We’ve all seen the videos recently. The Scientology speed runs. People dashing through the infamous Scientology building in LA. People in suits are just putting their arms up, trying to block them from getting through. But you might be wondering, what is Scientology? Why do people care about these speed runs? What does Tom Cruise have to do with any of this? Who is Shannon? Well, don’t worry. I will answer all of your questions.

Scientology is a religion created by L. Ron Hubbard based on the form of talk therapy called Dianetics, also created by Hubbard. The Church of Scientology was founded in 1953 and, as of a 2014 estimate, has a total of around 30,000 members. One of Scientology’s main beliefs is that you have past lives, and the trauma you lived in those past lives stays with your soul into your next lives. These traumas can be relieved by an activity called auditing, where a trained auditor asks the auditee structured questions and uses an E-meter to help them identify and address past problems. Auditing, both training and participating in, are the two main activities in Scientology. The structural proceedings of auditing are outlined on a chart called the Bridge to Total Freedom.

The two main goals of this chart are to either become a ‘Clear’, the goal of original Dianetics, or to become an ‘Operating Thetan’, the Scientology version of spiritual freedom. The higher you go as an Operating Thetan, the more access you get to the religious texts about past life cosmetology, much to the dismay of Scientology; many of these upper-level texts have been leaked.

As we’ve all seen, people have been running through the Scientology headquarters in LA recently to different levels of success. But there are myriad reasons they are doing this beyond just for fun. Scientology is known for being incredibly secretive and has had many controversies. There is no public information on the inside of their building. Along with that, oftentimes, when people who are calling out Scientology online are seen outside of their LA building, they close their doors and white out their glass so no one can see what is going on inside.

For years, they have been hiding a woman and saying she is alive, yet no one has seen her for years and years now. Along with that, many have argued that it isn’t a real religion. They have had many lawsuits against them from government agencies, former members, and legal battles with the IRS. Scientology has been tax-exempt in the US since 1993. The status of what exactly Scientology is changes per country. In the US, Australia, Portugal, and Spain, Scientology is recognized as a religion. Meanwhile, in Germany, France, and many other countries, Scientology is recognized as a cult or another special denomination.

Tom Cruise. We all know Tom, whether he is hanging off a plane or going on the 20th impossible mission. Many people know that Tom Cruise is a famous member of Scientology, and there is a specific reason inside the church. Publicity. Scientology knows that even if they go door to door, nothing will get them as much publicity as a celebrity being a part of their religion.

In psychology, there is this thing where if you see someone you look up to as a part of something, you will see that thing with rose-tinted glasses or even potentially join it yourself. And that’s exactly what Scientology does. Tom Cruise isn’t the only celebrity who’s a part of Scientology. Catherine Bell, Jenna Elfman, Vivian Kubrick, the Masterson brothers, Elisabeth Moss, and John Travolta are all current members of Scientology, among many others. However, there are many celebrities who were a part of Scientology but are no longer in the religion, including people such as Beck, Paul Haggis, Nicole Kidman, Leah Remini, and John Stamos. Of course, Scientology has spawned some niche internet celebrities, including Shannon. Shannon is a receptionist at the Scientology building in LA, and many of the people who document Scientology interact with Shannon specifically.

Scientology is a crazy religion with very strange beliefs. They go so deep that it would be hard to even describe them here, but just as a very, very simple rundown: Scientology believes that aliens came to earth, were killed in a volcano, their spirits roam the earth, and everyone has an alien spirit attached to them. These alien spirits change from person to person and remember what happened in the past life they lived, and now you need to figure that out and deal with it to become clean. It is insane. Scientology, despite its name, is not connected to science at all. In the end, Scientology is a cult. It is one of the most prominent cults of the modern day, and I am sure that in the future we will be seeing documentaries about Scientology.