Disconnection is the Scientologist practice of severing ties (http://members.chello.nl/mgormez/childabuse/disconnect.html) between a Church of Scientology member and the friends, colleagues, and family members who disapprove of, or criticize Scientology practices; that is, "sources of disinformation (entheta)", or Potential Trouble Sources (PTS), or Suppressive Persons (SP), that interfere with their progress in the organization. The practice was said to have ended in 1969 and then reinstated in 1983. A Scientologist is a believer in Scientology. ... Official Scientology Cross Symbol The Church of Scientology was founded by author L. Ron Hubbard as an organization dedicated to the practice of Scientology, an applied religious philosophy formulated by Hubbard. ... An interpersonal relationship is some relationship or connection between two people. ... A family of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 A family is a domestic group of people, or a number of domestic groups linked through descent (demonstrated or stipulated) from a common ancestor, marriage or adoption. ... A Scientology Center in Los Angeles, California. ... The central tenets of Scientology are based on the belief that a person is an immortal spiritual being (referred to as a thetan) who has a mind and a body, but is neither of these, that he is basically good, and that he is seeking to survive. ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Like the related (but converse) practice of shunning, disconnection has ended marriages and separated families. The shunning of an individual is the act of deliberately avoiding association with him or her. ... Marriage is a relationship and bond, most commonly between a man and a woman, that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ...

The official organization of Scientology asserts that disconnection is a necessary procedure to free members from persons who have a negative effect on their "spiritual growth". According to official Church statements, this practice is that it is an absolute extreme, after dialogue and mediation has been exhausted. If family members of a Scientologist do not agree with his or her faith but respect his or her choices, this is not reason for disconnection. Only in the more extreme cases when someone actively disrupts or interferes with one's pursuit of "spiritual freedom" through Scientology is when, as a last resort, disconnection is used. The term dialogue (or dialog) expresses basically reciprocal conversation between two or more persons. ... Mediation is a process of alternative dispute resolution in which a neutral third party, the mediator, assists two or more parties to help them negotiate an agreement, with concrete effects, on a matter of common interest; lato sensu is any activity in which an agreement on any matter is researched...

Disconnection is also advised when one is confronted with an abusive situation such as spousal abuse. Marriage is a relationship that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ... Abuse is a general term for the misuse of a person or thing, causing harm to the person or thing, to the abuser, or to someone else. ...

In contrast, critics assert that the real reason for this policy is to block access of Scientologists to any source of information contradicting the claims made by Scientology management. Despite the claims of Scientology that disconnection is a "last resort", they state, it has often been used to attack families who try to bring their relatives out of Scientology.

External links

• What is Disconnection? (http://www.authenticscientology.org/page40.htm) (Church of Scientology)
• Disconnection Policy (http://www.scientology.org/en_US/religion/catechism/pg019.html) (Church of Scientology)
• Disconnection: children and family (http://members.chello.nl/mgormez/childabuse/disconnect.html) (Mike Gormez)