Does scientology have church services or just business meetings?

Scientology, which questionably calls itself a new "religion", is the brainchild of science fiction writer & occult enthusiast L. Ron Hubbard. The organization, by means of Hubbard’s self created psychotherapy technique called “Dianetics”, claims to be able to help rid members of any & all mental constraints including but not limited to emotional scarring (from this & "past" lives) due to "engrams" (past negative experiences stored in our unconscious mind), psychological disorders & chemical imbalances (the solution is to convince members that these things don't actually exist) & drug dependence (including legally prescribed psychopharmaceuticals which counteract the effects of psychological disorders Scientologists believe to be nonexistent). Their “treatment” of substance abuse includes little more than massive, often dangerous doses of vitamins and unhealthy extended sessions in a sauna.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics#S...

Dianetics review: http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/...

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articl...

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/deto...

http://www.nypress.com/20/22/news&column...

Scientology is most certainly NOT a religion. In fact, one of the only reasons they enjoy "tax exempt status" on religious ground in the United States is because they bullied the IRS into a "deal" through extremely aggressive barratry (which is the offense of persistently instigating groundless lawsuits) against the IRS & IRS officials, and arranged to drop all 2,500 frivolous lawsuits only when an "agreement" was reached. In addition, Scientology's lawyers hired private investigators to dig up any "dirt" on IRS agents which was then used to blackmail or publicly smear all "vulnerable" agents. It was an all-out WAR that Scientology had waged against the IRS, and was even described as such by Scientology's "CEO", David Miscavige, in his 1993 speech to the International Association of Scientologists.

http://legalminds.lp.findlaw.com/list/fe...

http://www.lermanet.com/scientologynews/...

http://www.factnet.org/headlines/give-aw...

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/essays/...

The official Scientology organization is composed of a number of “levels”. One begins as a “preclear” & works their way up. One must purchase virtually every service crucial to advancement directly from the "church" & at staggering prices. "Auditing", for example, is purchased in 12½ hour blocks, costing anywhere from $200-$750 for introductory sessions to between $8,000 & $9,000 for advanced sessions. Basically, Scientology claims to possess exclusive knowledge of the path to religious redemption & then charges obscene amounts of money for every tiny incremental step towards this end. Visit this link to see how $380,000 is a conservative estimate for the total cost of moving all the way up the Scientology hierarchal ladder: http://www.xenu.net/archive/prices.html

These are the total costs for auditing alone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology...

Here’s an explanation of what “auditing” is: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

At level OT III (Operating Thetan Level 3), some very strange & fiercely guarded secrets are imparted upon worthy members who have paid enough money to advance to such a level (and no, this isn't a joke): The evil alien ruler Xenu killed millions of aliens (Thetans) from around the universe by kidnapping them, bringing them to earth in golden DC-8 “space-planes”, stacking them around volcanoes & blowing them up by dropping “h-bombs” into the volcanoes. Scientologists believe the souls of these aliens (these souls are "Body Thetans") were captured, brainwashed & released; they then attached themselves to our ancestors (and according to Scientology’s belief in Thetan immortality, they also attached to us during “past lives”) & cause many of our mental & physical ills to this day. Auditing is said to “clear” us of these Body Thetans as well as the “mental implants” they supposedly impose on our minds. http://www.spaink.net/cos/essays/atack_o...

http://sf.irk.ru/www/ot3/spaink-ot3.html

http://xenu.net/archive/leaflet/Xenu-Let...

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/OTIII/

Scientology has taken a very hostile stance towards psychiatry & psychiatric drugs irrespective of the fact that some people require medication to remain adequately functional during everyday life. It doesn’t recognize legitimate conditions like autism, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or ANY neurological disorder / chemical imbalance at all, & the “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from members (often with harmful & deadly results). The “Church” blames psychiatry for the Holocaust, as well as school shootings & even September 11th. It’s been suggested that Hubbard’s vehement opposition was born of the psychiatric community’s rejection of his “tech” as a valid treatment method, but it’s also possible that Hubbard chose psychiatry as a scapegoat. Organizations like Scientology are notorious for villainizing a specific out-group because their “stand against the enemy” fosters cohesion within said organization, & psychiatry was an effective rallying point considering many people already distrust & oppose the mental health profession.

http://www.anti-scientologie.ch/usa-scie...

http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id...

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/...

http://perkinstragedy.org/

L. Ron Hubbard, the man behind the creation of Scientology, was & still is a controversial figure. Biographies & lists of personal accomplishments differ greatly between Scientology & non-Scientology publications as the “church” tends to exaggerate & outright lie about his early life, his education, his travels, his achievements etc, preferring to paint a distorted, flattering picture. Several books & articles present facts which flatly contradict these church-published accounts (links to free online copies of these books & articles are provided below), showing conclusively that he was NOT the brilliant, accomplished figure revered by Scientologists. During his autopsy, the sedative Vistaril™ was present in his body, which several of his assistants would later attest was only one of many psychiatric & pain medications Hubbard ingested over the years. It had also been said by many who knew Hubbard personally that at the end of his life he was “a psychopathic insane person screaming about BT's [Body Thetans]…”

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/Bare%20F...

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf...

http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/mo...

http://lisatrust.bogie.nl/scientology/es...

To be blunt, Scientology is a cult. It employs semi-legitimate psychotherapy & self-help methods to keep people loyal & convinced of its merit while it simultaneously sucks them dry financially & attempts to keep them far away from ANYONE, even friends & family, who would dissuade them from remaining in such a harmful situation. It bullies all known critics, opponents, “enemies”, etc, often through malicious litigation & character assassination. It’s a particularly greedy as well as manipulative & dangerous cult that takes its anti-psychiatry fanaticism to deadly limits.

http://www.solitarytrees.net/racism/hara...

http://www.factnet.org/Books/SocialContr...

http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecen...

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/24/Tampab...

http://www.xenu.net/archive/personal_sto...

1 day ago

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Watch this very revealing video that will, in about 5 minutes, show you EXACTLY what Scientology is all about: http://theunfunnytruth.ytmnd.com/

This is an hour long special report on Jeremy Perkins, the mentally disturbed son of Scientologist parents who refused to put him on the anti-psychotic drugs that would have stabilized him & prevented him from killing his own mother: http://www.scientomogy.com/jeremy_perkin...

Is Scientology a cult? Yes, & this is why:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

Scientology in relation to God, Jesus and Christianity:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

This is how they sell their cult to others:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

This shows how dangerous the cult really is: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

http://xenu.net/ aka Operation Clambake http://clambake.org/

http://www.philosoraptor.com/scientology...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology

http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/A...

http://www.scientology-kills.org/

http://www.scientology-lies.com/whatswro...

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Secrets/

http://www.holysmoke.org/pc/pc.htm

http://www.watchman.org/sci/

http://www.whyaretheydead.net/room174.ht...

http://holysmoke.org/cos/books/scandal-o...

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/sto...

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articl...

Cult information - http://www.cultinformation.org.uk/faq.ht...

Official site - http://www.scientology.org/

Im guessing this isnt a real question looking for a real answer?

Actually, Im an ex-scientologist.

The sunday services are pretty bland compared to other churches. No prayer, no singing, no shouting, no speaking in toungues or kissing snakes. They dont even mindlessly chant the same thing together over and over. And no passing of a plate for nudge-nudge hint-hint 10% of your earnings before taxes.

The religious term for their services is non-denominational. They wish well for people going thru natural disasters, ask for food and clothing to send, then request that people join the disaster response teams that they send. Also blood drives and other generic community aid projects.

I find the comments about no-poor-people kindof funny though. The people going to scientology services are usually dressed in tshirts and jeans. Compared to the "church down the street" where everyone has to show up in suit and tie and ready to drop money in a plate the comment rings abit hollow. As far as I can tell, poor people are more welcome at the scientology services than others.

If you must go just wear a tie. But i recommend to stay away from them, seriously. they will want you to pay for belonging to the church. I'm not talking about 20bucks donations, I'm are talking about 10,000dollars just to become a regular member. In the UK they aren't even recognized as a religion because the British government says that paying money for classes isn't a form of worshiping. if it is the right way why do they want so much money. No other religion asks for half of your income to the church. Other religions just ask for charity. People say its a cult because it technically is, they aren't interested in "saving you" or making your life better. They just want you to buy their books and services which are very very pricey.

Good question. I am not 100% sure on this but what I understand in some of the orgs they hold classes, audit, recruit and hold special functions. I don't really think they have services as we know services.

Apparently they gather on Sundays to listen to L. Ron Hubbard lectures and pat themselves on the back for saving the world.

No church services. It is all about getting more members and selling more books and sending more mail. It is a joke.

Veiled in more secrecy than the Freemasons, Scientologists recruit and demand money and that pretty much sums up the entire cult...no poor or middle income folks in that group!

They just meet up at Tom Cruise's house and have Hohos and koolaid.

Just check writing ceremonies... lol

They have celebrity parties.

good question. i always wondered what those weirdos do when they meet