The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology , which is variously defined as a cult , a business , or a new religious movement. In , several executives of the organization were convicted and imprisoned for multiple offenses by a U.
Federal Court. Ron Hubbard. All Scientology management organizations are controlled exclusively by members of the Sea Org , which is a paramilitary organization for the "elite, innermost dedicated core of Scientologists". In , L. Ron Hubbard established organizations to manage activities related to his invention of Dianetics ; the organizations went bankrupt and Hubbard moved to Arizona where he started Scientology. Hubbard had official control of the organizations until when he publicly resigned, though he continued to give orders to executives, secretly running the organizations.
Although Hubbard maintained no formal position within Scientology's management structure, he remained firmly in control of the organization and its affiliated organizations, often using code names and code words to obscure his involvement. After the convictions in United States v. Hubbard , there was a flurry of activity creating new corporations in the early s to avoid further government scrutiny and to limit and compartmentalize liabilities.
In , after the death of L. However, a year later David Miscavige had wrested power from the Broekers and became the leader of the Scientology organization. The Church of Scientology network operates as a multinational conglomerate of companies with personnel, executives , organizational charts , chains of command , policies and orders: [ 27 ] [ 28 ] [ 15 ]. Today, what we call "Scientology" is in reality a remarkably complex network of ostensibly independent but clearly interconnected corporate entities.
Church of Scientology organizations that are public-facing are called "service orgs". Auditing is the 'counseling', and training teaches how to audit. The levels of auditing and training are charted and described on The Bridge to Total Freedom. All Scientology management organizations are controlled exclusively by members of the Sea Org βwhich is not a corporationβconsisting of the "elite, innermost dedicated core of Scientologists" run as a paramilitary organization : [ 6 ] [ 22 ] David Miscavige is described by the Scientology organization as the highest-ranking Sea Org officer, and is referred to by the organization as its captain.
