists. The site features a message board where current and past Scientologists can tell their stories, a FAQ about Scientology, links to recent news articles about the religion and links to topics related to Scientology, including personal accounts from past members, and selected church documents. Heldal-Lund's site also includes information on how to support the fight against Scientology.
The Church of Scientology pursues critics through the courts. While researching the church, I found that it has been involved in over 10 lawsuits, whose charges range from wrongful death to attempts to shut down Web sites opposing the Church.
In 1997, The St. Petersburg Times published an article detailing the death of Lisa McPherson, a woman who died in the care of Scientologists. McPherson's family sued the Church of Scientology for her wrongful death. The article says the lawsuit claims McPherson "received Scientology treatments that 'were carried out by medically untrained and unlicensed personnel.'"
On Nov.18, 1995, after McPherson was involved in a small traffic accident in Clearwater, Fla., she was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was given medical and psychological treatment. The article says that according to the lawsuit, members of the Church of Scientology told doctors that getting psychological treatment was against McPherson's religion. She was released into the Scientologist's care.
When Scientologists brought her to the hospital 17 days later, McPherson was dead. The local medical examiner's office found that McPherson had died of blood clotting because of "bed rest and severe dehydration." Medical examiner Joan Wood added that McPherson probably went without fluids for five to 10 days, and was probably unconscious up to two days before her death. Wood also found cockroach bites on McPherson's body. The Church of Scientology refutes these claims, and says McPherson died of a