How a Portland jury got a crash course in one of the oddest "religions" ever created and awarded the plaintiff more than $2. million Note: This summer, a jury in Portland spent a month listening to testimony in a $4 million lawsuit over the practices of the Church of Scientology there. The plaintiff: Julie Christofferson, a young Portland woman who was a follower of Scientology in 1975 and 1976. The defendants: three local Scientology organizations and one of their leaders. ''Richard ...

Like any other religion, Scientology has its trappings. Not crisp, rich-colored vestments. Not silver chalices, nor flasks of holy water. No, there are other things. Like personality tests and E-meters. E-meters? Scientologists rely heavily on counseling methods to cure psychosomatic ills and mental blocks. They believe in the powers of the "reactive mind" — a portion of the mind which records unpleasant experiences which may later be triggered by outside influences. TO CLEAR the mind of "engrams" (the unsavory experiences), Scientologists ...

The Church of Scientology contends that for more than 20 years it has been the target of a systematic campaign by the United States government, together with "vested-interest pressure groups" such as the medical professions, to "suppress the church's spiritual practice and expansion." The church advances this accusation as the fundamental rationale for its aggressive policies of defense-by-attack against individual critics, private groups and government agencies perceived as "harassing" Scientology. Church spokesmen, moreover, expand upon the allegation of systematic persecution to ...

On May 14, 1951, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard wrote to the U.S. attorney general to plead for help in fending off a Communist conspiracy, dedicated, he averred, to destroying him. "When, when, when," he wrote, "will we have a roundup?" Rambling through seven single-spaced typewritten pages, the letter was, to all appearances, the heartfelt cry of a troubled man. A successful science fiction writer in the 1940s, L. Ron Hubbard, as he signed himself, had gone on to bigger things. ...

The Church of Scientology, the invention of science fiction writer Ron Hubbard which has caused an unholy uproar around the world in the past, will hold a Canberra inaugural service at Red Hill tomorrow. The Church, established in 1953 by Mr Hubbard after his book 'Dienetics', published in 1950, attracted world-wide interest in the principles of Scientology. More than five million people in 54 countries are understood to have gone through the Scientology processing, a full course of which can cost ...

The Church of Scientology attempts to reform individuals through its counseling and teaching techniques. It also has a large operation dedicated to reforming society. This comes under the heading of traditional religious activism, Scientologists say, but various government agencies say it goes far beyond. In this, the fourth and final segment of a series on Scientology, the Valley News explores the legal and political entanglements of the church. By BRIAN ALEXANDER The "applied religious philosophy" of Scientology has political as ...

The Church of Scientology offers a free personality evaluation to persons interested in its counseling services. Valley News staff writer Brian Alexander took the test at the Sherman Oaks Scientology center, posing as a college student and using an assumed name. As the second segment of a four-part series on the church, he tells what happened. —– The Church of Scientology's free personality test is like a warm handshake, but the grip is too tight. The counselor who evaluates ...

The two-story brick building at N. Ballenger Hwy. and Sloan St. looks as if it should house an insurance agency or doctor's office. It is a well-built, well-kept structure. Inside, quality furniture and a quiet, professional greeting welcome the visitor. But this building houses a center related to a church that is under fire from federal agencies. Early this month, the FBI used crowbars and sledgehammers to enter offices of the Church of Scientology in Hollywood and Washington, D.C. Agents were ...

By Herald reporter Geoff Easdown who was tested today by Mrs Elaine Allen, Victoria's first registered minister of the Church of Scientology. Scientology is operating in a bigger way than before it was banned in 1965, its first officially recognised minister in Victoria claimed today. Controversial files are still kept on those who seek counselling from its ministers. The controversial E-meter is again in use. At the Church of Scientology, 724 Inkerman Rd., Caulfield, I was given an E-meter test today ...

The mystery began to unfold last fall in sleepy, sun-drenched Clearwater, Fla. The Southern Land Development and Leasing Corp. decided to buy the 270-room Fort Harrison Hotel, a downtown landmark, and a nearby bank building. Southern Land stated that the hotel would stay open, but another spokesman announced that it would become a center for the United Churches of Florida, a new ecumenical outfit that soon won endorsement from twelve local clergymen. When 200 tight-lipped strangers moved into the hotel, rumors ...

L. Ron Hubbard has paid the missing renewal fee on his British Patent 943012 for the Scientology E-meter but abandoned his attempt at prolonging its natural sixteen year life (New Scientist, vol 68, p 585). The necessary legal petition has not been presented to the court. The Patent Office, who in prolongation cases briefs counsel to protect the public interest, has now heard from the Treasury Solicitors Department acting on its behalf that no petition will be presented. The action ...

Lafayette Ron Hubbard of the Church of Scientology is seeking to extend the life of the British patent for his E-meter. The patent (943 012) will come to the end of its natural 16 year life on 27 July, 1976, when anyone will be able to make and sell the meter. Obviously this strikes terror in the heart of the Church of Scientology, and it has given notice of intention to present a prolongation petition to the High Court of Justice. ...

[...] The Church of Scientology. Founded by former science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard after he "proved conclusively that man is a spiritual being," Scientology is a "non-denominational" religion devoted to increasing the spiritual awareness of its flock. This is done by a process called Auditing, which seems to be a kind of confessional session in which a duly trained minister of Scientology guides a person into confronting emotional and spiritual logjams in his past. The actual techniques the auditor uses to ...