LRH was a hack scifi writer who penned Dianetics, a hodge podge of philosophy, mysticism, and psychology.
He copied the skin galvanometer from lie detectors oft he day and a called it an E-Meter.
It all morphed into Scientology.
Akin to Korzibski's synthesis ofGeneral Semantics.
There arereported links to Aleister Crowley who startedan occult religion. He was the generation before LRH.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley
'...Several Western esoteric traditionsother than Thelema were also influenced by Crowley. Gerald Gardner,founder of Gardnerian Wicca, made use of much of Crowley's publishedmaterial when composing the Gardnerian ritual liturgy,[270] and theAustralian witch Rosaleen Norton was also heavily influenced byCrowley's ideas.[271] L. Ron Hubbard, the American founder ofScientology, was involved in Thelema in the early 1940s (with JackParsons), and it has been argued that Crowley's ideas influenced someof his early work.[272] Two prominent figures in religious Satanism,Anton LaVey and Michael Aquino, were also aware of Crowley's work,and had conflicting thoughts on it.[273] Psychologist and psychedelicguru Timothy Leary openly acknowledged the inspiration of AleisterCrowley.[274]..'
1900 through the 1960s saw a rise inoccultism and spiritualism. LRH was one of a number who capitalizedon it. He was not unique, just one of the more well known.
There was T Lobsang Rampa who still hasfollowers today despite his being outed as a fake. He wrote booksallegedly about his experience in an earlier reincarnation as aTibetan monk. I read The Third Eye in the 60s as a kid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobsang_Rampa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Ron_Hubbard
) your enfeebled statement is somewhat of a Straw man. In fact it's so limp I will call it a straw donkey. Where's Xaxxat? (excuse my spelling as I haven't posted for sometime).