Scientology

Church of Scientology on Hollywood, California. Photo: Kent Kanouse.

"In Scientology I have found several tools that I can apply to my daily life and they have allowed me to help myself and to help others to better the conditions of my life and of society." --Tom Cruise, actor and Scientologist

What is Scientology?

Many people want to know: Is Scientology a cult? Is Scientology a religion? Or is Scientology something else? And why do so many celebrities subcribe to Scientology beliefs and what makes Scientology beliefs so controversial?

It's easy to understand why people want to know more about the belief system when celebrities such as John Travolta and Tom Cruise belong to the Church of Scientology. Yet Scientology also has a reputation for being secretive, which feeds people's curiosity and sometimes drives the controversy.

The Church of Scientology was founded in 1954 by L. Ron Hubbard, a former science fiction writer. Scientology doesn't present itself as a "religion," but as a "technology" that leads people to "true spiritual release and freedom." It does not emphasize particular beliefs about God or other traditional religious topics, yet it calls itself "The Church of Scientology" and presents many of its teachings in spiritual and religious terms. Scientology is also highly controversial, with many regarding it as a dangerous religious cult or financial scam.

It is not the job of ReligionFacts to present our own opinion on these issues, but only to provide facts about the group's history, beliefs and practices. We have included Scientology on ReligionFacts simply because it meets our basic criteria of including teachings about the meaning of life and some set of rituals.