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Its a cult, just admit it.
: Vossy also created, "Dianetics was later expanded to appear more like a religion in order to gain tax benefits". This statement it is not attributed in the article. The Dianetics website does not support such a statement. In general, the statement is more a critical personal opinion than a statement of fact. I don't believe anyone could find any presentation BY Dianetics that ever said it was a religion, nor "religious - like".
: Vossy also created, "Dianetics was later expanded to appear more like a religion in order to gain tax benefits". This statement it is not attributed in the article. The Dianetics website does not support such a statement. In general, the statement is more a critical personal opinion than a statement of fact. I don't believe anyone could find any presentation BY Dianetics that ever said it was a religion, nor "religious - like".
: Finally, Vossy modified the article to produce, "Scientology has successfully converted a number of celebrities". But both Tom Cruise and John Travolta had been active in Scientology for some long while before making public statements about Scientology. Not to hammer a point home here, but "I am a Scientologist" is a self-declare, not a decree by the Church. It is not a statement of membership nor does it declare a faith, but says, "I find Scientology to be useful in my life". Can we discuss please ? [[User:Terryeo|Terryeo]] 02:17, 17 March 2007 (EDT)
: Finally, Vossy modified the article to produce, "Scientology has successfully converted a number of celebrities". But both Tom Cruise and John Travolta had been active in Scientology for some long while before making public statements about Scientology. Not to hammer a point home here, but "I am a Scientologist" is a self-declare, not a decree by the Church. It is not a statement of membership nor does it declare a faith, but says, "I find Scientology to be useful in my life". Can we discuss please ? [[User:Terryeo|Terryeo]] 02:17, 17 March 2007 (EDT)
== Religion or cult? ==
An old joke says "A cult is what a big religion calls a small one." But in this case, I think there are a few reasons to consider it a cult:
# Absolutly crazy beliefs.
# Accusations of brainwashing techniques.
# Pseudoscientific 'Dianetics' theory and complete self-contained worldview serves to isolate members.
# A heavy element of a cult of personality - Ron Hubbard is revered.
# Founder was a professional fiction author... and his 'religion' seems much the science-fiction he wrote.
# Members are strongly pressured to convert others.
# A central controling organisation with exclusive authority.
# And that turns a tidy profit.
All of these are cultlike aspects. Each of them alone would not be enough to call it a cult, but taken together... It sounds like a cult to me. And, really, if scientology had only a couple of hundred members, it would certinly be called a cult. Should mere scale allow it to turn somehow into a real religion?
== History of the word ==
== History of the word ==