Does the Church of Scientology Engage in Brainwashing through Repetition?

Critics say that Scientology is a cult rather than a religion, and one of the reasons for this is the belief that Scientology essentially "brainwashes" members. The idea of brainwashing has more fiction than reality behind it, but it is a true that people's reasoning and thinking can be heavily influenced through recognized techniques. One, used by many through history, is regular and even ritualized repetition of ideas, beliefs, and doctrines. Done correctly, it has a proven record of working.

James McGuigan explains how Scientology uses repetition to reinforce the assumption that Scientology always works and therefore any problems anyone has must be due to their own personal problems, not Scientology:

KSW (Keeping Scientology Working) is a policy letter placed at the front of every course, it drills into you the fact that Scientology "works" and "gets results" and that the only reason it doesn't work is due to incorrect understood, applied or "squirreled" (intentionally modified - ie you would have to be nuts). Part of the problem with this policy is it creates a feedback loop where every problem encountered has an immediate solution. You are having a problem with process A, firstly go back over the materials and find any words you didn't fully understand and look them up in a dictionary, re-drill the process until you have it down verbatim.

If that doesn't work, then look for more mis-understood words. If you still having problems, then it could be an issue with any out-ethics you might have in your life, so go and see the ethics officer and she will help you clear these issues up and then come back any try again. The only learning is from "source" (ie LRH), the supervisor in the course room does not teach her students, but simply ensures they follow the correct procedures for studying their course. On the subject of applying Scientology, its not a case of "think for yourself", but "do it 100% exactly per the tech".

This sounds like evangelical Christianity where it is repeated over and over that the Bible is "true" and "works," so if you are having problems then the source must be you. It can't be the Bible. The process by which Christians are led to believe without question may not be the same, but the results are similar. The constant repetition here might be compared to how Muslims are expected to memorize and recite the Qur'an over and over, even if they don't entirely understand it.