Is Scientology a religion?  To be defined as a religion, there needs to be a spiritual aspect, and some believe that there should be some supernatural beliefs as well.  Scientologist's believe that aliens have implanted stuff into their brains, so in that respect, it can well be regarded as a religion.  But of course that is only one small aspect of the Church of Scientology.  They also run teaching and management courses, and a lot of other non-religious activities.

But I've had a think about it and I think Scientology is a religion.  This is my revised definition of religion:

To create a religion, one only needs to take commonsense and wisdom, turn it into dogma, create a church, tell people the only way they can access this knowledge is through your church, and last but not least, charge them for it!

So obviously there are parallels between the Church of Scientology and, say, the Catholic Church.  So is the Catholic Church a cult or a religion?  They brainwash people, obviously not using the advanced scientific mind control methods used by the Church of Scientology, but brainwash them none the less.

I find certain aspects of Scientology useful, just as I find certain aspects of other belief/idea systems as well.

I love dictionaries and so do Scientologists.  They believe that if you are studying and come across a word you do not understand, you should look it up in a dictionary.  That makes sense.  But isn't that enough?  Why does the CoS make people then use the word in a zillion different sentences, and subject them to an e-meter reading to ensure that they are clear of the word and have no negative attachments to it?  This is what I mean about taking common sense and turning it into dogma!

So what's everyone's thoughts?  Is Scientology a religion, a cult or a business?

www.exscientologykids.com

www.xenu.net

Peace xx