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[[Image:Scientology building east hollywood los angeles.jpg|200px|thumb|Scientology building in Los Angeles, California]]
[[Image:Scientology Building Hamburg.jpg|thumb|200px|Scientology organization in Hamburg, Germany]]
The '''Church of Scientology''' is the largest organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the [[Scientology]] [[Scientology beliefs and practices|belief system]]. The [[Church of Scientology International]] is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and propagation of Scientology.<ref> The Church of Scientology (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1) By J. Gordon Melton Publisher: Signature Books in cooperation with CESNUR published September 2000 ISBN 1560851392 "Since 1981, all of the churches and organizations of the church have been brought together under the Church of Scientology International. CSI provides a visible point of unity and guides the individual churches, especially in the area of applying Hubbard's teaching and technology in a uniform fashion."</ref><ref>"At the top of the ecclesiastical structure is the [[Church of Scientology International]] (CSI), the mother church for all Scientology. Located in Los Angeles, CSI provides overall direction, planning and guidance for the network of churches, missions, field auditors and volunteer ministers which comprise the Scientology hierarchy it spans, and ensures these various organizations are all working effectively together." What is Scientology? Published 1998 Bridge Publications ISBN 1573181226 http://www.whatisscientology.org</ref><ref>[http://www.rtc.org/intro/pg002.html description of the Scientology ecclesiastical structure on www.rtc.org]</ref> Every Church of Scientology is separately incorporated and has its own local board of directors and executives responsible for its own activities and well-being, both corporate and ecclesiastical.<ref>The Church of Scientology (Studies in Contemporary Religions, 1) By J. Gordon Melton Publisher: Signature Books in cooperation with CESNUR published September 2000 ISBN 1560851392 "The various missions, churches, and organizations, all autonomous corporations which fellowship with the larger movement, receive licenses to use the church's trademarks, service marks, and copyrights of Hubbard's published and unpublished works from RTC."</ref><ref>"Each church corporation is organized on a nonprofit basis with its own board of directors and executives responsible for its activities. What is Scientology? Published 1998 Bridge Publications ISBN 1573181226 http://www.whatisscientology.org</ref><ref>[http://www.rtc.org/religion/pg006.html description of the individual Scientology churches on www.rtc.org]</ref> The church has been the subject of much [[Scientology controversy|controversy]] and was convicted in 1979 of [[#Illegal activities|illegal activities]], including the largest theft of government documents in U.S. history.<ref>{{cite web | first = Tony | last = Ortega | title = Double Crossed | url = http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1999-12-23/news/double-crossed/full | work = [[Phoenix New Times]] | publisher = [[Village Voice Media]] | date = [[1999-12-23]] | accessdate = 2008-05-25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | first = Robert W. | last = Welkos | coauthors = Sappell, Joel | title = Burglaries and Lies Paved a Path to Prison | url = http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-scientologysidec062490,0,7034344.story | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = [[1990-06-24]] | accessdate = 2008-05-25 }}</ref>
==History==
The first Scientology church was established in December 1953 in [[Camden, New Jersey]] by American [[Science Fiction]] author<ref name="Blue Sky">{{cite book | last = Atack | first = Jon | authorlink = Jon Atack | year = 1990 | title = [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/atack/index.html A Piece of Blue Sky] | publisher = Carol Publishing Group | location = New York, NY|id = ISBN 0-8184-0499-X}}</ref><!--page 65--><ref name="Pulpateer">{{cite web|last=Hubbard |first=L. Ron |authorlink=L. Ron Hubbard|url=http://literary.lronhubbard.org/page29.htm |title=Pulpateer |publisher=Church of Scientology International |accessdate=2006-06-07 }}</ref> [[L. Ron Hubbard]], his wife [[Mary Sue Hubbard]], John Galusha and a few other early [[Dianetics|Dianeticists]],<ref>'Church of American Science' ([http://lisatrust.freewinds.cx/scientology/amscience1.htm incorporation papers]); 'Church of Scientology' ([http://www.lisamcpherson.org/scans/church_of_scientology_incorp_1953.pdf incorporation papers]); 'Church of Spiritual Engineering', ([http://www.lisamcpherson.org/scans/church_of_spiritual_engineering_incorp_1953.pdf incorporation papers]); [[18 December]] [[1953]]</ref> although the Hubbard Association of Scientologists International (HASI) had been operating already since 1952<ref>[http://www.lronhubbard.org/profile/chron7.htm Scientology Chronicle 1952-1955]</ref><ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,889564,00.html?internalid=ACA ''Remember Venus?''], [[Time (magazine)|Time]], [[22 December]] [[1952]]</ref> and Hubbard had been selling Scientology books and other items. Soon after, he explained the religious nature of Scientology in a bulletin to all Scientologists<ref> Hubbard, L. Ron (1954) Why Doctor of Divinity? ''Professional Auditor's Bulletin'' no. 32, 7 August 1954</ref>, stressing its relation to the [[Dharma (Buddhism)|Dharma]].

Hubbard's stated "Aims of Scientology" were to be "''A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.''"<ref>[http://www.scientology.org/wis/wiseng/eos/eos_1.htm "Aims of Scientology by L. Ron Hubbard" at official site]</ref>

Hubbard had official control of the organization until 1966 when this function was transferred to a group of executives.<ref>{{cite web | title = Meddling with Minds | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,838617,00.html | work = [[Time (magazine)|TIME Magazine]] | date = [[1968-08-23]] | accessdate = 2008-02-14 }}</ref> Though Hubbard maintained no formal relationship to Scientology's management he remained firmly in control of the organization and its affiliated organizations.<ref>{{cite news |first = John |last = Marshall |title = Hubbard still gave orders, records show |url = http://www.rickross.com/reference/scientology/canada/canada5.html |work = [[The Globe and Mail]] |date = [[1980-01-24]] |accessdate = 2006-09-14}} (archived at rickross.com)</ref>

In May 1987 [[David Miscavige]], one of Hubbard’s former personal assistants, assumed the position of Chairman of the Board of [[Religious Technology Center]] (RTC), a non-profit corporation that administers the trademarked names and symbols of Dianetics and Scientology. Although RTC is a separate corporation from the [[Church of Scientology International]], whose president and chief spokesperson is [[Heber Jentzsch]], Miscavige is the effective leader of the movement.<ref>{{cite news|
first=James|last=Tapper|
date=2008-01-07|
title=Diana author names Tom Cruise as 'World Number Two in Scientology'|
work=Daily Mail|
url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=506359&in_page_id=1773&ct=5|
accessdate=2008-02-25|
quote=Elliot Abelson, general counsel for the Church of Scientology, said ... 'The only person who runs the Church and makes policy decisions is David Miscavige.'}}</ref>

===Controversy===
{{main|Scientology controversy}}
Though it has attained some credibility as a religion,<ref name=postweird>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080201887.html Weird, Sure. A Cult, No.] Washington Post By Mark Oppenheimer, August 5, 2007</ref> the church has also been described as both a [[cult]] and a commercial enterprise.<ref name=timecult2>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972865-2,00.html The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power] TIME magazine, May. 06, 1991 By RICHARD BEHAR. The investigation paints a picture of a depraved yet thriving enterprise.</ref> Some of the Church's actions also brought scrutiny from the press and law enforcement. For example, it has been noted to engage in harassment and abuse of civil courts to silence its critics.<ref name="The Church's War">{{cite news |first = Richard |last = Leiby |author = Richard Leiby|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/06/AR2005070601351.html |title = Scientology Fiction: The Church's War Against Its Critics — and Truth |work = [[The Washington Post]] |page = C1 |date = [[1994-12-25]]| accessdate=2006-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Goodin | first=Dan | year=1999-06-03 | url = http://news.com.com/2100-1023-226676.html | title=Scientology subpoenas Worldnet | publisher=CNET News.com | accessdate=2006-05-04}}</ref>

====Church or business====
From 1952 until 1966, the Scientology was administered by an organization called the [[Hubbard Association of Scientologists]] (HAS), established in Arizona on [[10 September]] [[1952]]. In 1954, the HAS became the HASI (HAS International). The first Church of Scientology was incorporated on [[18 December]] [[1953]] in [[Camden, New Jersey]], along with two other incorporations by Hubbard at the same time—the Church of American Science and the Church of Spiritual Engineering.<ref>'Church of American Science' ([http://lisatrust.freewinds.cx/scientology/amscience1.htm incorporation papers]); 'Church of Scientology' ([http://www.lisamcpherson.org/scans/church_of_scientology_incorp_1953.pdf incorporation papers]); 'Church of Spiritual Engineering,' ([http://www.lisamcpherson.org/scans/church_of_spiritual_engineering_incorp_1953.pdf incorporation papers]); [[18 December]], [[1953]].</ref> The Church of Scientology was incorporated in California on [[18 February]] [[1954]], changing its name to "The Church of Scientology of California" (CSC) in 1956. In 1966, Hubbard transferred all HASI assets to CSC, thus gathering Scientology under one tax-exempt roof. In 1967, the IRS stripped all US-based Scientology entities of their tax exemption, declaring Scientology's activities were commercial and operated for the benefit of Hubbard. The church sued and lost repeatedly for 26 years trying to regain its tax-exempt status. The case was eventually settled in 1993, at which time the church paid $12.5 million to the IRS—greatly less than IRS had initially demanded—and the IRS recognized the church as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.<ref>"[[The Wall Street Journal]]. [[December 30]], [[1997]] [http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/essays/wj301297.html Reproduced] at Dave Touretzky's Carnegie Mellon site</ref>. In addition, Scientology also dropped more than fifty lawsuits against the IRS when this settlement was reached. Scientology cites its tax exemption as proof the [[United States]] government accepts it as a religion.<ref>"[http://www.bonafidescientology.org/Append/09/page00.htm Official Recognition of Scientology as a Religion]". "... the United States Internal Revenue Service in granting ''full religious recognition'' and tax exemption to all Churches of Scientology located in the United States ..."</ref> The U.S. State Department has criticized Western European nations for discrimination against Scientologists in its published annual International Religious Freedom report, based on the [[International Religious Freedom Act of 1998]].<ref> [http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/9001.pdf 2001 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom]</ref><ref>[http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/9001.pdf 2001 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom]</ref><ref>[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/ 2002 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom]</ref><ref> [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/ 2003 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom]</ref><ref> [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/ 2004 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom]</ref><ref>[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/ 2005 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom]</ref><ref> [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/ 2006 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom]</ref>

In some countries Scientology is treated legally as a commercial enterprise, and not as a religion or charitable organization. In early 2003, in [[Germany]], The Church of Scientology was granted a tax-exemption for the 10% license fees sent to the US. This exemption, however, is related to a German-American double-taxation agreement, and is unrelated to tax-exemption in the context of charities law. In several countries, public proselytizing undergoes the same restrictions as commercial advertising, which is interpreted as persecution by Scientology.

In [[Israel]], Scientology does not use "Church" as part of its name, possibly because of the Christian connotation of the term in Jewish culture.

Like many cults and unlike many well-established religious organizations, Scientology maintains strict control over its names, symbols, religious works and other writings. The word ''Scientology'' (and many [[List of trademarks owned by the Church of Scientology and its affiliates|related terms]], including ''L. Ron Hubbard'') is a registered [[trademark]]. Religious Technology Center, the owner of the trademarks and copyrights, takes a hard line on people and groups who attempt to use it in ways unaffiliated with the official Church (see [[Scientology and the legal system]]).

====Illegal activities====
{{main|Operation Snow White|Operation Freakout|Scientology controversies#Criminal behavior|Fair game (Scientology)}}
Under the Guardian's Office (now renamed the [[Office of Special Affairs]] or OSA), Church members organized and committed the largest penetration of United States federal agencies by an organization not affiliated with a foreign government, such as the [[KGB]]. This was known as [[Operation Snow White]]. In the trial which followed discovery of these activities the prosecution described their actions thus:
{{quotation|The crime committed by these defendants is of a breadth and scope previously unheard of. No building, office, desk, or file was safe from their snooping and prying. No individual or organization was free from their despicable conspiratorial minds. The tools of their trade were miniature transmitters, lock picks, secret codes, forged credentials and any other device they found necessary to carry out their conspiratorial schemes.<ref name=lawhite>[http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-scientologysidec062490,0,7034344.story Burglaries and Lies Paved a Path to Prison] The LA Times, By Robert W. Welkos and Joel Sappell, June 24, 1990</ref>}}

The Church has also in the past made use of aggressive tactics in addressing those it sees as trying to suppress them, known as [[Suppressive Person]]s (SPs) first outlined by L. Ron Hubbard as part of a policy called [[Fair game (Scientology)|fair game]]. It was under this policy that [[Paulette Cooper]] was targeted for having authored ''[[The Scandal of Scientology]]'', a 1970 exposé book about the Church and its founder. This action was known as [[Operation Freakout]]. Using blank paper known to have been handled by Cooper, Scientologists forged bomb threats in her name.<ref name=lawhite/> When fingerprints on them matched hers, the Justice Department began prosecution, which could have sent Cooper to prison for a lengthy term. The Church's plan was discovered at the same time as its Operation Snow White actions were revealed. All charges against Cooper were dismissed, though she had spent more than $20,000 on legal fees for her defense.<ref name=lawhite/>

Of these activities the current Church laments:{{cquote|...how long a time is the church going to have to continue to pay the price for what the (Guardian Office) did. ... Unfortunately, the church continues to be confronted with it. And the ironic thing is that the people being confronted with it are the people who wiped it out. And to the church, that's a very frustrating thing.<ref name=lawhite/>}} Yet it has continued to aggressively target people it deems suppressive as recently as 2006 when [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] journalist [[John Sweeney (journalist)|John Sweeney]] was making [[Scientology and Me]], an investigative report about the Church and was the subject of harassment:{{cquote|In LA, the moment our hire car left the airport we realised we were being followed by two cars. In our hotel a weird stranger spent every breakfast listening to us.<ref name=Sweeney>{{cite web | first = John | last = Sweeney | title = Row over Scientology video | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6650545.stm | work = | publisher = [[BBC News]] | date = [[2007-05-14]] | accessdate = 2007-11-14 }}</ref>}}

====Members' health and safety====
{{main|Lisa McPherson|Elli Perkins}}
The death of some Scientologists has brought attention to the Church both due to the circumstances of their demise and their relationship with Scientology possibly being a factor.<ref name=timecult1>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972865-1,00.html The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power] TIME magazine, May. 06, 1991 By RICHARD BEHAR. By all appearances, Noah Lottick of Kingston, Pa., had been a normal, happy 24-year-old who was looking for his place in the world... his fingers were still clutching $171 in cash, virtually the only money he hadn't yet turned over to the Church of Scientology, the self-help "philosophy" group he had discovered just seven months earlier.</ref> In 1995, Lisa McPherson was involved in a minor automobile accident while driving on a [[Clearwater, Florida]] street. Following the collision, she exited her vehicle, stripped naked and showed further signs of mental instability. Representatives from the Church, acting as her guardian, had her discharged from the state's mental treatment facility against medical advice. They performed a Church sanctioned treatment called [[Introspection Rundown]]. When she later died, the state of Florida pursued criminal charges against the Church<ref name=nytflchgscos>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E7D81231F937A25752C1A96E958260 Florida Charges Scientology In Church Member's Death] The New York Times, By DOUGLAS FRANTZ Published: November 14, 1998</ref> which attracted press coverage and sparked lawsuits. Eight years later, Elli Perkins, another adherent to Scientology's beliefs regarding [[psychiatry]] was stabbed to death by her mentally disturbed son. Though he had begun to show symptoms of [[schizophrenia]] as early as 2001, the Perkins family chose not to seek psychiatric help and opted instead for remedies sanctioned by Scientology. Her death at the hands of a disturbed family member whose disease could have been treated by the methods and medications banned by Scientology again raised questions in the media about its methods.<ref name="nypost">{{cite news
| last = Stasi
| first = Linda
| coauthors =
| title = Scientology Schizo: His Mom's Religion Said, No Meds. That Edict May Have Cost Her Life
| work = [[New York Post]]
| pages =
| language =
| publisher =
| date = [[October 27]], [[2006]]
| url = http://www.nypost.com/seven/10272006/tv/scientology_schizo_tv_linda_stasi.htm
| accessdate = 2007-03-23}}
</ref>

In addition, the Church has been implicated in kidnapping members whom have recently left the church. Martine Boublil, was recently kidnapped and held for several weeks against her will in Sardinia by four Scientologists. She was found on the 22nd of January 2008, clothed only in a shirt. The room she was imprisoned in contained refuse and an insect infested mattress.<ref>http://www.adetocqueville.com/200803011247.m21clmx06964.htm</ref><ref>[http://www.leparisien.fr/home/info/faitsdivers/articles/L-ETRANGE-SEQUESTRATION-QUI-EMBARRASSE-LA-SCIENTOLOGIE_296097555 L'étrange séquestration qui embarrasse la Scientologie - Faits Divers - leParisien.fr<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

On Friday the 28th of March 2008, Kaja Bordevich Ballo, daughter of [[Olav Gunnar Ballo]], Norwegian parliament member and vice president of the Norwegian [[Odelsting#Qualified_unicameralism|Odelsting]], took a Church of Scientology [[Oxford Capacity Analysis|personality test]] while studying in [[Nice]]. Her friends and co-inhabitants claim she was in good spirits and showed no signs of a mental break down, the report from the Church of Scientology said she was "depressed, irresponsible, hyper-critical and lacking in harmony". A few hours later she committed suicide by jumping from her balcony at her dorm room leaving a note telling her family she was sorry for not "being good for anything". The incident has brought forward heavy criticism against the Church of Scientology from friends, family and prominent Norwegian politicians.<ref name=dgbtkbb>[http://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/2008/04/15/532571.html «Ville vært i live i dag hvis hun ikke hadde gått til scientologene» - Innenriks - Dagbladet.no<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Inga Marte Thorkildsen]], parliament member, went as far as to say "Everything points to the scientology cult having played a direct role in making Kaja choose to take her own life".<ref name=dgbtkbb/>

===Celebrities===
{{seealso|Scientology and celebrities|List of Scientologists}}
In order to facilitate the continued expansion of Scientology, the Church has made efforts to win allies in the form of powerful or respected people.<ref name=laceleb>Joel Sappell and Robert W. Welkos, Times Staff Writers, [http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-scientology062790a,0,3614832.story Courting the Power Brokers] The Los Angeles Times, June 27, 1990</ref>

==Churches, missions and major Scientology centers==
[[Image:CoSmap.png|thumb|Locations of major Scientology centers<br />1. Saint Hill Manor 2. Flag Land Base 3. PAC Base 4. Gold Base 5. Trementina Base 6. Flag ship, ''Freewinds'']]

Scientology organizations and [[Scientology Missions International|missions]] exist in many communities around the world.<ref>[http://www.smi.org Scientology Missions International Homepage]</ref> Scientologists call their larger centers ''orgs'', short for "organizations." The major Scientology organization of a region is known as a central org. The legal address of the Church of Scientology International is in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], 6331 Hollywood Blvd, in the Hollywood Guaranty Building. The Church of Scientology also has several major headquarters, including:

===Saint Hill, Sussex, England===
{{main|Saint Hill Manor}}
L. Ron Hubbard moved to [[England]] shortly after founding [[Scientology]], where he oversaw the worldwide development of Scientology from an office in [[London]] for most of the 1950s. In 1959, he bought [[Saint Hill]] Manor near the [[Sussex]] town of [[East Grinstead]], a Georgian manor house formerly owned by the [[Maharajah]] of [[Jaipur]]. This became the worldwide headquarters of Scientology through the 1960s and 1970s. Hubbard declared Saint Hill to be the organization by which all other organizations would be measured, and he issued a general order (still followed today) for all organizations around the world to expand and reach "Saint Hill size". The Church of Scientology has announced that the next two levels of [[Scientology beliefs and practices|Scientology teaching]], ''OT 9'' and ''OT 10'', will be released and made available to church members when all the major orgs in the world have reached Saint Hill size.

===Flag Land Base, Fort Harrison Hotel, Clearwater, Florida===

{{main|Fort Harrison Hotel}}

The "worldwide spiritual headquarters" of the Church of Scientology is known as "Flag Land Base," located in [[Clearwater, Florida]]. It is operated by the [[Floridian]] [[corporation]] [[Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, Inc.]].

The organization was founded in the late 1970s when an anonymous Scientology-founded group called "Southern Land Development and Leasing Corp" purchased the [[Fort Harrison Hotel]] for $2.3 million. Because the reported tenant was the "United Churches of Florida" the citizens and City Council of Clearwater did not realize that the building's owners were actually the Church of Scientology until after the building's purchase.<ref>[http://www.holysmoke.org/cos/tax-battles.htm CoS/Clearwater timeline, 1975-78]</ref> Clearwater citizens' groups, headed by Mayor [[Gabriel Cazares]], rallied strongly against Scientology establishing a base in the city (repeatedly referring to the organization as a cult), but Flag Base was established nonetheless.<ref name="sppulitzer>{{cite news | author = Charles L. Stafford | coauthors = Bette Orsini | title = Scientology: An in-depth profile of a new force in Clearwater | url = http://www.antisectes.net/sp-times-scientology-special-report-pulitzer-price.pdf | format = PDF, 905K | publisher = [[St. Petersburg Times]] | date = [[1980-01-09]]}} [http://sptimes.com/2006/webspecials06/scientology/Scientology_Special_Report.pdf Original (18M)]</ref>

In the years since its foundation, Flag Base has expanded as the Church of Scientology has gradually purchased large amounts of additional property in the downtown and waterfront Clearwater area. Scientology's relationship with the city government has repeatedly moved between friendly and hostile. At the same time, it opposed the local ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'' and protested actions of the Clearwater police department. Scientology's largest project in Clearwater has been the construction of a high-rise complex called the "[[Super Power Building]]," an enormous structure whose highest point, when completed, will be a Scientology cross that will tower over the city.

===PAC Base, Hollywood, California===

[[Los Angeles, California]] has the largest concentration of Scientologists and Scientology-related enterprises in the world. Scientology has established a highly visible presence in the Hollywood district of the city. The organization owns a large complex on Fountain Avenue which was formerly Cedars of Lebanon hospital. It contains Scientology's West Coast headquarters, "Pacific Area Command Base," often referred to as "PAC Base". Adjacent buildings include headquarters of many of Scientology's internal divisions, including the "American Saint Hill Organization", the "Advanced Organization of Los Angeles" and the "Church of Scientology of Los Angeles", founded [[February 18]], [[1954]]. All these organizations are integrated within the corporation [[Church of Scientology Western United States]]. Also in this area are the offices of [[Bridge Publications (Scientology)|Bridge Publications]], Scientology's publishing arm for the United States and Canada.

The Church of Scientology successfully campaigned to have the city of Los Angeles rename one block of a street running through this complex "L. Ron Hubbard Way." The street has been paved in brick.

Also in Hollywood is Scientology's main [[Celebrity Centre]], which caters to arts professionals. On Hollywood Boulevard a multi-story building houses the executive offices of the [[Church of Scientology International]] and an open-to-the-public exhibition devoted to the life of [[L. Ron Hubbard]]. Also in the area are the headquarters of Author Services, Inc. (Hubbard's Literary agency), the [[Association for Better Living and Education]] (ABLE), which administers social programs based on Hubbard's writings, (including [[Narconon]] and [[Applied Scholastics]]), the [[World Institute of Scientology Enterprises]] (WISE), which promotes Hubbard's business management techniques and facilitates a network of Scientology-related businesses, and the [[Citizens Commission on Human Rights]], a Scientology-affiliated group that focuses on alleged abuses of psychiatry, and includes a "[[Psychiatry: An Industry of Death]]" museum.

Today, the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles is one of the largest Scientology facilities of its kind in the world. Executives-in-training from every international Scientology organization now apprentice at the LA church before assuming their executive positions.

===Gold Base, Gilman Hot Springs, California===
{{main|Gold Base}}
The headquarters of the [[Religious Technology Center]], the entity that oversees Scientology operations worldwide, are located near Gilman Hot Springs, north of [[Hemet, California]].<ref>[http://www.clambake.org/archive/so/1stprince.html Jesse Prince Affidavit] at [[Operation Clambake]]</ref> The facility, known as [[Gold Base]] or "Int", is owned by [[Golden Era Productions]] and is the home of Scientology's media production studio, Golden Era Studios. Several Scientology executives, including David Miscavige, live and work at the base.<ref name="latimes">[http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-scientology18dec18,0,2963052.story "Tom Cruise and Scientology"], Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2005: "voter registration records list the Gilman Hot Springs complex as Miscavige's residence since the early 1990s and as recently as the 2004 general election"</ref>

The facilities at Gold Base have been toured by journalists several times. They are surrounded by floodlights and video observation cameras,<ref name="latimes"/><ref name="stone">"[http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/9363363/inside_scientology Inside Scientology]" by Janet Reitman. [[Rolling Stone]], Issue 995. March 9, 2006. Pages 55 - 67.</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Thomas C | last = Tobin | title = A place called 'Gold' | url = http://www.sptimes.com/TampaBay/102598/scientologygold.html | publisher = [[St. Petersburg Times]] | date = [[1998-10-25]] | accessdate = 2007-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.latimes.com/media/acrobat/2005-12/21006726.pdf |format = [[PDF]]|title = Scientology's inland empire |accessdate = 2007-08-25 |last = Perry |first = Rebecca | coauthors = Kelsen, Don|date = [[2005-12-17]]|work = [[Los Angeles Times]]|publisher = }}</ref> and the compound is protected by razor wire.<ref name="laweekly">{{cite news | first = Gale | last = holland | title = Unfair Game | url = http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/unfair-game/4713/ | publisher = [[LA Weekly]] | date = [[2001-06-20]] | accessdate = 2008-02-24}}</ref>
Gold Base also has recreational facilities, including basketball, volleyball, and soccer facilities, an exercise building, a waterslide, a small lake with two beaches, and a golf course.<ref>{{cite web | first = Claire | last = Hoffman | coauthors = Christensen, Kim | title = Tom Cruise and Scientology | url = http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-scientology18dec18,0,2963052.story | work = | publisher = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = [[2005-12-18]] | accessdate = 2008-01-24 }}</ref>

===Trementina Base===
{{main|Trementina Base}}

The Church of Scientology maintains a large base on the outskirts of [[Trementina, New Mexico]] for the purpose of storing their archiving project: engraving [[Scientology]] founder [[L. Ron Hubbard]]'s writings on stainless steel tablets and encasing them in titanium capsules underground.<ref>[http://www.holysmoke.org/cos/trementina-vault3.htm 1994 article on N Mexico vault]</ref> An aerial photograph showing the base's enormous [[Church of Spiritual Technology]] symbols on the ground caused media interest and a local TV station broke the story in [[November 2005]]. According to a [[Washington Post]] report, the organization unsuccessfully attempted to coerce the station not to air the story.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/26/AR2005112601065_pf.html ''A Place in the Desert for New Mexico's Most Exclusive Circles,'' By Richard Leiby Washington Post Staff Writer Date: Sunday, November 27, 2005]</ref>

===Flag ship, Freewinds===
{{main|Freewinds}}

The [[cruise ship]] ''Freewinds'' is the only place the current highest level of Scientology training ([[OT VIII]]) is offered. It cruises the Caribbean Sea, under the auspices of the Flag Ship Service Organization. The Freewinds is also used for other courses and auditing for those willing to spend extra money to get services on the ship.

===Other locations===
The Church of Scientology is continuing to expand, in 2007 a church opened in "The Winter Strawberry Capital of the World", Plant City, Florida.<ref>[http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/20/Southpinellas/Scientology_superstar.shtml St. Petersburg Times, Southpinellas: Scientology superstar draws crowds at opening]</ref> and purchased the former site of the Saint Samuel Church of God in [[Harlem, New York]] for $10,200,000. <ref>[http://www.nyobserver.com/2007/church-scientology-buys-more-property-125th-street The New York Observer, 6 August 2007]</ref> Smaller Scientology centers can be found worldwide, some examples are included below:
<center><gallery>
Image:ScientologyCenterofHollywood.jpg|Church of Scientology in [[Hollywood]]
Image:ScientologyShopTottenhamCourtRd.jpg|Scientology Centre on [[Tottenham Court Road]] in [[London]] as it looked in 2004
Image:Church of Scientology of Hamburg.jpg|Church of Scientology of [[Hamburg]]
Image:TorontoOrg04202007.JPG|Church of Scientology of [[Toronto]]
</gallery></center>

==Sea Org==
{{main|Sea Org}}
The ''Sea Organization'' (often shortened to "Sea Org") was founded in 1967 by [[L. Ron Hubbard]], as he embarked on a series of voyages around the [[Mediterranean Sea]] in a small fleet of Scientology-crewed cruise ships. Hubbard—formerly a [[lieutenant]] junior grade in the US Navy—bestowed the rank of "Commodore" of the vessels upon himself. The crew who accompanied him on these voyages became the foundation of the Sea Org.

"Orgs", such as "Los Angeles Org", are semi-autonomous organizations which staff themselves as they see fit. The Sea Org is a more dedicated, more elite group within Scientology which exclusively staffs the higher Orgs. The Advanced Organization of Los Angeles, for example, is staffed by Sea Org members. While every Org enforces rules and administers disciplinary procedures within its own portion of the larger organization which is the CoS, Sea Org members hold the highest jobs. The Sea Org is frequently characterized as the "elite" of Scientology, both in terms of power within the organization and dedication to the cause. Scientologists seeking to advance within the organization are encouraged to join the Sea Org, which involves devoting their full time to Scientology projects in exchange for meals, berthing and a nominal honorarium. Members sign a contract pledging their loyalty to Scientology for "the next billion years," committing their future lifetimes to the Sea Org. The Sea Org's motto is "Revenimus" (or "We Come Back").

Disciplinary procedures and policies within the Sea Org have been [[Scientology controversy|a focus of critics]] who argue that Scientology is an abusive cult. During the original Sea Org's Mediterranean tour, Hubbard applied a variety of physical punishments, including the practice of "overboarding," or throwing offenders over the side of the ship. Former Sea Org members have stated that punishments in the late 1960s and early 1970s included confinement in hazardous conditions such as the ship's chain locker.<ref>Wakefield, Margery. ''Understanding Scientology'', Chapter 9. [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/wakefield/us-09.html Reproduced] at [[David S. Touretzky]]'s [[Carnegie Mellon]] site.</ref> The [[Rehabilitation Project Force]] or RPF was established in 1974 to provide a "second chance" to Sea Org members whose offenses against Church rules were such that they would otherwise have been expelled from membership. RPF members are paired up and help one another for five hours each day with spiritual counseling to resolve the issues for which they were assigned to the program. The also spend 8 hours per day doing physical labor that will benefit the Church facility where they are located. On verification of their having completed the program they are then given a Sea Org job again. <ref> [http://www.cesnur.org/2002/scient_rpf_02.htm The Church of Scientology’s Rehabilitation Project Force A Study by Juha Pentikäinen (Chair of the Department of the Study of Religions, University of Helsinki, Finland), Jurgen F.K. Redhardt, and Michael York (Bath Spa University College)]</ref>

==Volunteer Ministers==
{{main|Volunteer Ministers}}
The Church of Scientology began its "[[Volunteer Ministers]]" program as a way to participate in community outreach projects. Over the past several years, it has become a common practice for Volunteer Ministers to travel to the scenes of major disasters in order to provide assistance with relief efforts. According to critics, these relief efforts consist of passing out copies of a pamphlet authored by L. Ron Hubbard entitled ''[[The Way to Happiness]]'', and engaging in a method said to calm panicked or injured individuals known in Scientology as a "[[touch assist]]."

==Religious Technology Center (RTC)==
{{main|Religious Technology Center}}
Around 1982 all of the Hubbard's [[intellectual property]] was transferred to a newly formed entity called the [[Church of Spiritual Technology]] (CST) and then licensed to the ''[[Religious Technology Center]]'' (RTC) which, according to its own publicity, exists to safeguard and control the use of the Church of Scientology's copyrights and trademarks.

The RTC employs lawyers and has pursued individuals and groups who have legally attacked Scientology or who are deemed to be a legal threat to Scientology. This has included breakaway Scientologists who practice Scientology outside the central church and critics, as well as numerous government and media organizations. This has helped to maintain Scientology's reputation for litigiousness (see [[Scientology and the legal system]]).

==Missionary activities==
[[Image:E-meter red.jpg|thumb|A visitor to a Church of Scientology public information tent receives a demonstration of an E-meter]]
Members of the public entering a Scientology center or mission are offered a "free personality test" called the [[Oxford Capacity Analysis]] by Scientology literature. The test, despite its name and the claims of Scientology literature, has no connection to Oxford University or any other research body. Scientific research into three test results came to the conclusion that "we are forced to a position of skepticism about the test's status as a reliable psychometric device" and called its "scientific value," "negligible".<ref>The [[Foster Report]]. Chapter 5, "The Practices of Scientology;" section (a), "Recruitment;" pages 75-76. "... a systematic approach to answering the questions should yield systematic variations in the conclusions derived from an analysis of the test scores ... these two methods {{interp|for answering the questions of the test}} would be expected to produce different, if not complementary, profiles ... These variations in answering the questions did not seem to affect the Oxford Capacity Analysis as the three methods produced remarkably similar profiles ... when each of two diametrically opposed methods of response produces the same extreme deviant scores as the other and as a third "random" response style, we are forced to a position of scepticism about the test's status as a reliable psychometric device."</ref>

Further proselytization practices - commonly called "dissemination" of Scientology<ref>[http://www.whatisscientology.org/html/part06/chp20/pg0372-a.html Dissemination Division in Churches of Scientology]</ref> - include information booths, fliers and advertisement for free seminars, Sunday Services in regular newspapers and magazines, personal contacts<ref>[http://www.scientology-buffalo.org/en_US/calendar/index.html Dissemination by Churches of Scientology through "Field Staff Members"], "Field Staff Member: a Scientology parishioner who introduces others to Scientology through personal contact."]</ref><ref>[http://www.scientology.org/en_US/religion/catechism/pg042.html Official Scientology FAQ]: "There are thousands of Scientologists who work full time in churches and missions throughout the world as executives or administrative staff. There are also those who further the dissemination of Scientology on a one-to-one basis or through the dissemination of Scientology materials and books, those who hold jobs in the Church’s social reform groups and those who work in the Office of Special Affairs involved in community betterment or legal work. All of these provide rewarding careers as each forwards the expansion of Scientology and thereby makes it possible for more and more people to benefit from its technology."</ref> and sales of books<ref>[http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/melton/page01.htm "A Short Study of the Scientology Religion," by J. Gordon Melton]: " The Church regularly propagates its beliefs through the traditional channels of liturgy, dissemination of its religious publications and in its community programs."</ref>

==Legal waivers==
Recent legal actions involving Scientology's relationship with its members (see [[Scientology controversy]]) have caused the organization to publish extensive legal documents that cover the rights granted to followers. It has become standard practice within the organization for members to sign lengthy legal contracts and waivers before engaging in Scientology services, a practice that contrasts greatly with almost every mainstream religious organization. In 2003, a series of media reports examined the legal contracts required by Scientology, which state, among other things, that followers deny any psychiatric care their doctors may prescribe to them.<ref>[http://www.xs4all.nl/~jeta/scn/scans/Introspection-Release.html Reproduced version] of Introspection Rundown Release Contract</ref>

<blockquote>I do not believe in or subscribe to psychiatric labels for individuals. It is my strongly held religious belief that all mental problems are spiritual in nature and that there is no such thing as a mentally incompetent person — only those suffering from spiritual upset of one kind or another dramatized by an individual. I reject all psychiatric labels and intend for this Contract to clearly memorialize my desire to be helped exclusively through religious, spiritual means and not through any form of psychiatric treatment, specifically including involuntary commitment based on so-called lack of competence. Under no circumstances, at any time, do I wish to be denied my right to care from members of my religion to the exclusion of psychiatric care or psychiatric directed care, regardless of what any psychiatrist, medical person, designated member of the state or family member may assert supposedly on my behalf.</blockquote>
{{see also|Introspection Rundown}}

==Government opinion of Scientology==

{{main|Scientology as a state-recognized religion}}

===United States===

In 1979 Hubbard's wife, [[Mary Sue Hubbard]], along with ten other highly placed Scientology executives were convicted in [[United States]] federal court regarding [[Operation Snow White]], and served time in an American federal prison. Operation Snow White involved infiltration, wiretapping and theft of documents in government offices, most notably those of the United States [[Internal Revenue Service]] (IRS).

In 1993, however, the United States IRS recognized Scientology as a "non-profit charitable organization," and gave it the same legal protections and favorable tax treatment extended to other non-profit charitable organizations.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/51783695.html?dids=51783695:51783695&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Oct+24%2C+1993&author=DAVID+DAHL&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=1.A&desc=IRS+examined+Scientology+dollars%2C+not+dogma&pf=1 |title = IRS examined Scientology dollars, not dogma |accessdate = 2007-08-04 |last = Dahl |first = David |date = [[1993-10-24]] |work = [[St. Petersburg Times]]}}</ref> A ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' article says that Scientologists paid private investigators to obtain compromising material on the IRS commissioner and blackmailed the IRS into submission.<ref>{{cite web | first = Douglas | last = Frantz | title = Scientology's Puzzling Journey From Tax Rebel to Tax Exempt | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E7DE1639F93AA35750C0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | work = | publisher = [[New York Times]] | date = [[1997-03-09]] | accessdate = 2008-01-20 }}</ref> Six levels of indents down in the eventually leaked "closing agreement," the IRS is contractually required to discriminate in their treatment of Scientology to the exclusion of all other groups.<ref>[http://www.xenu.net/archive/IRS/ Closing agreement between Scientology and IRS] as reproduced at [[Operation Clambake]]</ref>

<blockquote>"The following actions will be considered to be a material breach by the Service: ... The issuance of a Regulation, Revenue Ruling or other pronouncement of general applicability providing that fixed donations to a religious organization other than a church of Scientology are fully deductible unless the Service has issued previously or issues contemporaneously a similar pronouncement that provides for consistent and uniform principles for determining the deductibility of fixed donations for all churches including the Church of Scientology".</blockquote>

In a 2001 legal case involving a married couple attempting to obtain the same deduction for charity to a Jewish school, it was stated by Judge Silverman:<ref>Judge Barry Silverman [http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/27B565D1754D4E5E88256B50005F20CE/$file/0070753.pdf?openelement ''MICHAEL SKLAR; MARLA SKLAR v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL No. 00-70753''] ([[PDF]] format) United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Argued and Submitted September 7, 2001, Pasadena, California, Filed January 29, 2002.</ref>

<blockquote>"An IRS closing agreement cannot overrule Congress and the Supreme Court. If the IRS does, in fact, give preferential treatment to members of the Church of Scientology—allowing them a special right to claim deductions that are contrary to law and rightly disallowed to everybody else—then the proper course of action is a lawsuit to put a stop to ''that'' policy."</blockquote>

To date (2008) such a suit is not known to have been filed. In further appeal in 2006, the US Tax Court again rejected couple's deduction, stating "We conclude that the agreement reached between the Internal Revenue Service and the Church of Scientology in 1993 does not affect the result in this case."<ref>[http://www.ustaxcourt.gov/InOpHistoric/Sk2lar.TC.WPD.pdf UNITED STATES TAX COURT, MICHAEL AND MARLA SKLAR, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE], Respondent. Docket No. 395-01. Filed December 21, 2005.</ref>

However, this matter is still ongoing. On February 8, 2008, three judges in the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals "expressed deep skepticism" over the IRS's preferential treatment of Scientology.<ref>{{cite news | last =Gerstein | first =Josh | coauthors = | title =Judges Press IRS on Church Tax Break | work =[[The New York Sun]] | pages = | language = | publisher =The New York Sun, One SL, LLC. | date =[[February 8]], [[2008]] | url =http://www.nysun.com/article/70957 | accessdate = 2008-02-08 }}</ref>

===Australia===
{{main|Scientology in Australia}}

In the 1960s Scientology was banned in three states in Australia as a result of the [[Anderson Report]] published in 1965. Specific legislation was made to counter it in South Australia. However, legislated bans in all three States was either repealed <ref>[http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubLawToday.nsf/95c43dd4eac71a68ca256dde00056e7b/1F235F8E2A661A4BCA256E5B00037E28/$FILE/87-60a011.pdf Microsoft Word - 87-60a.011<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> <ref>[http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/statutes/swans.nsf/PDFbyName/226A3ED741613520482565D70018F4F8?OpenDocument The Statutes of Western Australia</ref> or emended <ref>[http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/Catalog/legislation/Acts/p/1974.37.htm]{{Dead link|date=March 2008}}</ref> to remove references to Scientology during the 1970s and there is currently no legal restriction in Australia on the practice of Scientology.

The High Court of Australia dealt with the question whether Scientology is a religion for payroll tax purposes. They unanimously found that it was.<ref>(The Church of the New Faith v. The Commissioner for Payroll Tax, Australian Law Journal Reports 57 [1983]: p785)[http://www.austlii.edu.au//cgi-bin/disp.pl/au/cases/cth/HCA/1983/40.html?query=Church%20of%20the%20New%20Faith%20v%20Commissioner%20of%20Pay-Roll]</ref>

===Europe===
====Belgium====
In September 2007, a Belgian prosecutor announced that they had finished an investigation of Scientology and said they would probably bring charges. The church said the prosecutor's public announcement falsely suggested guilt even before a court could hear any of the charges. An administrative court has yet to decide whether to press charges against the Scientologists.<ref>{{cite web | first = Alastair | last = Dalton | title = Scientology branded a 'criminal organisation' and may face charges | url = http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1413222007 | work = | publisher = [[The Scotsman]] | date = [[2007-09-05]] | accessdate = 2008-01-20 }}</ref>

====Republic of Ireland====
As in most European countries, the Church of Scientology is not officially recognized in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] as a charitable organization, but it is free to promote Scientology beliefs.<ref>Tom Lyons: [http://www.independent.ie/national-news/troubled-scientology-church-in-ireland-is-now-1m-in-red-95169.html Troubled Scientology Church in Ireland is now €1m in red], ''[[The Irish Independent]]'', 28 June 2006</ref> In the early part of 2008, the Irish government did not invite the Church of Scientology to national discussions on secularization by the Religious Council of Ireland. The meetings were attended by Catholic bishops, representatives of the Church of Ireland, Ireland's [[Chief Rabbi]], and Muslim leaders.<ref>http://www.independent.ie/national-news/scientologists-protest-at-ahern-talks-snub-1324944.html</ref>

====France====
In [[France]], a parliamentary report classified Scientology as a dangerous cult.<ref>[http://www.miviludes.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Report_Miviludes_2006.pdf MIVILUDES 2006 report (PDF)]</ref> In the [[United Kingdom]], [[Germany]] and [[Canada]], the organization is not regarded as meeting the legal standards for being considered a ''[[bona fide]]'' [[religion]] or [[Charitable organization|charity]].<ref>[http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Library/registration/pdfs/cosfulldoc.pdf Decision of the Charity Commissioners (PDF)]</ref>

====Germany====
In [[Germany]], official views of Scientology are particularly skeptical. In Germany it is seen as a totalitarian organization and is under observation by national security organizations due, among other reasons, to suspicion of violating the human rights of its members granted by the [[Grundgesetz|German Constitution]]<ref>[http://www.skeptictank.org/h-rights.htm Scientology Crime Syndicate -- Is This A Religion? By Stephen A. Kent]</ref>, including Hubbard's pessimistic view on [[democracy]] vis-à-vis psychiatry and other such features.<ref>{{cite web | title = Scientology and Germany: Understanding the German View of Scientology | publisher = German Embassy in Washington | date = 2001-06 | url = http://www.germany.info/relaunch/info/archives/background/scientology.html | accessdate = 2007-03-05 }}</ref> In December 2007, Germany's top security officials said that they considered the goals of Church of Scientology to be in conflict with the principles of the nation's constitution and would seek to ban the organization.<ref>{{cite web | title = Germany moves to ban Scientology | url = http://us.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/12/07/germany.scientology.ap/index.html | work = [[Associated Press]] | publisher = [[CNN]]| date = [[2007-12-07]] | accessdate = 2008-01-20 }}</ref>

The [[Federal Labor Court of Germany]] ruled in 2002 that Scientology staff were not employees per se but association members that do not work for profit but for idealistic goals and spiritual improvement. This reversed a 1995 ruling by the same court that stated an employer-employee relationship existed.<ref>[http://www.religion-online.info/archiv/newsletter-2002-03.html Religious Information Service REMID, Marburg/Germany, Issue of 11 December 2002]</ref>

====Spain====
On 31 October 2007, the National Court in Madrid issued a decision recognizing that the National Church of Scientology of Spain should be entered in the Registry of Religious Entities.
The administrative tribunal of Madrid's High Court ruled that a 2005 justice ministry decision to scrap the church from the register was "against the law." Responding to a petition filed by the church, the ruling said that no documents had been presented in court to demonstrate it was anything other than a religious entity.<ref>{{cite web | title = Spanish court rules Scientology can be listed as a religion | url = http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-V0Ui506lPl-r8ImubpdUjFbuYA | work = | publisher = [[Agence France-Presse|AFP]] | date = [[2007-11-01]] | accessdate = 2008-01-20 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | first = J. M. | last = Lázaro | title = La Audiencia Nacional reconoce a la Cienciología como iglesia | url = http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Audiencia/Nacional/reconoce/Cienciologia/iglesia/elpepusoc/20071101elpepisoc_8/Tes | work = | publisher = [[El País (Madrid)|El País]] | date = [[2007-11-01]] | accessdate = 2008-01-20 |language= Spanish}}</ref>

====Russia====
The [[European Court]] of Human Rights [[Church of Scientology Moscow versus Russia|ruled in April 2007]] that Russia's denial to register the Church of Scientology as a religious community was a violation of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of assembly and association) read in the light of Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion)".<ref>[http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=815108&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649 Judgment on Application no. 18147/02 by CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF MOSCOW against Russia] ([[2007-04-05]]). [http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=815107&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649 Court press release here]. Retrieved on [[2007-05-15]].</ref> In July 2007, the [[Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg]] City Court closed down that city's Scientology center for violating its charter.<ref>{{cite web | title = St. Petersburg court shuts down Scientology Center | url = http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=3328 | work = [[Interfax]] | date = [[2007-07-13]] | accessdate = 2008-05-25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Russian court shuts down Scientology center in St. Petersburg: prosecutors | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/12/europe/EU-GEN-Russia-Scientology.php | work = [[Associated Press]] | publisher = [[International Herald Tribune]] | date = [[2007-07-12]] | accessdate = 2008-05-25 }}</ref>

====United Kingdom====
Foreign Scientologists were banned from entering the United Kingdom between 1968 – 1980 but were allowed later on. In 1999 an application by Scientology for charitable status was rejected after the authorities decided its activities were not of general public benefit.<ref>[http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Library/registration/pdfs/cosfulldoc.pdf Decisions of the UK Charity Commission]</ref> In the United Kingdom the [[Charity Commission]] does not class Scientology as a religion on financial grounds.<ref>{{cite web | first = John | last = Sweeney | title = Row over Scientology video | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6650545.stm | work = | publisher = [[BBC News]] | date = [[2007-05-14]] | accessdate = 2008-01-20 }}</ref>

===Israel===
In Israel, according to Israeli professor of psychology Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, "in various organizational forms, Scientology has been active among Israelis for more than thirty years, but those in charge not only never claimed the religion label, but resisted any such suggestion or implication. It has always presented itself as a secular, self-improvement, tax-paying business."<ref name="Beit-Hallahmi" /> Those "organizational forms" include a Scientology Organization in [[Tel Aviv]]. Another Israeli Scientology group called "The Way to Happiness" (or "Association for Prosperity and Security in the Middle East") works through local Scientologist members to promote [[The Way to Happiness]].<ref>{{cite web | first = Moran | last = Rada | title = Scientology infiltrates summer camps | url = http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3409789,00.html | work = | publisher = [[Ynetnews]] | date = [[2007-06-07]] | accessdate = 2007-10-08 }}</ref> An Israeli [[CCHR]] chapter runs campaigns against perceived abuses in psychiatry<ref>[http://www.cchr.org.il/ CCHR Israel Homepage]</ref>. Other Scientology campaigns, such as "[[Youth for Human Rights International]]" are active as well.<ref>{{cite web | first = Tali | last = Heruti-Sover | title = Youth group supported by Scientology | url = http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3353985,00.html | work = | publisher = [[Ynetnews]] | date = [[2007-01-19]] | accessdate = 2007-10-08 }}</ref> There is also an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group that opposes Scientology and other religions in Israel<ref>[http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/irf/irf_rpt/1999/irf_israel99.html US State Department Report on International Religious Freedom, September 9, 1999] Quote: "Evangelical Christian and other religious groups also have complained that the police have been slow to investigate incidents of harassment, threats, and vandalism directed against their meetings, churches, and other facilities by two ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups, known as Yad L'achim and Lev L'achim."]</ref>, [[Lev L'Achim]], whose anti-missionary department in 2001 provided a hotline and other services to warn citizens of Scientology's "many types of front organizations".<ref>April 18, 2001. [http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com/archives5761/shemini/SMIlevlchm.htm Lev L'Achim Launches Campaign to Fight Scientology] by Moshe Schapiro</ref>

===Summary===

Early official reports in countries such as the [[United Kingdom]] (1971), [[South Africa]] (1972), [[Australia]] (1965) and [[New Zealand]] (1969) have yielded unfavorable observations and conclusions.<ref>{{cite paper | author = Sir John Foster | title = Enquiry into the Practice and Effects of Scientology | publisher = Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London | date = 1971-12 | url = http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/audit/fosthome.html | accessdate = 2007-03-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite paper | author = G. P. C. Kotzé | title = Report of the Commission of Enquiry into Scientology for 1972 | publisher = Republic of South Africa | date = 1972}}</ref><ref>{{cite paper | author = Kevin Victor Anderson | title = Report of the Board of Enquiry into Scientology | publisher = State of Victoria, Australia | date = 1965 | url = http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/audit/andrhome.html | accessdate = 2007-03-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite paper | author = Sir Guy Richardson Powles | title = The Commission of Inquiry into the Hubbard Scientology Organization in New Zealand | publisher = New Zealand | date = 1969 | url = http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/audit/nzhome.html | accessdate = 2007-03-05}}</ref>

While a number of governments now give the Church of Scientology protections and tax relief as an officially recognized religion,<ref>{{Cite paper | author=Hexham, Irving | title=The Religious Status of Scientology: Is Scientology a Religion? | publisher=University of Calgary | date=1978, rev. 1997 | url = http://www.ucalgary.ca/~nurelweb/papers/irving/scient.html | accessdate=2006-06-13 }}]</ref><ref name="South Africa religious recognition">[http://www.dispatch.co.za/2000/04/05/southafrica/HOMEAFFA.HTM Dispatch online - "New SA rights for Scientology"]</ref><ref name=CESNUR">{{Cite paper | author= Davis, Derek H. | title=The Church of Scientology: In Pursuit of Legal Recognition | publisher= CESNUR--Center for Studies on New Religions | date= July 2004 | url=http://www.cesnur.org/2004/waco_davis.htm | accessdate 2007-06-15}}</ref> other sources describe the Church as a [[pseudoreligion]] or a [[cult]].<ref name="Beit-Hallahmi">{{Cite paper | author=Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin | title=Scientology: Religion or racket? | publisher=Marburg Journal of Religion |date=September 2003 | format=PDF | url=http://web.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/pdf/2003/breit2003.pdf | accessdate=2007-02-13}} </ref> Sociologist Stephen Kent published at a Lutheran convention in Germany that he likes to call it a [[multinational corporation|transnational corporation]]<ref name="marburg">{{Cite paper | author= Kent, Stephen | title= Scientology -- Is this a Religion? | publisher=Marburg Journal of Religion | date=July 1999 | url=http://web.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/kent.html | accessdate=2006-08-26}} Kent, while acknowledging that a number of his colleagues accept Scientology as a religion, argues that "Rather than struggling over whether or not to label Scientology as a religion, I find it far more helpful to view it as a multifaceted transnational corporation, only ''one'' element of which is religious." (Italics in original.)</ref>. Sociology Professor James A. Beckford<ref>[http://neuereligion.de/ENG/Beckford/index.htm Expertise]</ref>, Professor for Religion Per-Arne Berglie <ref>[http://neuereligion.de/ENG/Berglie/index.htm Expertise]</ref>, Sociology Professor Alan W. Black <ref>[http://neuereligion.de/ENG/Black/index.htm Expertise]</ref>, Professor for Religion Juha Pentikainen<ref>[http://neuereligion.de/ENG/Pentikainen/main.htm Expertise]</ref> and several others<ref>[http://neuereligion.de/ENG/index.html Collection of Expertises on Scientology]</ref> generally found it to be a religious organization.

==Finances==
Scientologists are expected to attend classes, exercises or counseling sessions, for a set range of fees (or "fixed donations"). Charges for auditing and other church-related courses run from hundreds to thousands of dollars. A wide variety of entry-level courses, representing 8 to 16 hours study, cost under $100 (US). More advanced courses require membership in the [[International Association of Scientologists]] (IAS), have to be taken at higher level Orgs, and have higher fees.<ref>[http://www.scientology-asho.org/registration_donationrates.htm ASHO - Registration Donation Rates], American Saint Hill Organization.</ref> Membership without courses or auditing is possible, but the higher levels cannot be reached this way. In 1995, [[Operation Clambake]], a website critical of scientology, estimated the cost of reaching "OT 9 readiness", one of the highest levels, is US $365,000 – $380,000.<ref>[http://www.xenu.net/archive/CoS_prices.html Estimate of Scientology costs] at Operation Clambake</ref><ref>[http://www.xenu.net/archive/prices.html Updated prices for 2006] at Operation Clambake</ref>, assuming the most expensive route. Scientologists can choose to be audited by a fellow Scientologists rather than by a staff member.<ref>[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/01/14/080114fa_fact_goodyear "Château Scientology", The New Yorker, 14 January 2008]</ref>

Scientologists are frequently encouraged to become Professional Auditors as a way of earning their way up the Bridge. As a Field Auditor, auditors can receive commissions on people referred to Organizations and a 15% commission on completed services.<ref>[http://www.scientology-asho.org/AuditingAsACareer.htm Auditing as a Career], American Saint Hill Organization.</ref>

Critics say it is improper to fix a donation for religious service; therefore the activity is non-religious. Scientology points out many classes, exercises and counseling may also be traded for "in kind" or performed cooperatively by students for no cost, and members of its most devoted orders can make use of services without any donations bar that of their time. A central tenet of Scientology is its [[Doctrine of Exchange]], which dictates that each time a person receives something, he or she must give something back. By doing so, a Scientologist maintains "inflow" and "outflow", avoiding spiritual decline.<ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&court=US&case=/us/490/680.html ''Hernandez v. Commissioner'', U.S. Supreme Court]</ref>

==Membership statistics==

The International Association of Scientologists (IAS) maintains a list of Scientologists world-wide. However, not every active Scientologist is a member of the International Association of Scientologists. It is difficult to obtain reliable membership statistics for Scientology. The organization itself issues only vague figures (without breaking them down by region or country), and public [[census]]es have only recently included questions about religious affiliations though the [[United States Census Bureau]] states that it is not the source for information on religion[http://www.census.gov/prod/www/religion.htm].

Most recently, the German national magazine ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' reported about 8 million members worldwide, about 6000 of them in Germany, with only 150-200 members in Berlin.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,458616,00.html DER SPIEGEL ONLINE "The Church of Scientology was founded in 1954 in the US by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. It has around 8 million members worldwide, including several celebrities such as actors John Travolta and Tom Cruise. The organization has an estimated 6,000 members in Germany, but experts believe the church has only 150-200 members in Berlin."]</ref> In 1993, a spokesperson of Scientology Frankfurt had mentioned ''slightly more than 30,000 members'' nationwide.<ref>Interview with Barbara Lieser, SPIRITA 1/93, Page 22</ref>

The organization has said that it has anywhere from eight million to fifteen million members world-wide,<ref>Statement of Scientology Media Relations Director Linda Simmons Hight, May 11, 2002 [http://www.scientologytoday.org/News/2002/020511.htm]</ref><ref>Statement of Celebrity Centre Vice President Greg LaClaire, 7 August 2004 [http://www.scientology.org/en_US/news-media/news/2004/040807.html]</ref><ref>Spokesperson Beth Akiyama in: [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05205/542895.stm Scientology comes to town], Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 24, 2005</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=L. Ron Hubbard | title=Final Blackout | publisher=Leisure Books | year=1970 | id=ISBN 0-8439-0003-2| quote = HE IS ALSO renowned as the founder of Scientology and the creator of "Dianetics," with an estimated 15 million adherents around the world.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Jarvik | first = Elaine | title = Scientology: Church now claims more than 8 million members | publisher = Deseret Morning News | date = 2004-09-18 | url = http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595091823,00.html | accessdate = 2007-02-21 }}</ref> and has stated that Scientology is "the [[Fastest Growing Religion|fastest growing religion]] in the world."<ref>[http://www.scientology.org/wis/wiseng/27/27-works.htm "Scientology Works"] at official site</ref>. Derek Davis [http://www.spiritrestoration.org/Church/profile-prof-dr-derek-h-davis.htm] stated in 2004 that the Church organization has around 15 million members worldwide <ref>Religionsfreiheit und Konformismus. Über Minderheiten und die Macht der Mehrheit, Lit. Verlag, Münster, 2004, ISBN 3825876543, page 113</ref>. Religious scholar [[J. Gordon Melton]] has said that the church's estimates of its membership numbers are exaggerated.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595091823,00.html |title = Scientology: Church now claims more than 8 million members |accessdate = 2007-08-01 |last = Jarvik |first = Elaine |date = [[2004-09-18]] |work = [[Deseret News]] |quote= If the church indeed had 4 million members in the United States, he says, "they would be like the Lutherans and would show up on a national survey" such as the Harris poll.}}</ref>

The "Scientologists Online" website presents "over 16,000 Scientologists On-Line".<ref>on-line.scientology.org homepage, viewed February 2007</ref>

Statistics from other sources:

* In 1991, the [http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html National Survey of Religious Identification] reported 45,000 Scientology followers in the United States. This survey was submitted as evidence in the case "''Raul Lopez'' v. Church of Scientology Mission of Buenaventura" by the Church of Scientology's attorney, Gerald L. Chaleff.
* In 2001, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) reported that there were 55,000 adults in the United States who consider themselves Scientologists.<ref>[http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0922574.html Self-Described Religious Identification Among American Adults] at [[Infoplease]]</ref>
* The 2001 United Kingdom census contained a voluntary question on religion, to which approximately 48,000,000 chose to respond. Of those living in England and Wales who responded, a total of 1,781 said they were Scientologists.<ref name="lewis2004">{{cite journal | last = Lewis | first = James R. | title = New Religion Adherents: An Overview of Anglophone Census and Survey Data | journal = Marburg Journal of Religion | volume = 9 | issue = 1 |date=September 2004 | url = http://web.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/pdf/2004/lewis2004.pdf | accessdate = 2007-02-15 }}</ref>
* In 2001, Australia's national census recorded 2,032 Scientologists nationwide.<ref name="lewis2004" /> In 2006, it recorded 2,507. <ref>[http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22038951-2862,00.html Religion's rise in the stars], The Herald Sun, July 09, 2007</ref>
* In 2001, the Canadian national census reported a total of 1,525 Scientologists nationwide.<ref name="lewis2004" />
* In 2001, the New Zealand national census found 282 Scientologists nationwide.<ref name="lewis2004" />
* In 2005, the [[Verfassungsschutz|German Office for the Protection of the Constitution]] estimated a total of 5,000 – 6,000 Scientologists in that country, and mentioned a count of 12,000 according to Scientology Germany.<ref>[http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/download/SHOW/vsbericht_2005.pdf Verfassungsschutzbericht 2005], p. 292</ref>

==Scientology splinter groups==
{{main|Free Zone (Scientology)}}
The Church denies the legitimacy of any splinter groups and factions outside the official organization, and has actively sought out these "rogue" Scientologists and tried to prevent them from using officially trademarked Scientology materials. These independent Scientologists are known as [[Squirreling|squirrels]] within the Church, and are classified as [[suppressive person]]s ("SPs") — opponents or enemies of Scientology. Many groups refer to themselves under the [[umbrella organisation|umbrella]] term of "[[Free Zone (Scientology)|Free Zone]]".

==Affiliated organizations==
There are many independently-chartered organizations and groups which are staffed by Scientologists, and pay license fees for the use of Scientology technology and trademarks under the control of Scientology management. In some cases, these organizations do not publicize their affiliation with Scientology.<ref name="sydney"> {{cite web | url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/unwitting-highschoolers-lured-to-forum-run-by-scientologists/2007/03/27/1174761471748.html | title = Unwitting highschoolers lured to forum by Scientologists| publisher = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | date = [[2007-03-27]] | accessdate = 2007-07-17 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Alan | last = McEwen | title = Scientology-link group is banned | url = http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=314912004 | work = [[Edinburgh Evening News]] | publisher = | date = [[2004-03-18]] | accessdate = 2007-07-17}}</ref>

===ABLE===
{{main|Association for Better Living and Education}}
Founded in 1989, the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE) is an umbrella organization that administers six of Scientology's social programs:
* [[Narconon]] drug rehabilitation centers.
* [[Criminon]] prisoner rehabilitation programs.
* [[The Way to Happiness]] Foundation, dedicated to disseminating Hubbard's non-religious moral code.
* [[Applied Scholastics]], educational programs based on Hubbard's "Study Tech."
* [[International Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance]], which has a particular interest in religious freedom.
* [[Youth for Human Rights International]], the youth branch of the above.

===CCHR===
{{main|Citizens Commission on Human Rights}}
The Citizens' Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), co-founded with [[Thomas Szasz]] in 1969, is an activist group dedicated to exposing [http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p961110.html "psychiatric abuse,"] furthering [[Scientology and psychiatry|Scientology doctrinal opposition to mainstream psychiatric therapies]].

===WISE===
{{main|World Institute of Scientology Enterprises}}
Many other Scientologist-run businesses and organizations belong to the [[umbrella organization]] World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE), which licenses the use of Hubbard's management doctrines, and circulates directories of WISE-affiliated businesses. WISE requires those who wish to become Hubbard management consults to complete training in Hubbard's administrative systems; this training can be undertaken at any Church of Scientology, or at one of the campuses of the [[Hubbard College of Administration]], which offers an Associate of Applied Science Degree.
* One of the best-known WISE-affiliated businesses is [[Sterling Management Systems]], which offers Hubbard's management "technology" to professionals such as dentists and chiropractors.
* Another well-known WISE-affiliated business is [[e-Republic]], a publishing company based in Folsom, California.<ref>[http://www.newsreview.com/issues/sacto/2001-08-23/cover.asp "Scientology Inc."] at Newsreview.com</ref> e-Republic publications include ''Government Technology'' and ''Converge'' magazines. The ''Center for Digital Government'' is a division of e. Republic that was founded in 1999.
* Internet ISP [[EarthLink]] was founded by Scientologist [[Sky Dayton]] as a Scientology enterprise. The company now distances itself from the views of its founder, who has moved on to become CEO of [[SK-EarthLink]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Scientology|Scientology e meter blue.jpg}}
* [[List of groups referred to as cults in government documents]]
* [[List of Scientology Organizations]]
* [[List of religious organizations]]
* [[List of Scientologists]]
* [[Scientology beliefs and practices]]
* [[Scientology controversy]]
* [[Scientology and the legal system]]
* [[Scientology and the Internet]]
* [[Scientology in popular culture]]
* [[Timeline of Scientology]]
* [[List of Scientology Organizations]]
* [[Scientology In Australia]]
* [[Project Chanology]]
* [[alt.religion.scientology]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Wikinewshas|related [[wikinews:Category:Scientology|Scientology news]]|{{Wikinewshas/Scientology}}}}
{{sisterlinks|Scientology}}
;Church of Scientology
* {{cite web
| title = Welcome to Scientology
| work = Church of Scientology official home page
| url= http://www.scientology.org
| publisher = Church of Scientology}}
* {{cite web
| title = What is Scientology ?
| work = Common questions answered about Scientology and its activities
| url= http://www.whatisscientology.org
| publisher = Church of Scientology}}
* {{cite web
| title = The ecclesiastical hierarchy
| work = The ecclesiastical hierarchy of the religion
| url= http://www.approvedscientology.org/
| publisher = Church of Scientology}}
* {{cite web
| title = Scientology Volunteer Ministers
| work = News and activities of the Volunteer Ministers
| url= http://www.volunteerministers.org/
| publisher = Church of Scientology}}
* {{cite web
| title = The Church of Scientology Master Index Page
| work = Master Index Page
| url= http://www.scientology.org/search/indxmstr.htm
| publisher = Church of Scientology}}
* [http://www.news.scientology.org Scientology is News] ; {{cite web
| title = Scientology Today
| work = News about the Church of Scientology and Photographs ; media information on the Scientology religion
| url= http://www.scientologytoday.org
| publisher = Church of Scientology}}
* [http://related.scientology.org/ Related Scientology] ; {{cite web
| title = ExactScientology.net
| work = Scn. Web directories of links to information on the religion, its technology, people, and community projects, etc..
| publisher = Church of Scientology
| url = http://www.exactscientology.net/}}
* {{cite book
| title = Theology & Practice of a Contemporary Religion
| url = http://www.bonafidescientology.org
| publisher = Church of Scientology}}

;Favorable sites
* {{cite web
| title = Beliefnet: Scientology
| work = Description of Scientology
| url= http://www.beliefnet.com/index/index_10042.html
| publisher = [[Beliefnet]]
| accessdate = 2006-10-14 }}
* {{cite web
| author = J. Gordon Melton
| title = Extract from the book "The Church of Scientology"
| work = The Organization of Scientology; The Structure of the Church
| url= http://www.americanreligion.org/books/scientology.html
| publisher = [[ISAR]]: Institute for the Study of American Religion}}
* {{cite web
| author = Irving Hexham
| title = The religious status of Scientology
| work = Is Scientology a religion?
| publisher = [[University of Calgary]]
| url = http://www.ucalgary.ca/~nurelweb/papers/irving/scient.html}}
* {{cite web
| author = Juha Pentikainen, Ph.D.; Marja Pentikainen, MSC (Helsinki, Finland)
| title = The Church of Scientology
| work = Articles discussing how Scientology is a religion
| publisher = Neuereligion.de
| url = http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/Pentikainen/
| format = Personal site }}

;Critical sites
*[http://www.xenu.net/ Operation Clambake, an archive of critical articles on Hubbard and Scientology]
*[http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Secrets/index.html The Secrets of Scientology] (this web site is dedicated to exposing the various technical tricks behind Scientology)
*[http://www.lermanet.com Exposing the Con] (Website created by ex-member Arnie Lerma)
*[http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/An_Introduction_to_Scientology An Introduction to Scientology from a critical perspective]
*[http://www.truthaboutscientology.com/read/forbidden_side/ The Forbidden Side of Scientology] (by Murray Luther, unauthorized correspondent for the Church of Scientology)
*[http://www.xenutv.com/ Xenu TV] (video footage library of various topics related to Scientology)
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_4120000/newsid_4124500/4124514.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm BBC Panorama Programme May 2007 - 'Scientology and Me'] John Sweeney
*[http://exscientologykids.com/ Ex-scientology kids, a website operated by 3 women who grew up in Scientology.]

;Other
*[http://maps.google.com/maps?q=hemet,+ca&ll=33.834490,-116.987872&spn=0.007772,0.015044&t=k&hl=en Satellite Image of the Gold Base]
*[http://www.sc-i-r-s-ology.pair.com/rvtimeline/index.html Remote Viewing Timeline]
*[http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/9363363/inside_scientology "Inside Scientology"] by Janet Reitman. [[Rolling Stone]], Issue 995. [[March 9]], [[2006]]. Pages 55 - 67.
*[http://lisatrust.freewinds.cx/scientology/amscience1.htm Church of American Science], incorporation papers, [[18 December]] [[1953]].
*[http://www.lisamcpherson.org/scans/church_of_scientology_incorp_1953.pdf Church of Scientology (New Jersey)], incorporation papers, [[18 December]] [[1953]].
*[http://www.lisamcpherson.org/scans/church_of_spiritual_engineering_incorp_1953.pdf Church of Spiritual Engineering], incorporation papers, [[18 December]] [[1953]].
*[http://www.lisamcpherson.org/scans/cos_articles_of_incorpt_1954.pdf Church of Scientology (LA, California)], incorporation papers, [[18 February]] [[1954]].
*[http://www.algonet.se/~tourtel/interests/hubbard.html#foundingcos About the Founding of the Church of Scientology]
*[http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2006/10/23/daily51.html '48 Hours' to examine WNY murder case from 2003] - Ellie Perkins news story.

{{Scientology}}

[[Category:1953 establishments]]
[[Category:Religion and society]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1953]]
[[Category:Scientology]]
[[Category:Scientology organizations|*]]
[[Category:Cults]]

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[[simple:Church of Scientology]]
[[tr:Scientoloji Kilisesi]]

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You might as well lock this page, i can keep this up all day

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