The full glory of the state of Clear has no comparable description in any literature existing in the culture, religious or otherwise. The state has long been sought but was impossible to achieve until the researches and breakthroughs of L. Ron Hubbard. (What is Scientology?, p. 221)

In claiming that the salvation it offers is unique, Scientology is paradoxically similar to the Abrahamic religions -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Scientology also teaches that after attaining the state of Clear it is possible to go on to even greater heights of spiritual freedom, which are the various levels of Operating Thetan (OT). Operating Thetan is defined as "a state of being above Clear, in which the Clear has become refamiliarized with his native abilities. An Operating Thetan is knowing and willing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time" (What is Scientology?, p. 814). In this context, operating means "able to operate without dependency on things" (Scientology 0-8, p. 226). Once this state is fully reached, the thetan is capable of accomplishing anything (The Scientology Handbook, p. xxii). Hence it is claimed that abilities the thetan has lost in antiquity are recovered as a person advances through the OT levels, until eventually the thetan reaches a stage of full awareness, memory and ability as a spirit independent of the flesh, free from the endless cycle of birth and death (What is Scientology?, pp. 222-223). This condition has some similarities to what Buddhists term nirvana.

The path used by Scientologists to progress systematically toward the highest level of awareness--Total Freedom--is termed The Bridge. Various publications of Scientology contain a chart setting out the sequence of steps one must follow to achieve that goal, and the awareness characteristics associated with each of those stages. Scientologists claim that their experience confirms the efficacy of this route mapped out by L. Ron Hubbard, and that Scientology is the culmination of a religious tradition extending back at least ten thousand years through the Buddhist, Hindu and Vedic scriptures, as well as in parts of Celtic, Greek and early Christian teachings (The Phoenix Lectures, Chapters 1-3; The Scientology Handbook, p. xxvii).