Church of Scientology in the United Kingdom collection

Title: Church of Scientology in the United Kingdom collection

Identifier/Call Number: ARC Mss 109

Language of Material: English

Contributing Institution: UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections

Physical Description: 0.4 Linear Feet (1 document box)

Creator: Hubbard, L. Ron (La Fayette Ron), 1911-1986

Creator: Church of Scientology (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Creator: Church of Scientology World Wide (East Grinstead, England)

source: Peden, Marge

Date (inclusive): 1957 - 1975

Abstract: This collection documents the presence of the Church of Scientology in the United Kingdom. Items include official bulletins from the Hubbard Communications Office and course materials for various Scientology courses for advancing in the hierarchy.

Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library

Container: 1

Dealer description:

A unique archive of mimeographed Scientology materials from the Church's United Kingdom headquarters dating between 1958 and 1975, assembled by a woman who became an auditor for the church. The memos, directives, bulletins, course work, and other materials from founder L. Ron Hubbard and other high-ranking people within Scientology open a door to better understanding of the inner workings of this secretive religion that has long been subject to media and public scrutiny.

The hundreds of Scientology documents in this archive belonged to Marge Peden, whose name is written on a few of the folders and some assorted forms and coursework, which shows she studied Scientology for at least a decade. Peden's name is written on the top of an undated mimeographed one-sheet entitled "The Code of a Scientologist." Number 1 is: "To hear or speak no word of disparagement to the press, public or preclears concerning any of my fellow Scientologists, our professional organization, or those whose names are closely connected to this science, nor to place in danger any such person." In another folder, a typed memo dated February 5, 1969 notes: "the code of a Scientologist as per 'The Creation of a Human Ability' is withdrawn." It's apparent there were numerous other changes leading up to this document because Number 1 of the Code of a Scientologist reads: "To keep Scientologists, the Public and the Press accurately informed concerning Scientology, the world of Mental Health and Society."

A significant portion of this archive is Peden's Scientology study material. For example, a one-sheet memo provides a list of some of the Scientology vocabulary. It is entitled "Hubbard Recognized Scientology Course – Level 0." The instructions note you must look up and keep a notebook of the 200 words in order to pass the course. Scientology has eight levels. Various documents contain sparse marginalia, presumably in Peden's hand. There are also a few pages of handwritten notes, including one that reads: "I now have my Scientology Communicators release! I find I don't have the vocabulary to describe how I feel, my enthusiasm, my freedom about communication. I can (underlined) communicate about anything that has happened in my life or any subject I have knowledge of. It's great. That doesn't mean I'm proud of everything I've done or said, I'm just not afraid to communicate it ("if someone asks me" is lined out). I feel good all over and I'm rid of all that jazz that made me feel it wasn't safe to comm. Now I feel I can book around me and really know better what really is safe and what might be dangerous. Now….what's next?"

This archive contains several operational memos from 1968-69, including information about new organization principles. Among them is a memo dated August 26, 1968 headed "security checks abolished." It states: "the practice of security checking from security check lists like the 'Joburg' has been abolished." The first reason stated for the change: "we have no interest in the secrets and crimes of people and no use for them."

Another half-page memo declared the cancellation of "Fair Game," stating "the practice of declaring people FAIR GAME will cease. FAIR GAME may not appear on any Ethics Order. It causes bad public relations." A final line notes: "This P/L does not cancel any policy on the treatment or handling of an SP." The term Fair Game is used to describe policies and practices carried out by the Church of Scientology towards people and groups it perceives as its enemies. Hubbard, established the policy in the 1950s, in response to criticism both from within and outside his organization, according to Hugh B Urban's paper "Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America" in the June 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. Individuals or groups who are "Fair Game" are judged to be a threat to the Church and according to the policy, can be punished and harassed using any and all means possible.

According to Urban, applying the principles of "Fair Game," Hubbard and his followers targeted many individuals as well as government officials and agencies, including a program of covert and illegal infiltration of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other United States government agencies during the 1970s. They also conducted private investigations, character assassination, and legal action against the Church's critics in the media.

A five-page typed document authored by Hubbard included in the archive lays out his 57 axioms - the 58th is handwritten on the verso of the final page. This document also contains some pencil notations. In 1954, Hubbard wrote the 58 Scientology Axioms. "These Axioms are truths which are proven by all of life and which represent the most succinct distillation of wisdom regarding the nature of the human spirit," according to the Scientology website. In addition to the handwritten 58th Axiom there are some minor differences from the website. For example, Axiom 13 is written: The cycle of action if the physical universe is: create, survive (persist), destroy." While Axiom 13 on the website reads: The Cycle-of-Action of the physical universe is: Creation, Survival, Destruction.

Most of the documents in this archive date from the 1960s and consist of Hubbard Communications Office [HCO] Bulletins, printed in red on white legal-size paper. The bulletins, mostly personally written by Hubbard, provide detailed instruction on Scientology's religious practices from auditing to touch assists and use of the E-meter. Starting in 1976, these bulletins were published by the Church in bound volumes and made available to the public for purchase. The bound versions were edited and revised. These original individual issues, which were provided only to members of the Scientology organization, are now quite scarce and of value to scholars because they reveal the evolution of the Scientology doctrine.

In one of the bulletins dated December 27, 1965, Hubbard wrote that "600 milligrams of Vitamin E (minimum) per day assists with Scientology processing very markedly." One of the early documents in the archive is a bulletin from Hubbard in 1958 about how to process a new mother, as well as a baby: "The next important thing for a baby is to know he or she is winning. Don't expect him or her to do more than a baby can do. Grant beingness to a baby."

Additionally, this archive contains about a dozen HCO Policy Letters, which are printed in green on white legal-size paper. The Policy Letters pertain to the administration and management of Scientology centers, churches, and other franchises. A mimeographed document dated March 2, 1967 to "field staff member" outlines what is expected. "Your expansion as a Field Staff Member depends on the number of books you sell to new persons. New book buyers are potential new Scientologists, potential Clears. Scientology, the society and YOU need many new Clears. A Clear contributes more towards a safer environment and a FREE tomorrow."

Two documents are from the SEA Organization, including a seven-page memo dated August 23, 1967 and titled "The Four Unprofitable Courses," which appears to be a metaphorical essay on the perils of the sea and different courses one can take. The second memo, on green legal-size paper is three pages long, dated 1975 and provides nutritional tips by Captain Mary Sue Hubbard, the founder's wife.

There are also a few HCO Information Letters and Executive Directives, which were printed in blue, and apparently never published, distributed only to staff.

Overall, the materials are in very good condition, with some occasional staining and spotting. They have been maintained in their original legal-size manila folders, some which are written on; all are stained and worn. Original folders with writing remain in the collection.

The collection is open for research.

Library purchase, 2020.

From the dealer description:

After Hubbard's Dianetics was first published in 1950, his theory of the mind immediately found an audience in both the United Stated and the United Kingdom. The Dianetic Foundation of Great Britain was established in 1952, and in the next few years, the Dianetic groups affiliated themselves to the Hubbard Association of Scientology. From 1957 to 1959, Hubbard lived and wrote at Fitzroy House in the West End of London. The house was sold in 1968, but later acquired by the Church of Scientology; it is now a museum in honor of Hubbard.

The global headquarters of the Scientology movement from 1959 to 1966 was Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, Sussex, a manor house dating from 1733. This is the most famous of the Church's "Advanced Organizations," delivering Operating Thetan training up to level 5. The estate contains a castle built by Scientologists in a medieval style, which opened in 1989. Hubbard developed security checking during this era and ordered that all check sheets should be forwarded to Saint Hill. In 1968, the Scientologists attempted to have their East Grinstead "chapel" officially recognized as a place of religious worship but lost their battle in the courts. The popularity of Scientology in the UK is a matter of debate. The 2011 UK census found that there were 2,361 Scientologists in the UK, but the Church claims a membership of 118,000 members in the United Kingdom, including 15,000 regular participants.

At least two documents are part of the Sea Organization, a religious order within Scientology composed of those who have dedicated their lives to the volunteer service on behalf of their religion. Established in 1967, the Sea Organization once operated from a number of ships and was formed to assist Hubbard with advanced research operations and supervise Church organizations around the world.

[Identification of Item], Church of Scientology in the United Kingdom collection, ARC Mss 109. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.

All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Guide to the Church of Scientology in the United Kingdom collection ARC Mss 109