Do you trust Scientology as a bona fide religion? Your thoughts?

Answer 1

Scientology is a practice that could be construed as a religion. Though I do not believe that it fits the classifications.
Scientology has no god.

Answer 2

What is it that you actually want to know?
What is the purpose or intent of your question?
How can you trust something you have no personal experience or knowledge of?
If you wanted a bunch of uninformed opinion I guess you certainly got what you asked for!

Here are some bonafides from independant sources who took the time to study and find out for themselves:

Scholastic criteria for a religion :
1. A belief in some Ultimate Reality, such as a supreme or eternal truth that transcends the here and now of the secular world;
2. Religious practices directed towards understanding, attaining or communing with this Ultimate Reality; and
3. A community of believers who join together in pursuing this Ultimate Religion.
Based on these criteria, ever scholar who has examined Scientology has concluded that it has the required elements of a religion.

Here are some of the names of those who have done independant studies of Scientology and made these conclusions:
Dr Bryan Ronald Wilson Oxford University England
Regis dricquebourg, Prof of Sociology of Religion Lille University France.
Prof Lonnie D. Kliever American expert on religion.
Dr J. Melton Founder/Director Institute for the Study of American Religion (Santa Barbara)
Dr Frank K. Flinn Prof in religious studies at Washington University.
Dr M Darroll Bryant Prof of Religion and Culture Universit of Waterloo Ontario Canada.
James A Beckford Prof Warick University England.
Michael A Sivertsev. Chrm for New Religions Russia
Mr Fumio Swanda One of Japans foremost authorities on religion and former director of Sophia University.
There are many more studies available. These are just a few.
With Scientology expanding to well over 10 million members in over 163 countries world wide the opinion of half a dozen posters on Yahoo Answers will not change the fact that Scientology is a bonafide and expanding new religion in the 21st century.
It is true that the theology and technology of Scientology was discovered and developed by L.Ron Hubbard. But he was just a man, and never said he was anything else.
He did not make any statements about God or the Supreme Being other than to say acknowledge it's existence as the "Eighth Dynamic".
But he did not attempt to define it or describe it.
In Scientology does not intrude in this area,it is left to the individual

As far as MY trust of the religion of Scientology, based on my personal knowledge and experience with it.....after almost 35 years as a Scientologist.... it hasn't let me down yet and has given me a lot more than was promised and continues to do so.
Because of this I trust it and support it so it can continue and help mankind.

No one in today's society trusts any offers of help. There has been too much betrayal in the past. Trust must be earned, it doesn't come easily.

Answer 3

How can any religion be more "bona fide" than any other.

If I were to start my own religion this moment, based on my own ideas about God and my own spiritual revelation, then that religion is as "bona fide" as any.

The question is not whether the religion is bona fide but is he worship real. That can only be answered by the worshipper and the Worshipped.

Answer 4

No, I only see them as a cult.

There are far too many examples of the Church of Scientology conning those of little self esteem of their money by talking them into paying money to attend conferences on being confident and a library of books. I remember one conference they were out to use the gullible. They charged $100 per day for two days. This did not include any refreshments at all.

They are nothing but con artists.

Answer 5

No. It was created by a science fiction author and has no claim of being divinely inspired. The goal of religion is to figure out what G-d wants from His creation, and hence what is the purpose of life. Scientology has nothing to do with that. It would be best categorized as psychology.

Answer 6

Bona Fide? The USA is supposed to be all about freedom. I guess if I wanted to worship my Cocker Spaniel Jack..It could be a religion.

Answer 7

I have lived around Scientology. It is a cult. They brain wash these people. They carry around a lie detector, and are told it is some important equipment. They have the people sign over their worldly goods, and then they work for .75 a day. They have to read only the books they are told to. They live where they are told to, and go to church where they are told to. They are not suppose to talk to the rest of the world unless they are trying to get them in to their so called religion.

Answer 8

I don't trust anything as a bona fide religion.

Answer 9

L.Ron Hubbard stole many of the actual spritual concepts of scientology from Thelema the problem was he was weak both spritually and mentally to understand many of the concepts he stole and thats where the idiocy began A fool with no spritual knowledge trying to adapt spritual dioctrine to serve his own needs. what he didn't steal from others Hubbard concucvted in his own little scizophrenic mind

Crowley despised Hubbard and referredto him as a complete moron completely void of any spritual nature or understanding ,Unless you want to become a lost cause stay well away from Scientology

Answer 10

of course it's a bona fide religion, the internal revenue service, and L.ron hubbard's bank account show it to be a real money maker, just like all the other religions are.