According to the article on Scientology in the US Navy Chaplain web site:

The Scientology religion was developed by American author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. It came from his lifelong passion to assist man to achieve a higher plane of civilization and existence. Mr. Hubbard was not only a writer, one of the leading lights of the Golden Age of science fiction in the mid-1900s, but a true Renaissance man — who was a recognized explorer with membership in the prestigious Explorer's Club, a captain of corvettes during World War II, and fully versed in 21 different professions.