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1-Page Summary of Going Clear

Overview

This book explains the development of religious thought from primitive times to today. It also helps explain why religious belief and scientific theory can’t be reconciled, as well as the dangers that arise with this kind of thinking. The author is a famous science fiction writer who has worked in psycho-therapeutic techniques and is rumored to have abused people for years.

Is Scientology really a religion? How did it start? Why is Tom Cruise so passionate about the religion? Going Clear answers those questions and provides an inside look at the history of the church, as well as other famous members. These key things you’ll find: where L. Ron Hubbard earned a Guinness World Record; how their religion became so popular among celebrities like John Travolta (Omg!); and why Scientologists believe in Xenu, an alien leader.

Big Idea #1: Scientology considers itself to be a religion that is based on science.

Scientology is the second largest new religious movement in the United States. The Church of Scientology International estimates that there are eight million members worldwide, while only 25,000 people call themselves Scientologists in the US. It’s hard to know how many there really are because not everyone who believes in Scientology identifies as one. This question has been difficult to answer for a long time—is it even a religion? In 1957, the government officially recognized it as such and granted them tax-exempt status but ten years later they revoked their decision saying that it was actually just a money-making scheme created by L Ron Hubbard (the founder). So what does this tell us about whether or not Scientology is a religion? They got another group of experts on religions to confirm its religious nature and then had Frank Flinn testify that like other religions, Scientology has beliefs about supernatural beings with extraordinary powers similar to Jesus Christ and Muhammad.

So, wouldn’t Scientology be considered a religion? The US government didn’t think so at the time.

In 1993, the tides turned when Scientology regained its tax-exempt status. It was also paradoxical that they claimed to be based on science and said their doctrine was developed through rigorous scientific research. Recruits were told that they would naturally come to share the worldview of Scientology after going through a process of realization.

Hubbard, in his book Dianetics, which is the central tenet of Scientology’s belief system, calls his self-help method an engineering science. Psychiatry has opposed this claim since it was first made.

Big Idea #2: We’re actually immortal beings trapped on Earth.

Before Scientology was created, L. Ron Hubbard had a vision during dental surgery in 1938. After he regained consciousness, he believed that the secrets of the universe were revealed to him.

The author then claimed to have visions of other things, which later became the basis for Scientology’s belief system. However, what did he actually see?

Scientology believes that we are immortal spirits who live many lives. We can get out of our earthly bodies and travel through time and space with enough training.

Furthermore, Scientology members can gain access to memories from past lives. For example, Hubbard was upset that Machiavelli had stolen his line about the “end justifying the means” in a previous life. As people advance within Scientology, they learn two incidents that led to their imprisonment on Earth:

The first incident occurred during the creation of this world, which caused people to lose their awareness of immortality.