The Church of Empiricology is a fairly recent religious movement (~20 years of prominence), known to attract powerful professionals and celebrities. It is based in the Los Angeles area. While often in the news, it is not clear it has a substantial following in terms of numbers. Dollars are another matter.
Unlike some of the flaky 'New-Age' circles common to Los Angeles, Empiricology has a reputation of highly educated and articulate, outspoken members. Empiricology lies somewhere between a religion, an exclusive club, and a political action committee. Particularly now that it has divested itself of some of its more corporate holdings.
In Year-5, the Church of Empiricology "spun off" two of its major corporate operations - the Kindred Health Network (which operated a number of hospitals, halfway houses, etc.) and Ascension Sciences (now a private research firm that also does technical consulting, training, and security systems).
Its celebrity membership includes action film hearthrob and talk show oddity Tom Svoboda.
Empiricology Lore 1:
In 1952, Axelrod Helmut founded The Church of Empiricology. His vision was to build a following in touch with the modern age, whose membership could feel spiritually comfortable with the complexities of the times, as well as their own successes, despite hardship and suffering in others.
Such can be derived from casual study of Helmut's best-seller 'Psionautics' - a guide to self-reliance, self-actualization, and rather compelling discussion of societal difficulties and means to solve these in the reader's personal life. The Church touts respect for the individual, promotion of scholarship, and excellence in all aspects of living.
The Church's headquarters are located in Barnsdall Park, Hollywood, though there are Missions throughout much of Southern California. It once maintained close relationships with professional development companies including college preparatory and technology consulting firms. Its humanitarian efforts include a number of Drug Rehab facilities.
