Here’s another distinction, though. The ends justify the means, at least to an extent. I don’t believe in pregnant virgins, resurrections or infallible Popes, but it is clear that many Catholics take the teachings of the Catholic church to boil down to a message that they need to be involved in their community with good works that are not necessarily aimed at helping ONLY members of their church. Same thing with many other established churches. Many Christians take those teachings that perplex me and interpret them to mean that they need to act with kindness. They even have a requirement to love their enemy (even though Robert Wright demonstrates that this passage was added by a scribe long after the original gospel manuscripts were written).

Where is Scientology’s version of love your enemy? To the extent that Scientology stresses community outreach, I’m not convinced that it has communicated that duty to outsiders. Instead, it seems to be a practice geared to one’s own satisfaction. In this way, it reminds me of many versions of new age religion.

–But I think it’s apparent that humans evolved to respect authority and tradition. We’re all familiar with the problems that that respect can cause, particularly when it’s unquestioning. Nevertheless, it’s a part of us, and it has its good side.

So when I look at the “Big Three”, I see religions that began and flourished for years in a time when everybody’s view of the world was mythological and magical, and have been passed down ever since. Being old, they have that cultural and psychological imprimatur. Mind you, I am not saying that because they’re old they’re right, or anything like that. I’m just saying that they originated back in a day when their claims would’ve seemed more plausible, and it’s normal and human for people to imagine that there must be something to them (and according to evolutionary theory, there probably is–not in their theological claims, but in their social effects.)

And we have centuries’ worth of theologians who’ve tried to make sense of the world within the framework of those doctrines. Some of them even had worthwhile things to say. I’m rather fond of Paul, myself (with Elaine Pagels, I think the misogyny attributed to him is based on forgeries). Someone like Simone Weil, a Jew who was attracted to Catholicism, used Christian theology to arrive at some startling and meaningful insights.

But in Scientology, we have a new religion, started by a pulp writer who (according to multiple witnesses) made a comment on more than one occasion something like this: If you want to make real money, you start a religion. He then dreamed up a theology saturated with sci fi motifs and implausible pop psychology.

Furthermore, the Big Three religions contain few esoteric teachings. They don’t hide their beliefs; if you ask them (and, in the case of the evangelicals, even if you don’t) they’re all too willing to tell you all about it.

Scientology is secretive; even within the cult, as we’ve both noted. And they rely on stealth to keep their members in line and critics at bay. I doubt that without that stealth they’d have lasted as long as they have.

Jerry Coyne, on “Which theology should we respect?”
http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/which-theology-should-we-respect/

Coyne then asks this question:

[A]m I supposed to respect this view? Do you? If you respect the theologies of Catholicism, Judaism, or Islam more, or give their adherents more credibility than you do Scientologists, why?

The leader of the Church of Scientology struck his subordinates numerous times and set an example for physical violence among the tightly controlled religion’s management team, four former high-ranking executives told a newspaper for a story published Sunday.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/22/church-of-scientology-lea_n_218795.html

It’s ironic that there are two ads for Scientology at the top of the web page here. Why does Google Ads accept ads from them?

I attended the first Anon protest as an observer and they immediate tried to slap my with a bunch of nonsensical legal junk. The local judges were wise to them and thankfully their motions to restrict myself and about fifty other people in this area from visiting Downtown Clearwter failed.

There is saying in the critical community about Scientology, “it’s worse than you imagine” I say “Scientology is worse than you can imagine.”

The “test” they administer to potential converts is actually a thematic aperception test in disguise, which can provide a lot of psychological buttons for them to push—which is one reason they denounce mainstream psychiatry.

Beyond that, though, it’s just…bullshit.

But clearly that has never stopped people from believing in a thing.

The many front groups of scientology are of primary concern to me: Narconon (not to be confused with the legit Narcotics Anonymous), Crimonon, Applied Scholastics, Youth for Human Rights International to name just a few. Constant vigilance is necessary to prevent those organizations from popping up in YOUR neighbourhood.

Here’s an example from Vancouver BC:

http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/reportcard/archive/2008/06/11/scientologists-invited-to-school-assembly.aspx

It behooves government agencies to thoroughly research organizations they fund and allow into our schools. Teaching our educational leaders how to Google might help.

Thanks Stacy.