How can Scientology be a Religion? Who or what do they Worship?

Question

More important, should they be allowed to set up in the UK as a religion and therefore get charity status?

Have seen lots of interesting answers to questions since Tuesday night's Panorama programme but I still don't understand how they can claim to be a religion.

Who, or what, is XENU?

Thanks to those who gave http sites - I will check them all out.

Careful what you ask for in case you get it! I've been overwhelmed with all the web sites you have given me to look at. I especially want to thank Afinity (pro) and Zero Cool (anti) for their meticulous research and fulsome answers.

Answer 1

It isn't a religion, it's a cult, and there is no central worshiped deity figure in Scientology. The closest they get to "worship" is by treating the words of their "prophet" L. Ron Hubbard as absolutely infallible truth.

Scientology, which questionably calls itself a new "religion", is the brainchild of science fiction writer & occult enthusiast L. Ron Hubbard. The organization, by means of Hubbard’s self created psychotherapy technique called “Dianetics”, claims to be able to help rid members of any & all mental constraints including but not limited to emotional scarring (from this & "past" lives) due to "engrams" (past negative experiences stored in our unconscious mind), psychological disorders & chemical imbalances (the solution is to convince members that these things don't actually exist) & drug dependence (including legally prescribed psychopharmaceuticals which counteract the effects of psychological disorders Scientologists believe to be nonexistent).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics#Scientific_evaluations
Dianetics review: http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2005/06/28/dianetics/index.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,812852,00.html

The official Scientology organization is composed of a number of “levels”. One begins as a “preclear” & works their way up. One must purchase virtually every service crucial to advancement directly from the "church" & at staggering prices. "Auditing", for example, is purchased in 12½ hour blocks, costing anywhere from $750 for introductory sessions to between $8,000 & $9,000 for advanced sessions. Visit this link to see how $380,000 is a conservative estimate for the total cost of moving all the way up the Scientology hierarchal ladder: http://www.xenu.net/archive/prices.html
These are the total costs for auditing alone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_as_a_business#Costs
Here’s an explanation of what “auditing” is: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061224182319AA2nnd6

At level OT III (Operating Thetan 3), some very strange & fiercely guarded secrets are imparted upon worthy members who have paid enough money to advance to such a level (and no, this isn't a joke): the evil alien ruler Xenu killed millions of aliens (Thetans) from around the universe by kidnapping them, bringing them to earth in golden DC-8 “space-planes” & blowing them up inside volcanoes with hydrogen bombs. Scientologists believe the souls of these aliens (these souls are "Body Thetans") were captured, brainwashed & released; they then attached themselves to our ancestors (who passed them all the way down to us) & cause many of our mental & physical ills to this day. Auditing is said to “clear” us of these Body Thetans as well as the “mental implants” they supposedly impose on our minds. http://sf.irk.ru/www/ot3/spaink-ot3.html http://xenu.net/archive/leaflet/Xenu-Letter.pdf

Scientology has taken a very hostile stance towards psychiatry & psychiatric drugs irrespective of the fact that some people require medication to remain adequately functional during everyday life. They don’t recognize legitimate conditions like autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc, and the “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from member (often with harmful & deadly results). Suspiciously, it was discovered upon Hubbard’s death that the anti-anxiety drug hydroxyzine (Vistaril™) was present in his body, which several of his assistants would later attest was only one of many psychiatric & pain medications Hubbard ingested over the years. http://www.clambake.org/archive/ronthenut/16.gif
(visit this link to read about the uses of hydroxyzine: http://www.drugs.com/mtm/v/vistaril.html )

To be blunt, Scientology is a cult. It employs semi-legitimate psychotherapy & self-help methods to keep people loyal & convinced of its merit while it simultaneously sucks them dry financially & attempts to keep them far away from ANYONE, even friends & family, who would dissuade them from remaining in such a harmful situation. It’s a particularly greedy as well as manipulative & dangerous cult that takes its anti-psychiatry fanaticism to deadly limits. See these links for more information: http://www.lisamcpherson.org/
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/24/Tampabay/The_unperson.shtml
http://www.factnet.org/Books/SocialControl/scs.html#toc http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/s/scientology/pignotti/

Answer 2

Here's some facts that might help to clarify why it is a religion:

Scientology is an applied religious philosophy. When I say "applied" I mean you actually use it in your life to change or improve existing conditions. It is a very practical religion.
All religions if you learn about them have a basic philosphy, but they also have certain dogma, rituals and observances, and a certain faith or belief is required. There is nothing wrong with this, but Scientology is not that kind of religion. It does not intrude on anyones faiths of beliefs in the area of God , the Supreme Being, or the Infinite. This area is left totally up to the indivdual as pasrt of his life. It does not conflict.
You can have no specific religious beliefs and still benefit from it.
And it is only true for you according to your own observation and experience with it.
It is also not a messianic religion. This means there is no worship of messiahs in Scientology. There are no “beliefs” as such because a truth should be according to ones own observation and experience.
The dictionary definition that applies:
Religion: The spiritual or emotional attitude of one who recognises the existence of superhuman power or powers.

The most basic principle of Scientology is that YOU are your own immortal soul, that this is not a "thing" you HAVE but what YOU actually are.
The whole purpose of Scientology is to increase an individual's understanding and awareness of himself. and lifeAnd thereby his native abilities .
When you do this the sphere and zone of his positive influence increases and moves outward into his life, his family ,his friends, his groups and mankind which he is part of.

How this result is achieved is the "technology" of Scientology, which was developed by L.Ron Hubbard after his extensive research and the discoveries he made, about the human spirit. The basic religious philosophy and knowledge of Scientology is very old, going back 10,000 years at least to the Veda or Vedic Hymns from the East. L. Ron Hubbard researched and made new discoveries about the human spirit. He developed technology from these discoveries to apply to increase spiritual awareness and ability.
He completed his research before his death in 1986 and left all of his results and copyrights
to the Church of Scientology along with most of his considerable personal estate, when he died.

He published a book in 1951 to communicate the basic principles he discovered called: " Scientology The Fundementals of Thought"
There are currently over 10 million Scientologists in more than 163 countries world wide. However we are a new religion, only 53 years old.
The true story of Scientology as a religion goes like this:
1. A philosopher developes a philosophy about life and death.
2. People find it interesting.
3. People find it works.
4. People pass it along to others.
5. It grows.

This is just an overview.
L. Ron Hubbard explained fully the theology and technologies of Scientology in more than 500,000 pages of writings, including dozens of books and over 2,000 tape-recorded public lectures. So it's not possible to fully answer your question on this forum.

Answer 3

L. Ron Hubbard says:

"One of the greatest breakthroughs in Scientology was the discovery of what life really is - a game. It's a game that everybody on the planet is playing - even if they've forgotten they're playing it!"

An extremely poor rendition of William Shakespeare’s - All the world's a stage

In Scientology, no form of worship is prescribed or practiced. In Scientology no one is asked to accept anything as belief or on faith. Instead it is a study and handling of the spirit in relation to itself, universes and other life.

An individual discovers for himself that Scientology works by personally applying its principles and observing or experiencing results.


>Sounds more like a diet program that has a religious sticker >put on it.

Answer 4

As far as I am concerned, it can't be a religion as they do not have a deity they worship. The worship nothing that does not have scientific answer. I would suppose their prophets are people like Albert Einstein, Madame Marie Curie and other great scientists. They want "proof" of everything based on earthly knowledge. They do not understand universal spiritual knowldege, so they don't believe in it or have any type of faith.

Some things you have to see to believe. Some things you have to believe to see!

Answer 5

All hail L Ron! High level thetans will use their tech to destroy the unbeliever!

Joking aside, No, no, no! No religion should get charity status, tax exception or any state funding at all. people are free to believe what ever fairy tales, or in this case third rate sci-fi they like, but they should not get state funding or benefits to do so!

Answer 6

(1) The Scientific Miracles in the Holy Quran

A) The Quran on Human Embryonic Development

B) The Quran on Mountains

C) The Quran on the Origin of the Universe

D) The Quran on the Cerebrum

E) The Quran on Seas and Rivers

F) The Quran on Deeps Seas and Internal Waves

G) The Quran on Clouds


http://www.islam-guide.com/frm-ch1.htm

Answer 7

They classify themselves as a religion in order to gain the tax-exempt status. But show me any charitable organization they do with all their money? They have millions.

Answer 8

they worship the big bad alien that is sitting on the moon and will came down on us and shall tear the world apart if we don't all behave like Tom Cruise!

Answer 9

They worship Tom "The Cruiser" Cruise!

Answer 10

The worship a science fiction geek.

Answer 11

It's a cult thing. Not a religion.