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US State Dept International Religious Freedom Report for 2013

mnql1

Patron Meritorious
Listed below are passages that mention Scientology in certain country sections of the U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report for 2013, released on July 28, 2014.

For passages from the U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, see
US State Dept International Religious Freedom Report for 2012

Austria
The Church of Scientology, the Unification Church, and a number of smaller religious groups are organized as associations.
(...)
Embassy staff continued to meet regularly with members of Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim groups, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Scientology, the Unification Church, and other religious groups throughout the country to promote mutual understanding and trust among religious groups.

Belgium
On August 27, the European Court of Human Rights rejected a complaint from the Church of Scientology that a press report stating that the federal prosecutor planned to sue the church’s Belgian subsidiary had tarnished the presumption of innocence. The European Court stated that there was no proof that derogatory information about the Church of Scientology reported in the press had come from the prosecution.

Canada
Groups that together constitute less than 4 percent of the population include Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Scientologists, Bahais, and adherents of Shintoism and Taoism.

Denmark
Religious groups not recognized by either royal decree or registered by the ecclesiastic ministry, such as the Church of Scientology, are entitled to engage in religious practices, but members of non-recognized religious groups must marry in a civil ceremony in addition to any religious ceremony. Unrecognized religious groups are not granted tax-exempt status.

France
The Church of Scientology claims 45,000 members.
(...)
On October 16, the Court of Cassation upheld the 2009 fraud conviction of the Church of Scientology. The church had been convicted of pressuring members to pay tens of thousands of euros for personality tests, vitamin cures, sauna sessions, and “purification packs.” Five church leaders had each been fined from 10,000 to 30,000 euros ($13,774 to $41,322) and four had received suspended jail sentences of up to two years. The group announced it would bring a complaint to the ECHR.

Germany
There were, however, reports of discrimination at the federal and state level against some religious minorities, notably Scientologists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Muslims.
(...)
The Roman Catholic and Protestant churches continued to use “sect commissioners” to warn the public of alleged dangers from some religious groups such as the Unification Church, the Church of Scientology (COS), Universal Life, and Transcendental Meditation practitioners. Some employers used written agreements known as “sect filters,” asking potential new employees to confirm they had no contact with Scientology, had not participated in its training courses, and rejected its doctrines.
(...)
The status of the Church of Scientology remained in limbo. The Constitutional Court and various courts at the state level have not explicitly ruled Scientology is a religion.

Government agencies at the federal and state level had rules and procedures that discriminated against the COS as a group and against its members. Four of the major political parties (the Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, Social Democratic Party, and Free Democratic Party) excluded Scientologists from party membership.

Scientologists continued to report instances of governmental discrimination. Although courts at the state and federal level condemned the improper use of “sect filters” to blacklist and boycott Scientologists, they remained in use in the public and private sectors. “Sect filters” typically asked potential new employees to give written confirmation they had no contact with Scientology, did not participate in its training courses, and rejected its doctrines.

In January the city of Hamburg stipulated potential tutors for elementary school children must sign a contract that included a “sect filter” declaring neither they nor their employees would teach according to Scientology methods. In August the city of Munich solicited bids for leading seminars on philosophy for high school students and included a similar requirement for a sect filter in the bid announcement.

The federal and state Offices for the Protection of the Constitution (OPCs) in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, NRW, and Thuringia monitored the activities of the COS, mainly focusing on evaluating Scientology publications and public activities to determine whether they violated the constitution. The COS reported OPC representatives regularly contacted Scientologists to question them about the organization. The COS also reported the OPC collected names of members from church publications and archived the information to use in citizenship and employment proceedings.
(...)
Catholic and Protestant churches continued to oppose Scientology publicly, although press reporting and public reactions to Scientology decreased. “Sect commissioners,” primarily Protestant and Catholic church officials, investigated “sects, cults, and psycho groups” and publicized what they considered to be the dangers of these groups. Protestant “sect commissioners” were especially active in efforts to warn the public about alleged dangers posed by the Unification Church, the COS, Bhagwan-Osho, Transcendental Meditation, and Universal Life. Print and internet literature produced by “sect commissioners” portrayed these groups unfavorably.

“Sect filters” continued to be used in private sector employment and contracts. The COS alleged a number of companies, including some of the most prominent in the country, placed restrictions on hiring and contracting members of the COS.

In June books associated with Scientology appeared repeatedly in free public book swap facilities in Duesseldorf, garnering press coverage, both about the books and about book swap volunteers repeatedly removing the Scientology-related publications.
(...)
The embassy and consulates general met with members of the Bahai, Alevi, Coptic, and Sufi communities; the Konrad Adenauer Foundation; the Central Council of Muslims; the Central Council of Jews; the Church of Scientology; and human rights NGOs to discuss religious freedom.

Greece
Religious groups that have never received house-of-prayer permits, including Scientologists, Hare Krishnas, and polytheistic Hellenic groups, cannot function as religious legal entities. Scientologists and polytheistic Hellenic religious groups function as registered nonprofit civil law organizations. The government does not legally recognize weddings conducted by religious leaders of those groups.

Haiti
Religious groups present in small numbers include Episcopalians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Methodists, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Muslims, Rastafarians, Scientologists, and practitioners of Voudou. Local Voudou community leaders state that most people practice some form of Voudou, often blended with elements of other religions, usually Catholicism.

Israel
The Knesset chairperson’s Prize for the Life Quality Fund awarded the Israeli Center for Victims of Cults (ICVC) the Knesset Speaker’s Prize for Human Rights for its work to advance rule of law, democratic values, and human rights. According to the government, the fund was established by a private benefactor and is not a national body or organization, even though according to the fund’s rules, the Knesset chairperson is the chairperson of the fund’s board. NGOs and religious groups objected to the award, stating that the ICVC was an anti-missionary and anti-intermarriage organization that classified Hare Krishnas and Scientologists as “cults.” In response to the complaints, the fund held a hearing with the ICVC’s management and determined there were no new facts that would lead to changing or withdrawing the award.

Kazakhstan
Other groups, such as the Scientologists and Ahmadi Muslims, continued to be denied registration based on their religious beliefs.
(...)
Other groups constituting less than 5 percent of the population include Jews, Roman Catholics, Greek Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Seventh-day Adventists, Methodists, Mennonites, Pentecostals, Baptists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Christian Scientists, Buddhists, Hare Krishnas, Bahais, Scientologists, and members of the Unification Church.
(...)
Several other religious groups, including the Church of Scientology and the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, exist in the country but have been denied registration or have not sought registration.
(...)
Several government-controlled media outlets and government-funded nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued to publish or broadcast stories critical of “non-traditional” religious groups, including evangelical Protestant groups, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Scientologists, depicting them as dangerous “sects” harmful to society.
(...)
There were reports of societal discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice. Observers noted increased discrimination against religious minorities. Several government-supported “anti-sect” organizations portrayed some “non-traditional” religious groups as harmful. Members of these religious groups complained that the “anti-sect” organizations disrupted religious services or attempted to intimidate parishioners through threats of legal action. They also reported that these organizations attempted to discredit some religious groups through programs in schools and in the community. Scientologists reported that several local businesses in Almaty refused to rent them space to hold gatherings as a result of this activity.

Russia
Religious groups constituting less than 5 percent each include Buddhists, Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hindus, Bahais, Hare Krishnas, pagans, Tengrists, Scientologists, and Falun Gong adherents.
(...)
The government arbitrarily applied anti-extremism laws, refused to register certain religious organizations, and imposed other restrictions that infringed on the religious freedoms of members of minority religious groups, in particular Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostals, Scientologists, and Falun Gong practitioners.
(...)
Religious minorities said local authorities utilized the country’s anti-extremism laws to ban sacred and essential religious texts. As of October 1, the MOJ’s list of extremist materials had grown to 2,096 titles, including 69 Jehovah’s Witnesses items, four Falun Gong items, and seven Scientology items.
(...)
In August the Moscow City Court upheld the MOJ’s notices of violation issued to the Church of Scientology of Moscow. Among other issues, the ministry had required the church to re-register its 1994 religious charter, while at the same time asserting the government did not recognize the religious nature of the organization’s activities. The church argued it had already attempted to re-register 11 times and had been denied every time.
(...)
In March embassy representatives attended the annual Russian National Prayer Breakfast, an interfaith gathering. Embassy representatives as well as representatives from the consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok met with rabbis and leaders of the Jewish community, muftis and other Islamic leaders, Protestant pastors, Catholic priests, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Scientologists, Falun Gong adherents, Hare Krishnas, and Buddhists.

South Africa
The Church of Scientology has a small following.

Spain
Other religious groups include The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Buddhists, Orthodox Christians, Bahais, Scientologists, Hindus, Christian Scientists and other Christian groups.
(...)
If the MOJ assesses that an applicant for registration is not a religious group, the group may be included in the Register of Associations maintained by the Ministry of Interior (MOI). Inclusion in the Register of Associations grants legal status as authorized by the law regulating the rights of associations, but does not grant the right to hold worship services. In certain cases, religious groups, such as the Church of Scientology, that are not officially recognized by the government are treated as cultural associations.

Sweden
Smaller religious communities are concentrated in larger cities and include Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Hare Krishnas, and members of the Church of Scientology, Word of Faith, and Unification Church.

Taiwan
Groups that constitute less than 5 percent of the population include ... the Church of Scientology, ...

United Kingdom
On December 11, the UK Supreme Court decided Scientology is a religion, qualifying it for charitable status. Scientologists Louisa Hodkin and Alessandro Calcioli took legal action after the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages refused to register Scientology’s London Church Chapel for the solemnization of marriages under the 1855 Places of Worship Registration Act because it was not a place for “religious worship.” Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Brandon Lewis stated that the UK government would seek legal advice about the decision, saying “hard-pressed taxpayers will wonder why Scientology premises should now be given tax cuts when local firms have to pay their fair share.”
 

AnonyMary

Formerly Fooled - Finally Free
Must be embarrassing to have the COS membership numbers in this reports agreeing with what all us SPs have been saying all along, lol!

Tough Tootie, Scientology
 

Churchill

Gold Meritorious Patron
I've written this before, but it bears repeating:

Scientology is to Religion,

what child pornography

is to Art.
 

cleared cannibal

Silver Meritorious Patron
So not the worlds fastest growing most ethical group on the planet then eh! :eyeroll:

Small and insignificant! :yes:
Something like this was what really convinced me that scio wasn't ever going to save the world. A few years ago I saw a breakdown of percentages of various religions in the US. Scientology didn't even make the list. The org explained to me that that people put down the religion they were raised with . This was before I had my problems but even then I knew this was BS. After that Scientology was a self improvement movement and not a religion to me. It's too bad scio can't stick to some of the lower level stuff and let people graduate from it as I feel some of the lower courses and processing works. The way it is the bad far out weighs the good and it it is too dangerous to mess with.
 

ThetanExterior

Gold Meritorious Patron
The 2011 UK Census shows there were only 2,418 Scientologists.

They'd better not annoy the Jedi Knights because there are 176,632 of them!
 

mnql1

Patron Meritorious
France 2012
"The Church of Scientology estimates 50,000 members."

France 2013
"The Church of Scientology claims 45,000 members."

A Scientology spokesperson in France must have forgotten the number in the 2012 report and to increase it. "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." (Mark Twain)
 

Churchill

Gold Meritorious Patron
For the life of me, I don't understand why the U.S. State Department is working to "safepoint" Scientology.
A few years ago, Tom Cruise met with the then Undersecretary of State, Richard Armitage, to lobby him for support against the German Government's quite proper and necessary policy which viewed Scientology as a psycho-political cult that needed to be monitored.

That was under the Bush Administration (around the time Valkyrie was released)!but Hillary Clinton's State Department was no better, and also protected and safe-pointed Scientology.

Scientology's use of corrupt and/or ignorant elected officials is a reminder of how far this venal group has insinuated itself into the American political culture.

My vote will go to the candidate who promises to really look into the day-to-day abuses of free speech, the violations of freedom of movement, and the most fundamental right of freedom of thought. These elemental, basic rights, are routinely trampled by the "church" of Scientology.
 
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dchoiceisalwaysrs

Gold Meritorious Patron
For the life of me, I don't understand why the U.S. State Department is working to "safepoint" Scientology.
A few years ago, Tom Cruise met with the then Undersecretary of State, Richard Armitage, to lobby him for support against the German Government's quite proper and necessary policy which viewed Scientology as a psycho-political cult that needed to be monitored.

That was under the Bush Administration (around the time Valkyrie was released)!but Hillary Clinton's State Department was no better, and also protected and safe-pointed Scientology.

Scientology's use of corrupt and/or ignorant elected officials is a reminder of how far this venal group has insinuated itself into the American political culture.

My vote will go to the candidate who promises to really look into the day-to-day abuses of free speech, the violations of freedom of movement, and the most fundamental right of freedom of thought. These elemental, basic rights, are routinely trampled by the "church" of Scientology.

Perhaps the capability to deceive and manipulate is most often accomplished by a trojan horse decked out as a sincere offer of targeted help or benefit' somehow related or associated to the 'trusting dupe' ?
 

Veda

Sponsor
bs-02-65-DW-Kultur-Rom.jpg

"Your psychology is advanced and true and wonderful. It hypnotizes people. It predicts their emotions, for you are their ruler."
L. Ron Hubbard, 1946​



For the life of me, I don't understand why the U.S. State Department is working to "safepoint" Scientology.
A few years ago, Tom Cruise met with the then Undersecretary of State, Richard Armitage, to lobby him for support against the German Government's quite proper and necessary policy which viewed Scientology as a psycho-political cult that needed to be monitored.

The Germans described Scientology Inc. as an abusive business and a psycho-political cult disguised as a religion.

It could be added that besides being an abusive business, Scientology Inc. is also a private Intelligence operation.

L. Ron Hubbard, from the confidential 1973 'Intelligence, Its Role':

"We are potentially successful beyond the greatest dreams and aspirations of any former Intelligence service in the universe bar none...."​


That was under the Bush Administration (around the time Valkyrie was released)!but Hillary Clinton's State Department was no better, and also protected and safe-pointed Scientology.

Scientology's use of corrupt and/or ignorant elected officials is a reminder of how far this venal group has insinuated itself into the American political culture.

My vote will go to the candidate who promises to really look into the day-to-day abuses of free speech, the violations of freedom of movement, and the most fundamental right of freedom of thought. These elemental, basic rights, are routinely trampled by the "church" of Scientology.

Germany stands out as it's resisted pressure from duped or/or corrupted United States government officials to obey Hubbard's and Miscavige's "Command Intention" that Scientology Inc. be regarded as a bone fide religious organization. There is nothing more important to Scientology Inc. than this. It's a Teflon coating that virtually makes Scientology invincible.

Miscavige is aware that there's still work to be done in this area. In the responses to the documentary, 'Going Clear', many expressed views that do not accept Scientology Inc.'s assertion that it's a religious organization. People call it a cult, or "Church" is prefaced with "so called," or is framed with quote marks.

The Amazon reviews of Tony Ortega's 'The Unbreakable Miss Lovely' are even more striking in their rejection of Scientology Inc. as a religious organization. It's a gut level reaction. People sense that there's something profoundly fraudulent about Scientology and its assertions, and its primary - enabling and empowering - assertion is not that Scientology is good or that it works, but that Scientology is a religion.

Don't expect Scientology to let up on its heavy emphasis of the religion angle and religious cloaking until all its critics, while still denouncing it, nonetheless accept it as a "religion." That's an important step.

After that is accomplished - so the idea goes - Scientology Inc. will renew emphasis on accusing those who continue to speak out of "hate speech" and "hate crime." This is a serious matter as there are already "hate crime" and "hate speech" laws on the books. Scientology Inc. intends to use these to its advantage. The idea is that most people don't want to be seen as "haters" and "bigots" and will shy away from anything that might earn them that label.

How will far Scientology succeed?

Who would have thought they would have made it this far.

We shall see.

Perhaps the capability to deceive and manipulate is most often accomplished by a trojan horse decked out as a sincere offer of targeted help or benefit' somehow related or associated to the 'trusting dupe' ?

Yes, Scientology loves its Trojan horses and rejoices in dupes.



:)
 

Churchill

Gold Meritorious Patron
bs-02-65-DW-Kultur-Rom.jpg

"Your psychology is advanced and true and wonderful. It hypnotizes people. It predicts their emotions, for you are their ruler."
L. Ron Hubbard, 1946​





The Germans described Scientology Inc. as an abusive business and a psycho-political cult disguised as a religion.

It could be added that besides being an abusive business, Scientology Inc. is also a private Intelligence operation.

L. Ron Hubbard, from the confidential 1973 'Intelligence, Its Role':
"We are potentially successful beyond the greatest dreams and aspirations of any former Intelligence service in the universe bar none...."​




Germany stands out as it's resisted pressure from duped or/or corrupted United States government officials to obey Hubbard's and Miscavige's "Command Intention" that Scientology Inc. be regarded as a bone fide religious organization. There is nothing more important to Scientology Inc. than this. It's a Teflon coating that virtually makes Scientology invincible.

Miscavige is aware that there's still work to be done in this area. In the responses to the documentary, 'Going Clear', many expressed views that do not accept Scientology Inc.'s assertion that it's a religious organization. People call it a cult, or "Church" is prefaced with "so called," or is framed with quote marks.

The Amazon reviews of Tony Ortega's 'The Unbreakable Miss Lovely' are even more striking in their rejection of Scientology Inc. as a religious organization. It's a gut level reaction. People sense that there's something profoundly fraudulent about Scientology and its assertions, and its primary - enabling and empowering - assertion is not that Scientology is good or that it works, but that Scientology is a religion.

Don't expect Scientology to let up on its heavy emphasis of the religion angle and religious cloaking until all its critics, while still denouncing it, nonetheless accept it as a "religion." That's an important step.

After that is accomplished - so the idea goes - Scientology Inc. will renew emphasis on accusing those who continue to speak out of "hate speech" and "hate crime." This is a serious matter as there are already "hate crime" and "hate speech" laws on the books. Scientology Inc. intends to use these to its advantage. The idea is that most people don't want to be seen as "haters" and "bigots" and will shy away from anything that might earn them that label.

How will far Scientology succeed?

Who would have thought they would have made it this far.

We shall see.



Yes, Scientology loves its Trojan horses and rejoices in dupes.



:)



A casual observer who comes across the Creed, or the Aims of Scientology might easily conclude that Scientology is a religion.

We, who know better, understand that Scientology's behavior over the past half century has too often been criminal and not religious.

Whether or not one considers it a religion (and I do not) is immaterial to the fact that it has policies and doctrines that call for the deprivation of others rights,

and even their lives.

And it has acted on these policies repeatedly and with impunity, exactly like the Mafia.

How many crimes does a Mafia Chieftain commit before he is finally convicted of a single one?

What has to occur for there to be a successful prosecution?

(Maybe Greta can tell us.)

Miscavige, and Hubbard before him, should have long ago been introduced to our Penal system.

Until the authorities succeed in penetrating and infiltrating this criminal organization using the same techniques that are used to discover and dismantle

and prosecute radical Jihadists, or until there is a fresh wave of defections from OSA who know where the "bodies are buried" all we can do is warn the public

that Scientology is a very toxic, very dangerous organization.

People with money and political connections need to do the right thing,

And the Department of State along with the Department of Justice need to wake up and begin to fulfill their governmental mandate.

Protecting religious freedom and the prosecution of crimes and human rights abuses committed in the name of religion are not mutually exclusive endeavors

however much Scientology and its high-priced lawyers like to muddy this issue.
 

Veda

Sponsor
A casual observer who comes across the Creed, or the Aims of Scientology might easily conclude that Scientology is a religion.

:) Yes, "The Creed of the Church of Scientology" is and has always been a wall decoration.

We, who know better, understand that Scientology's behavior over the past half century has too often been criminal and not religious.

A cult apologist - or for that matter an ardent atheist - would insist that being criminal does not exclude being religious.

Scientology's "religiosity" - "real" or otherwise - is window dressing. It's a mask worn to deceive.

Scientology is a commercial enterprise and a system of psychology. It is also several other things, none of them particularly religious.

But it does, when in situations where that serves its purposes, wear a religious mask.

Whether or not one considers it a religion (and I do not) is immaterial to the fact that it has policies and doctrines that call for the deprivation of others rights,

and even their lives.

Unfortunately, it's really not immaterial, and David Miscavige and his accountants and lawyers know it.

Embedding the meme of "Scientology is a religion" is the number one priority for Scientology Inc.

And it's not an irrational obsession. They know what they're doing. They're not as dumb as they look.

And it has acted on these policies repeatedly and with impunity, exactly like the Mafia.

How many crimes does a Mafia Chieftain commit before he is finally convicted of a single one?

What has to occur for there to be a successful prosecution?

(Maybe Greta can tell us.)

Miscavige, and Hubbard before him, should have long ago been introduced to our Penal system.

Until the authorities succeed in penetrating and infiltrating this criminal organization using the same techniques that are used to discover and dismantle

and prosecute radical Jihadists, or until there is a fresh wave of defections from OSA who know where the "bodies are buried" all we can do is warn the public

that Scientology is a very toxic, very dangerous organization.

People with money and political connections need to do the right thing,

And the Department of State along with the Department of Justice need to wake up and begin to fulfill their governmental mandate.

Protecting religious freedom and the prosecution of crimes and human rights abuses committed in the name of religion are not mutually exclusive endeavors

however much Scientology and its high-priced lawyers like to muddy this issue.
 

Churchill

Gold Meritorious Patron
Unfortunately, the courts in the U.S. have fully recognized it as a religion, thanks to the I.R.S. capitulation.

Until, and if their 501c-3 status is revoked, and IIRC, that would only affect their "charitable" status, for tax purposes and they could still claim to be a religion.
i'm unaware of any agency of government that adjudicates what is and is not a religion.
 

Veda

Sponsor
Unfortunately, the courts in the U.S. have fully recognized it as a religion, thanks to the I.R.S. capitulation.

Until, and if their 501c-3 status is revoked, and IIRC, that would only affect their "charitable" status, for tax purposes and they could still claim to be a religion.
i'm unaware of any agency of government that adjudicates what is and is not a religion.

Well, I think most of us are aware of that. It's not so in every country.

Scientology Inc. is not regarded by the general public as a bone fide religious organization.

What Scientology Inc. has done with harassment and blackmail with the IRS, and with deception - and perhaps occasionally blackmail also - with the courts, it must do with propaganda and repetition with public opinion.

Scientology Inc. can do that on their own. They don't need our help.


______​


Jamie DeWolf, L. Ron Hubbard's great grandson, talks about the documentary 'Going Clear':

[video=youtube;Is0CkFtPSYw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is0CkFtPSYw[/video]



heldt.gif

Sleazy Scientology operative dressed as a minister, late 1970s.


___________​


What Jamie is saying echoes what Senator Nick Xenophon has said: that Scientology is not a religious institution but a criminal organization disguised as a religion.


________​


Excerpt from Religious cloaking - the Brennan legal declaration:

RELIGIOUS CLOAKING

7. Based on years of work in the senior most legal bodies of organized scientology as covered above I have dealt with directly or supervised the handling of hundreds of legal matters involving the organizations of scientology which directly or indirectly had to do with using religious cloaking...

8. It was determined that the only way to handle many of the legal matters in front of us and still apply Hubbard’s policies that had to do with staff, ethics, sales of services, money, delivery of services and the like was to develop and use a religious cloaking saying scientology was a religion, its services religious, its staff members of religious orders and the like. I can state without doubt that the overwhelming main reason that organized scientology developed and pushed its religious cloaking was to avoid a myriad of real or potential legal problems that would exist by following Hubbard’s policies if it were not considered a religion. By developing this religious cloaking for organized scientology it was hoped to avoid legal requirements around the world that might otherwise have to be followed that would make it impossible to follow Hubbard’s policies. In developing the religious cloaking for organized scientology, the following were considered a few of the “benefits” so that Hubbard policies could be applied. There are countless examples but the below are listed simply as a few of them:

(i) minimum wages would not have to be paid;

(ii) staff could be sent to different parts of the world and be able to stay locally as religious workers;

(iii) standard employee rights, such as those found in laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act, could be discarded and thus Hubbard policies involving such things as ethics conditions, the Rehabilitation Project Force and the like could be applied without outside interference;

(iv) less scrutiny would be allowed on the controls of the funds of scientology and the intermingling of funds between the corporations and other legal fictions of organized scientology;

(v) it was hoped that the treatment of public scientologists and the use of their funds would be considered outside the purview of governmental bodies;

(vi) couching the demand for and flow of monies within organized scientology using “religious” terms (such as by saying that clear cut mandatory payments for services were “fixed donations” and were mandated by the scripture of “exchange”) was hoped to cut off attempts by governments and others to look into them further...

11. Two of the things that organized scientology felt were of the most importance in order to avoid compliance with many laws that were contrary to Hubbard policy were the religious cloaking as covered above and a corporate restructuring to make it very difficult if not impossible for outsiders to ever get to the main assets of organized scientology and to ensure that the real leaders of organized scientology could be insulated from legal liability by hiding their real controls behind a myriad of corporate and other legal veils. It was considered both a defensive and offensive strategy to have such cloaking (religious and corporate) in place.

Defensively it makes it very difficult for individuals or even governments to force legal compliance of the many types of laws as covered above. It also makes it almost impossible to hold those that really control organized scientology responsible legally or to get to the financial assets of organized scientology spread out around the world. Offensively, it gives organized scientology a “safe base” from which to attack critics and/or anyone it feels is its enemy. Hiding behind religious cloaking and corporate veils it can act as a victim when people point out its crimes and injustices calling them “religious bigots”

271B8AE900000578-3015144-image-a-44_1427821159924.jpg

and even scaring governments, many of whom are not supposed to get involved with “religious matters”. By calling policies by Hubbard or Miscavige that are otherwise abusive or contrary to law “religious scripture” it was hoped to avoid legal scrutiny of same.


_________​


From L. Ron Hubbard's confidential Policy Letter, 'Battle Tactics' of 1969:

"The only safe public opinion to head for is they love us and are in a frenzy of hate against the enemy, that means standard wartime propaganda is what one is doing... Know the mores of your public opinion, what they hate. That's the enemy. What they love. That's you."


________

rfw-logo.png


freedom%20religion%20cover.jpg



_______​


From Hubbard Communication Office Policy Letter of October 1962, 'Religion':

"Scientology 1970 is being planned on a religious organization basis throughout the world. This will not upset in any way the usual activities of any organizations. It is entirely a matter for accountants and solicitors".


___________​


From Senator Nick Xenophon:

What we are seeing is a worldwide pattern of abuse and criminality... On the body of evidence, this is not happening by accident; it is happening by design.


_______​


In 1955, L. Ron Hubbard secretly authored this booklet http://www.forum.exscn.net/showthread.php?2697-Table-of-Contents-Psychopolitics-revisited to be used as a black propaganda vehicle for attacking his critics, by identifying them with Russian Communism. Some years later, the booklet slowly faded into obscurity. One reason for this booklet fading into obscurity was that Hubbard was now using many of its ideas and methods on his own followers, and on others. Hubbard had been doing this for many years prior, but it was now intensified. These ideas and methods are interwoven into Scientology doctrine, and integral to that doctrine.
Brainwashing-front.jpg


Senator Nick Xenophon continued:

Scientology is not a religious organisation. It is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs.


_______


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Cat's Squirrel

Gold Meritorious Patron
I think one of the problems in the way of accepting Scientology as a religion in the UK has been its refusal to behave charitably, in the way that the Sikh community, for example, serves vegetarian food to people who would otherwise go hungry. According to Scn. that would be "rewarding a downstat."
 
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