Is Scientology a Religion?
One common objection raised against so-called New Age religions like Scientology is that they are not truly faith-based systems, but function more as businesses or cults. Scientologists and atheists and agnostics alike, however, have objected to this distinction, arguing that there is little difference between conventional Christianity and newer faiths. In fact, scholar and podcaster Reza Aslan has argued that the only difference between Scientology and other religions is its age, given that it was founded in the 1950s by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard (Gilgoff and Escobedo).
It is true that when Christianity was just beginning, it was a persecuted and marginalized religion. It originally sprang up as a distinct sect of Judaism, but gradually spread to the gentile community, thanks to the preaching of Paul (“Early Christians”). While Judaism was a religion very much located in the belief structures of the ancient Israelites, the Apostle Paul and the early Christians explicitly sought to spread the new religion to a more receptive community in the form of the gentiles of the Roman Empire (“Early Christians”). As a result, the new religion and its members were persecuted and mistrusted. Gradually, the religion gained new converts and became more respectable. It developed certain sacred texts, rituals, and an entire institutional hierarchy.
Scientologists would similarly argue that like the early Christians they are persecuted and misunderstood, and it is only because of the adherence of certain respected celebrities that the sect has been able to survive. Naysayers, however, would argue that rather than a search for truth, Scientology has ultimately emerged as a...…ascent to cosmic freedom after proceeding through different levels of cleansing and release of negative, traumatic energy (Gilgoff and Escobedo). Again, critics of both religion and Scientologists would counter some of Scientologist’s most outlandish claims, like they can alter matter with their mind, is not so different from the belief in miracles espoused by Christians.
Scientology was given tax exempt status as a religion by the IRS (Gilgoff and Escobedo). But criticisms continue to dog it, including revelations that followers have been bankrupted by the requirement to purchase lectures, books, and other materials by the church (Nededog). Religions are perhaps inevitably controversial, much like Christianity once was, but it is clear that there is far less diversity of different sects, far less charity, and far greater expense shouldered by members in the Church of Scientology.…
Works Cited
“Early Christians.” The Roman Empire. PBS. Web. 29 October 2020.
https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/christians.html
Gilgoff, Dan and Escobedo, Tricia. “Scientology: What Exactly Is It?” CNN. 22 March 2017.
Web. 29 October 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/us/believer-what-is-scientology/index.html
Nededog, Jethro. “How Scientists Costs Members Up to Millions of Dollars.” Business Insider.
12 Mar 2016. Web. 29 October 2020. https://www.businessinsider.com/scientology-costs-leah-remini-recap-episode-3-2016-12
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