Debate as to whether Scientology should be regarded as a cult, a business, or a religion has continued over many years.[51] Many Scientologists consider it to be their religion.[52] Its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, presented it as such,[53] but the early history of the Scientology organization, and Hubbard's policy directives, letters, and instructions to subordinates, indicate that his motivation for doing so was as a legally pragmatic move to minimize his tax burden.[6] In many countries, the Church of Scientology has engaged in extensive litigation to secure recognition as a tax-exempt religious organization,[54] and it has managed to obtain such a status in a few jurisdictions, including the United States, Italy, and Australia.[43][55] The organization has not received recognition as a religious institution in the majority of countries in which it operates.[56]
An article in the magazine TIME, "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", described Scientology as "a ruthless global scam".[1] The Church of Scientology's attempts to sue the publishers for libel and to prevent republication abroad were dismissed.[57] Scholarship in psychology and skepticism supports this view of Scientology as a confidence trick to obtain money from its targets.[6][58] The scholar Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi also observes that "the majority of activities conducted by Scientology and its many fronts and subsidiaries involve the marketing of secular products."[6] In a report by the European Parliament, it was observed that the group "is a cool, cynical, manipulating business and nothing else."[5]
Scholars and journalists note that profit is the primary motivating goal of Hubbard's Scientology groups.[59] Those making this observation have often referred to a governing financial policy issued by Hubbard that is to be obeyed by all Scientology organization staff members,[60] which includes the following [uppercase in original]:[61]
Make sure that lots of bodies move through the shop...MAKE MONEY. MAKE MONEY. MAKE MORE MONEY. MAKE OTHER PEOPLE PRODUCE SO AS TO MAKE MONEY...However you get them in or why, just do it
Some scholars of religion have referred to Scientology as a religion.[62] The sociologist Bryan R. Wilson compares Scientology with 20 criteria that he associated with religion and concludes that the movement could be characterised as such. [63] Wilson's criteria include: a cosmology that describes a human reality beyond terrestrial existence, ethics and behavior teachings that are based on this cosmology, prescribed ways for followers to connect with spiritual beings, and a congregation that believes in and helps spread its teachings.[64] Allan W. Black analysed Scientology through the seven "dimensions of religion" set forward by the scholar Ninian Smart and also decided that Scientology met those criteria for being a religion.[65] The sociologist David V. Barrett noted that there was a "strong body of evidence to suggest that it makes sense to regard Scientology as a religion",[66] while scholar of religion James R. Lewis comments that "it is obvious that Scientology is a religion".[67] The scholar Mikael Rothstein observes that the Scientology "is best understood as a devotional cult aimed at revering the mythologized founder of the organization".[68]
Numerous religious studies scholars have described Scientology as a new religious movement.[69] Various scholars have also considered it within the category of Western esotericism,[70] while the scholar of religion Andreas Grünschloß noted that it was "closely linked" to UFO religions,
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THE SILVER LINING | JAMES POTTER
FanfictionAnastasia Kingsley was a troublemaker. It was a known fact around the halls of hogwarts. Always with her group of bandits known as the marauders pranking the school. But what happens when Ana starts to see one of her best friends James Potter in a d...
