Daughter and this classmate of hers have been dating since August. She told us him & his whole family are Scientologists. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t know anything about it until she mentioned it, my first thought was “oh, they believe in science? That’s cool”. Then I looked it up online… and I still don’t understand anything. Most sources say it’s a bad thing, but I don’t get what it’s all actually about, as in doctrine, beliefs, activities, etc. I don’t even understand if it’s an actual religion or one of those pay-to-level-up self-care courses. One of the most confusing things I’ve ever read about. So if anyone could explain it straight to the point, I’d be very grateful.

  • MentalEdge
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    3 hours ago

    It’s a cult. The “science” they base their beliefs on is called “dianetics”. You can look that up and get more straigh-up explanations than by looking up “scientology”.

    In short, they think humans are possessed by the dead souls of immortal aliens from millions of years ago, but we can’t perceive this due to traumatic memories which must be “cleared” using “auditing”.

    Auditing sessions are recorded, and as they involve confessing your darkest secrets to “clear” the relevant “trauma”, the recordings can then be used to blackmail people into staying with the cult.

    It’s a pay-to-level-up religion, except instead of caring for your health they abuse you. They actively reject mental healthcare based on real science, and consider psychiatrists equivalent to murderers.

    They don’t believe in the concept of crime, instead considering anything and everything that happens to someone their own fault.

    Members are not allowed to report crimes perpetrated by other members to the actual police, instead they must be reported to the church. When scientologists rape other scientologists, the victim gets punished with more auditing.

    The most infamous scientologist is likely Danny Masterson, who is finally in prison for assaulting likely dozens and dozens of female members.

    They also don’t tell their followers what their beliefs actually are, before they’ve paid so much money for it that the sunk cost fallacy has them too committed to pull out.

    You can find more info online about their actual beliefs told by people who have left the cult, than they reveal even to their own followers. Its all deliberately confusing, because no-one would buy into their crazy bullshit otherwise.

    Get your daughter out of this relationship asap. Or even better, have a serious talk with her about scientology, explore what it is and what it does to its members, together, so she can then consider the situation and navigate it for herself.

    • dwindling7373@feddit.it
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      2 hours ago

      Get your daughter out of this relationship asap, or even better, have a serious talk with her about what scientology, explore what it is and what it does to its members together, so she can then consider the situation and navigate it for herself.

      Or even better, she’s already being manipulated and scientology are GOOD at it while you are just yet another concerned relative they can easily cut off your daughter’s life.

      Get her out, even against her better judgement if she is a minor, but honestly even if she is not.

      If the guy is renouncing Scientology, MAYBE, he can stay.

      • MentalEdge
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        3 hours ago

        Allowing a person to think for themselves is always the best option.

        But allowing her to accept scientology should not be an option, and isn’t what I was suggesting.

        I simply assume that OP, looking into scientology with a critical eye, is likely to have a good relationship with their daughter. And that the daughter being of dating age, and the offspring of someone seemingly reasonable, they are both capable of having an adult conversation. One that won’t end with their daughter going “fuck you, I’m cutting you out of my life forever” but rather with their daughter accepting reality and intergrating the facts into her mind in a way where they can’t be easily subverted.

        If that isn’t the case, then the heavy handed approach is absolutely warranted.