Space Opera in Scientology Scripture

Space Opera In Scientology Scripture

Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard included space opera narratives as part of his faith. He believed that thetans, or spirits, were reincarnated in different beings for quadrillions of years, retaining memories of these lives. Hubbard taught that humans could recall the details of these lives; he used these recollections to develop complex narratives about life throughout the universe. These stories included conflicts between confederacies of aliens and thetans, events which Hubbard said traumatized thetans in ways that affect them in modern times. The best known space opera myth is the story of Xenu, to whom Hubbard attributed responsibility for many of the world's problems. Scientology teaches that individuals can free themselves of the traumas that have occurred to their thetans, and that by doing so, the true power of the thetan can be released and gain the ability to transform reality.

The space opera doctrines of Scientology are not openly discussed by the church's leaders. They refuse to speak of them, casting them as esoteric teachings that can only be correctly understood by experienced Scientologists. Several former members of the church have leaked these secret documents, leading to lengthy court battles with the church. Scientology's efforts notwithstanding, their secret space opera doctrines became widely available on the internet. Critics of the church have noted that some of the narratives are scientifically impossible, and have thus assailed the church as untrustworthy for teaching them. The space opera teachings have also been satirized in popular culture. Scholars of religion have described the space opera narratives as a creation myth that is designed to encourage reverence of Hubbard as a supreme messenger. Several academics have drawn attention to the ways that the contents of the space opera myths reflect themes of the 1950s Cold War culture in which they were constructed.