Disconnection is a practice in Scientology, in which a Scientologist severs all ties between themselves and friends, colleagues, or family members who criticize Scientology practices. A Scientology Center on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California Scientology is a system of beliefs, teachings and rituals, originally established as an alternative psychotherapy in 1951 by science-fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, then recharacterized by him in 1953 as an applied religious philosophy. ... A Scientologist is a believer in Scientology. ... 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, typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by comparable legal relationships including domestic partnership, adoption, surname and in some cases ownership (as was the case in the Roman... A Scientology Center on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California Scientology is a system of beliefs, teachings and rituals, originally established as an alternative psychotherapy in 1951 by science-fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, then recharacterized by him in 1953 as an applied religious philosophy. ...

Such critics are declared by the church to be "sources of disinformation (entheta)", or Potential Trouble Sources (PTS), or Suppressive Persons (SP), who interfere with the Scientologist's progress in the organization and their "spiritual growth". // Beliefs Core beliefs and central tenets of Scientology The core beliefs of Scientology involve The spiritual nature of men and mankind. ... In Scientology, a formally condemned and shunned heretic or wrongdoer is labelled a Suppressive Person, often abbreviated SP. L. Ron Hubbard coined the term to refer to enemies of the Church of Scientology, whose suppressive acts are said to impede the progress of Scientology. ...

According to official Church statements, this practice is intended as an extreme measure, only to be employed after dialogue and mediation has been exhausted. (Disconnection is also advised when one is confronted with an abusive situation such as spousal violence.) If family members of a Scientologist disagree with his or her faith but respect his or her choices, disconnection is not called for. Only in the case when someone actively disrupts or interferes with pursuit of "spiritual freedom" through Scientology is the disconnection policy invoked. Like the related (but converse) practice of shunning, disconnection has ended marriages and separated families. Critics of Scientology assert that the effect of this policy is to block the access of Scientologists to any source of information contradicting the claims made by Scientology management. The term dialogue (or dialog) expresses basically reciprocal conversation between two or more persons. ... Mediation consists of a process of alternative dispute resolution in which a (generally) 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. ... Marriage is a relationship that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ... The shunning of an individual is the act of deliberately avoiding association with him or her. ... Marriage is a legal, social, and religious relationship between individuals which has formed the foundation of the family for most societies. ...

See also: Excommunication Excommunication is a religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ...

External links

• Disconnection: children and family (Mike Gormez)
• The history of disconnection in Scientology (Michel Snoeck)