Is Scientology a cult?

Question

I mean look at it, France says it is. And with Anonymous (I'm a member) exposing it, is it a cult? Just post if you think it is.

Answer 1

No question about it.  Scientology IS a cult.

Answer 2

Yeah, I think it is.  :0  

Answer 3

Yes, it meets at least one definition of cult per the dictionary.  For example, "a system of religious beliefs and rituals".  But it doesn't meet some others.  For example, "an exclusive system of religious beliefs etc:" because anyone at all can become a Scientogist and it isn't exclusive.

But the great thing about this question is that you are a member of Anonymous actually saying who you are instead of pretending to be someone curious about it or interested in joining it or with a name like fdgsldkgs (I think they must have a spreadsheet with all their different pseudonyms in a rotating list).

Please permit a Scientologist to welcome you to Yahoo Answers.  Welcome aboard.

Answer 4

Yup. Money hungry, greedy cult made up of celebs who think they know more about psychology and medicine than doctors who've actually got degrees in the subjects and created by a sci-fi writer as a writing practice.

Scientology is about as valid as the Flying Spaghetti Monster.  

Answer 5

Actually, Germany said it was.

All religions are cults, it's just that some are bigger and richer and older than others.

Scientology is a cult, but not somehing like the occult or anything like that.

Answer 6

France also listed the Jehovah witnesses as a cult.

Scientology is a religious applied philosophy.

“It is possible to know about the mind, the spirit and life”

Scientology states that man is a Spiritual being that controls a body through a mind. To represent this life force, the Greek symbol for though: “Theta” was selected to avoid confusion with any prior practice.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ncBcbVtEwU...

The mind (we are not talking about the brain that is just the center of the nervous system) is a bank of mental image pictures. This bank is what the spirit uses to make decisions; it is composed of the analytical mind and the reactive mind. The analytical mind is clear; it doesn’t have any hidden influences and is fully accessible by the Thetan. The reactive mind is a collection of bad mental image picture that include pain, unconsciousness and command value. The reactive mind is the hidden influence that aberrates reason. The reactive mind is the cause for all human aberration, insanity or evil purpose.

Scientology’s approach to solve human aberration: Auditing.

- “Communication is the Universal Solvent.”

- “All problems of the mind are created by the mind.”

- “The mind can solve all the problems of the mind”

To solve the problem of the reactive mind Hubbard developed Auditing; a verbal therapy that uses questions to help the individual address what is bothering him. So the person by his own volition can solve his own problems. The big difference between Auditing and Psychoanalysis is that the Psychoanalyst evaluates for the person and tells him what to think. In Auditing you just ask and listen and let the person make his own mind about things.

There are no suggestions involved in Auditing, all conclusion are done by you by your own intelligence. Auditors are bound the Auditor’s Code to never evaluate for the preclear (preclear is a person receiving Scientology processing).  Never get in a relationship with the preclear.  All information released during auditing is protected by law and not even the police can gain access to that information. Enforcing this code of conduct is the Scientology Ethics Officer and Scientology law. Any violation to the Auditors code is considered a high crime in Scientology and will result removal of any Auditing Certificates and/or expulsion from the church. I have seen this happen and is a very serious matter.

Any friend or family member can audit you for free. Or you can take the courses and get your Auditing with other students. Taking Scientology courses is no more expensive than taking courses at your community college. Scientology also offers correspondence courses for a little as $30.00.

Professional auditing is also offered by highly trained specialists. An auditing team is composed of the Auditor, Ethics Officer, Quality Assurance (the person that tells the Auditor what to do), Corrections (the people that constantly train the Auditor on how to do the process) and the rest of the administration of a Church of Scientology. These are not one on one services, these are a whole team working to better you. It is expensive because is expensive to create, train and maintain the team.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=kwK1byq0nd...

How Scientology evolved?

Scientology evolved from Dianetics when it was discovered that man is a spiritual being. Scientology differs from Dianetics in that Dianetics deals with the mind and the rehabilitation of mental image pictures and Scientology deals with the rehabilitation of the human spirit itself.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=FhrlHU0W9U...

We don’t ask for your faith in Scientology. There is no faith needed, when you can observe and experience it working by your self.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=XUXR0XgmDN...

“Self confidence alone is security. Your ability is your security. There is no security but you. Let's make the best possible you."  L Ron Hubbard

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=dziK04-9qq...

Cult status?

All great religions have been misunderstood, persecuted and attacked. Jesus was sentenced to death by a lynching crowd; his only crime:  to teach Love and forgiveness. Christians were KILLED for centuries for their beliefs and they were accused of performing cannibalistic rituals (didn’t they ate and drink the body of Jesus?).

Scientology is a worldwide religion that claims 10 millions of members. It has centers in almost every mayor capital in the world: Washington, London, Berlin, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Sydney, Tel Aviv Israel and Moscow to name a few. And for a church that is barely 40 years old this is great. Scientology is not a small sect based in a small town in Texas isolated from the rest of the world. Scientology thrives in the center of mayor cities, its member are community leaders, doctors, teachers and workers from all sectors of society. The fact most Scientologists have a college education says a lot.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=lI0AbwtQ7B...

Scien

Answer 7

no the biggest cult is christianity...have you seen jesus as a barber? nasty picture

Answer 8

i don't know much about scientology...

Answer 9

It's a system of religious belief. One of the definitions of a cult. I think Anonymous is a great idea with a lousy focus. A bunch of people wearing masks, going vigilante. Brilliant. Taking on Scientology ? Lame. That's like hunting crickets with laser rifles. There are bigger fish to fry and Anonymous ignores them to mess around with the tadpoles.

Answer 10

Was created by a science fiction writer, you really have to ask?

Answer 11

Aw..... can't we post if we think it isn't ???

Here’s a factual description which explains why I consider  Scientology a religion.........MY religion.

Scientology is a new religion. It is an applied religious philosophy. By “applied” is meant that it is for use in life and  living. You actually use it in your day to day life to change and improve existing conditions. It is a practical religion.

All religions if you study them have a basic philosophy, but they also have certain dogma, rituals and observances and a certain faith or belief is required. There is nothing wrong with this , but Scientology is not that kind of religion. It acknowledges the principle of God or the Supreme Being but does not try to define or describe this principle,  leaving it up to the individual.

It is also not a messianic religion. This means there is no worship of prophets or messiahs or gods. It is not belief or faith based. In Scientology a truth is true for you according to your own observation and experience .

The dictionary definition that applies:

Religion: The spiritual or emotional attitude of one who recognises the existence of superhuman power or powers.

The most basic principle of Scientology is that YOU are your own immortal soul, that this is not a thing you have but what YOU actually are.

Scientology believes or considers that Man is basically good. This is different from many religions that promote that he his natively evil or bad unless “made” good.

The whole purpose of Scientology knowledge application and procedure is to increase an individual’s understanding and awareness of himself as a spiritual being and to rehabilitate his native abilities and potential.

When you do this there sphere and zones of his positive influence increases and moves outward into his life , his family and friends, his groups and Mankind of which he is part .

How this result is achieved is the “technology” of Scientology, which was developed by L Ron Hubbard from discoveries he made after  extensive research into the field of the mind and the human spirit.

Some of this knowledge was already existing in the sacred lore of ancient texts like the Veda or Vedic Hymns going back 10,000 years. New and additional discoveries were  made about the nature of the human spirit and fully recorded and codified .

Scientology’s closest spiritual ties with any other religion are with Orthodox (Hinayana ) Buddhism with which it shares an historical lineage. But even here the relationship is based mainly on friendship and the recognition of the being as a spirit rather than any organizational ties.

L.Ron Hubbard published 18 basic books from 1950 to 1955 to fully communicate the basic principles of Scientology, the path of his research and the technology that  he developed from this.

He completed all his research before his death in 1986 and left all his materials and copyrights to the Church of Scientology’s Religious Technology Centre along with most of his personal estate when he died.

The Church of Scientology is currently established iand operating internationally in over 160 countries world wide. However it is still a new religion, less than 55 years old.

The true story of Scientology as a religion goes like this:

1. A philosopher developes a philosophy about life and death.

2. People find it interesting.

3. People find it works.

4. People pass it along to others.

5. It grows.

This is just an overview.

L.Ron Hubbard explained fully the theology and technologies of Scientology in more than 500,000 pages of writings, including dozens of books and over 3,000 tape recorded public lectures.

Also our Creed, written by L.Ron Hubbard  and adopted by  the first Church that was formed in Los  Angeles ( Feb 18th 1954 .) After Mr Hubbard issued this creed from his office in Pheonix , the Church of Scientology adopted it as it's creed because it succinctly states what Scientologists believe.

"We of the Church believe :

That all men of whatever race, color or creed were created with equal rights;

That all men have inalienable rights to their own religious practices and their performance;

That all men have inalienable rights to their own lives;

That all men have inalienable rights to their sanity ;

That all men have inalienable rights to their own defence;

That all men have inalienable rights to conceive, choose, assist or support their own organizations, churches and governments;

That all men have inalienable rights to think freely, to talk freely, to write freely their own opinions and to counter or utter or write upon the opinions of others;

That all men have inalienable rights to the creation of their own kind;

That the souls of men have the rights of men;

That the study of the mind and the healing of mentally caused ills should not be alienated from religion or condoned in nonreligios fields;

And that no agency less than God has the power to suspend or set aside these rights

Answer 12

Hubbard started it with the express purpose of making money:

"I'm going to invent a religion that's going to make me a fortune.

I'm tired of writing for a penny a word."

It's no different to xianity really; it's just another money manufacturing factory.

~

Answer 13

Yes is IS. Stay far away from it.

http://digg.com/tech_news/Amazingly_Scar...

http://theunfunnytruth.ytmnd.com/

http://www.xenu.net/index.html

Answer 14

Not just a cult but an atrocity.  

Answer 15

All religious factions are cults.

These guys are just one of the ugliest ones.

Answer 16

Absolutely yes.

Answer 17

Yes!  

Answer 18

Of course it's a cult.

But you're not a member of Anonymous.

Answer 19

Yes.  Just like Christianity.