An Analysis of L. Ron Hubbard's Formulation of Therapy And

chapter 2 Rethinking Scientology: An Analysis of L. Ron Hubbard’s Formulation of Therapy and Religion in Dianetics and Scientology, 1950–1986

Dorthe Refslund Christensen

Introduction

This chapter presents an analysis of therapy and religion and their interrela- tions in Dianetics and Scientology as these issues were represented and re- represented by L. Ron Hubbard in the Technical Bulletins as well as in all Di- anetics and Scientology publications from 1950 to 1986.1 Througout the years 1950 to 1986, L. Ron Hubbard laid out his ideas on Dianetics and Scientology in a large number of technical issues and articles. Today these are collected in the Technical Bulletins, comprised of chronological volumes i–xiii, additional Subject Volumes, volumes 1–4 and one Index volume. According to the Church of Scientology, the 12,000 pages of bulletins make “complete chronological study of the written technology of Dianetics and Scientology” (tb, vol. x, 1976: 725) possible. This makes them vital to technical training in the application of Dianetics and Scientology principles. The bulletins are also vital to students of religions wanting to analyse the development of the Scientological soteriology, including the two “cultural repertoires” therapy and religion, and some of the ways they interrelate in Hubbard’s representations, which – in today’s Scientological theology – make up the ideological and theological representations of Scientology itself. By a “cultural repertoire” I refer to a cultural field distinct from other cultural fields by entertaining a certain set of concepts and practices by means of which a certain framework of interpretation, explanation and causality can be established and/ or by designating a particular field of interest. The analysis, being chronological, demonstrates that Hubbard developed his ideas and the related practices gradually. The point of departure is Hub- bard’s main representation of Dianetics in Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (dmsmh) (Hubbard 1989 [1950]), and includes his changing representations of relevant issues throughout the years. It is thus possible

1 In addition to the Technical Bulletins, the development is represented in a large number of books covering different subjects and techniques. A thorough analysis of all the sources to the study of Dianetics and Scientology is presented in Christensen (2009).

48 Christensen to get an idea of how development occurred, according to Hubbard and the Church. However, although the analysis is chronological, it does not, by any means, attempt to find out “how it really happened”. Rather, taking this ap- proach is necessary in order to produce an empirical framework for compre- hending the significance of Hubbard and his ideas to individual Scientologists in terms of the conceptual framework or cultural reservoir that Dianetics and Scientology actually provide for the subjects engaged in these practices. In analysing Hubbard’s ongoing representations and re-representations I take inspiration from the concept of representational redescription.2 I claim that Hubbard’s ongoing representations of the therapeutic and, later, of the religious and soteriological ideas are representational redescriptions of one basic format or idea, that man is miserable and something can be done about it. This is the basic format represented by Hubbard before he set himself in action, and the Technical Bulletins are his ongoing representational redescriptions of this format. What varies are his representations of who ‘man’ is; what the term ‘miserable’ denotes; who the recipients of an actual representation are; what ‘something’ refers to in terms of what should be done (philosophi- cally and practically); and