Editing Thetan (section)

== Scientology doctrine ==

Hubbard taught that there were three parts of man: the spirit, mind, and body. The first of these is a person's true inner self, a "thetan".{{r|urban|pp=68–71}}

''Thetan'' has been described as:{{r|hubbard-techdict|p=431-2}}
* The thetan is immortal and is possessed of capabilities well in excess of those hitherto predicted for man.
* "The being who is the individual and who handles and lives in the body."
* "A thetan is not a thing, a thetan is the creator of things."
* A thetan is "the person himself—not his body or his name, the physical universe, his mind, or anything else; that which is aware of being aware; the identity which is the individual."

{{Anchor|theta|entheta}}The word "theta" refers to the spiritual life force or energy of which thetans are composed, not part of the physical universe. Theta is associated with constructive qualities such as "reason, serenity, stability, happiness, cheerful emotion, persistence, and the other factors which man ordinarily considers desirable".{{r|hubbard-sos|p=226}}{{r|lewis-ch4|p=91}}{{r|lewis-ch21|p=425 fn 14}} The related term "entheta" (short for "enturbulated theta") refers to theta that has become disturbed or degraded, and in humans is associated with feelings of being "downcast, sad, upset or angry."{{r|shelton|p=297}}{{r|hubbard-sos|p=7}}

Scientology teaches that a thetan can "exteriorize", meaning it can separate from its human body while retaining awareness and the ability to perceive the environment. Exteriorization is described as a natural ability of the thetan that has been diminished over time, and Scientology [[Auditing (Scientology)|auditing]] techniques aim to restore the ability to exteriorize at will.{{r|lewis-ch4|pp=91, 96}}{{r|urban|pp=69-70}}

According to Hubbard's son [[Ronald DeWolf]] (born L. Ron Hubbard Jr.), his father stated that thetans are immortal and perpetual, having willed themselves into existence at some point several trillion{{Efn|Billion in [[Long and short scales|Long Scale]]}} years ago.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://members.cox.net/batchild1/transcript/pbs1.htm|title=''PBS Late Night'' interview with Ron DeWolf|work=members.cox.net|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060108071658/http://members.cox.net/batchild1/transcript/pbs1.htm|archive-date=2006-01-08}}</ref><ref>Hopkins, Joseph M., ''Is L. Ron Hubbard Dead?'', [[Christianity Today]], 18 February 1983, p 31</ref> After they originated, thetans generated "points to view" or "dimension points", causing space to come into existence. They agreed that other thetans' dimension points existed, thus bringing into existence the entire universe.

In the primordial past, according to Scientologist teachings, thetans brought the material universe into being largely for their own pleasure."<ref name=Neusner>{{cite book|last=Neusner|first=Jacob|year=2003|title=World Religions in America|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|pages=221–236|isbn=0-664-22475-X}}</ref> The universe is thought to have no independent reality, but to derive its apparent reality from the fact that most thetans agree it exists.<ref name=Chryssides>{{cite book | last = Chryssides |first=George D. |author-link=George D. Chryssides |title=Exploring New Religions |publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]] |date=1999 |page=283 |isbn=0-8264-5959-5}}</ref> Scientologists believe that thetans fell from grace when they began to identify with their creation, rather than their original state of spiritual purity.<ref name="Neusner" /> Eventually, they lost their memory of their true nature, along with the associated spiritual and creative powers. As a result, thetans came to think of themselves as nothing but embodied beings.<ref name=Chryssides />{{r|Melton2000|p=32}}

The Scientological notion of the thetan differs from other religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, in three significant ways. While other belief systems "fuse the concept of the body and soul", the thetan is "separate and independent". Also unlike the Judeo-Christian tradition, Scientologists believe that the thetan has "lived through many, perhaps thousands of lifetimes." Third, different from the Christian notion of original sin, Scientology believes that the thetan is basically good, but "has lost touch with its true nature."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cowan |first1=Douglas E. |last2=Bromley |first2=David G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_xgBgAAQBAJ&q=scientology+religion&pg=PA18 |title=Cults and New Religions: A Brief History, Wiley Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |year=2015 |isbn=9781118722107 |access-date=2016-06-23 }}</ref>

Religious scholar Richard Holloway writes that thetans were not created, but they created themselves, adopting and creating the human body as a vehicle for existence.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holloway |first1=Richard |title=A Little History of Religion |publisher=Yale University Press |date=September 20, 2016 |isbn=978-0300208832 }}</ref>