The Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization headquartered in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, established by the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious ...

. It states that it is "dedicated to creating a better future for children and communities." It promotes secular uses of

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...

's works, and has been classified as a "

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

-related entity". Founded in 1988, ABLE's main office is located at 7065

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

, the former headquarters for the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to me ...

Programs

ABLE acts as an umbrella organization for four entities: *

Applied Scholastics Applied Scholastics is a non-profit corporation founded in 1972 to promote the use of study techniques created by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. Hubbard called his theories on learning and education " study technolog ...

, educational programs based on study technology * Criminon, a rehabilitation program for prisoners * Narconon, a

drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent i ...

program * The Way to Happiness Foundation, dedicated to disseminating Hubbard's "non-religious moral code", which consists of 21 precepts such as "Don't be promiscuous", "Do not harm a person of good will" and "Respect the religious beliefs of others"

Criticism

Although various Scientology groups are registered as legally separate corporations and entities, critics note this has no bearing on whether or not they are controlled by the

. Studytech.org, a Scientology watchdog site, notes: "Applied Scholastics is indeed a legally separate corporation. However, it has so many ties to the Church of Scientology and its corporate alter ego, the Church of Spiritual Technology, that it cannot be regarded as being anything other than a Scientology subsidiary. Nanette Asimov, reporter for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

'', in an article critical of ABLE and Narconon, summed it up this way:

A popular anti-drug program provided free to schools in San Francisco and elsewhere teaches concepts straight out of the Church of Scientology, including medical theories that some addiction experts described as "irresponsible" and "pseudoscience." As a result, students are being introduced to some beliefs and methods of Scientology without their knowledge.

ABLE and its groups were included in the 1993 closing agreement between the

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

and the Church of Scientology, and are classified as "Scientology-related entities".

References

External links

* {{Authority control Scientology organizations Organizations established in 1988 Organizations based in Los Angeles

Programs

Criticism

See also

References

Further reading

External links