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I find the question of "Is Scientology a religion?" to be an effective distraction that the CoS uses to draw attention AWAY from their criminal acts. Lots of time gets wasted with arguing about what constitutes as a religion or the definition of "cult" instead of asking what kind of social betterment society would commit so many human rights atrocities as a natural--nay, a fundamental--exercise of its philosophy. Scientology in practice does not square with the moral values it professes and that is the point that should be driven home. I'll leave the religion debate for academia to wrestle with into infinity.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying that the question isn't worth discussing at all. However, the topic tends to fall into a futile "is too"/"is not" fighting match where everyone is divided into two "sides" and remain locked in their respective positions. This does not help progressive dialogue; it stalls it. Instead of being persuaded to think critically, the Scientologist hears/reads the word "cult" then vigorously reacts to an "attack" on his beliefs (indeed, that is what s/he is trained to do). Meanwhile, the general public looks on and says, "Well, everyone's entitled to their opinion" then walks away, uninformed. I'd rather not spend my energies on minutiae at the expense of the bigger picture. Besides, in the Scientologist's mind, Scientology IS a religion. You might not share that view but who cares? It's a subjective matter of belief and the Scientologist will win. The challenge comes when the Scientologist is called to publicly defend his/her religion in light of the organization's failure to abide by either its own moral code or the laws of the country. Criminal activity is not protected under freedom of religion and/or belief.

Since Kinseymac brought up the subject, I'll say this much: I view Scientology as a cult but will use the more neutral term "organziation" to get around any obstacle that the words "cult" or "church" may cause in discussion. Scientology definitely has a belief system but it's non-theistic in nature. The presence of a deity is not the sole mark of a religion (take a look at Buddhism). Still, Scientology doesn't align itself to the characteristics of what most people consider "religion" to be. In fact, the CoS often hides under the guise of religion when it suits them (either to deflect any criticism/formal investigations of the organization or to earn respectability for the purposes of gaining trust/access to achieve their nefarious goals). If Scientology is considered a religion, then it's only so in the broadest, most vague sense...to the point where it loses any distinction and becomes almost meaningless. It would appear that Scientology's greatest defense for calling itself a "religion" is because the IRS granted it tax-exempt status. Unlike other religions, it's quite telling that Scientology lacks a rich history of religious contemplation on life's big mysteries (not a surprise since Scientology doesn't encourage free thought). How could we as MEST controlling thetans become so easily overpowered by engrams (and doesn't that hint at some kind of inherent weakness?)? Is there anything greater than the thetan? Why do aberrations like false implants exist in a universe that was created by thetans who are "basically good" and possess an analytical mind that "doesn't make mistakes; is totally rational"?


Holiday...feel free to answer any of these questions on behalf of your home team.