Scientology is not really a religion. And the reason I say that is because psychiatry - that thing they're opposed to - is not a religion.
Have a look at their website Citizens Commission on Human Rights in which they make various claims including that "psychiatry is not a science", that "mental illnesses are not medical diseases", and that "mental illnesses are an invention by psychiatry in order to sell drugs".
Now I've just written, what I thought was a difficult essay to write, in which I had to look at the various causes of major depression and decide whether nature or nurture is more to blame. The answer, in case you're wondering, is that non-modifiable risk factors are mostly to blame and that the modifiable ones account for less cases. But even more importantly, all the literature supported the fact that pharmacotherapy was the most cost effective medical intervention, noting of course that many patients also require professional psychological treatment. And, contrary to what drug companies would want to hear, the older medications generally worked better than the newest ones.
Scientology established the "Citizens Commission on Human Rights" in 1969, one year after DSM-II was released. This is back when the DSM listed homosexuality as a sociopathic personality disturbance. That wasn't changed until 1974. And there were plenty of other problems with psychiatry back then including moral issues, which I don't disagree at all about, but the fact is that it is a science and it's advanced hugely over the past 40 years. Especially when it comes to how mental illnesses are defined - and yes a mental illness is classified as a medical illness that has at least some symptoms which manifest in the brain or mind of the patient. They can be caused by physiological things just like other medical illnesses can, and then can be caused by psychological disturbances as well, such as childhood sexual abuse. In short they are a recognised form of non-communicable disease and Scientology claiming otherwise is complete nonsense.
Have a look at their website Citizens Commission on Human Rights in which they make various claims including that "psychiatry is not a science", that "mental illnesses are not medical diseases", and that "mental illnesses are an invention by psychiatry in order to sell drugs".
Now I've just written, what I thought was a difficult essay to write, in which I had to look at the various causes of major depression and decide whether nature or nurture is more to blame. The answer, in case you're wondering, is that non-modifiable risk factors are mostly to blame and that the modifiable ones account for less cases. But even more importantly, all the literature supported the fact that pharmacotherapy was the most cost effective medical intervention, noting of course that many patients also require professional psychological treatment. And, contrary to what drug companies would want to hear, the older medications generally worked better than the newest ones.
Scientology established the "Citizens Commission on Human Rights" in 1969, one year after DSM-II was released. This is back when the DSM listed homosexuality as a sociopathic personality disturbance. That wasn't changed until 1974. And there were plenty of other problems with psychiatry back then including moral issues, which I don't disagree at all about, but the fact is that it is a science and it's advanced hugely over the past 40 years. Especially when it comes to how mental illnesses are defined - and yes a mental illness is classified as a medical illness that has at least some symptoms which manifest in the brain or mind of the patient. They can be caused by physiological things just like other medical illnesses can, and then can be caused by psychological disturbances as well, such as childhood sexual abuse. In short they are a recognised form of non-communicable disease and Scientology claiming otherwise is complete nonsense.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
