Last updated August 2026
What Are Scientology’s Core Beliefs?
Direct Answer
Scientology teaches that a person is an immortal spiritual being, called a thetan, who uses a mind and body. Its beliefs also include the Eight Dynamics, a framework for life that extends from the individual to a Supreme Being, and the possibility of past lives.
The best place to start with these terms is their everyday meaning: a thetan is the spiritual being, and the Eight Dynamics are the areas of life that matter to a person. Read more about Scientology’s core tenets.
There is a vocabulary here, but the ideas are easiest to explore one at a time. Begin with the everyday meaning of each term, then let the larger picture come into view.
About the narrator: This site is written from a composite practicing-member perspective, assembled from published member accounts and Church materials. It does not present that composite voice as one named person’s testimony.
Last updated August 2026.
What is the “thetan” concept?
In Scientology, thetan means the spiritual being a person is. A thetan has a mind and occupies a body; the person is not identical to either one. Read a detailed explanation of the thetan.
This is where the language can sound more formal than the basic idea. Scientology’s religious view is that there is a spiritual aspect of a person that is not reducible to physical matter alone.
The Eight Dynamics widen that view beyond the individual. The first concerns oneself; others include family, groups, humanity, living things, the physical universe, spiritual life, and, as the eighth, infinity or the Supreme Being. They are a way of considering the connected areas of life rather than eight separate articles of faith to memorize.
What do Scientologists believe about the afterlife?
Scientology teaches that spiritual beings are immortal and that people may have lived before and may live again. This is not a fixed system of reincarnation: past lives are not a required dogma, but something individuals may come to know through their own experience. Read more about past lives in Scientology.
Scientology does not frame the hereafter primarily as a simple heaven-or-hell destination. Instead, it speaks of the next life and of a person’s responsibility for what they do in the present. Read the FAQ on heaven and hell.
If you are comparing Scientology with another faith, it helps to keep the differences clear. Scientology uses its own terms and has its own account of spiritual continuity; its teachings are not simply another version of another tradition's beliefs.
How does Scientology view other religions?
Scientology respects all religions, and Scientologists are expected to respect other people’s religious beliefs. The religion also supports interfaith work and treats tolerance as a basis for human relationships. Read more about Scientology and other religions.
Respect leaves room for real differences. Scientology has its own teachings, while recognizing every person’s right to follow their own religious path.
The Eighth Dynamic is infinity, or the Supreme Being. A fuller understanding of that relationship is an individual matter of spiritual awareness rather than a single required picture of God. Read more about the concept of God in Scientology.
What is the role of L. Ron Hubbard’s writings in Scientology belief?
L. Ron Hubbard’s written and recorded spoken words on Scientology collectively constitute the religion’s Scripture. That material is where Scientology theology and its practices are set out. Read more about Scientology Scripture.
That makes Hubbard’s writings central to understanding Scientology belief. They are not a side shelf of commentary; they are the body of religious material through which the teachings are studied.
FAQs
What is a thetan in Scientology?
In Scientology, a thetan is the spiritual being that a person is. A thetan uses a mind and occupies a body, rather than being identical with either one.
Does Scientology believe in an afterlife?
Scientology teaches that spiritual beings are immortal and may have lived before and live again. Past lives are something an individual may come to know through personal experience, rather than a required dogma.
Does Scientology believe in God?
Scientology includes the Eighth Dynamic, which is associated with infinity and the Supreme Being. Fuller understanding of that relationship is a matter of personal spiritual awareness.
Conclusion
Scientology belief begins with the idea that a person is a spiritual being and then follows that idea outward: through the Eight Dynamics, spiritual continuity across lives, respect for other religions, and the teachings set out in L. Ron Hubbard’s writings. For the wider orientation, return to What Is Scientology?.