Is Scientology a recognized religion?

Question

... under the US government? I know other non-christain religions have had trouble being recognized as an "actual" religion by the govt. So is Scientology?

Do you have a website that shows when it was?

Answer 1

Scientology is recognized as a religion by the IRS because Scientology launched what can only be described as an all-out war against the IRS.

"Wall Street Journal: Scientologists and IRS settled for $12.5 million"

By Elizabeth MacDonald
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

The Church of Scientology paid the federal government $12.5 million as part of a broad 1993 settlement with the Internal Revenue Service under which the church's main branch secured its tax-exempt status.

According to a copy of the settlement, details of which have never before been made public, the church also agreed to set up a special "church tax-compliance committee," composed of high-level church officials, to monitor its adherence to the pact and to laws governing nonprofit organizations.

Further, the church agreed to drop thousands of lawsuits filed against the IRS in courts around the country and to stop assisting people or groups suing the agency based upon claims prior to Oct. 1, 1993, the settlement date. Any Scientology member or organization that sues based on those claims could face IRS penalties.

The 1993 agreement was nearly unprecedented and brought an end to an extraordinary battle. Starting in 1967, the IRS had argued that the main Scientology church should lose its tax-exempt status because it was a for-profit business that enriched church officials. The church's response was an all-out attack: filing suits against the IRS, feeding negative stories about the agency to news organizations, and supporting IRS whistle-blowers.

The church's $12.5 million payment was intended to cover the church's payroll, income and estate-tax bills for an undisclosed number of years prior to 1993. It is unclear how much money the IRS originally sought.

Click on this link for the full story: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/essays/wj301297.html

Answer 2

Yes it is.
This was achieved about 15 years ago in the USA after an extensive audit done by the IRS of all it's finacial records and after a long protracted stuggle with this govt agency.
The Church was given full religious recognition and charity/tax exemption status. This included all of it's affiliated secular groups and secular activites which were also subjected to the same audit.

You can be sure that if there was ever any truth to the rumors about ... "money making business" the IRS would have found it!!!
Obviously there wasn't.

P.S. The German govt has also been asked /invited to do the same but they prefer to suppress religious freedom at present.

God Bless America !

Answer 3

Scientology is a recognized religion. As you know religions are man made, ergo Scientology falls into a religious category. Unfortunately its followers are doomed to hell because they do not ascribe to the ideals of Christianity.

Answer 4

No it is not. It continues to be considered as a cult. They feel within the writings of a Science Fiction creator Ron L.Hubbard and are the one faith I understand which might be strong ample to manage the web. Not even the Government can do this. Obviously a few very ingenious creator has been observed to make it seem the equal as our authorized Churches. I watched a documentary approximately them at the BBC final 12 months and was once certainly not inspired.

Answer 5

Yes Scientology does have Tax-exempt status as a legal church, although I do question this considering some of their practices, especially Tom Cruise pretending he's a Doctor.

Answer 6

Yes, it has protected status as a religion. However to me it seems more like a business.

Answer 7

They recognize anyone who's check clears.

Answer 8

It's no crazier than the rest of the cults.

Answer 9

yes, it is.