Lie #2: Scientology is a religion.
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IT IS A RELIGION.
It would be if it had any sort of underlying theology, but it dosen't.
Take a look at their literature sometime and see how important a supreme
being is compared to their founder, LRH. In an idle mood recently I looked
at three Scientology magazines and compared how many times LRH was
mentioned as opposed to God (or a direct reference to a supreme being) and
guess who won? Hubbard was mentioned 339 times, the almighty got a big fat
zero. This is strange, very strange indeed, for a "Church."
The definiton of theology is a system of belief or knowlege about God
or a supreme being. There is little talk about that in Scientology. The
next time you meet a Scientologist ask for a concise explanation of their
religious beliefs and watch the confusion. Most will blurt out "Oh, we
believe in God'" but when pressed for details they can't provide any.
Some would say that a theology could be made from the teachings of OT
III (Operating thetan, 3rd level). This high level course, which most
Scientologists never take, mentions souls (or thetans) a lot. Without
going into the story contained in OT III, I would say that this might be
possible, by really stretching the definition of the word theology, for
this to qualify except that it is unknown to most of the membership and as
such falls into the catagory of "secret teachings" or "hidden doctrines."
It is certainly posssible to have secret teachings in a religion but it is
not possible to have a secret theology. That is unless you want to argue
that living in the expectation of possibly obtaining a theology is, in
itself, a theology.
Scientology is a "Religion" for tax purposes. The motivation for this
is obvious. But there is another reason also. By being a religion they
escape the product liability laws that they would have to contend with if
they were a legitimate business. Then too they would be liable for
malpractice like doctors or dentists.
Scientology is many things but it is not a religion.