ABOUT I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X.

Scientology: Its True Nature

Harri Heino
Professor of Theology

University of Tampere
Helsinki, Finland

26 October 1995

VI. Idea of Man

A basic consideration in Scientology is that man is above all a spiritual being, a thetan, a kind of soul, nonmaterial and immortal, which possesses unlimited powers and potentials. This thetan takes in its possession a material human body when it comes to the world.

A basic consideration in Scientology is that man is above all a spiritual being, a thetan, a kind of soul, nonmaterial and immortal, which possesses unlimited powers and potentials.

The thetans were once trapped in the chains of the material world and lost the knowledge of their actual beingness. In this aspect Scientology reminds one of Gnosticism and Neo-Gnostic movements, in which it is usually thought that they possess a lost (often secret) knowledge of the basic identity of man, and that their task is to awaken his original spiritual and divine awareness, so that he is even able to freely go over the border of life and death.

VII. Salvation

Scientology, Social Science and the Definition of Religion

by James A. Beckford, Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick, England

Social Change and New Religious Movements

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

The Church of Scientology

by Juha Pentikäinen, Marja Pentikäinen, University of Helsinki, Finland

The Relationship Between Scientology and Other Religions

by Fumio Sawada, Eighth holder of the secrets of Yu-itsu Shinto, the oldest religion in Japan; President, Ahlul-Bait Center

The Religious Nature of Scientology

by Geoffrey Parrinder, Methodist minister, Professor, Comparative Study of Religions, University of London

Religious Philosophy, Religion and Church

by G.C. Oosthuizen, Professor of Science of Religion, University of Durban-Westville, Natal, South Africa

Scientology a New Religion

by M. Darrol Bryant, Department of Religious Studies, Renison College, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Apostates and New Religious Movements

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

Scientology: An Analysis and Comparison of its Religious Systems and Doctrines

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

The Reliability of Apostate Testimony About New Religious Movements

by Lonnie D. Kliever Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies

The Sea Organization and its Role Within the Church of Scientology

by Frank K. Flinn Ph.D. Adjunct Professor in Religious Studies

Brief Analyses of the Religious Nature of Scientology

by J. Gordon Melton, Baylor University, Samuel Hill, Gary Bouma, Irving Hexham

Congregational Services of the Church of Scientology

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

Is Scientology A Religion?

by Alan W. Black, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

Is Scientology a Religion?

by Dean M. Kelley, National Council of Churches

Religious Toleration & Religious Diversity

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

Scientology A Religion In South Africa

by David Chidester, Professor of Comparative Religion, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Scientology: A True Religion

by Urbano Alonso Galan, Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Gregorian University of Rome

Scientology: A Way of Spiritual Self-Identification

by Michael Sivertsev, Moscow Academy of Sciences

Scientology: A Worshipping Community

by Lonnie D. Kliever, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

Scientology and Contemporary Definitions of Religion in the Social Sciences

by Alejandro Frigerio, Professor of Sociology, Catholic University of Argentina, Buenos Aires

Scientology and Islam an Analogous Study

by Fumio Sawada, Eighth holder of the secrets of Yu-itsu Shinto, the oldest religion in Japan; President, Ahlul-Bait Center

Scientology and Religion

by Christiaan Vonck, Rector, Faculty for Comparative Study of Religion, Antwerp, Belgium

Scientology: A Comparison with Religions of the East and West

by Per-Arne Berglie, Professor of History of Religion, University of Stockholm

Scientology Its Cosmology, Anthropology, System of Ethics and Methodologies

by Régis Dericquebourg, Professor of Sociology of Religion, University of Lille III, France

Scientology – Its Historical-Morphological Frame

by Dario Sabbatucci, Professor of History of Religions, University of Rome

Scientology: Its True Nature

by Harri Heino, Professor of Theology, University of Tampere, Finland

Scientology: The Marks of Religion

by Frank K. Flinn, Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies Washington University
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