Kids in Scientology
There are seven major factors that are key to raising children in Scientology: teaching communication, ‘assisting’ your children, the use of the tone scale, encouraging your kids to participate in the household, believing the soul is immortal, promoting physical health, and having your child go through the Purification Rundown.
These factors stem from L. Ron Hubbard’s family-focused literature and the three official courses offered by Scientology: “Having a Happy Baby”, “Successfully raising Children”, and “Successfully Parenting Tweens and Teens”. These outline parenting strategies that reflect the Theology of Scientology and give us an idea as to what it may be like to be a parent and a child in the Church. From my research, being a good parent means implementing the following
#1 Communication. A lot of Hubbards ideas are very simple and straightforward — and (some) are just common sense. Communication is a very important part of a Scientologist’s life; it is a key aspect of being a functioning and good person. Courses for children and adults are provided in churches, church-affiliated organizations, and online to help people master communication.
#2 Assists. There are a few different kinds, but basically, these are what parents use when children are injured, ill, or emotionally distraught. Touch Assists are when an assisting person touches the injured body to bring attention to the physical form. The touch assist is meant to speed recovery. Contact Assists are when the body is put back in contact with the location the injury occurred or with the object that caused it. The contact assist is the most common and is believed to alleviate pain, provide comfort, and speed the healing process. A Nerve Assist is similar to a massage to stimulate nerves, which also promotes healing. Lastly, a Location Assist is for emotional pain. This assist moves the person’s attention away from whatever is bothering them.
#3 The Tone Scale. The Emotional Tone Scale, also known as “Tone 40”, is a spectrum of emotions to be identified. The scale shows the range of emotional states (grief to happiness or -40.0 to 40.0). It is believed that every tone level has its own unique behaviour; for example, someone who is angry is likely to shout and act violently and it is an advantage for Scientologists to be able to identify what tone people are in order to predict behaviour and interfere to change it. Hubbard explained, in a 1957 lecture titled “Child Scientology”, that it is absolutely necessary for children to have formal training in the Tone Scale (in addition to Control-communication-havingness, a four-step communication technique); without this training, Scientology will simply not work for children. The ability to identify and manipulate others’ emotions is seen as a part of productivity and essential for functioning in society.
#4 Participation in the household. In Scientology, it is believed that souls are immortal, and we have already lived life many many times. So, children have already experienced and learned everything, they just need to remember. This creates high expectations for children of all ages and to perform pretty much any task. Hubbard's theory is scripture also says that if you don't include your child in performing tasks in the household, they will resent you, rebel against the family — so include them or else.
#5 The Immortal soul. Scientologists or dualist in that they believe that humans have a soul — which they call a Thetan — separate from the physical body. Thetans occupy the Earth in human bodies forever in a process of reincarnation. Thetans accumulate trauma during their time on Earth through negative experiences, this trauma forms ‘Engrams’. Only through auditing, a counselling service provided in Scientology, can thetans become ‘clear’ of Engrams. Thetans also accumulate any drugs consumed in past lives. Drugs, including medicines like common painkillers, are seen as an enemy of Scientology. Drugs and past drugs are removed from the Thetan by a purification process to “become clear”. “Becoming clear” restores the original decency and goodness of a Thetan and this clarity is a state of spiritual awareness referred to as ‘total freedom’.
#6 Physical health. Pretty straightforward, it is considered important to house the Thetan in a healthy house.
#7 The Purification Rundown. This is a detoxification program meant to release any lingering toxins and drugs from the body from past lives. Like I mentioned before, in Scientology, the soul is eternal and has been around the block a few billion times. And in these past lives, we don't know what the soul got up to. The purification is a series of exercises, diets, and sauna sitting. Like Christian baptism, this purification is the initiation into Scientology and is usually done around the ages of fourteen to fifteen.
Some of these parenting topics are standard for any parent regardless of religion, and some seem bizarre… or even counterproductive?
Sources:
Åkerbäck, “Recently Reborn: To Return as a Child of Scientologist Parents”
The Official Church of Scientology
