A Scientology Church on Commonwealth Avenue
The Church of Scientology of Boston occupies Suite 202 at 1105 Commonwealth Avenue, a busy stretch that runs along the Boston University campus between the Charles River and Allston. The church shares its building with offices and small businesses, and its glass-front entrance opens onto a corridor of shops rather than a stand-alone sanctuary. Inside, the Boston organization functions as one of the local hubs of the worldwide Church of Scientology network, delivering the introductory services, Sunday gatherings, courses and humanitarian programs developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.
The Boston church invites anyone to walk in for a self-guided tour, a free personality test or an introductory film, and to stay for one of the many evening and weekend courses. Its tagline, "All Are Welcome!," is printed across the top of every page, and the Public Information Center inside the suite is explicitly "open to all beliefs and religions."
What Scientology Teaches
Scientology is presented at the Boston church as "a religion that offers a precise path leading to a complete and certain understanding of one's true spiritual nature and one's relationship to self, family, groups, Mankind, all life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the Supreme Being." Its core tenets, summarized on the home page, hold that:
- Man is an immortal spiritual being.
- Experience extends well beyond a single lifetime.
- Capabilities are unlimited, even if not presently realized.
- Man is basically good and his survival depends on himself, his fellows and his attainment of brotherhood with the universe.
The church states that Scientology "is not a dogmatic religion in which one is asked to accept anything on faith alone," but rather a body of knowledge whose truth one discovers for oneself by applying the principles and observing the results. Its ultimate goal is "true spiritual enlightenment and freedom for all."
God is understood as the Eighth Dynamic, "the urge toward existence as infinity" and "the Supreme Being." The concept rests at the apex of the eight dynamics, a framework that begins with self and expands outward through family, groups, humanity, all life forms, the physical universe, the spiritual universe and finally the Supreme Being. Unlike traditions with Judeo-Christian roots, the church explains, Scientology imposes no fixed dogma about God; an individual's certainty of the Eighth Dynamic grows with progress through auditing and training.
The Scientology Sunday Service
The most explicitly religious gathering held in the Commonwealth Avenue suite is the Scientology Sunday Service, offered every Sunday at 10:00 am. It is described by the church as non-denominational and open to all, and the invitation is to "repair the ravages of the week" by attending. The format includes a sermon, readings from the works of L. Ron Hubbard and congregational participation, with reserved seating available through the calendar on the Boston church's site.
The Sunday Service is one piece of a much larger weekly rhythm at the church. From Monday through Friday the building stays open from 9:00 am to 9:30 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Inside those hours a steady stream of courses, film screenings, tours and personality testing is offered, all free to attend or available for a small donation.
The Personal Efficiency Course
Every day at 1:30 pm, with an additional 7:00 pm session Monday through Friday, the church holds the Personal Efficiency Course, billed as "the first course in Scientology." The course is built around L. Ron Hubbard's book The Problems of Work and addresses the areas of life that absorb roughly seventy percent of a person's waking hours: job security, working relationships, exhaustion, organization and productivity.
The seminar donation is $50, paid when the student arrives. Each enrollee receives a paperback copy of The Problems of Work, personality testing and a course portfolio with all materials needed for the class. Registration is handled through the events calendar on the church's site.
The Hubbard Dianetics Seminar
On Saturdays at 9:30 am the church begins its two-day Hubbard Dianetics Seminar, which carries through to the following morning. The seminar donation is $100 and the weekend covers the core theory of Dianetics along with practical application, including demonstrations and the How to Use Dianetics film. Trained Dianetics specialists assist participants throughout, and each student both receives Dianetics and applies Dianetics to another person during the weekend.
Dianetics is introduced at the church as Hubbard's earlier work describing "the Reactive Mind, the previously unknown source of nightmares, unreasonable fears, upsets and insecurities, and how to get rid of it." The book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is sold in the church's bookstore and is the most frequently cited text in the introductory materials.
The Story of Dianetics Film Showing
Across the building's open hours, the church shows The Story of Dianetics on a continuous loop. The film introduces the history of Dianetics and explains the source of "unreasonable fears, upsets and insecurities." Showing times follow the building's open hours: Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Admission is free and no reservation is required.
The Free Personality Test
One of the most popular entry points at the Boston church is the Oxford Capacity Analysis, or OCA, a 200-question personality assessment offered free of charge with no obligation. The test is available all day during the church's open hours, and walk-ins are welcome.
The OCA evaluates the test-taker across several dimensions, including happiness, self-confidence, stability and the ability to handle relationships. After completing the questionnaire, the visitor sits down with a Church evaluator for an in-depth, obligation-free analysis of the results. The church emphasizes that the test is simply "a great opportunity to learn more about you," and visitors may opt in to receiving more information about Scientology at the conclusion if they wish.
Information collected for the OCA is used only for the personality test and evaluation, and is never sold or shared with third parties. Visitors who complete the form online can also begin the test remotely before coming in for the consultation.
A Tour of the Public Information Center
For anyone who wants to learn about Scientology without committing to a course, the Boston church maintains a self-guided Public Information Center inside its suite. The center runs continuously during open hours and features interactive multimedia displays covering the basic principles of Dianetics and Scientology, the life of L. Ron Hubbard and the church's community outreach programs.
The tour is "open to all beliefs and religions" and can be taken at the visitor's own pace. A reservation form on the events calendar allows visitors to schedule a specific time to come in, although walk-ins are also accommodated.
Beginning Services: Twenty Life Improvement Courses
Beyond the Personal Efficiency Course and the Hubbard Dianetics Seminar, the church delivers a full catalog of Beginning Services, which it describes as "all Dianetics and Scientology Introductory Services." These include evening and weekend seminars offering an overview of fundamental principles and their application to daily life.
The twenty Scientology Life Improvement Courses are organized into five groups:
- Ethics and Survival (5 courses): Overcoming Ups & Downs in Life; Personal Values & Integrity; Improving Relationships with Others; Knowing Who You Can Trust; How to Achieve Self-Confidence.
- Goals and Purposes (6 courses): How to Get Motivated; Formulas for Living; Tools to Organize for Success; Effective Time Management; Setting and Achieving Your Goals; Tools for Effective Leadership.
- Survival and Prosperity (3 courses): Tools for Overcoming Financial Stress; Tools for Financial Security; Principles of Prosperity.
- Marriage (3 courses): Creating a Successful Marriage; Maintaining a Happy Marriage; Salvaging a Marriage.
- Children (3 courses): Having a Happy Baby; Successfully Raising Children; Successfully Parenting Tweens & Teens.
Other introductory seminars include the Success Through Communication Course and the Hubbard Dianetics Seminar. Each course is delivered in person at the Boston church, and enrollment forms are linked from the church's Beginning Services pages.
Scientology Auditing and Training
For those who progress beyond introductory courses, the church offers auditing, the central practice of Scientology. Auditing is described as "exact, precise methods to increase Man's spiritual awareness and capabilities" delivered one-on-one by a trained auditor. Visitors to the Boston church can learn about the process, take tours and arrange introductory sessions; full auditing and the advanced training that leads up the "Bridge to Total Freedom" are also available through Scientology organizations worldwide.
The Volunteer Ministers Program
The Volunteer Ministers program is one of the Boston church's main links to the surrounding community. Created in the mid-1970s by L. Ron Hubbard, the program trains ordinary people in a range of Scientology-based tools for helping others in everyday life and in times of disaster. A Volunteer Minister, in Hubbard's definition, is "a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others."
The training is open to anyone who wishes to help others, regardless of religious background. The materials are drawn from The Scientology Handbook, which covers nineteen separate bodies of technology, including study skills, communication, conflict resolution, assists for illnesses and injuries, ethics and conditions, organizing and public relations. The local church coordinates Volunteer Minister activity in the Boston area and links participants to the international network.
Volunteer Ministers are known for their disaster response work, which has been deployed at more than 200 disaster sites worldwide, including Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks (where more than 800 Volunteer Ministers contributed 130,000 hours), the 2004 Asian tsunamis, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2010 Pakistan floods and the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.
At the Boston church, those interested in the program can order a free Volunteer Minister Information Kit or sign up for any of the Scientology Online Courses that draw on the same body of tools.
How We Help: Global Humanitarian Campaigns
The Boston church's "How We Help" page lists the major humanitarian campaigns supported by the worldwide Church of Scientology, all of which Boston parishioners and friends can participate in or draw materials from locally.
The Way to Happiness. Written by L. Ron Hubbard in 1981, The Way to Happiness is a non-religious moral code consisting of twenty-one precepts ranging from "Take Care of Yourself" and "Be Temperate" to "Don't Do Anything Illegal" and "Respect the Religious Beliefs of Others." The Way to Happiness Foundation has distributed the booklet in 109 languages and partnered with schools, businesses, governments and law enforcement agencies to distribute millions of copies. Foundation-sponsored poster and essay competitions have reached 12,000 schools and 12 million students worldwide.
The Truth About Drugs. The Church of Scientology supports the Foundation for a Drug-Free World and its Truth About Drugs education campaign, the largest nongovernmental drug information and prevention initiative in the world. Volunteers have distributed 50 million drug prevention booklets and run tens of thousands of community drug awareness events across some 180 countries. The accompanying "They Said, They Lied" public service announcements, sixteen in total, have aired on more than 500 television stations in roughly 100 countries. The campaign's centerpiece is a 100-minute documentary, The Truth About Drugs: Real People, Real Stories, featuring eleven booklets covering marijuana, alcohol, ecstasy, cocaine, crack, crystal meth, inhalants, heroin, LSD and prescription painkillers. Educational packages, including an educator's guide, the documentary, thirteen booklets and the PSAs, are distributed free of charge.
United for Human Rights. The United for Human Rights campaign teaches the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through public service announcements, booklets and the short documentary The Story of Human Rights. The award-winning "30 Rights, 30 Ads" series, available in 17 languages, has aired in more than 100 countries on CNN International, Sky News and National Geographic Channel, and is screened in malls, theaters, sports stadiums, train stations and airports worldwide. The companion Youth for Human Rights program focuses on youth-led human rights education.
Applied Scholastics. Applied Scholastics promotes L. Ron Hubbard's Study Technology through more than 1,100 schools and tutoring groups in 72 nations. Nearly 135,000 educators trained by Applied Scholastics have brought Study Technology to 38 million students worldwide, according to the organization's figures. The Boston church lists Applied Scholastics among the global programs it supports.
Criminon. Criminon is a program that delivers Study Technology and life skills to inmates, with the goal of reducing recidivism. The Boston church's "How We Help" pages cite statistics on the U.S. prison population and describe Criminon as a practical response.
Narconon. Narconon is a network of some 50 drug rehabilitation and prevention centers spanning five continents, based on Hubbard's research into the relationship between drugs and spiritual well-being. The program is referenced alongside the Truth About Drugs campaign.
Citizens Commission on Human Rights. Established in 1969, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) investigates and exposes psychiatric violations of human rights. The organization says it has helped to enact more than 150 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive practices in the field of mental health. CCHR also operates the Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Museum and produces the documentary The Age of Fear: Psychiatry's Reign of Terror.
Freedom Magazine. Freedom Magazine is a Church of Scientology publication that the Boston site promotes as "A Voice for Human Rights," covering issues related to the campaign.
The Scientology Creed and Creeds & Codes
The Scientology Creed, printed on the church's site, opens with the affirmation: "We of the Church of Scientology believe that all men of whatever race, color or creed were created with equal rights." The creed continues with affirmations about the spirit, the right to one's own religious practices, the right to defend oneself, the right to a fair trial and the duty to help those who are less fortunate. Each paragraph closes with the line, "That no man shall bring these rights to naught," followed by the phrase, "That no man be brought to naught by these rights," and concludes with, "And the heritage of all peoples shall be preserved."
Other codes and creeds, including the Creed of the Church of Scientology, the Auditor's Code and the Code of a Scientologist, are explained in the Beliefs and Practices section of the site.
The Eight Dynamics, the Tone Scale and the Parts of Man
The Boston church's Beliefs and Practices pages outline several foundational frameworks that are taught in courses and at the Public Information Center.
The Eight Dynamics describe the impulses toward survival that animate an individual: self, creativity, group, humanity, life forms, the physical universe, the spiritual universe and, finally, infinity or the Supreme Being. Each dynamic is considered both a part of oneself and an urge to survive in its own right.
The Emotional Tone Scale maps emotional states on a descending scale from serenity at the top through enthusiasm, cheerfulness, strong interest, contentment, boredom, antagonism, hostility, anger, covert hostility, worry, blame, discouragement, anger (again), apathy and grief, down to the lowest levels. Knowing where one is on the scale is presented as a tool for improving communication and for helping others shift upward.
The Parts of Man distinguish between the spirit (or thetan), the mind and the body, with the mind in turn divided into the analytical mind, the reactive mind and the somatic mind. The framework underpins the practice of auditing.
The Practice of Scientology
An introductory page on the practice of Scientology describes a faith whose principles are learned in the church or through books, but whose actual practice happens in everyday life. "An active Scientologist," the page reads, "is not only considered to be someone who attends a Scientology church or studies Scientology, but rather someone who actively uses the insights and knowledge that Scientology gives them to make a real, positive difference in the lives of others." Auditing, training and the application of the church's tools are described as a precise technology rather than a body of abstract beliefs.
Scientology Ministry
Scientology ministers at the Boston church provide counseling, marriage counseling, assistance for those facing difficulties in life and guidance for working with children. The ministry is built on the conviction that "one cannot function as a Scientology minister without a genuine and overriding desire to help others, whether to ease current suffering or to help people advance up The Bridge." Ministerial services are available to Scientologists and to anyone in the community who seeks help.
The Founder: L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, the founder of Dianetics and Scientology, developed the religion's principles over decades of research into the mind and spirit. His books, including Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health and Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought, form the backbone of the church's introductory materials, and his technology is the basis for auditing, training and the church's humanitarian programs. The Boston church's Public Information Center includes a multimedia section on his life.
The Church of Scientology of Boston Building
The Boston church occupies Suite 202 at 1105 Commonwealth Avenue, a block of mixed retail and offices along the avenue's commercial stretch. The suite includes the Public Information Center, a bookstore carrying Hubbard's books and introductory films, course rooms and auditor spaces.
Visitors coming in for the first time are greeted at the reception desk and directed to the tour, the personality test or their reserved course. The building is fully open during the church's public hours, with no dress code beyond typical business casual, and there is no charge for entry or for any of the introductory services.
Phone: (617) 266-9500. Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 9:30 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Directions are available on the church's site.
Getting Involved Locally
For those who want to take their involvement further, the church offers several pathways. Visitors can enroll in any of the twenty Life Improvement Courses, sign up for a weekend Hubbard Dianetics Seminar, attend the Sunday Service, or join the Volunteer Ministers training program and begin working on local community projects. Those drawn to the church's humanitarian campaigns can distribute booklets, host a Truth About Drugs presentation in their school, or partner with United for Human Rights for a local youth awareness event.
Online courses based on the Scientology Handbook are available through the Volunteer Ministers portal, covering subjects from communication and conflict resolution to study skills and parenting. All of these are accessible from the Boston church's site.
Books, Films and Online Resources
The Boston church's online bookstore carries L. Ron Hubbard's books, audiobooks, introductory lectures and films. A free catalog of Dianetics and Scientology books, audiobooks, films and lectures is available on request. A free DVD introducing Scientology, including an overview film, can be ordered through the site.
The Scientology Network, a streaming channel at scientology.tv, hosts the church's documentary library, including The Story of Human Rights, the Truth About Drugs PSAs and feature-length documentaries on the church's humanitarian programs. A free Personality Test can also be taken online at oxfordcapacityanalysis.org before a follow-up visit to the church for the in-person results consultation.