Photos: See Inside Harlem’s New Scientology Church and Community Center

EAST HARLEM, NY — The Church of Scientology has landed in Harlem, and it's opening its doors to the community. The religion has set up a mega center on 125th Street between First and Second avenues. The complex is made up of two buildings, a community center and a church located two doors down. Sandwiched in between the buildings stands a branch of the New York Public Library.

The church has operated in Harlem for about 20 years, but just opened its giant base on July 31, said Keisha Latty, a spokeswoman for the church.

"We specifically decided to build one of our larger churches here," Latty said. "Just dealing with the community and getting feedback from the community it was something that was needed and wanted."

The new church and community center complex is a major operation. About 200 people work at the center, which took around three years to construct, Latty said.

Scientology is a religion shrouded in mystery. It's drawn attention for its gaggle of Hollywood star believers such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, but for the most part the religion likes to preserve its secrecy. The church also been the subject of much criticism. The religion has been called a greedy cult and was the subject of an Emmy-winning HBO exposé.

But the new Harlem location isn't trying to hide any secrets, letting this reporter in for a full tour of the facility.

Take a look inside the new Scientology church and community center:

The first thing you see when walking into the Scientology community center in Harlem are screens hooked up to futuristic looking touch pads. These panels are a resource for people interested in Scientology to learn more about the religion and programs such as "Dianetics" and the popular "The Way to Happiness." A huge mural lines the back wall of this room consisting of several digitally-created pieces assembled together. The interior decoration budget for this place certainly wasn't cheap.

Latty claimed that when "The Way to Happiness" was introduced in Colombia, crime dropped 40 percent.

Next up is the chapel, which is used for Sunday services, marriages, funerals, baby naming, concerts and seminars, Latty said. The walls of the chapel are adorned with plaques outlining the key principals of Scientology. A one-of-a-kind mosaic lies on the floor near the front doors depicting the eight-pointed cross, Scientology's main religious symbol. Each point represents one of the eight dynamics of Scientology. Twice the points for crosses of those other religions.

This isn't an old video game console from the 1990s, but an E-meter. The E-meter is a machine used by a trained Scientologist known as an Auditor that allows people to "see a thought." Scientologists believe E-meters are religious relics and Auditing a form of spiritual healing. The first E-meter was made in the '50s when L. Ron Hubbard (the founder of Scientology) created the religion. Those metal tubes are called "cans."

While being Audited a person holds on to the cans and the Auditor asks them to think about a topic like work or their relationships. When the person thinks about something, a needle moves, that's their thought in motion. Science.

The second floor of the community center houses the main lounge area as well as conference rooms and even a VIP lounge. Latty said that the church is reaching out to community organizations and leaders that share likeminded goals of bettering the community. Much of the new church's work will focus on community programming such as anti-drug programs, Latty said. At the same time as the tour, two presenters were getting ready to host a job search seminar in a conference room.

Throughout the entire complex the works of Hubbard were on full display. Also littered throughout the building were film rooms, or "enlightenment areas," where people can view the church's educational programming as they wait for an event or meeting.

The third and fourth floors in the Scientology community center are used for testing, classes and tutoring.

Latty described the process one would take if they were interested in learning more about Scientology as follows: Viewing the introductory panels, taking introductory tests (a written personality/aptitude test), a preliminary E-meter reading, going over an evaluation of your test and then getting a recommended service package complete comes with plenty of suggested Hubbard reading material.

The purpose of the tests are to see which areas of someone's life are difficult or need improving, Latty said.

The center also offers classics ranging from basic-level such as "success through communication," and "Dianetics co-audit," to the more advanced "golden age of knowledge."

Tutoring is also provided for both children older than nine and adults. The tutoring does not revolve around any specific subject, but instead on how to "remove the barriers to learning," Latty said.

Want to see the place for yourself? The church and community center are open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.