Scientology vs. SLW (part 2)

My last complaint against the "Church" of Scientology didn't attract a lot of attention (hi, OSA!), so here's another one!

I don't know a lot about the "Church", other than it appears to be some kind of networking club for "Worst Actor" nominees at the Razzies.



In the UK, the "Church" has been distributing a flyer promising that, with their help, the "two in three people [who] suffer from STRESS at work" can "beat it". (The flyer is available here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.)

But what about this claim?

"Listen. There's been a discovery about the human mind that is so simple, so incredible and so powerful that it makes psychiatry, psychology...obsolete. It's called DIANETICS..."

Dianetics is what Scientology used to be called before it was closed down in 1951 for "teaching medicine without a licence".

This claim also caught my eye:

"It can be proved and has been repeatedly proven that there is no other [source of aberration], for when that engram bank is discharged [by using Dianetics], all undesirable symptoms vanish..."

Those "undesirable" symptoms seem to include

"...stress, unhappiness... self-doubt... insecurity, negative thoughts, depressions, irrational behaviour... [being] tone-deaf... stutter[ing]... psychoses, neuroses, compulsions... the whole catalog of psychosomatic ills..."

"Repeatedly proven", eh? Not with clinical trials, obviously - according to PubMed, none have ever been published.

Let's see how much evidence the "Church" can supply to substantiate their claims. ASA complaint follows!

"I write to complain about a flyer I picked up at the "Mind - Body - Soul" exhibition in London on 2nd October this year.

The flyer, for the Church of Scientology, promotes a book and DVD set offered for £24.00.

I suspect that the flyer may be in breach of two sections of the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP) code (2010). I can provide the original flyer by post, if necessary.

1. The promoted book, "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health", was first published in 1950. Its author, L. Ron Hubbard, later founded the Church of Scientology.

2. The flyer is titled:

"'Two in three people suffer from STRESS at work.' So how do you beat it?"

3. The front page of the flyer continues into page 3:

"Psychology labels people with hundreds of different 'disorders'. But these labels never really explain anything - and they don't give you a solution.

"Psychiatrists prescribe unpredictable drugs and talk about 'chemical imbalances' in your brain. They believe that the mind is a physical organ - a theory with no scientific basis.

"Listen.

"There's been a discovery about the human mind that is so simple, so incredible and so powerful that it makes psychiatry, psychology...obsolete.

"It's called DIANETICS.

"The fact is, there is a single source of all your problems, stress, unhappiness and self-doubt. It's called the reactive mind - the hidden part of your mind that stores all painful experiences, then uses them against you.

"Dianetics gets rid of the reactive mind. It's the only thing it does."

4. (i) The front page, page 2 and page 3 discuss further the benefits of Dianetics.

(ii) "Dianetics can bring dramatic and permanent improvement to people...all over the world...Don't live with insecurity, negative thoughts, depressions, irrational behaviour. Use Dianetics and learn to control your reactive mind."

(iii) "All over the world, people are using the breakthrough technology of Dianetics to make dramatic, permanent improvements to their lives."

(iv) "The reactive mind is the single source of all the pain and suffering in your life. It is the single source of all irrationality...It was L. Ron Hubbard's discovery that all the painful experiences of your life are contained in the reactive mind..."

(v) "Without a reactive mind, you will think clearly, act rationally and be yourself again. This state is called Clear. Tens of thousands of people are Clears...You can be too..."

5. (i) Page 4 of the flyer features an article taken from the advertised book:

"[The reactive mind] shuts off hearing recall...It makes people tone-deaf. It makes people stutter. It does anything and everything that can be found in any list of mental ills: psychoses, neuroses, compulsions...It can give man the whole catalog of psychosomatic ills and it is the only thing in the human being which can produce these effects...The reactive mind is the entire source of the aberration. It can be proved and has been repeatedly proven that there is no other [source of aberration], for when that [source of aberration] is discharged, all undesirable symptoms vanish..."

(ii) The quoted text is subject to a disclaimer:

"This article is part of L. Ron Hubbard's religious literature and works and is not a statement of claims made by the author, publisher, or any Church of Scientology. It is a record of Mr Hubbard's observations and research into life and the nature of man."

6. (i) I am not aware of any published clinical study which lends support to the flyer's claims for Dianetics.

(ii) A search of Pubmed using the search term "Dianetics" produced three articles, all written in 1950-1951. One of the articles was a critical book review; no abstract is available for the other two.

(iii) A broader search of Pubmed using the search term "Scientology" produced twelve articles, none of which were clinical trials.

(iv) After a careful search of the CAP Code, I was unable to find any exemptions for "religious literature" of the need to provide documentary evidence for claims capable of objective substantiation.

(v) Scientology is not recognised as a religion in the UK. In 1999, the Charity Commission refused the advertiser's application to register as a charity [1].

7. Under Section 12.1 of the CAP Code (2010), I challenge whether the advertisers can substantiate any of the following claims:

(i) "[Dianetics] is so simple, so incredible and so powerful that is makes psychiatry, psychology...obsolete."

(ii) "The fact is, there is a single source of all your problems, stress, unhappiness and self-doubt. It's called the reactive mind..."

(iii) "Dianetics gets rid of the reactive mind. It's the only thing it does."

8. Under Section 12.2, I challenge whether the claim that "[Dianetics]...makes psychiatry, psychology...obsolete" may discourage people with severe mental illnesses from seeking essential treatment.

9. Under Section 12.1, I challenge whether the advertisers can substantiate any of the following claims:

(i) Dianetics can "bring dramatic and permanent improvement" to sufferers of "depressions, irrational behaviour"

(ii) People "all over the world" have used Dianetics to "make dramatic, permanent improvements to their lives."

(iii) "The reactive mind is the single source of all the pain and suffering in your life. It is the single source of all irrationality..."

(iv) "Without a reactive mind, you will think clearly, act rationally and be yourself again. This state is called Clear. Tens of thousands of people are Clears...You can be too..."

(v) "[The reactive mind] shuts off hearing recall...It makes people tone-deaf. It makes people stutter. It does anything and everything that can be found in any list of mental ills: psychoses, neuroses, compulsions...It can give man the whole catalog of psychosomatic ills and it is the only thing in the human being which can produce these effects...The reactive mind is the entire source of the aberration..."

10. Under Section 12.1, I challenge whether the claim "It can be proved and has been repeatedly proven that there is no other [source of aberration besides the reactive mind], for when that [source of aberration] is discharged, all undesirable symptoms vanish..." can be substantiated.

11. I confirm I have no connections with the advertiser. I confirm I am not involved in legal proceedings with the advertiser.

Footnotes:

[1] http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/library/start/cosfulldoc.pdf
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