The Church of Scientology in London

One of the Church of Scientology's big cash cows are the collected works of its dotty founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

The Church's London branch sells several of them on its website.

(Image credit)

No need for any sarcastic commentary from me - the sales pitch provides laughs aplenty.

Let's start with Hubbard's best-selling work, Dianetics: The Modern Science [sic] of Mental Health.

"With 18 million copies sold, it is indisputably the most widely read and influential book on the human mind ever published."

"Indisputably" is quite a strong word for a claim disputed by almost everyone.

"That its importance was immediately recognized [sic] can be seen in the fact that within the first year of its initial release, more than 750 Dianetics groups sprang up in the United States."

The number of Dianetics groups still around in the second year of its initial release, by the way, is a number not entirely unadjacent to zero.

"Anyone who has not read Dianetics remains ignorant of the most important breakthroughs on the subject of the human mind."

This "most important breakthrough" is presumably "The way to make a million dollars is to start a religion". You'll probably recognise this quote as one by L. Ron Hubbard, author of Dianetics: The Modern Science [sic] of Mental Health.

The regulatory authorities are having a terrible time at the moment and I imagine they'd be grateful for a small comic interlude. ASA complaint follows!

"The website makes a number of claims which I suspect exaggerate the value of the books sold on the site.

1. ( http://www.scientology-london.org/introservice/books/dmsmh.html )

"With 18 million copies sold, it is indisputably the most widely read and influential book on the human mind ever published."

I challenge whether the claim that "Dianetics" is "indisputably the most widely read [sic] and influential book on the human mind ever published" exaggerates the value, accuracy, scientific validity or practical usefulness of the book.

2. ( http://www.scientology-london.org/introservice/books/dmsmh.html )

"That its importance was immediately recognized can be seen in the fact that within the first year of its initial release, more than 750 Dianetics groups sprang up in the United States."

I challenge whether this claim is misleading, because it ignores several contemporary sources which point out that, following the author's financial and legal problems, most of the "750 Dianetics groups" had disbanded within a year.

3. ( http://www.scientology-london.org/introservice/books/dmsmh.html )

"This book marks a turning point in man\u2019s knowledge and understanding of himself. It is the manual of Dianetics procedure. In Dianetics, L. Ron Hubbard details the dynamic principle of existence (Survive!) and provides the first accurate description of the human mind, what it consists of and how it operates."

I challenge whether the claim "the first accurate description of the human mind, what it consists of and how it operates" exaggerates the value, accuracy, scientific validity or practical usefulness of the book.

4. ( http://www.scientology-london.org/introservice/books/dmsmh.html )

"Anyone who has not read Dianetics remains ignorant of the most important breakthroughs on the subject of the human mind."

I challenge whether this claim exaggerates the value, accuracy, scientific validity or practical usefulness of the book.

5. ( http://www.scientology-london.org/introservice/books/cbcm.html )

"Clear Body, Clear Mind\u2014The Effective Purification Program, by L. Ron Hubbard, details his groundbreaking discoveries in this field. Discover the world\u2019s only all-natural, proven program to eliminate drug and toxic residues lodged in the fatty tissues of your body. Over 250,000 have done programs using these discoveries with spectacular success."

I challenge whether the claims that the programme is "the world's only all-natural, proven programme to eliminate drug and toxic residues lodged in the fatty tissues of your body" and that "Over 250,000 have done programs [sic] using these discoveries with spectacular success" can be substantiated.

6. ( http://www.scientology-london.org/introservice/booklets/drugs.html )

"There is an answer to drugs. Effective. Proven. The discoveries in the booklet, Answer to Drugs, by L.\u00a0Ron Hubbard, has salvaged lives ruined by drug and alcohol abuse. It gets results."

I challenge whether the claims "Effective. Proven." and "It gets results" exaggerates the value, accuracy, scientific validity or practical usefulness of the book.

7. ( http://www.scientology-london.org/introservice/booklets/drugs.html )

"Hundreds of thousands have freed themselves from the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol."

I challenge whether this claim can be substantiated.

8. ( http://www.scientology-london.org/introservice/books/sos.html )

"Built around the Hubbard Chart of Human Evaluation, this book provides the first accurate prediction of human behavior. Knowing only one or two characteristics of a person, and using this chart, you can know the rest \u2014 and thereby obtain an accurate index of their entire personality, conduct and character."

I challenge whether the claims "the first accurate prediction of human behavior [sic]" and "obtain an accurate index of their personality, conduct and character" exaggerate the value, accuracy, scientific validity or practical usefulness of the book.

I've made some screenshots of the relevant pages, which are available at:
http://leicester.skepticsinthepub.org/FishBarrel/ci.aspx?id=6DhvWV9BPw
http://leicester.skepticsinthepub.org/FishBarrel/ci.aspx?id=yz8qe1eVTL
http://leicester.skepticsinthepub.org/FishBarrel/ci.aspx?id=OwN0hbfowV
http://leicester.skepticsinthepub.org/FishBarrel/ci.aspx?id=lhBcxuHUrT

I can confirm that I have no connections with the advertiser or with the alternative medicine industry in general."