Scientology Critical Information Directory

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Hartley Patterson

Long time critic.


Scientology - the Cult of Eternal Litigation

Type 'Scientology' into an Internet Search Engine and you will come up with hundreds of Web Sites, some belonging to the Church of Scientology (CoS), others plainly hostile to it. What has this small cult done to arouse the wrath of the nerds? Sure it might be a bit weird and has John Travolta and Tom Cruise as members, but it isn't dangerous - is it?

Several years ago a Newsgroup, alt.religion.scientology (ARS) was being used to discuss the cult and provide help and support for ex-members. When the CoS learnt about ARS they tried various strategems to get rid of it, some legitimate others not. In doing so they attracted the attention of a good few people who had never heard of the CoS before, but did know bullying and harassment when they saw it. And ARS began to grow... [...]

Scientology - Science?

Scient-ology. Plainly the name itself indicates some connection with Science. It doesn't have a literal meaning ('the study of science'???) but it sounds good. The deliberate identification of a religious movement with Science is not unique to Scientology of course; 'Christian Science' also holds unorthodox views about medicine.

What seems blindingly obvious to a scientist but apparently not so to scientologists is that Scientology at present has no basis in Science. This is not to invalidate it as a religion - the core beliefs of most if not all religions can't be validated by science - but the feeling still seems to exist amongst practitioners that somehow Scientology is scientific. Mr Hubbard tested it all out before he wrote 'Dianetics' didn't he? Auditing always gives big wins if used correctly doesn't it? [...]

Scientology - fastest growing religion?

The Church of Scientology's claim to have 'millions of members' is often ridiculed by critics. Less often considered is its claim to be the 'world's fastest growing religion'.

This analysis compares CoS demographic data with that provided by other religious movements. Unlike commercial companies, religions are not audited and not legally obliged to be accurate in publishing statistics about themselves. All the data that follows should be treated with caution!

This page is about demography. Inclusion of religions here is not meant to imply that they have anything in common theologically.
The term 'unit' is used here to cover the various terms used for local groups - parish, org, congregation, etc. [...]

Scientology - millions of members?

Quick reality check for journalists

If a CoS spokesperson says "millions of members" to you, ask to see his IAS membership card. Membership of the International Association of Scientologists is required for services to be taken in the CoS. It costs $450 a year or $3,000 for Lifetime membership, the card is issued to Lifetime members but it would be surprising if a spokesperson was not one.

The rightmost eight digits are a cumulative member number (see picture below). That number will not be more than 150,000. People who have died or left the CoS since 1984 are still part of that total, so the actual number of Lifetime members must be smaller.

Now rephrase that question. "How many IAS members are there?" [...]

An Alt.Religion.Scientology FAQ (1.8.3)

News From Bree

This is a bits and pieces website that reflects some of my hobbies and interests.

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