Editing Scientology (section)

=== Social outreach ===
Several Scientology organizations promote the use of Scientology practices as a means to solve social problems. Scientology began to focus on these issues in the early 1970s. The Church of Scientology developed outreach programs that say they aim to fight drug addiction, illiteracy, learning disabilities and criminal behavior. They have been presented to schools, businesses and communities as secular techniques based on Hubbard's writings.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Neusner |first1=Jacob |title=World Religions in America |edition= 4th |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=2009 }}</ref> They have been described as part of the Scientology organization's "war" against the discipline of psychiatry.{{sfn|Lewis|Hellesøy|2017|pp=565–569}} Some critics regard this outreach as merely a public relations exercise.{{sfn|Lewis|2009a|p=9}}

In 1966, the Church of Scientology repackaged Hubbard's theories about drugs into a drug rehabilitation program it calls [[Narconon]], which purports to treat addicts through sweating in a sauna and using other Scientology techniques and processes.{{sfnm|1a1=Andersen|1a2=Wellendorf|1y=2009|1p=155|2a1=Bromley|2y=2009|2p=97|3a1=Lewis|3y=2009a|3p=9}} It has been described as a front group for recruiting into Scientology.<ref name="sunday_times_1">{{Cite news|title=Drugs charity is front for 'dangerous' organisation; Insight; Focus|url=http://www.scientology-lies.com/press/sunday-times/2007-01-07/drugs-charity-is-front-for-dangerous-organisation.html|access-date=20 March 2014|newspaper=[[Sunday Times]]|date=7 January 2007|quote=Narconon's international website claims: "The ministry of health in England [sic] has also directly funded Narconon residential rehabilitation." But the Department of Health denies any knowledge of this. ... Professor Stephen Kent, a Canadian academic who is an authority on Scientology, said: "The connection between Narconon and Scientology is solid. Of course, Scientology tries to get non-Scientologists involved in the programme, but the engine behind the programme is Scientology." ... The British government expressed concern about Narconon as long as eight years ago. A 1998 memo from the Home Office's drug strategy unit warned that the charity had its "roots in the Church of Scientology and (is) not in the mainstream of drug rehabilitation". Tower Hamlets council in east London advises its schools against using Narconon. DrugScope, one of the UK's main drug charities, said: "We feel that the quality of Narconon's information is not objective and non-judgmental. It does not have any credibility." Stephen Shaw, the prisons ombudsman, advised that inmates in British jails should not receive drug education from Narconon because it is so "closely associated with the Church of Scientology".}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Behar|1991}}: "Hubbard's purification treatments are the mainstay of Narconon, a Scientology-run chain of 33 alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers—some in prisons under the name "Criminon"—in 12 countries. Narconon, a classic vehicle for drawing addicts into the cult, now plans to open what it calls the world's largest treatment center, a 1,400-bed facility on an Indian reservation near Newkirk, Okla. (pop. 2,400). At a 1989 ceremony in Newkirk, the Association for Better Living and Education presented Narconon a check for $200,000 and a study praising its work. The association turned out to be part of Scientology itself. Today the town is battling to keep out the cult, which has fought back through such tactics as sending private detectives to snoop on the mayor and the local newspaper publisher."</ref><ref name=dsp91>{{Cite news|title=What Germans think about their Narconon |newspaper=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=21 October 1991 |url=http://www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/krasel/spiegel.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104114205/http://www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/krasel/spiegel.html |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |access-date=20 March 2014|url-status=usurped |quote=The enterprising Scientology sect increases its profits thanks to the misery of addicts. The cover organization, Narconon, offers drug rehabilitation therapy that, in the opinion of experts and doctors in the field, is not only useless but also dangerous. ... Narconon closely follows the motto of the Scientology sect's founder, Lafayette Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986 at the age of 74. The discoverer of this pseudo-scientific hocus pocus, gave this advice: Make money, make more money, make other people make money. The disciples at Narconon follow this order. It is officially an independent subsidiary of Scientology. The Scientologists have developed countless supposedly humanitarian initiatives around their church. One example is the commission for the violations of psychiatry against human rights. Another is the organization for the furthering of religious tolerance and interhuman relations. In fact all these activities, like the drug rehabilitation program, are only to further the fame and increase the paying followers of the sect.}}</ref> [[Criminon]] is the organization's criminal rehabilitation program.{{sfn|Bromley|2009|p=97}}<ref name="GA182">{{harvnb|Cowan|Bromley|2006|p=182}}</ref> Its [[Applied Scholastics]] program, established in 1972, employs Hubbard's pedagogical methods to help students.{{sfnm|1a1=Andersen|1a2=Wellendorf|1y=2009|1p=155|2a1=Bromley|2y=2009|2p=98}}<ref name="GA183">{{harvnb|Cowan|Bromley|2006|p=183}}</ref> [[The Way to Happiness|The Way to Happiness Foundation]] promotes a moral code written by Hubbard, to date translated into more than 40 languages.<ref name="GA183" /> Narconon, Criminon, Applied Scholastics, and The Way to Happiness operate under the management banner of [[Association for Better Living and Education]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-05/scientology-campaign-to-push-educational-materials-in-schools/11069666 |title=Scientology's controversial push to enter schools with learning material — including in Australia |date=4 May 2019 |first=Sean |last=Mantesso |website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC Online]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/education/article/Narconon-Misleading-antidrug-program-back-in-5504351.php |title=Narconon: Misleading antidrug program back in public schools |date=May 25, 2014 |first=Nanette |last=Asimov |website=[[San Francisco Chronicle|SFGate.com]] }}</ref>
The [[World Institute of Scientology Enterprises]] (WISE) applies Scientology practices to business management.{{sfn|Kent|1999a|p=4}}<ref name="GA183" /> The most prominent training supplier to make use of Hubbard's technology is [[Sterling Management Systems]].<ref name="GA183" />

[[File:Scientology Volunteer Ministers doing medical work in Haiti 2010.jpg|thumb|A Church Volunteer Minister, wearing distinct yellow clothing, in Haiti in 2010]]

Hubbard devised the [[Volunteer Ministers|Volunteer Minister Program]] in 1973.{{sfn|Cusack|Digance|2009|p=436}} They offer help and counseling to those in distress; this includes the Scientological technique of providing "[[touch assist|assists]]".{{sfn|Cusack|Digance|2009|p=436}} After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in New York City, Volunteer Ministers were on the site of [[Ground Zero]] within hours of the attack;{{sfn|Cusack|Digance|2009|pp=435-436}} they subsequently went to New Orleans after [[Hurricane Katrina]].{{sfn|Urban|2011|p=9}} Accounts of the Volunteer Ministers' effectiveness have been mixed, and touch assists are not supported by scientific evidence.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Winn|first1=Patrick|title=Scientologists are in Nepal trying to 'heal' trauma victims|url=http://www.globalpost.com/article/6550051/2015/05/15/scientologists-are-nepal-trying-heal-trauma-victims|access-date=December 16, 2015|work=Global Post|date=May 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Winn|first1=Patrick|title=Scientology's global disaster squad|url=https://www.minnpost.com/global-post/2011/04/scientology%E2%80%99s-global-disaster-squad|access-date=December 16, 2015|work=MinnPost|date=April 11, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Goodman |first1=Peter S. |title=For Tsunami Survivors, A Touch of Scientology (washingtonpost.com) |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43291-2005Jan27.html |access-date=February 22, 2022 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 28, 2005}}</ref>

In 2010, hundreds of members of the [[Nation of Islam]] attended a Dianetics seminar near the group's Chicago headquarters, where they were introduced to Scientology auditing practices. [[Louis Farrakhan]] subsequently encouraged his followers to study Scientology, telling them that its techniques could help address the struggles of African Americans, and stated that "nobody can lead in our Nation until and unless they become clear." By 2012, according to the Nation of Islam newspaper ''[[The Final Call (newspaper)|The Final Call]]'', more than 1,000 members had been certified as auditors and several thousand others were studying Scientology materials. The Church of Scientology opened new facilities in [[Harlem]] and [[Inglewood, California]], and former officials reported that course costs for Nation members were sometimes reduced, though the Church denied giving special treatment. Farrakhan described the relationship as a "long and beautiful" alliance.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Gray |first=Eliza |date=October 5, 2012 |title=Thetans and Bowties |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/108205/scientology-joins-forces-with-nation-of-islam |access-date=2025-09-08 |magazine=The New Republic |issn=0028-6583}}</ref>