The lives of little-known people are as shrouded in riddles and mysteries as that of Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology, a church that has many millions of members worldwide and about which the strangest rumors circulate. A look at their website provides little insight into what is really going on, no concrete statements are made. Ron Hubbard died on January 24, 1986, but there are also many stories surrounding his death. Fierce critics battle with fervent Scientology followers over who Ron Hubbard really was.
Hubbard’s Youth
Hubbard was born Lafayette Ron Hubbard on March 13, 1911 in Tilden, Nebraska. He spent much of his youth in Montan. He also traveled through Asia and the South Pacific, his father was stationed in Guam as a soldier. He began studying at George Washington University in New York, but soon gave up and started writing. He mainly focused on science fiction and fantasy. During World War II, Hubbard briefly served in the U.S. Marine Corps, commanding two ships, but was recalled both times by his superiors for incompetence. The Scientology biography of Hubbard’s life deviates quite a bit from what more critical critics provide as information. For example, Hubbard is said to have spent most of his childhood on his wealthy grandfather’s ranch, while others place him in a house in Helena, Montana. The same goes for Hubbard’s travels in Asia, Scientologists have him meeting Buddhist monks in China, while others make him seem much more superficial.
Hubbard and Dianetics
One of the most famous rumors about Hubbard is that he made a bet that he could start a cult that would make him millions. That rumor, like so many rumors surrounding Scientology, cannot be verified. Hubbard has made several statements showing that this rumor was not out of the blue and that his main motive for founding his sect was a financial one. Hubbard started his career as a science fiction writer and much of that can still be found in his later works. While writing these books he made, in his own words, a discovery of great philosophical and psychological value. This formed the basis of his book: Dianetics: The modern Science of Mental Health, which was published in 1950. It can be seen as a kind of psychotherapy, in which someone returns to an earlier state of being, a kind of regression therapy. The booklet was very popular and self-help groups were set up all over the United States, with Dianetics as a basis. Dianetics would subsequently become the basis for what would later be called the Church of Scientology. Hubbard continually made links between science and his religion, although those links are incomprehensible to an outsider. He expanded his ideas and from this Scientology was born. Hubbard soon had followers in several countries and by the early 1960s he headed a worldwide organization with thousands of members.
Of Controversy
From the beginning of Dianetics’ publication, Hubbard has been the center of controversy. His work, his life, everything raised questions and criticism from various parties. His supporters adored him, but his critics had no confidence in Hubbard at all. A well-known phenomenon is Hubbard’s aversion to psychiatry. For Hubbard, psychologists and psychiatrists embodied the ultimate evil and also the drugs, ‘psych drugs’, that they may prescribe. An interesting detail here is that Hubbard was almost certainly under the influence of such drugs when he died. His dislike of this industry is probably due to the fact that they were his biggest critics from the start. Psychiatrists and psychologists saw Scientology and what preceded it as brainwashing and effectively emptying the pockets of the church’s followers. These doctors are described by Hubbard as Supressive Persons, the most negative label Scientology has to offer. A Supressive Person does not need to count on mercy from Hubbard and his followers.
Hubbard and his Death
In late 1966, Hubbard took command of his own fleet. He traveled the world with Sea Org for eight years. The 1970s were less successful for Hubbard, although he remained very successful financially, but he was threatened by various lawsuits and eventually settled into a life of eschewing publicity. Hubbard spent the last two years of his life in a trailer in California, but his health was now very poor. He finally died on January 24, 1986 and was cremated. For Scientologists, this meant that he now lives his life on a different plan and that he can live without a body. He had told Scientology to continue his teachings and that he would later incarnate as a political leader rather than a religious one.