Scientology Studies | The Underground Bunker

When will academics acknowledge that the Scientology ‘apostate’ theory is finished?

We’re deep into reporting several cool stories coming your way, so we just had time for a quick thought for you today. We noticed over at the forums that Scientology has put out, among its flood of recent press releases, an announcement about its newest pet […]

Science Fiction smackdown: L. Ron Hubbard, the pith helmet-wearing ‘pipsqueak Prometheus’

[Hubbard in pith helmet, Puerto Rico, 1932]

Yesterday, we had fun exhuming L. Ron Hubbard’s bad science fiction by looking at a telling 1940 short story, “One Was Stubborn.” In it, Hubbard’s main character, Old Shellback, reveals that the downfall of the United States would come as a result of nefarious religious cults protected by tax […]

Chuck Beatty is right: L. Ron Hubbard lofted culty cosmic ideas a decade before ‘Dianetics’

[Chuck Beatty]

We have finally done something that former Church of Scientology member Chuck Beatty has been asking us, or really anyone, to do for the longest time. Yes, Chuck, we have finally read L. Ron Hubbard’s 1940 short story, “One Was […]

The disgraced sheriff, the Holocaust survivor, and Scientology’s most unhinged front group

This may be one of the saddest photos we’ve ever posted here at the Underground Bunker. It shows the scene on January 31 at the Church of Scientology in Pasadena, California, and it was included in a press release put out by the church […]

Scientology’s thug life, documented: Aaron Smith-Levin shares a record of Sea Org violence

[Aaron Smith-Levin in 2005]

We have a great slice of Scientology Sea Org life to share with you today, courtesy of Aaron Smith-Levin. We’ve been featuring Aaron in stories for some time, and in his videos he’s been telling you about what it was like to grow up in the […]

‘Are you 100 percent American?’ — ‘Ross & Carrie’ investigate joining Scientology

In 1968, LIFE magazine published a lengthy investigation of Scientology that had been done in an enterprising way. Writer Alan Levy had decided to find out what Scientology was all about by joining it.

Levy went farther probably than any other journalist has in his pursuit, even though his effort is largely forgotten today. He had […]

30 years ago today: ‘L. Ron Hubbard discarded the body he had used in this lifetime’

[Pat Broeker gives a lip-smacking performance]

On Friday, January 24, 1986, L. Ron Hubbard, then 74 years old, went to his reward after suffering a stroke at the Creston, California ranch where he’d been hiding out for several years. Three days later, the top management of Scientology gathered Sea Org, staff, and public members of the […]

Whale watching, 2016 edition: Who’s keeping Scientology afloat?

One of our very helpful readers let us know that he had the new Impact magazine and wanted to let us in on this year’s parade of whales that we look forward to each year. […]

The Church of Scientology of Latter-Day Dolts: Video evidence of the fall

For a few years, we’ve been telling you that Scientology is in a poorly way. Many different sources of evidence suggest that the 65-year-old movement has been suffering from a mass exodus of longtime, loyal members. Many others remain in the group but hold back from participating as they react to leader David Miscavige’s ever-increasing […]

When the feds tracked down L. Ron Hubbard’s boast about getting rich by creating a religion

We’re nearing another big anniversary — 30 years since the Great Thetan, L. Ron Hubbard, dropped his material body — and so we’ve been looking through our files for material about the man that isn’t already picked over. We have something pretty nice and never posted online for the anniversary itself. But along the way […]

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