Decuple Scientology

[tom]

What would give us a world with at least ten times as many Scientologists?
What would that world be like?

[Grey Wolf]

How about a Cuban Missile War, the turning of people away from established religions in its wake ?

Grey Wolf

[Beck Reilly]

First, you probably have to get many countries to recognize it as an official religion. The US only recognized it in 1993 and many European countries, led by Germany, refuse to.

Second, the church would have to have 80 million members to be 10x its present size in ATL 2004.

Third, I'd say it'd probably help swell church membership somewhat if they did not REQUIRE their members to give monetary donations.

I think Grey Wolf is right. The only way the church is going to have 80 million members is for some huge disaster which makes people lose faith in their current church.

Maybe something about people falling out of the Catholic Church due to all the scandals could work to drastically increase membership....

[David Howery]

What exactly is Scientology? All I know about it is that it was founded by L. Ron Hubbard, and that it is considered to be sort of a cult by most....

[tom]

David:
That is like asking "What exactly is Christianity?"
Use Google to learn a little about the "cult".

[David Howery]

well, Christianity is 2 millenia old, has many branches, and hundreds of millions of followers all over the world. Surely, Scientology is rather tiny compared to that... is there more than one branch of it I have to look at?

[tom]

David:
I just know a little about Scientology. It is a true religion, with a sizeable corpus of writngs by LRH and may well have branches by now (Heinlein once said religions have scisms like cats have kittens). I am sure there are introductory pages on the web that have a couple thousand word outlines of their beliefs, both by proponents and opponents.

[Knight Of Armenia]

... Plus they believe that our consciences are actually the souls of long-dead aliens known as "Body Thetans" who were killed in a massive alien holocaust on earth millenia ago. And you need to be "audited" by the Church of Scientology in order to quell the impulses of these "Body Thetans."

[Hymie Goldberg]

Originally Posted by Knight Of Armenia

... Plus they believe that our consciences are actually the souls of long-dead aliens known as "Body Thetans" who were killed in a massive alien holocaust on earth millenia ago. And you need to be "audited" by the Church of Scientology in order to quell the impulses of these "Body Thetans."

Is that audit the one where they hook you up to a tinfoil-covered shoebox?

[Knight Of Armenia]

No, I'm being serious. Their mass religious sessions are known as "audits."

[Hymie Goldberg]

I know that you were serious--but I thought that audits were a one-on-one thing where a Sciento;ogist "priest" hooks you up with wires to a tinfoil-covered shoebox to see how well you're progressing.

[Diamond]

I'd always heard that Hubbard started Scientology as a tax shelter/dodge during a time when he was in a tight spot financially. It was only after his death that people began to take it seriously and make it an 'honest' religion. Makes you wonder if 'mainstream' religions were founded in as mundane of circumstances...

I've also heard that there are ranks in Scientology, similar to navy ranks, and that you have to 'donate' sh*tloads of money to the church to advance...

There is a Scientology compound a few miles from where I live, and when I say 'compound' I mean it. They have a wall, watchtowers, and guard dogs. Some of their recruits used to come and get their eye exams done at the place I used to work - they were always extremely quiet and almost drugged-seeming.

[aktarian]

Originally Posted by Hymie Goldberg

Is that audit the one where they hook you up to a tinfoil-covered shoebox?

that's Aum Shinrio (sp?). As part of audit you have to release sarin in your town's subway

[zoomar]

Half seriously, have some prominent Scientologists (let's say John Travolta and Kirstie Alley) be literally crucified (executed) for their beliefs and show unwavering loyalty and faith as they meet their end. In our modern fairly tolerant and secular times it is hard for people to really show how much their religion really means to them - which is half the reason other people get the message and convert.