Is Scientology a religion?

[Bubbles]

I’m not one to rip on religion, trust me that’s the last thing I wanna do. But I find that Scientology is such a laughable “religion.” No offense to any Scientologist GFers. Scientology seems like more of a Hollywood fashion trend. I mean people rip on the Bible all the time for its inconsistency, but compared to the Book of Scientology, the Bible holds so much more merit. I know that the US government recognizes Scientology as a tax-exempt religion, as opposed to other countries, but seems more like a cult if anything. The death of Lisa McPherson, Stacey Myers and most recently Kaja Bello, not to mention all the mentally ill patients that ended up murdering someone because the “Church” of Scientology prohibits the use of anti-depressants; all they’re really doing is making money off of people’s suffering.

I was just wondering can anyone really justify it as a religion? What do you guys think, is Scientology really a religion or just bullcrap?

 

[Nevyrmoore]

Unless you turn to the Free Zoners, then it's a cult. Plain and simple.

The Church forces their followers to pay out of the ass just to remain part of the Church. They've performed illegal acts to try and keep face in the public eye (and have been caught doing so). They have a blacklist of everyone who is against Scientology, and at one point (possibly still) authorised the deaths of everyone on that list. They have their own "navy" called the Sea Org, where members are forced to work 70-80 hour weeks for roughly $50. And while in this navy, if you can't meet impossible quotas, then you're sent to the Rehabilitation Project Force, where you're given little sleep or food. Oh, and they expect kids to do the same work as their parents, and will gladly send them to the RPF.

There are many more things I can say about the Church, none of it good. I, unfortunately can't find the rant I gave towards banned member ValentinSelezynov, so that's out of the picture. Regardless, I didn't go to London wearing a ninja gi and a V mask just to turn around and say "Actually, the CoS is actually pretty decent!"

 

[Jeanie]

People follow it religiously, yes. Does that make it a valid religion? No. It was invented by L. Ron Hubbard on a bet.

 

[Merc]

^

The number one sign that they're nothing more than a massive scam is how aggressively they assault their critics. South Park fought and won multiple court battles against them regarding free speech and criticism of the church. Look at the punishment Judaism, Christianity and Islam take on a daily basis and we don't see this sort of backlash (well, maybe not the Muslims).

 

[Ilus_Unistus]

To say Scientology is not a religion is to say Christianity is not a religion or Islam or Judaism.

-All give attempt to give meaning to the Universe.

-All have a supernatural principal. (God, Allah, Aliens what ever it be)

-All have followers who believe and relay their teachings.

Some above say how Scientology is aggressive in nature to those who oppose it, this may be so, but was Christianity not this way as well? Or was the whole Pagan/Christian war over something other than their beliefs?

Scientology was invented by 1 man. Yes it seems so, but how is it that any religion was born to be? The Bible did not fall from the sky...

 

[Daemonic]

Scientology is both a religion and cult.....

If you want to be picky every religion could be labeled a cult, by definition.

 

[PhoenixOverdrive]

I've found that the main factor defining a religion versus a cult is... Well, nothing. Scientology has all the right stuff to fit in with the big timers. Irrational fanaticism, steadfast believers, money, a crazy belief system, psychological exploitation, a set hierarchy of powers, hilarious stories (or 'story', as it were), churches and a pathological hatred of all other cu-... uh... religions out there.

And despite what people think, I've found the most interesting theological discussions I've had in my life have been with Muslims. I've found every brand of Christian much harder to reason with and much less willing to examine their faith than every single Muslim I've had the pleasure of meeting.

And I'm not one to blast a very wide group of individuals, but every instance points to the fact that it's a lot more fun to have a good time and talk intelligently about religion than to ask simple questions and be yelled at and cursed to eternal damnation in the name of the Lord all the freakin' time.

As far as cults go, though, I find Scientology to be a lot more rational than some. It's still totally crazy, though I understand how it fills gaps with a combination of beliefs in evil aliens and misunderstood pop psychology. The field of psychology itself is insane enough on its own, though.

That would make it a cult built on another cult, I guess.

 

[Daemonic]

I've found that the main factor defining a religion versus a cult is... Well, nothing.

Just gotta say from my research I gotta agree with this 100%. I also think people use the word cult in a negative way to much, lol. Point is, religion and cult are very close....

Does not mean it's a bad thing....

Just saying that cult is over used for negativity....

So Scientology is both a religion and cult.

 

[Merc]

The words are far from interchangeable though. Cults refer more to beliefs that are commonly viewed as strange or abnormal whereas a religion is a set of beliefs, typically in the origins of the universe.

 

[Daemonic]

The words are far from interchangeable though. Cults refer more to beliefs that are commonly viewed as strange or abnormal whereas a religion is a set of beliefs, typically in the origins of the universe.

Agree with this as well, although my beliefs would fall into what you described as a cult according to most people. Point is, I guess it depends on perspective if you label something a cult.