82 International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation ■ Vol. 2, 2021
The Eternal Commitment: Scientology’s Billion-Year Contract
Phil Lord
McGill University Faculty of Law, Montreal, Canada
Abstract
In this paper, I analyse the billion-year
contract, a fundamental instrument in the
Scientology religion. This contract is signed
solely by members of Scientology’s most
senior order, the Sea Organisation, after they
have proven their unqualified allegiance to
the Organisation. I provide an overview of
the Sea Organisation and of the onerous
process that leads to it. I then undertake an
analysis of the billion-year contract and its
fundamental role in defining and
strengthening the commitment that binds the
members to their organisation. I conclude
that the billion-year contract is, contrary to
what the Church suggests, far more than a
“symbolic” commitment—it is, at once, a
rebellious, visionary, and constitutive act.
Keywords: Law and religion, Scientology,
billion-year contract, Sea Organisation
The Eternal Commitment: Scientology’s
Billion-Year Contractii
Before there was a religion, there was
commitment. iii And before there was a
commitment, there was a contract. This
counterintuitive proposition highlights the
fundamentality of the billion-year contract to
the members of the Scientology religion.iv If
the commitment precedes the religion, how
can the religious contract precede the
commitment? For the proposition to be
accurate, we must think of Scientology
followers as forming two distinct groups—
the members who were a part of the religion
in the years preceding and directly following
its founding, and those who joined it after it
was founded. Founded some 70 years ago,v
Scientology stands out, even among new
religious movements, as a very recent
religion.vi The first group joined the religion
while its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, was
alive—when the religion was being defined.vii
As will be explained later on, the billion-year
contract is presented only to Scientology’s
most dedicated, full-time members: members
of the Sea Organisation. Scientologists who
signed the contract when Hubbard was alive
are, therefore, likely to have interacted with
Hubbard himself. These members, and their
commitment to Hubbard and his nascent
philosophy, helped define and strengthen
religious Scientology. The members of the
second group, in contrast, joined Scientology
in the post-Hubbard era. These members had
and have a far different relationship to the
religion. They adhere(d) to an existing
religion, with little hope of shaping it.
Scientology is indeed a peculiarly
unchanging religion. Every relevant rule and
doctrine is in writing, with Scientology
founder L. Ron Hubbard as members’ only
source. viii There is no mechanism for or
acceptability of altering the body of
knowledge that Hubbard developed. Neither
are there mechanisms to change the
interpretation of Hubbard’s works. ix The
commitment of more recent members is also
shaped by the billion-year contract. These
members join the Sea Organisation with a
complete understanding of their eternal
commitment to the religion. The contract
precedes their commitment. It shapes,
strengthens, and confirms their commitment.
In this paper, I analyse the billion-year
contract and its use in the religion of
Scientology. In Section I, I offer a description
of the billion-year contract and of the Sea
The Eternal Commitment: Scientology’s Billion-Year Contract
Phil Lord
McGill University Faculty of Law, Montreal, Canada
Abstract
In this paper, I analyse the billion-year
contract, a fundamental instrument in the
Scientology religion. This contract is signed
solely by members of Scientology’s most
senior order, the Sea Organisation, after they
have proven their unqualified allegiance to
the Organisation. I provide an overview of
the Sea Organisation and of the onerous
process that leads to it. I then undertake an
analysis of the billion-year contract and its
fundamental role in defining and
strengthening the commitment that binds the
members to their organisation. I conclude
that the billion-year contract is, contrary to
what the Church suggests, far more than a
“symbolic” commitment—it is, at once, a
rebellious, visionary, and constitutive act.
Keywords: Law and religion, Scientology,
billion-year contract, Sea Organisation
The Eternal Commitment: Scientology’s
Billion-Year Contractii
Before there was a religion, there was
commitment. iii And before there was a
commitment, there was a contract. This
counterintuitive proposition highlights the
fundamentality of the billion-year contract to
the members of the Scientology religion.iv If
the commitment precedes the religion, how
can the religious contract precede the
commitment? For the proposition to be
accurate, we must think of Scientology
followers as forming two distinct groups—
the members who were a part of the religion
in the years preceding and directly following
its founding, and those who joined it after it
was founded. Founded some 70 years ago,v
Scientology stands out, even among new
religious movements, as a very recent
religion.vi The first group joined the religion
while its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, was
alive—when the religion was being defined.vii
As will be explained later on, the billion-year
contract is presented only to Scientology’s
most dedicated, full-time members: members
of the Sea Organisation. Scientologists who
signed the contract when Hubbard was alive
are, therefore, likely to have interacted with
Hubbard himself. These members, and their
commitment to Hubbard and his nascent
philosophy, helped define and strengthen
religious Scientology. The members of the
second group, in contrast, joined Scientology
in the post-Hubbard era. These members had
and have a far different relationship to the
religion. They adhere(d) to an existing
religion, with little hope of shaping it.
Scientology is indeed a peculiarly
unchanging religion. Every relevant rule and
doctrine is in writing, with Scientology
founder L. Ron Hubbard as members’ only
source. viii There is no mechanism for or
acceptability of altering the body of
knowledge that Hubbard developed. Neither
are there mechanisms to change the
interpretation of Hubbard’s works. ix The
commitment of more recent members is also
shaped by the billion-year contract. These
members join the Sea Organisation with a
complete understanding of their eternal
commitment to the religion. The contract
precedes their commitment. It shapes,
strengthens, and confirms their commitment.
In this paper, I analyse the billion-year
contract and its use in the religion of
Scientology. In Section I, I offer a description
of the billion-year contract and of the Sea
