|
THE HISTORY OF SCIENTOLOGY’S EXPANSION
Nineteen eighty-five saw the 150th church open in Monza, Italy. To meet the demand around the world for taped lectures (over 90,000 students and preclears completed services in 1985) a full production and recording studio was established at Golden Era Productions. And, looking to the future for a glimpse of what was to come, Sea Organization teams began scouting for a new motor vessel where Scientology’s most advanced auditing level could be offered in a distraction-free environment.
While the Sea Organization was ensuring the availability of the OT levels, other Scientologists were making L. Ron Hubbard’s work better known to those who had not yet stepped onto the Bridge. As a result of these efforts: copies of Dianetics appeared in Gdansk, Poland, for the first time; a Peruvian mission was established in Lima; a team of Scientologists distributed Scientology materials in Hong Kong; and a Celebrity Centre in Nashville, Tennessee, opened its doors in 1987. New Scientology missions also opened in Puerto Rico, North Carolina, Palm Springs and Zaire and – fulfilling the long-laid seeds – in Ambala, India.
And lest one had any doubts as to just how many were now reaching for L. Ron Hubbard’s works, Dianetics reached the number one position on the New York Times bestseller list. Concurrently, Dianetics was released, and became instantly popular, in a new quarter – mainland China – with the first printing selling out in less than two weeks.
Painstakingly researched, the new fully updated Scientology Academy Levels were released in the first days of 1988. Also in 1988, the greatly improved Mark Super VII E-Meter was released. Further plans to make L. Ron Hubbard technology available in more secular settings led to the formation of the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE). Among other projects ABLE would soon help initiate was to bring L. Ron Hubbard’s study technology to classrooms in China where 190,000 copies of Dianetics had been distributed by this point. In order to handle equally impressive North American sales of L. Ron Hubbard’s books, Bridge Publications (formerly the Publications Organization, United States) moved into new and larger quarters in Los Angeles.
 
More statistical facts about Scientology
|
