What is Scientology and how does it differ from Christianity?

In the broad landscape of world religions, there are many which are very old and well understood. Then, there are others which are newer, shrouded in mystery, and very hard to pinpoint in terms of belief systems and practices.

Such is the case with Scientology, a formal religion founded in the 1950s by fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.

Scientology is both very wide and very deep. That is, there are various beliefs associated with the religion, and each of those beliefs has deeper roots that one becomes more aware of as one advances along those beliefs.

As just one example, one can visit their website or read L. Rob Hubbard’s books and come away with basic knowledge of their beliefs and practices. Yet, as you ascend up their ranks and become more involved, you are given information reserved for those higher levels of commitment.

In addition, there have been many controversies, lawsuits, abuse allegations and testimonies over the years, and much of their teaching is contradictory in nature.

Suffice it to say, this piece will cover the broad strokes of their beliefs, how it differs from Christianity, and whether or not one can be both a Christian and a Scientologist.

A Brief Introduction to Scientology: Goals, Beliefs and Terminology

The church speaks for itself:

Scientology comprises a body of knowledge which extends from certain fundamental truths. Prime among these are:

-        Man is an immortal spiritual being.

-        His experience extends well beyond a single lifetime.

-        His capabilities are unlimited, even if not presently realized.

Scientology further holds Man to be basically good, and that his spiritual salvation depends upon himself, his fellows and his attainment of brotherhood with the universe.

Scientology is not a dogmatic religion in which one is asked to accept anything on faith alone. On the contrary, one discovers for oneself that the principles of Scientology are true by applying its principles and observing or experiencing the results.

The ultimate goal of Scientology is true spiritual enlightenment and freedom for all.

One may wonder whether or not Scientology is evidence-based?

They write:

As with all its tenets, Scientology does not ask individuals to accept anything on faith alone. Rather, as one’s level of spiritual awareness increases through participation in Scientology auditing and training, one attains his own certainty of every dynamic. Accordingly, only when the Seventh Dynamic (spiritual) is reached in its entirety will one discover and come to a full understanding of the Eighth Dynamic (infinity) and one’s relationship to the Supreme Being.

For Scientologists, the fundamental problem with humanity is not sin, but rather “engrams.” Human souls—thetans, on Scientology—are marred by these engrams, which are considered to be traumas that arise within us due to experiences we’ve had while living a past life.

The notion of reincarnation is paramount in Scientology. Indeed, Hubbard thought himself to be a reincarnation of the Buddha.

The goal of one’s existence is to become “clear.” This happens through a process called “auditing” where one works with an auditor using a machine called an E-Meter. It measures the electrical resistance of the skin while the “preclear” holds onto two metal cans. The auditor observes the E-Meter’s readings to guide the session and locate areas of spiritual distress or travail.

In one well-known attempt to refute this teaching, the late actor, Christopher Reeve, crafted a story during an auditing session taken directly from Greek mythology. When the E-Meter reacted such that the auditor confirmed this story as being an engram and the source of Reeve’s trouble, he determined the practice was phony and did not pursue Scientology further.

Finally, Scientology is well-known to be a religion for the financially well-off. Indeed, one pays money to rise the ranks, attend auditing sessions, and more, which is why you will find that many of its members come from the societal elite, such as actors and very rich businessmen.

There are five areas where Scientology and Christianity overlap and make claims that may be either compatible or incompatible, which will now be discussed.

Read more:

Who are the Jehovah’s Witnesses and how do they differ from Christianity?

Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox: What’s the difference and does it matter?

What is Judaism and how does it differ from Christianity?

What is Islam and how does it differ from Christianity?

What is Mormonism and how does it differ from Christianity?

What is Hinduism and how does it differ from Christianity?

1. The Nature of God

According to the church’s official website:

Unlike religions with Judeo-Christian origins, the Church of Scientology has no set dogma concerning God that it imposes on its members.

Instead, it relies on a vague notion of a “Supreme Being,” which they argue has been affirmed by virtually every world religion throughout history. The concept of a Supreme Being itself is truly the only inarguable concept of God available, and one is free to worship their own understanding of whom that Supreme Being is.

On Christianity, of course, God is not merely a “supreme being” but is a person. He is not only the Creator of all, but desires to have an intimate relationship with humanity and to see all souls come to a knowledge of the truth.

And although scientologists often claim that one can be a practising Christian and a scientologist, as will be shown below, these worldviews are mutually exclusive.

2. The Nature of Worldview

The Christian worldview posits that God created humanity in his image because of a desire to be in eternal, loving relationship with beings made in his image, and ultimately for God’s own pleasure (Revelation 4:11).

Humanity is broken because, when given the choice to believe and obey God or satisfy one’s own prideful desires, we chose pride and disobedience. Despite many attempts at relationship (the initial creation, the Flood in Genesis 6-8, and the creation of a particular people in the nation of Israel), humanity would continue to fall into patterns of sin.

Rather than to do away with humanity as fundamentally broken, God instead chose to take on flesh and become a man in the person of Jesus Christ, the incarnation of the Word—the second person of the Trinity, in Christian teaching. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, his sacrifice made it possible to reconcile with God and be in relationship with him for all eternity.

For scientologists, humans are basically good and not sinful; we are merely marred by engrams and in need of someone to help us shed those traumas and become “clear.” Only by achieving this clarity can we ascend the ranks and achieve everything we’re meant to in this life.

Since, on Christianity, belief and acceptance of Jesus as one’s personal saviour is the only way to be saved, and on Scientology, “spiritual salvation depends upon oneself,” these two religions are fundamentally opposed and cannot be consistently practised together.

Each given as a stand-alone description, it is fair to say that both religions sound “fantastic” in a sense. The question then becomes, how do we know which one—if either—is actually true?

3. The Nature of Revelation

There seems to be little-to-no discussion within Scientology about whether or not this worldview and its teachings are objectively true. It is notable that the religious movement was started by a Science Fiction writer. Once you delve deep into the teachings of the religion, that inspiration becomes apparent (discussed more below).

Christians since the very beginning have marshalled evidence in favour of their worldview. There are both ancient and modern arguments for the existence of God, the inspiration of the Bible, the person of Jesus Christ, and even his resurrection from the dead. The Bible itself claims that if Christ was not raised from the dead, there is no basis for faith or hope, therefore the entire worldview crumbles (1 Corinthians 15:17).

Scientology claims that it does not ask one to believe anything on the basis of faith alone. And yet they claim:

…one discovers for oneself that the principles of Scientology are true by applying its principles and observing or experiencing the results.

To be clear, the type of evidence this suggests is of personal subjective experience. Unfortunately, one’s personal subjective experience is not sufficient to explain whether something is true for everyone, everywhere, at every time—the kind of justification needed to form the basis of a religious worldview.

While there is a subjective element to Christian belief as well (i.e., God can be personally known and experienced through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit), it is a worldview that is very serious about its evidential nature. Take, for example, 2 Peter 1:16-21:

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

As so elegantly put by Voddie Baucham:

I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfilment of specific prophecies and claimed that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.

In other words, Christianity relies on falsifiable public claims, testimony, and events, without which it would fail.

Scientology depends on the dogmatic writings of a 20th century science fiction writer who does not offer a defence of his views, but merely a dispensing of them.

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4. The Nature of History

As alluded to above, Scientology does not depend on ancient religious writings or a well-defined story of creation and descent into depravity. Christianity has a consistent story of creation, rebellion, and redemption that has been disseminated since the dawn of human communication and affirmed by scholars and peasants alike.

It enjoys many historical successes such as:

-        Broad acceptance and appeal

-        Perseverance through intense persecution

-        The formation of Western society

-        Dominance over the calendar

-        The basis for and creation of the scientific method

-        and much, much more.

Furthermore, it does this while—and this is important—being the only world religion which consistently affirms something we all know deep down: we cannot save ourselves. In Christianity, there is no amount of willpower that can save us. We must place our lives in the care of someone else and we do not have to work for their love or their rescue. It is freely available to all who will receive it.

The truth of history not only matters in Christianity, it is reasonable, well-argued, and widely accepted.

Scientology, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. To be sure, many people have been “helped” by the teachings of Scientology (though many have also complained of spiritual, mental, and physical abuse). One need not be a Christian in order to provide sound advice on how to handle a situation or even some aspects of how to live. But it doesn’t stop there.

Again, it was founded by a Science Fiction writer. As you ascend the ranks, you become “ready” to learn more about the true history of the world, and specifically, an ancient alien named Xenu.

The Story of Xenu

L. Ron Hubbard introduced the story of Xenu as part of the church’s secret “upper-level” materials (once you reach Operating Thetan Level III (OT III). As such, most Scientologists who have not reached this level of advancement are unaware of or will not discuss this narrative.

According to Hubbard, Xenu was the dictator of the “Galactic Confederacy,” a collective of 76 planets, including Earth (then called “Teegeeack”), approximately 75 million years ago. Faced with overpopulation on these planets, Xenu devised a plan to solve the crisis. He brought billions of his citizens to Earth under the pretence of income tax inspections, paralysed them, and then stacked them around the bases of volcanoes.

Xenu then detonated hydrogen bombs in the volcanoes, annihilating the bodies but not the immortal spirits, or thetans. Following the explosions, the thetans were captured and subjected to a “brainwashing” procedure involving a “3D super colossal motion picture” that implanted false memories and confused them about their true nature. As a result, these traumatized thetans cluster together and attach themselves to humans in the present, causing spiritual and physical harm.

Part of the goal of OT III is to address these “body thetans” and the traumas associated with the Xenu narrative, freeing the individual from their negative influences.

Although the narrative has been widely disseminated, especially with the advent of the internet and television programs discussing Scientology, the church itself does not publicly discuss or disseminate the Xenu narrative, and when questioned about it, representatives often downplay or avoid the topic.

It is, once again, worth noting that there is no evidence of which this author is aware marshalled for the objective truth of this story. This too seems to be the stuff of science fiction.

5. The Nature of Humanity

Finally, Scientology and Christian differ entirely on the nature of humanity. On the former, one can become his own personal saviour. One can “pay to play” by giving to the church, ascending the ranks and gaining status, and having sessions with auditors to uncover engrams and become clear of trauma.

Humans are basically good, should strive to be a good person, and are welcome to entertain any other religious teachings while at the same time practising Scientology.

Jesus, on the other hand, said “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Humans are destined to live with God for eternity and worship him alone and forever, but must first confront the reality of their sin and trust in Christ alone.

If you view Hubbard’s writings, he was no fan of Christianity. In some cases he would deny the existence of Jesus altogether, and then in the next breath suggest that he was a bad person who is not worthy of following. Today, however, the church maintains one can openly practice both as far as they are concerned.

Malcolm Muggeridge once wrote:

The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable reality but at the same time the most intellectually resisted fact.

One can look around and see, in plain view, that the biblical idea of the need for humanity to be saved is true. Not only do we see depravity on display every day, but we even write superhero stories, legends, and myths of the saviours we desire. It was this very idea that led C.S. Lewis to the conclusion that Jesus was the “myth become fact.”

Humanity is not comprised of thetans with engrams from past lives in need of clarity. It is comprised of souls destined for eternity with God who have lost their way, rebelled against God, and need to be rescued. The Christian worldview alone offers that hope and that rescue in the person of Jesus Christ. 

Steve Schramm is an autodidactic writer, Bible teacher and host of the Bible Nerd Podcast. He’s authored four books, including Truth Be Told: A Believer’s Guide to Sharing Christianity, Overcoming Objections, and Winning More Souls for Christ