"We call them squirrels," Hubbard once wrote, "because they are so nutty."

Hubbard contended that only church members are qualified to administer his self-improvement-type courses. Outsiders, he said, inevitably misapply the teachings, wreaking spiritual harm on their subjects.

But those who have launched "independent" Scientology-style centers say Hubbard concocted this as an excuse to eliminate competition so he could charge exorbitant prices for his courses.

PART ONE
The Mind Behind the Religon

  • Defining the Theology
  • The Man in Control
  • Burglaries and Lies Paved a Path to Prison
  • Church Scriptures Get High-Tech Protection

PART TWO
Church Markets Its Gospel With High-Pressure Sales

  • Shoring Up Its Religious Profile
  • The Courting of Celebrities

PART THREE
Defectors Recount Lives of Hard Work, Punishment

PART FOUR
Church Seeks Influence in Schools, Business, Science

  • Courting the Power Brokers
  • Funds Assist Celebrated Teacher Escalante

PART FIVE
Costly Strategy Continues to Turn Out Bestsellers

PART SIX
On the Offensive Against Suspected Foes

  • Suits Fuel Campaign Against Psychiatry
  • When the Doctrine Leaves the Church
  • Neither Side Blinks in a Lengthy Feud

COMPLETE SERIES

As far back as 1965, Hubbard demonstrated his disdain for breakaway groups, ordering his followers to "tear up" the meetings of one such organization and "harass these persons in any possible way."

The intolerance still exists.

In 1988, the California Assn. of Dianetic Auditors--the oldest Scientology splinter group in existence--said it uncovered a scheme by more than 100 Scientologists to secretly infiltrate the association and seize control of its board of directors.

The association's then-vice president, Jana Moreillon, said she discovered the infiltration after scanning some Scientology publications. There, she found the names of many of her group's newest members listed among Scientologists who had just completed church training.

Moreillon said the association eventually purged or denied membership to 116 suspected Scientologists.

In recent years, a shadowy group of church members dubbed the "Minutemen" crashed meetings of independent Scientologists. They heckled speakers, screamed obscenities and threw eggs. Los Angeles police officers had to be summoned by the owner of a Chinatown restaurant to evict militant Scientologists who disrupted a fund-raising dinner held there by breakaway church members.

The church has denied any direct involvement in the raids. But a former top Scientology official said in a recent court declaration that the harassment campaign was ordered by church executives.