Scientologists believe body thetans came about approximately 75 million years ago through a catastrophe brought on by a galactic dictator named Xenu, as described by L. Ron Hubbard in a confidential auditing (counseling level in Scientology) called OT III.
[1] Often members of the Church of Scientology will publicly deny the existence of space opera doctrines, or attempt to minimize their importance.
OT III recipients must sign a waiver promising never to reveal its secrets before they are given the manila folder containing the body thetan knowledge.
It was later described in a 1981 Clearwater Sun article by Richard Leiby, and came to greater public fame in a 1985 court case brought against the church by Lawrence A. Wollersheim.
While almost all of the leaked material seems to be credible and has been verified by ex-members, the possibility exists that while procedures and policies may have changed, the underlying theology from Hubbard will remain the same.
Whilst there is ample video evidence of apparently devout members lying about the contents of the OT courses, there is uncertainty as to why they feel it is both necessary and ethical to do so.