Is scientology a cult that is really a danger to society or just a harmless group of psychotic individuals?

Question

After doing my research on scientology, its obvious they are a pretty wacked out cult....but are they really a threat? Yes they have extreme views and practices, but is it growing at a dangerous rate? They are already under watch from many groups as well as mainstream media

Answer 1

No, they are not a threat, since they only have around 500 thousand followers. That's not enough people to really have a big influence on the entire population as a whole.

The latter statement is true.

Answer 2

I don't!! ...And that "speech" the current scientologist wrote is right out of the book. They can't even come up with their own thoughts when asked a question. "It's an applied religious philosophy" That sentence alone is not completely true because some countries don't even recognize it as a religion. It's seen as a very profitable business.

And if you want to get nitty gritty about the whole thing, you can find court documents that prove this is what they believe because they sued the person who originally put it online. The scientologist who haven't heard of it either haven't made it to level 3 on their bridge or they are lying to protect themselves. I don't know why they continue to protect it when so many people know about it now anyway.

Answer 3

You've done research on REAL Scientologists (not the crazy CoS members)? Then why do you still believe the propaganda about them. You talk about "extreme" views, but that's like comparing Muslims to terrorists, and saying that all Muslims have extreme beliefs.

Seeing as I live in a community where Scientology is widespread, I grew up knowing the general beliefs of Scientology, even though I never was (nor will I ever be) one of them.

Answer 4

Scientology is a cult started by Sci-Fi writer L. Ron Hubbard, who at one time was a follower of Aleister Crowley. They use a system called "auditing" on their members, which is really just hypnosis.

Answer 5

Which Scientologist is a danger?
Can you tell me his name?
Is john Travolta is a danger?
Is Leah Remini a danger?
Is Dany Materson a danger?
Is Beck a danger?
Funny, every time some one that someone says Scientology is a danger they can't say who?
What you are saying is a generality like saying that all blacks are bad or that all muslims are bad.
Scientologists are people just like you and me.
My mon is a Scientologist and she is a very nice old lady. Is she a danger?
Sorry but now even the press is giving positive reports on Scientology:
http://www.slate.com/id/2171416/
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06122007/news/columnists/cruisess_clinic_ok_columnists_steve_dunleavy.htm
Why is it that anything good that Scientologist do is ignored and anything negative get super exposed?
Scientologist run the biggest drug rehabilitation network in the planet.
Scientology volunters have been involved in every mayor disaster effort during the last 10 years:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McBMe-Ng1xc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afULJrWAlrQ
Scientologist are also involved in education:
http://www.bostonnow.com/news/local/2007/06/12/scientology_pt2/

So why the stigma? Could it be posible that some people are treatened by the fact the Scientology works? Could it be posible that Scientology get black PR because it put down Psychiatry and Psychiatric drugs. Do you know how many millions of dollars the pharma industry losses because Scientology keeps people away from buying their drugs?
Are you aware that Scientologist are sucessfull happy people that are 100% drug free.
There are two sides to every story. The way I see it Scientologists are the good guys.

Answer 6

Option B is definitely true. Scientology has been blown way out of proportion by the media, it's really just another system of crazy cultists, like the KKK nowadays. They both are relatively small and harmless.

Answer 7

its not a cult. im sure scientology is believable to them, but the threat is the type of ppl that follow it. for example.....christianity. i believe in god and jesus, but the crusades were done by fanatics, who took it too far. it happenz in every religion. there are peaceful muslims all over the world, but again, there are a few fanatics that take it waaaaaay beyond reason.

Answer 8

I guess it depends on whether people recognize the "threat" for what it is. Scientology has indeed been disastrous to many individuals, but the "church" has kind of blown its credibility since the alien backstory has been made public knowledge.

Answer 9

Visit Clearwater, Florida. Hang out for a week or so, then come back and ask this question again. They think they are the secret service, or something. Clearwater has a police department, but they patrol the streets like they are the gestapo, or the SS.

Answer 10

http://www.xenu.net/ is a comprehensive resource for scientology information.

It's an evil cult designed to make money and nothing else . Its effects on believers are destructive - Check out http://www.lisamcpherson.org/ , a victim of the cult who was starved to death.

Read "the road to xenu" - http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/xenu/ - an account of a girl who escaped scientology after 12 years!

The cult's core belief - no, I am not kidding here! - in the words of the founder:

"The head of the Galactic Federation (76 planets around larger stars visible from here) (founded 5,000,000 years ago, very space opera) solved overpopulation (250 billion or so per planet, 178 billion on average) by mass implanting. He caused people to be brought to Teegeeack (Earth) and put an H-Bomb on the principal volcanos (Incident II) and then the Pacific area ones were taken in boxes to Hawaii and the Atlantic area ones to Las Palmas and there "packaged".

His name was Xenu. He used renegades. Various misleading data by means of circuits etc. was placed in the implants.

When through with his crime loyal officers (to the people) captured him after six years of battle and put him in an electronic mountain trap where he still is. "They" are gone. The place (Confederation) has since been a desert. The length and brutality of it all was such that this Confederation never recovered. The implant is calculated to kill (by pneumonia etc) anyone who attempts to solve it. This liability has been dispensed with by my tech development.

One can freewheel through the implant and die unless it is approached as precisely outlined. The "freewheel" (auto-running on and on) lasts too long, denies sleep etc and one dies. So be careful to do only Incidents I and II as given and not plow around and fail to complete one thetan at a time.

In December 1967 I knew someone had to take the plunge. I did and emerged very knocked out, but alive. Probably the only one ever to do so in 75,000,000 years. I have all the data now, but only that given here is needful.

One's body is a mass of individual thetans stuck to oneself or to the body.

One has to clean them off by running incident II and Incident I. It is a long job, requiring care, patience and good auditing. You are running beings. They respond like any preclear. Some large, some small.

Thetans believed they were one. This is the primary error. Good luck."