I belive it's nothing but a cult. And a lucrative one at that!
2007-03-12 16:52:01 · 20 answers · asked by ladydi_1987 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It IS nothing but a cult!!
(1) It uses psychological coercion to recruit, indoctrinate & retain its members.
Read here about the use of mind control and brainwashing in Scientology: http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/s/scientology/pignotti/
This article was written by Monica Pignotti, Cult Intervention Specialist and former Scientologist.
Here is more information about Scientology "TR's", or Training Routines (which are billed as a way to improve communication skills, but whose real purpose is to plant the seeds for thought control): http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Secrets/TR/
(2) It forms an elitist totalitarian society.
It is official Scientology policy to label anyone who disagrees with the practices of or questions the validity and/or benignity of Scientology as a “Suppressive Person”. The policy also requires members to “disconnect” from them.
(3) Its founder leader is self-appointed, dogmatic, messianic, not accountable & has charisma.
Meet L. Ron Hubbard:
http://www.xenu.net/entheta/entheta/media/tv/secret/secret.html
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/Bare%20Faced%20Messiah.pdf
http://slate.msn.com/id/2122835/?nav=ais
(4) It believes 'the end justifies the means' in order to solicit funds & recruit people.
Absolutely. After all, Hubbard DID create his own religion on order to scam people out of their money: http://lisatrust.freewinds.cx/scientology/hubbard.htm
Scientology is, in fact, seen as nothing more than a business in many countries (which is why, in those countries, it is appropriately NOT regarded as a religion). Here's the Wikipedia article on "Scientology as a business": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_as_a_business#
And nothing is too low for them: if people leave the church under unfavorable conditions, the church then charges them a "free-loader debt" which is basically retroactive billing for any auditing received or any Scientology training received while in the Sea Org, which can run into tens of thousands of dollars.
http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?p=scientology+freeloader+debt+kent&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-501&x=wrt&u=www.rickross.com/reference/scientology/history/history15.html&w=scientology+freeloader+debt+kent&d=QbtxEuxsOMXw&icp=1&.intl=us
(5) Its wealth does not benefit its members or society.
The only "benefit" to society that Scientology claims is it's drug rehabilitation program (which is utterly ineffective and whose "success" statistics have been manipulated or outright doctored by Scientology) and it's "stand" against psychiatry.
This is a site that takes a critical look at their drug rehabilitation program which goes by the name of "Narconon": http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/index.html
And here's an article entitled "Scientology's War On Psychiatry": http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/07/01/sci_psy/index_np.html?pn=1
2007-03-12 17:36:20 · answer #1 · answered by ZER0 C00L ••AM••VT•• 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Go to the Operation Clambake website. It will explain to you why Scientology is, in fact, a cult. They are not, and should not be allowed to operate like, an established "religion". They like to call it a religion. The whole thing is based on a bad alien who rounded up all the good aliens in the universe and dropped them into a volcano here on earth millions of years ago. Scientologists believe that the spirits of those aliens are trapped in humans, and we need to get them out of us, but we can't use psychiatry to do it. L. Ron Hubbard was a mentally unstable sci-fi writer who came up with all this crap because a shrink couldn't cure him. And it was a lucrative way for him to make money.
2007-03-13 00:18:01 · answer #2 · answered by ReeRee 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It's more of a business, really.
Of course, the main difference between 'religion' and 'cult' is in numbers. Imagine a world were only fifty people believed in, say, christianity.
2007-03-12 23:55:55 · answer #3 · answered by eldad9 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
It is a cult. I live in Clearwater, FL, where their international headquarters is. I've worked for a company owned by them and witnessed how they lure people in through late night classes. I've seen their curriculum which basically brainwashes people. They used to come into a church nearby when they were hosting events and scream and yell, yell things at the people trying to worship there. Some of my friends got involved, and basically lost it. They are not mentally well anymore, most are into drugs as a result. Not to mention the fact that they starved someone to death in the 90's in Clearwater in their compound. This person was covered in cockroach bites, starved to death, and denied medical treatment because she was being "rehabilitated". They've taken over all of downtown clearwater. Anybody that stands in their way of property that they want, they take down illegally. Want to really find out how kooky they are? Go to one of their centers, do not give your name, any identifying paperwork, and just start asking questions. I repeat, don't give your name. They will freak out on you.
2007-03-12 23:59:24 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
It's a cult, how else do you explain being charged money to learn common sense and then going full circle and throwing out common sense and believing in flying saucers.
2007-03-13 00:00:08 · answer #5 · answered by prusa1237 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Everyone knows it's a cult.
2007-03-12 23:55:42 · answer #6 · answered by sfumato1002 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
The goal of the Scientology religion is to achieve complete certainty of one’s spiritual existence, one’s relationship to the Supreme Being and his role in eternity. In this regard, countless authorities have affirmed that Scientology sits squarely within the tradition of the world’s major religions.
2007-03-13 00:10:04 · answer #7 · answered by michaeljripley 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I don't get this whole Catholicism kick. What makes it a 'religion' and not a 'cult?'
Wait, even more ironically, what's the difference between a religion and a cult... exactly?
2007-03-12 23:59:37 · answer #8 · answered by Acid Bath Slayer 2 · 1⤊ 4⤋
The only reason it is not publicy condemned for being a "cult' is because many of the rich and famous belong to it.
2007-03-12 23:59:50 · answer #9 · answered by Medusa 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It is a cult. Yes a lot of money is invested in it.
2007-03-12 23:58:20 · answer #10 · answered by KingDavid6268 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋