#TheGodProject: Johannesburg's Home of Scientology

2Summers | 8 February 2016
johannesburg religion museums TheGodProject hidden joburg

A few months ago, my friend Ang at JOZI.REDISCOVERED and I started #TheGodProject. The point of the project is to visit and document different places of worship in Johannesburg.

For the first installment, we started relatively simply with the one of Joburg’s Catholic churches. For the second installment we’re really going for it, investigating the Church of Scientology in Joburg.

When I say “we”, I really mean Ang. This project was her idea, and I’m just the girl trailing along behind her with a camera. My job in this project is to post a few pictures and refer you over to Ang’s blog, where the real action is taking place. In this case I am more than happy to do so, because the Church of Scientology is a pretty complex phenomenon and I am in no place to explain it to you right now.

Photos of Johannesburg’s L. Ron Hubbard House

I am, however, excited to share a few photos of the L. Ron Hubbard house in Linksfield Ridge, where Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard lived in 1960 and 1961. This beautiful historic house, built in the 1950s, is a registered Joburg heritage site and really worth a visit, whether you’re interested in Scientology or not.

Outside the L. Ron Hubbard House, Johannesburg
The house in Joburg’s eastern suburbs where L. Ron Hubbard lived for about six months in 1960-61.
Lounge of the L. Ron Hubbard House, Johannesburg
The living room of the house, which has been restored to look exactly as it did when L. Ron lived there.
Puneet and Ang at the L. Ron Hubbard House
Ang (right), interviewing Puneet Dhamija, the curator of the L. Ron Hubbard House and a staff member of the Church of Scientology, with L. Ron Hubbard memorabilia in the background.

Photos and memorabilia at the L. Ron Hubbard House
Several rooms in the house are filled with museum displays documenting L. Ron Hubbard’s life. Let me summarize things for you: L. Ron Hubbard learned to read at age three, became an honorary Native American and an Eagle Scout, learned to type 94 words a minute, became a pilot, a ship captain, a doctor, a policeman, an author, a photographer, and a movie script writer, and basically did everything faster and better than any human ever has before or since. Okay, there might be a few things that L. Ron Hubbard didn’t do faster or better than any human ever has before or since. But I didn’t learn about those things at the
museum.

Memorabilia at the L. Ron Hubbard House
L. Ron’s special police badge.
Desk at the L. Ron Hubbard House
L. Ron’s telephone.
Ang at L. Ron Hubbard’s desk
Ang contemplates the meaning of life at the desk in L. Ron’s study.
The L. Ron Hubbard House kitchen
L. Ron’s beautiful kitchen. I really love the blue floor tiles.
Swimming pool and view at the L. Ron Hubbard House
The swimming pool at L. Ron Hubbard House, with the downtown Jozi skyline in the distance.
Dog at the L. Ron Hubbard House
Sheba, the dog mascot of L. Ron Hubbard House.
Scientology videos at the L. Ron Hubbard House
Scientology DVDs.
The Aims of Scientology

The sun never sets on Scientology.

I’ll leave it there for now. Go on over to Ang’s blog to get the real scoop on L. Ron and Scientology in Johannesburg. More #TheGodProject posts coming soon.

PS: The official website doesn’t really indicate this, but the L. Ron Hubbard House in Joburg is a public museum and anyone can rock up for free and take a tour. There’s more information on the L. Ron Hubbard Heritage site Facebook page.