2012 Independent Trial

“Assess the role of globalisation on the development and future of ONE belief system that you have
studied.”

A belief system is a shared system of beliefs and values that help individuals to make sense of their
social, cultural and psychological worlds. The nature of a belief system, including the ideologies,
worldviews and customs upheld by its adherents, is being constantly influenced by globalisation,
wherein many cultures from around the world are unified to make a single global society. The Church of
Scientology, founded by Lafayette Ron Hubbard in the 1950’s, is one such belief system which, in many
ways, has been and will continue to be manipulated by the emergence of a global culture.

The homogenisation of global cultures has led to the spread of Scientology. Modern technologies such
as the internet and international news have allowed for communication which has widened the range of
people which the Church of Scientology can influence, having been established in the US in 1954, and
now being present in 164 countries worldwide. The 8000 churches and 10 million followers claimed by
the Church to have accumulated worldwide has aided this belief system to strengthen its stance as a
religion rather than a cult, and to counter the negative image of it as portrayed by the media. Thus
globalisation has aided the Church of Scientology in establishing itself as a religion internationally.

However, globalisation is associated with an inherent lack of privacy, and the Church’s shortcomings are
portrayed immediately and publicly by the media. Reports of dissent and human rights abuses within
the Church of Scientology are often aired by such programmes as A Current Affair, and are hence
immediately spread through communication technologies across the globe. Further, critique and
rumours regarding the Church’s mythology, beliefs and customs, including the creation myth of Xenu
and the infamous Rehabilitation Project Force, have been extended by the media such that they are
more well-known than the information supplied by the Church itself. These worldwide rumours serve to
paint a negative image of Scientology as secretive and as a ‘cult’, and are extremely detrimental to the
acceptance of Scientology on a global scale.

As globalisation has accelerated until today, it will continue to do so in the future. This will enhance the
effects of the spread of information, and the Church of Scientology will utilise its advantages to their full
potential. Increased public involving by the Church, such as Narconon and Criminon, rehabilitation
projects for drug addicts (currently in 43 countries) and criminals (currently in 56 countries) respectively,
will continue to build a good reputation around the belief system. The availability of information about
Scientology and its beliefs, values and ideologies, including its music and literature, will continue to
increase in the future and thus reduce its global image as a secretive ‘cult’ established by negative
media. Further, the fear of the media and its global power will reduce, and ideally eliminate, the number
of human rights abuse cases which occur within the belief system. All of these changes due to
globalisation will result in the international spread of Scientology, which ultimately aids the Church in
realising their ideology of equality and acceptance. The overall effect of globalisation on the
development of Scientology is likely to be positive and constructive to the belief system.
The Church of Scientology is a belief system whose rate of acceptance or rejection has been greatly
influenced by its global image as constructed by itself and the media. In past it has perhaps limited the
growth of Scientology; however I believe that the growing numbers of followers worldwide as well as
increasing involvement in the global community will ultimately have a positive effect on the belief
system’s reputation and hence reinforce its religion status and popularity.