Editing Scientology controversies (section)

==Legitimacy of Scientology as a religion==
{{Main|Scientology status by country}}

[[Image:Scientology warning leaflet.jpg|right|thumb|Official German warning leaflets (PDF:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stmi.bayern.de/service/publikationen/detail/16672/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510195456/http://www.stmi.bayern.de/service/publikationen/detail/16672/|url-status=dead|title=Verfassungsschutz Bayern (Constitution Protection Bavaria: Publications (German))|archivedate=May 10, 2007}}</ref>) on threats to democracy, including [[Islamism|Islamic extremism]], [[Scientology]] and [[organized crime]]]]
The nature of Scientology is hotly debated in many countries. The [[Church of Scientology]] pursues an extensive [[public relations]] campaign arguing Scientology is a ''[[Good faith|bona fide]]'' [[religion]]. The organization cites a number of studies and experts who support their position.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bonafidescientology.org/ |title=Church of Scientology: The Bonafides of the Scientology Religion |publisher=Bonafidescientology.org |date=2011-04-26 |access-date=2012-09-05 |archive-date=May 12, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050512004346/http://www.bonafidescientology.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Critics point out most cited studies were commissioned by Scientology to produce the desired results.

Many countries (including Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Russia, the United Kingdom), while not prohibiting or limiting the activities of the Church of Scientology, have rejected its applications for [[tax exemption|tax-exempt]], charitable status or recognition as a religious organization; it has been variously judged to be a commercial enterprise or a dangerous [[cult]].

Scientology is legally accepted as a religion in the United States and Australia, and enjoys the constitutional protections afforded to religious practice in each country. In October 1993, the U.S. [[Internal Revenue Service]] [[Tax status of Scientology in the United States#Negotiations and the resolution of the dispute|recognized the Church]] as an "organization operated exclusively for religious and charitable purposes".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/ir-97-50.txt |title=IR-97-50 |date=December 31, 1997 |website=[[IRS]] |access-date=August 10, 2017 |archive-date=May 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504213753/https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/ir-97-50.txt |url-status=live }}</ref> The Church offers the tax exemption as proof that it is a religion. (This subject is examined in the article on the [[Church of Scientology]]).

In 1982, the [[High Court of Australia]] ruled the State Government of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] lacked the right to declare the Church of Scientology was not a religion.<ref name="Scientology HCA">{{cite AustLII|HCA|40|1983|litigants=Church of the New Faith v Commissioner of Pay-roll Tax (Victoria) |parallelcite=(1983) 154 [[Commonwealth Law Reports|CLR]] 120 |date=27 October 1983 |courtname=auto}}.</ref> The Court found the issue of belief to be the central feature of religion, regardless of the presence of [[charlatan]]ism: "Charlatanism is a necessary price of religious freedom, and if a self-proclaimed teacher persuades others to believe in a religion which he propounds, lack of sincerity or integrity on his part is not incompatible with the religious character of the beliefs, practices and observances accepted by his followers."<ref name="Scientology HCA" />{{rp|para 26|quote=per Mason ACJ & Brennan J}}

Other countries to have recognized Scientology as a religion include Spain,<ref name="afpspain">{{cite web
 |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-V0Ui506lPl-r8ImubpdUjFbuYA
 |title=Spanish court rules Scientology can be listed as a religion
 |publisher=AFP
 |date=November 1, 2007
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226104617/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-V0Ui506lPl-r8ImubpdUjFbuYA
 |archive-date=December 26, 2007
}}</ref> Portugal,<ref name=USSPortugal>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100579.htm |title=2007 U.S. Department of State – 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Portugal |publisher=State.gov |date=2008-03-11 |access-date=2012-09-05 |archive-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308145705/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100579.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Italy,<ref name=Carobene14>{{cite journal|last1=Carobene|first1=Germana|title=Problems on the legal status of the Church of Scientology|journal=Stato, Chiesi e Pluralismo Confessionale|date=June 16, 2014|volume=2014|number=21|url=https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/statoechiese/article/view/4109|location=Milan|publisher=[[University of Milan]]|quote=In this sense the long process of Milan is of great importance, which, after six pronunciations was concluded in 2000 and legally recognized Scientology as a religion in Italy. The case was based on the complaint of a series of criminal offenses against some members of the church: conspiracy, fraud, extortion. After some contradictory rulings, the Milan judges became aware of the need to define the religiosity of the movement, i.e. it is to be considered a religion if all the alleged activities can qualify as normal religious practices|access-date=March 10, 2020|doi=10.13130/1971-8543/4109|archive-date=November 8, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241108174938/https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/statoechiese/article/view/4109|url-status=live}}</ref> Sweden,<ref>{{cite news |url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=APAB&d_place=APAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F89B7B2ED266F3F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title = Scientology church in Sweden granted religious status |date = 2000-03-15 |access-date = 2008-05-19 |agency = Associated Press |archive-date = October 19, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121019173817/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=APAB&d_place=APAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F89B7B2ED266F3F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=DHDavis>
{{cite conference
 |first=Derek H.
 |last=Davis
 |title=The Church of Scientology: In Pursuit of Legal Recognition
 |book-title=Zeitdiagnosen: Religion and Conformity
 |publisher=Lit Verlag
 |year=2004
 |location=Münster, Germany
 |url=http://www.umhb.edu/files/academics/crl/publications/articles/the_church_of_scientologypursuit_of_legal_recognition.pdf
 |access-date=2008-05-10
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612073444/http://www.umhb.edu/files/academics/crl/publications/articles/the_church_of_scientologypursuit_of_legal_recognition.pdf
 |archive-date=2009-06-12
 }}</ref> and New Zealand.<ref name=NZH>{{cite web |url = https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/scientology-gets-tax-exempt-status/NSNDTA6GLQ2LRKOK2NQD2NPJKY/ |title = Scientology gets tax-exempt status |access-date = 2007-08-01 |date = 2002-12-27 |work = [[The New Zealand Herald]] |quote = the IRD said the church was a charitable organisation dedicated to the advancement of religion |archive-date = May 17, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230517062350/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/scientology-gets-tax-exempt-status/NSNDTA6GLQ2LRKOK2NQD2NPJKY/ |url-status = live }}</ref> The debate continues until today, with a new generation of critics continuing to question Scientology's legitimacy as a religion.{{r|urban}}{{Page needed|date=June 2024}}

===L. Ron Hubbard and starting a religion for money===
{{Further|Scientology as a business}}
While the oft-cited rumor Hubbard made a bar bet with [[Robert A. Heinlein]] he could start a cult is unproven, many witnesses have reported that Hubbard said in their presence that starting a religion would be a good way to make money. These statements have led many to believe Hubbard hid his true intentions and was motivated solely by potential financial rewards.

Editor [[Sam Merwin]], for example, recalled a meeting: "I always knew he was exceedingly anxious to hit big money—he used to say he thought the best way to do it would be to start a cult." (December 1946)<ref name="Bare-faced Messiah">{{cite book | last = Miller | first = Russell | author-link = Russell Miller | title = Bare-faced Messiah, The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard | url = https://archive.org/details/barefacedmessiah00mill_0/page/133 | edition = First American | year = 1987 | publisher = Henry Holt & Co | location = New York | isbn = 0-8050-0654-0 | page = [https://archive.org/details/barefacedmessiah00mill_0/page/133 133] }}</ref> Writer and publisher [[Lloyd Arthur Eshbach]] reported Hubbard saying "I'd like to start a religion. That's where the money is." Writer [[Theodore Sturgeon]] reported Hubbard made a similar statement at the [[Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society]]. Likewise, writer [[Sam Moskowitz]] reported in an affidavit during an [[Eastern Science Fiction Association]] meeting on November 11, 1948, Hubbard had said "You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion."<ref>Sam Moskowitz affidavit, 14 April 1993</ref> [[Milton A. Rothman]] also reported to his son [[Tony Rothman]] he heard Hubbard make exactly that claim at a science fiction convention. In 1998, an [[A&E Network|A&E]] documentary titled ''Inside Scientology'' shows [[Lyle Stuart]] reporting Hubbard stated repeatedly to make money, "you start a religion."<ref>{{cite news | title = Inside Scientology | publisher = [[A&E Network]] | date = 1998-12-14 | url = http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5464180198469193501 | access-date = 2007-01-27 | archive-date = June 22, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110622074528/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5464180198469193501 | url-status = live }}</ref>

According to ''[[The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]'', ed. Brian Ash, Harmony Books, 1977:<blockquote>...[Hubbard] began making statements to the effect that any writer who really wished to make money should stop writing and develop [a] religion, or devise a new psychiatric method. [[Harlan Ellison]]'s version (''Time Out'', UK, No 332) is that Hubbard is reputed to have told [[John W. Campbell|[John W.] Campbell]], "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". [[Sam Moskowitz]], a chronicler of science fiction, has reported that he himself heard Hubbard make a similar statement, but there is no first-hand evidence.</blockquote>

An article by Professor [[Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi]] documents the secular aspects of Scientology from Scientology's own writings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/beit.html |title=Marburg Journal of Religion – Scientology: Religion or Racket? |publisher=Web.uni-marburg.de |access-date=2012-09-05 |archive-date=April 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416211648/http://web.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/beit.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Free Zone suppression===

The Church has taken steps to suppress the [[Free Zone (Scientology)|Free Zone]], the term for a variety of groups and individuals who practice Scientology outside the strictures of the Church of Scientology proper, and shut down dissenters when possible. The CoS has used [[copyright]] and [[trademark]] laws to attack various Free Zone groups.<ref name=":1" /> Accordingly, the Free Zone avoids the use of officially trademarked Scientology words, including 'Scientology' itself. In 2000, the [[Religious Technology Center]] unsuccessfully attempted to gain control over the web domain scientologie.org in a legal action against the Free Zone.<ref name="wipo">{{Cite web |url=https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-0410.html |title=Administrative Panel Decision, Religious Technology Center v. Freie Zone E. V, Case No. D2000-0410 |website=[[WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center]] |date=June 23, 2000}}</ref> ''[[Skeptic (U.S. magazine)|Skeptic Magazine]]'' described the Free Zone as: "...a group founded by ex-Scientologists to promote L. Ron Hubbard's ideas independent of the COS [Church of Scientology]."<ref name="scnvinternet">{{cite magazine |title=Scientology v. the Internet |first1=Jim |last1=Lippard |author1-link=Jim Lippard |first2=Jeff |last2=Jacobsen |magazine=[[Skeptic (American magazine)|Skeptic]] |volume=3 |issue=3 |year=1995 |url=https://www.skeptic.com/magazine/archives/3.3/ |pages=35–41 |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 22, 2023 |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929003433/https://www.skeptic.com/magazine/archives/3.3/ |url-status=live }} {{cite web |url=https://www.discord.org/lippard/skeptic/03.3.jl-jj-scientology.html |title=Authorized copy <!--link is to an authorized copy by author of article on his own website--> |website=[[Jim Lippard|discord.org]] |access-date=September 22, 2023 |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929003434/https://www.discord.org/lippard/skeptic/03.3.jl-jj-scientology.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A ''[[Miami Herald]]'' article wrote that ex-Scientologists joined the Free Zone because they felt that Church of Scientology leadership had: "...strayed from Hubbard's original teachings."<ref>{{cite news |last=Alter |first=Alexandra |title=Scientology: What's behind the Hollywood hype? |work=[[Miami Herald]] |date=2005-07-02 |pages=8E |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/652246733/?terms=free%20zone&match=1 |via=newspapers.com |quote=Some followers of Scientology say the church leadership has strayed from Hubbard's original teachings. Many belong to the Free Zone, a group of Scientologists who believe in the religion's practices but not the organization. |archive-date=May 19, 2024 |access-date=April 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519121637/https://www.newspapers.com/image/652246733/?terms=free%20zone&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> One Free Zone Scientologist identified as "Safe" was quoted in ''[[Salon.com|Salon]]'' as saying: "The Church of Scientology does not want its control over its members to be found out by the public and it doesn't want its members to know that they can get scientology outside of the Church of Scientology."<ref name="salon">{{cite news
 |last=Brown
 |first=Janelle
 |title=Copyright—or wrong? : The Church of Scientology takes up a new weapon—the Digital Millennium Copyright Act—in its ongoing battle with critics.
 |work=[[Salon.com|Salon]]
 |date=1999-07-22
 |url=http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/07/22/scientology/print.html
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626222533/http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/07/22/scientology/print.html
 |archive-date=2009-06-26
}}
</ref>