Quantitative analysis reported in Smithsonian Magazine places the Scientology
Founder among the most significant religious figures in U.S. history.

The Spring 2015 Collector’s Edition of Smithsonian Magazine features Scientology Founder
L. Ron Hubbard as one of the 100 most significant Americans of all time.  

Smithsonian also named Mr. Hubbard among the 11 most influential religious figures in American history, citing his landmark work Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health and the subsequent founding of the Scientology religion—a religion that today has 11,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups in 167 nations.

Smithsonian also named Mr. Hubbard among the 11 most 
significant religious figures in American history.

Others Smithsonian Magazine identified along with Mr. Hubbard as being the most significant individuals in American religious history include the founders of the Mormon, Christian Science and Adventist faiths, as well as William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania as a sanctuary for freedom of conscience, Roger Williams, whose belief in religious freedom and tolerance led him to establish the Rhode Island Colony, and Evangelist Billy Graham.

In the special issue, Smithsonian also ranks the most significant American presidents, first ladies, artists, and empire builders.

“In a culture so saturated with information and so fragmented by the search possibilities of the Internet, how do we measure historical significance?” the magazine asked.

Steven Skiena, a Stony Brook University professor of computer science, and Charles B. Ward, a Google engineer who specializes in ranking methodologies, developed an algorithm, a “method of ranking historical figures, just as Google ranks web pages,” according to the magazine. Skiena and Ward rank people according to their historical significance, which they define as “the result of social and cultural forces acting on the mass of an individual’s achievement.”

The rankings “account not only for what individuals have done, but also for how well others remember and value them for it.”

For information on L. Ron Hubbard visit www.lronhubbard.org.