The Scientology Comparative Theology Page

Legalese

This web site is (obviously) not affiliated with the "Church" of Scientology. As a non-commercial scholarly work it does not attempt to sell anything, and should not be confused with any product offered by the "Church" of Scientology.

Spiritual Secrets, Secular Law, and Scholarly Research

The "Church" of Scientology uses copyright and trademark law to control the presentation of Hubbard's writings to Scientologists. The same copyright and trademarks are used to hide Hubbard's writings from outside scrutiny. This secretiveness makes research much more difficult, so some errors may occur. Every effort has been made to verify the Scientology source references, either from Scientology source documents and/or by first-hand validation by ex-Scientologists who have seen the documents.

Fair Use

Due to Scientology's litigous nature, the copyrighted (and sometime trade secret) writings of L. Ron Hubbard must be quoted within the bounds of Fair Use . This may result in rather pedantic commentary by this nervous scholar; my apologies in advance. I have already been threatened twice, once for copyright and once for trademark infringement. Contrary to their claims, the "Church" of Scientology does not want you to "Think for Yourself", especially when it comes to adverse ideas and information.

Trademarks

The "Church" of Scientology has trademarked various words and phrases such Dianetics, Scientology, E-meter, various logos, and even the name "Hubbard". Scientology has threatened to sue webmasters over use of trademarked words. Imagine trying to criticise McDonald's Inc. without being able to use their name, Big Mac, Ronald, or any other trademarked words.

...and why does a non-profit tax-exempt "Church" need trademarks, anyway?

"Church"

At present, the Church of Scientology International (CSI), the umbrella organization for the many sub-corporations of Scientology, calls itself a Church. In addition to various apologists' opinions, CSI points to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which granted 501(c)(3) tax exempt status in 1993. The Boy Scouts are also a 501(c)(3) organization, so this in itself does not "prove" that Scientology is a religion.

Before accepting these credentials, be reminded that the 1st Amendment forbids involvement by the U.S. Government in establishing religion. By law, the IRS cannot decide what is and is not a religion. After one of the largest protracted legal battles in history, the IRS secretly agreed to CSI's demands that they be recognized as a charitible organization, and therefore be given tax-exempt status.

The United States, founded by people fleeing religious persecution in Europe, holds freedom of religion in high regard. In fact, the United States is a notable exception; Scientology is not recognized as a religion throughout most of Europe and North America. Rather, many countries see Scientology as a business attempting to cloak itself as a religion, and a corrupt business at that. Over the past several years, Scientology and Scientologists in Europe and Canada have been accused and often convicted of fraud, abuse, privacy violations and practicing medicine without a license.

I have chosen to put "Church" in quotes to recognize both sides of this contentious issue, recognizing CSI's right to call themselves whatever they please, and governments' right to call Scientology whatever they please.

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Last Update: 20 Nov 1999