Church Of Spiritual Technology
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The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) is a
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501(c)(3)
non-profit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation ma ...
, incorporated in 1982, which owns all the
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
s of the estate of L. Ron Hubbard and licenses their use. CST does business as L. Ron Hubbard Library. The Church of Spiritual Technology points to Hubbard as the “focal point,” with the structure designed to realize what Scientologists understand to be his vision. The stated purpose of the archive in CST, according to the church is “so that future generations will have available to them all of L. Ron Hubbard’s technology in its exact and original form, no matter what happens to the society.”


Corporate information

The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) was incorporated by Sherman Lenske in Woodland Hills,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, on May 27, 1982. The Bylaws of CST were signed on June 7, 1982, by its General and Special Directors, who were at that time Lyman Spurlock, Rebecca Pook, Maria Starkey, Stephen A. Lenske, Sherman D. Lenske and Lawrence A. Heller. In 1986, CST's
Articles of Incorporation Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article(s) may also refer to: ...
were amended to clarify the "
disposition A disposition is a quality of character, a habit, a preparation, a state of readiness, or a tendency to act in a specified way. The terms dispositional belief and occurrent belief refer, in the former case, to a belief that is held in the mind b ...
of the corporation's
assets In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that can b ...
upon dissolution". On August 18, 1993, CST filed an application for
tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
under section
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
of the
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. The
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granted CST's request for exemption through an official recognition letter on October 1, 1993. At the time of the filing for
tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
, the following individuals held
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positions at CST: The
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was composed of John Allcock, David Lantz and Russell Bellin. Thomas Vorm, Russell Bellin and Catherine Schmidt formed the
Board of Directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
. CST's
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
was Russell Bellin, its
Vice-President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Thomas Vorm, its
Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...
Jane McNairn and its
Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...
Catherine Schmidt. In autumn 2021, CST was designated as an " undesirable organization" in Russia.


Licensing of trademarks and service marks

The existence and founding of CST is intimately connected to the creation of the Religious Technology Center (RTC), which was incorporated on January 1, 1982. Shortly after its inception, RTC received on May 16, 1982 "the ownership, supervision and control" of the
trademarks A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a product or service from a particular source and distinguishes it from ot ...
and service marks, identifying "Scientology applied religious philosophy" and "Dianetics spiritual healing technology" by the originator and founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard through a so-called " Assignment Agreement". This agreement was subject to an additional "Option Agreement" between Hubbard, RTC and CST. In two so-called "Option Agreements" from May 1982, Hubbard granted CST the right to purchase at any time from RTC the "Marks", the "Advanced Technology" and all the rights to them for the sum of $100. Parallel and similar-sounding agreements between Hubbard, RTC and CST were created during that period concerning the so-called "Advanced Technology," which consists of unpublished derivatives of Scientology's confidential "Advanced technology". Under these agreements, RTC is forced to turn over 90% of its net income to CST. A document from 1991, reflecting the "financial money flows" of RTC during the year 1989, actually showed a turnover of 59% of RTC's net income towards CST.


L. Ron Hubbard Library

After being awarded tax-exempt status, CST received Hubbard's copyrights and patents from Mr. Hubbard's Trust. Hubbard's books that are published posthumously are copyrighted by CST under the fictitious business name "L. Ron Hubbard Library".


Archival project

The CST oversees the Scientology scriptural archiving project, which aims to preserve the works of Hubbard on stainless steel tablets and encased in titanium capsules in specially constructed vaults throughout the world. Copies of Hubbard's works go through a rigorous process, beginning with the removal of deterioration-causing acid from the paper, and then being placed in plastic envelopes. They are then placed in the titanium "time capsules." The writings are also carved into stainless steel plates, which, according to Church of Scientology officials, can withstand being sprayed with salt water for a thousand years. Hubbard's taped lectures are recorded again into gold compact discs encased in glass. The Church places prime value to Hubbard's volumes of works and because of this has instituted the CST to “engrave the entire corpus of Hubbard’s original texts on steel plates.” The most famous example is the Trementina Base, an underground vault built into a mountainside near Trementina, New Mexico. It is marked by a CST logo visible only from a high altitude and was built in the late 1980s. Former members claim that the purpose of CST's archival efforts is to ensure that Hubbard's work survive a nuclear apocalypse and reform civilization. The church believes that these plates will last beyond a thousand years and that Hubbard's teachings will be vital for "rebuilding civilization," in the event of global turmoil. Former members of the church also claim that the symbols in the logo are “guide markers for Scientologists returning from other parts of the universe," according to ''Scientology in Popular Culture: Influences and Struggles for Legitimacy.'' According to the Scientology website, the Church of Spiritual Technology “is not involved in the ecclesiastical management of Scientology churches or the delivery of Scientology religious services. Its day-to-day activities are the long-term archival preservation methods to ensure that Mr. Hubbard’s written recorded works will be preserved for future generations.” The website also states that the archive's purpose is to make available L. Ron Hubbard's technology “in its exact and original form, no matter what happens to the society.” Additional archive sites exist in Tuolumne, California and Petrolia, California.


Facility locations

CST operates numerous bases throughout the western United States. Locations include:


Twin Peaks, California

This location is said to be where Shelly Miscavige is kept by the Church. Located at 25406 California Highway 189, Twin Peaks, California, this location is one of the more secretive within the Church.


Creston, California (Creston Ranch / Whispering Winds Ranch)

While not a vault location, the Creston Ranch, where L. Ron Hubbard spent his last days, is marked with the CST logo. It is located at 4675 Coyote Creek Lane, Creston,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, with coordinates


Triple Jay Ranch, California


Petrolia, California (Sunset View / Eureka)

The property is used as an archival document storage repository, which will store religious documents preserved by CST.


Tuolumne, California (Lady Washington Mine)

Located at 18749 First Avenue, Tuolumne serves as archival storage for the writings of L. Ron Hubbard. The Lady Washington Mine and two houses on 26.23 acres were purchased in 1988 by William and Donna Daniels. In 1988, the Daniels gave the property to Norman Starkey, trustee of "Author's Family Trust". Starkey gave the property to the Church of Spiritual Technology in 1993. Digging began in 1997. According to the Los Angeles Times, the CST "is using state-of-the-art technology to protect Hubbard's writings, tape-recorded lectures and filmed treatises from natural and man-made calamities, including
nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, nuclear armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a Futures studies, theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes widespread destruction and radi ...
." According to plans filed with the Tuolumne County Building Department the facility features a 15-foot-wide, 250-foot-long-tunnel. The first 98 feet from the entrance are improved, with a 10.5-foot domed ceiling. At the end of the 98 feet is a 10-foot-long storage room.


Trementina, New Mexico (San Miguel Ranch / Trementina Base)

According to CST, the purpose of this base is to provide storage space for an archiving project to preserve Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's writings,
films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...
and recordings for future generations. Hubbard's texts have been engraved on stainless steel tablets and encased in titanium capsules underground. The project began in the late 1980s. The base includes a number of dwellings and the archives themselves, the latter in a network of tunnels. The base also has its own private, concrete airstrip, the San Miguel Ranch Airport (NM53). The site is about a -hour drive east of Santa Fe. Access is through a gated road and a private concrete airstrip, the San Miguel Ranch Airport (NM53). The Trementina location is supposedly a store for material written by L.R. Hubbard, as shown in 1998 on
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'' 20/20'': The site is marked from the air with Church of Spiritual Technology double diamonds. A runway for smaller airplanes is located on CST owned land in connection to the site. The original short strip was expanded in the early 1990s on land acquired by a land swap deal between CST and neighboring land owners in 1992.


Structure

The first time the Church of Spiritual Technology was mentioned publicly to Scientologists was by David Miscavige in 2000 at the New Year's event. Its founders included Meade Emory, a non-Scientologist who used to work for the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
(IRS) but went into private practice as a tax lawyer. He was hired as a specialist for the complex Internal Revenue Codes. The Church of Scientology International and most Scientology organizations settled with the IRS about 11 years later when the service passed a resolution in 1993 declaring the Church tax-exempt. Other Scientology organizations require all corporate officers to be Scientologists in good standing, along with Scientologist general directors and staff. The CST, however, includes "Special Directors" who are not required to be Scientologists, but who are required to be lawyers "to ensure that CST takes no action to jeopardize its tax-exempt status".Scientology vs the IRS: Legal archive
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See also

* List of Scientology organizations * Scientology officials


References


External links


''What is Church of Spiritual Technology?''
from scientology.org
Patents by Assignee Church of Spiritual Technology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of Spiritual Technology 1982 establishments in California Intellectual property law Scientology organizations Religious organizations established in 1982 Organizations listed in Russia as undesirable