Church of Scientology International (CSI), the mother church of the Scientology religion, is headquartered in Los Angeles. CSI oversees the ecclesiastical activities of all Scientology churches, organizations and groups throughout the world, and sees that individual churches receive guidance in applying the policies and technology as laid out by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard. CSI also provides the broad planning and direction needed to expand the Scientology religion internationally.
The fundraising system of requesting specific donations for auditing and training was adopted as the most practical and workable for Scientology, as those participating in these services place the greatest demand on the Church’s resources -- often in the form of one-to-one auditing services. The donation amounts are based on what it takes to support and provide for the day-to-day activities of the Church. All donations for Scientology services are used to provide services to parishioners, make Scientology known to the world and to fund the Church’s charitable and social reform programs.
Scientology parishioners find the fixed donation system to be fair and logical. They agree that they should support the Church in proportion to their participation in these services.
Scientology’s requested donation system has analogs in other religions. To give comparisons, some religions, such as the Mormon, Pentecostal and certain other Christian denominations require their members to tithe 10 percent of their income. Jewish temples are supported through fixed monthly dues, building fund assessments and the sale of High Holy Day tickets. Other similar fundraising practices exist in the Zen Buddhist and Hindu faiths, where specific amounts are required for religious services such as meditation retreats and pujas (blessings).
The IRS recognizes that donations for Scientology services are not distinguishable from the fundraising practices of other religions and allows Scientology parishioners to deduct them on their personal income tax returns.
These contributions make up almost the entirety of the financial support the Church receives. Scientology is a young religion and does not have a large accumulated endowment to draw upon.
While the Church receives donations for auditing and training, it offers religious ceremonies, Chaplain services, congregational gatherings, seminars, lectures, workshops and other Scientology services for which no donation is requested or received. Scientology churches and their members also have a strong tradition of charity and provide auditing assistance to help others through times of distress, illness or injury without thought of compensation.
The Church maintains two such religious retreats -- one in Clearwater, Florida, and another aboard the motor vessel Freewinds, whose home port is in the Caribbean.
The Church of Scientology in Clearwater is the spiritual headquarters for the religion and hub of the international Scientology community. With more than 20 buildings and nearly 1,000 staff, it is the largest Church of Scientology facility in the world. It delivers advanced spiritual training and auditing to parishioners who come from around the world to this church.
The Church’s second retreat is located aboard the 450-foot motor vessel Freewinds. It is there that the highest level of spiritual counseling available in Scientology is delivered. A seagoing vessel is the ideal setting for this level of spiritual counseling, because it provides parishioners with a calm environment set apart from the crossroads of the workaday world where, without distraction, they are free to concentrate on spiritual advancement. While freedom from distraction is important during all counseling, it is vital at the highest level of services which are available on the Freewinds.
The Sea Organization derives its name from its beginnings in 1967 when Mr. Hubbard, having retired from his position as Executive Director International, set out to sea with a handful of veteran Scientologists to continue his research into the upper levels of spiritual awareness and ability. These original crew members formulated a 1-billion-year contract in recognition of their personal dedication to the religion as immortal spiritual beings. Today all new Sea Org members sign such a contract to continue this tradition.
Although today the majority of Sea Organization members are based on land, in keeping with the tradition of the order’s inception, they still wear maritime-style uniforms and have ranks and ratings.
Sea Org members, having devoted their lives to their religion, work long hours and live communally with housing, meals, uniforms, medical and dental care provided by the Church. They participate in Scientology training and auditing during a portion of each day, but otherwise dedicate themselves to furthering the objectives of Scientology through their particular functions.
Today, more than 5,000 members of this religious order occupy staff positions in upper level Scientology church organizations around the world.
Although open to all, Celebrity Centre Churches primarily minister to artists and other professionals. No matter how famous a parishioner may be, he or she will be able to pursue auditing and training in the distraction-free and secure setting provided by these churches to improve all aspects of individuals to be a positive influence upon society.
The largest of these churches, Celebrity Centre International, is located in Hollywood and has many parishioners in the entertainment industry. Celebrity Centre International also provides ecclesiastical management assistance to the other Celebrity Centre churches located in such places as New York, Nashville, Las Vegas, London, Paris and Vienna.
By example and through their art, celebrities influence millions. To support their endeavors, Celebrity Centre Churches assist and support the many artists in Scientology who are actively involved in addressing the problems of illiteracy, drug-abuse, crime and other social ills.
The Executive Director International and his Committee formulate broad planning and provide programs for Scientology organizations to carry out in areas such as the establishment of new churches and missions, production of scriptural materials, training of ministers and administrators, and provision of services to parishioners and the general public.
The Watchdog Committee does not manage individual churches, but ensures that Church management bodies are established, functioning and performing their duties in accordance with Church policy as written by Mr. Hubbard. These Church management bodies are in turn each responsible for a sector of Scientology such as churches, missions or groups.
Many of the skills needed by an auditor are best communicated by example, which is most effectively achieved today through audiovisual media. Mr. Hubbard wrote a series of motion picture scripts to demonstrate exact points of Scientology religious technology and also wrote more than 50 film scripts on Scientology to disseminate Scientology principles to the general public. These are still being produced today.
Golden Era Productions also provides audio-visual dissemination materials for the Scientology religion. These include videotaped programs, radio and television messages, and Sunday service broadcasts. The films and other audiovisual products are translated into many languages for use in other parts of the world.
Much of the Scientology scripture is contained in Mr. Hubbard’s 3,000 tape-recorded lectures -- generally 90 minutes in length each. One of Golden Era Productiuons’ vital functions is to restore these lectures (many of which were recorded in the 1950s and had deteriorated) and to reproduce them in cassette form, along with full transcriptions, for use by students on Scientology training courses.
Golden Era Productions also supports the religion worldwide with dissemination brochures, posters, fliers and magazines in many languages. New books and other religious materials based on Mr. Hubbard’s researches and writings are also compiled, designed and translated into many different languages at Golden Era Productions.
Through a network of Directors of Special Affairs who serve in local churches, the Office of Special Affairs ensures that every church maintains sound corporate status and complies with all legal and tax requirements.
It also coordinates community affairs and outreach programs participated in by the local churches, and national anti-drug campaigns and interfaith activities.
Religious Technology Center holds the ultimate ecclesiastical authority regarding the standard and pure application of L. Ron Hubbard’s religious technologies. RTC is not part of the management structure of the Church and is not involved in its day-to-day affairs. It holds the Dianetics and Scientology trademarks and service marks, which Founder L. Ron Hubbard donated to RTC in 1982. Earlier, Mr. Hubbard himself oversaw the practice of the religion and registered as trade and service marks many of the religion’s identifying words and symbols, such as "Dianetics" and "Scientology." These registered marks provide a legal mechanism for seeing to the correct application of the Scientology technologies and to prevent anyone from practicing in a nonorthodox manner while claiming it is standard Dianetics or Scientology.
Thus, while Church of Scientology International serves as the mother church and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination, propagation and defense of Scientology and the various churches of Scientology, Religious Technology Center serves as the ultimate protector of the religion. While each Scientology organization and, indeed, every Scientologist is expected to enforce the standard application of scriptures, RTC is the final arbiter of orthodoxy.
The IAS was formed in 1984 at Saint Hill Manor, the home of L. Ron Hubbard from 1959 to 1967, which is located in East Grinstead, Sussex, England. Delegates from around the world representing the Scientologists in their areas gathered in recognition of the need to unite all Scientologists as one international body.
Specifically the IAS was formed to guarantee that Scientologists will always be able to practice their religion. It assists in instances where individual Scientology churches or Scientologists are subjected to religious persecution.
Additionally, the IAS supports the Church’s social betterment and social reform activities. It also keeps Scientologists informed of all important developments and successes of the religion around the world and provides a forum through which they can coordinate their actions.
How are Churches of Scientology administered?
In general, each individual Church of Scientology is separately incorporated and is governed by its own board of directors. The officers and directors also form the ecclesiastical management of the church and are fully responsible for providing services to their parishioners.
How are Churches of Scientology supported financially?
Churches of Scientology are supported by donations from their parishioners. Generally the Church requests specific donations for participation in auditing and training religious services, although many parishioners make additional donations to support the Church’s charitable programs, or to help acquire or renovate Church premises.
What is the purpose of Scientology religious retreats?
Certain Scientology Churches maintain religious retreats for the benefit and use of parishioners. In Scientology, some upper levels of spiritual counseling require the parishioner’s full-time participation for a period of several weeks for the parishioner to achieve the full benefit. Thus, the Church maintains religious retreats, away from the distractions of the world, which provide parishioners the ideal environment for advanced religious studies and spiritual counseling.
The Sea Organization or "Sea Org" is a religious order whose members sign a pledge of eternal service to Scientology and its goals. The members of this religious order thus form the dedicated core of the religion. It is a fraternal religious group, not an organization or corporation; each of its members is responsible to the individual Church corporation that employs him or her.
What are Celebrity Centre Churches and how are they different from other Churches of Scientology?
L. Ron Hubbard once wrote, "A culture is only as great as its dreams and its dreams are dreamed by artists." An artist in a number of fields himself, he recognized that artists supply the spark of creativity and the vision of the future which helps improve the condition of society. Thus, the Church established Celebrity Centres, Church organizations specifically geared to provide Scientology services to such parishioners.
What is the role of the Executive Director International?
The Executive Director International is the most senior management position in the Church, a position which was held by Mr. Hubbard himself until he retired from active Church management in 1966. The Executive Director International is responsible for seeing that the Scientology religion continues to expand internationally. He is assisted by 11 highly trained Church executives who are experts in each individual function performed by a Church of Scientology. These experts form the International Management Executive Committee, chaired by the Executive Director International.
What is the Watchdog Committee?
The Watchdog Committee is responsible for the various organizations that manage the different sectors of Scientology.
What is Golden Era Productions?
Golden Era Productions is a division of Church of Scientology International that was formed to produce religious training and dissemination films. It is located in Southern California on a 500-acre property which contains film and sound studios as well as editing facilities and even a film laboratory, making it possible to produce all of these religious films in-house.
What is the Office of Special Affairs?
The Office of Special Affairs (OSA) is the division of Church of Scientology International responsible for interfacing with the society at large, including legal affairs, public relations and community.
What is Religious Technology Center?
Religious Technology Center (RTC) is a nonprofit organization formed in 1982 to preserve, maintain and protect the Scientology religion.
What is the International Association of Scientologists?
The International Association of Scientologists (IAS) is an unincorporated membership organization open to all Scientologists from all nations. It does not participate in management or Church affairs and is not part of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
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