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Did Isaac Hayes Go to Heaven?

Slate explains where Hubbard's flock go when they die

By Jess Kilby, Newser User

Posted Aug 12, 2008 9:12 AM CDT

(Newser) – The death of legendary soul singer Isaac Hayes on Sunday is no cause to mourn: He’ll apparently be back. Hayes was a dedicated Scientologist, and as Nina Shen Rastogi explains in Slate, this means eternal life. Church founder L Ron Hubbard describes the Scientology experience as "simply living time after time, getting a new body, eventually losing it and getting a new one."

Don’t expect the reincarnated Hayes to score any more Grammys, though. His immortal soul (“thetan” in Scientology lingo) won’t remember much about its past lives. And if Hayes crossed The Bridge to Total Freedom this time around—he reportedly took the first step in 2002 by gaining physically “clear” status—he’ll join other incorporeal thetans who Hubbard explains “feel no need of bodies.”

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Isaac Hayes, the pioneering singer, songwriter and musician whose relentless "Theme From Shaft" won Academy and Grammy awards died Sunday Aug. 10, 2008. He was 65. (AP Photo/Jim Cooper, File)

Singer Isaac Hayes, who died on Sunday, played Chef on South Park. According to the Church of Scientology, to which Hayes belonged, a soul is reborn many times before release from the "meat" world. (AP Photo/Comedy Central, File)

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Recently deceased singer Isaac Hayes was the voice of Chef (right) on South Park. (zombiemonocromatico)

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Did Isaac Hayes Go to Heaven?