Why do people think Scientology is such a crazy religion?

Only the rich get to buy their way to the top (like televangelists), their church always wants money (communion plate), and it is based on a book written by a science fiction author (bible).

I can't understand why scientology is so odd religion-wise either!

This was a religion created by L Ron Hubbard as a bet against Carl Sagan at who could make more money, someone in science, or a man who created a religion. L Ron Hubbard won, even though he died before Sagan, by creating a religion whos revelations can be had at a price... Add to that, it is even "crazier" when you take into account that some alien came down a granted us this knowledge that you pay for...

It's an overblown hoax that caught on realistically, and has become more of a mason or elk type of group than a religion. Never mind the fact that L Ron Hubbard was once a member of Aton Levay's Church of Satan.

In short, people think Scientology is a joke whether or not they know it's background, and if they don't take it as a joke it's because they are afraid of them for no reason other than the fact they are a new religion and "cult" has taken on a terrible connotation that it should not have.

My only objection to this question is the idea that Scientology sounds "crazy". Maybe if you only get your information about it from the media, TV...South Park (!) and various bogus websites, I can see how it would appear to be "crazy" But these are not reliable sources of information. Jesus is lucky these weren't around 2000 years ago....I doubt that Christianity would have survived it. Based on what I know about it, and I have studied and applied it successfully for almost 35 years it's the opposite of "crazy". (Obviously I am a Scientologist) Just for the record here is a pretty good description of what it actually is all about: Scientology is an applied religious philosophy. When I say "applied" I mean you actually use it in your life to change or improve existing conditions. This is different from a religious practice. All religions if you learn about them have a basic philosphy, 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 does not intrude on anyones faiths of beliefs particularly in the area of God , the Supreme Being, or the Infinite. This area is left totally up to the indivdual, which is why you can be a practicing Jew,for example and still use and apply the priniciples of Scientology in your life. It does not conflict. If anything it will enhance your understanding of your chosen religious practice. You can have no specific religious beliefs and still benefit from using it. And it is only true for you according to your own observation and experience with it. It is a non denominational religion . 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. The whole purpose of Scientology is to increase an individual's understanding and awareness of himself. And thereby his native abilities . When you do this the sphere and zone of his positive influence increases and moves outward into his life, his family ,his friends, his groups and mankind which he is part of. How this result is achieved is the "technology" of Scientology, which was developed by L.Ron Hubbard after his extensive research and the discoveries he made, about the human spirit. The basic religious philosophy and knowledge of Scientology is very old, going back 10,000 years at least to the Veda or Vedic Hymns from the East. The developement of the technology is new. He completed his research before his death in 1986 and left all of his results and copyrights to the Church of Scientology along with most of his considerable estate., when he died. He published a book in 1951 to communicate the basic principles he discovered called: " Scientology The Fundementals of Thought" There are currently over 8 million Scientologists in more that 150 countries world wide. However we are a new religion, only 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. Based on what I know about it I would answer that it's a damn certainty that it will take over as the mainstream religion, and in a lot less than 2000 years time.

Well , if you want to make something or somebody appear to be ridiculous or crazy, there are lot's of ways to do it. And a study of the rumours and "opinions" and false information that have been circulated about Scientology would probably make you an expert in this field.

It's called Black or negative PR or propaganda.

So... the apparency is that "people" think Scientology is a"crazy".

But the facts are that the religion of Scientology is growing and expanding at an unprecedented rate these days. So you could use the same generality and ask the question "Why do people think Scientology is a good religion?"

An even better question would be "Why has this religion been targetted in this particular way?" Not that other older religions haven't also had this kind of treatement when new.

(And yes I am also being a bit cute and smug, well smug anyway, bit to old for cute)

This is what Scientology is about for anyone here who is actually interested:

Scientology is an applied religious philosophy. When I say "applied" I mean you actually use it in your life to change or improve existing conditions. It is a very practical religion.

All religions if you learn about them have a basic philosphy, 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 does not intrude on anyones faiths of beliefs particularly in the area of God , the Supreme Being, or the Infinite. This area is left totally up to the indivdual, which is why you can be a practicing Jew,for example and still use and apply the priniciples of Scientology in your life. It does not conflict. If anything it will enhance your understanding of your chosen religious practice.

You can have no specific religious beliefs and still benefit from using it.

And it is only true for you according to your own observation and experience with it.

It is a non denominational religion . 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.

The whole purpose of Scientology is to increase an individual's understanding and awareness of himself. and lifeAnd thereby his native abilities .

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

How this result is achieved is the "technology" of Scientology, which was developed by L.Ron Hubbard after his extensive research and the discoveries he made, about the human spirit. The basic religious philosophy and knowledge of Scientology is very old, going back 10,000 years at least to the Veda or Vedic Hymns from the East. L. Ron Hubbard researched and made new discoveries about the human spirit. He developed technology from these discoveries to apply to increase spiritual awareness and ability.

He completed his research before his death in 1986 and left all of his results and copyrights

to the Church of Scientology along with most of his considerable personal estate, when he died.

He published a book in 1951 to communicate the basic principles he discovered called: " Scientology The Fundementals of Thought"

There are currently over 10 million Scientologists in more than 163 countries world wide. However we are a new religion, only 53 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 2,000 tape-recorded public lectures.

Bottom line..... nothing particularly crazy about it from my point of view , personal knowledge, observation and experience with it.

I'm not sure which side of the fence you're coming from, i.e., as a believer or a non-believer. Because if you're among the latter then what IS IT to you anyway? What's REALLY your agenda? Are you being cute or smug in using one group to simply bash the rest of the believers?

Otherwise, if you're serious about it... Have you even read some of their activities? It's more than "One Step Beyond" all other religions even if you scan it briefly.

But, hey, to each their own. If you can afford joining them then by all means, sign up!

Peace be with you.

I strongly believe in tolerance for other people’s beliefs. But when a so-called “religion” discourages psychology and psychiatry, breastfeeding, free speech, hospitalization and anesthesia during child delivery, and drugs used to treat depression or anxiety, claiming these are evil, I become concerned. When a religion takes on a cult status, has been known for its abuse and neglect of children, encourages individuals to break apart from their families or commit crimes, and becomes a scam against innocent people who are looking for something to believe, with the intention of only turning over a profit, I begin to forget the need for tolerance. This is precisely what Scientology does.

Scientology was founded by a pulp-fiction author named L. Ron Hubbard who had no background in medicine, psychology, or religion of any kind. He is quoted in a 1940’s Reader’s Digest saying: “Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion.” In 1958, a few years later, the Church of Scientology was founded.

If you want more, I have 7 pages on it.

I think it is just as crazy as any other religion. I myself an a Christian but not a strict one and don't practice it like I "should". I don't care what religion you are, I think about you the same. I couldn't give a diddly damn if you believed in aliens or god or no one. I think some of what I "believe" is hard to believe, just like Scientology. The only thing that makes sense to me is evolution. It's the one that has true facts that seem logical, anyway.

Beam me up Scotty, the mother ship is calling.

I myself am Christian but am open to listen to all reasonable beliefs. The only belief I have found so far that has any physical proof of it's existence is Evolution. I have never read any where in any holy book about God creating the Dinosaurs but we "do" have the fossils of them and can prove how certain things have happened. For the others you just have to take it on faith.

I won't say there isn't life any where else but here but why make a religion out of it? To me Scientology is just a hopped up version of "Hitch Hikers guide to the Galaxy".

For any of you who need a boost of faith to believe there is a God, try looking into the faces of your sleeping children.

Works for me.

Well, since it was conceived and developed by a science-fiction writer (L.Ron Hubbard), I think that will do for a start. A bad science-fiction writer, at that. But hey... the whole bible was written by fiction writers, so in the long run, there really isn't that much difference, is there?

And Vistaril isn't primarily an antianxiety drug; it's also an antihistamine, antispasmotic, antiemetic, cough suppressant and a narcotic enhancer. So I'll give old L. Ron a pass on that one. He could have been using it for pain control.

because it is.

the belief that dc 8s came travelling across the earth and implanted humanity with spirits and false memories involving an intergalactic warlord is infinately more moronic than some all-powerfull bieng that created reality.

The scientology thing reads like a sci-fi novel- and guess who wrote it? A FAILED SCI-FI WRITER, who said that the quickest way to get rich is to become a religion and not pay taxes.