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Row Rages Over 'Church'
Date:
December 23, 2004
Founded in 1954 by US writer L Ron Hubbard, the Church of Scientology was once branded "corrupt, sinister and dangerous" by a High Court judge. It is based on the premise that humans descended from alien spirits, Thetans, who came to Earth 75 million years ago. The Thetans' enemies are "engrams", malign forces from other galaxies. Therapeutic cleansing, known as "dianetics", can drive them out, resolve all problems and lead to eternal life. But to receive all the necessary teachings costs up to EUR240,000. The church's HQ was in East Grinstead, West Sussex, until Hubbard was banned from the UK in 1964. He died in 1986. ( categories: ) |