Scientology has got to be one of the most elusive organizations out there. They're frequently made fun of online, but not many people know what they're really like. But that might be what they want—they're super secretive and don't let visitors in very far.
But we're learning more about Scientology every day. Not by their own choice, however. That's because a new TikTok trend has cropped up. People are storming Scientology church buildings in "speedruns".
As reported by MSN, the TikTokers aim to get as deep into the Scientology buildings as possible. But they sometimes face resistance, with staff members urgently placing their bodies between the TikTokers and doorways. Different people have taken different approaches to the Scientology speedruns.
There have been numerous examples posted on various social media platforms. Most of them don't get very far before staff escorts them from the building. But some recent examples have gotten far enough in that the videos stretch up to a minute long.
The discourse around the Scientology "speedruns" has even gone so far that people are analyzing the clips and producing blueprints of the church's layout. Perhaps the secrecy of Scientology means that people are super invested in getting as much information about the organization as possible.
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What is Scientology?
While Scientology groups are really secretive, we do know certain bits about their history and origins.
According to For Dummies, Scientology originally began as a self-help book by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. He wrote Dianetics in 1950, which sought to help explore the relationship between the body and mind. Following this, in 1953, he incorporated the Church of Scientology.
It then evolved into a set of religious beliefs regarding the human body. Scientologists believe that people are actually just physical manifestations of alien souls that are trapped on Earth. They believe that we, as aliens, also known as Thetans, have lived past lives both on Earth and on other planets.
Scientologists also believe that there is a path to freedom from the human realm, which can be accessed through the teachings of the church. It's quite a similar concept to achieving Nirvana in Buddhism, if you think about it.
