Tom Cruise and Scientology seem to go hand-in-hand in the media these days, but what is this thing he's attached to? Explore the Scientology argument.
Of the alternative or minority religions out there these days, the Scientology argument is certainly the one that’s catching the most press. Notable actor Tom Cruise is a firm subscriber to the Church of Scientology, but what is this mysterious organization? Is Scientology a religion, a cult…or is it pure science fiction?
The Scientology Argument
The official Church of Scientology site offers this riddle-like teaser to casual Web surfers: “Scientology improves conditions in life, and provides real spiritual answers.” This from any church would be labeled a bold claim at best, but by its own admission the Church of Scientology is not based on faith. It is based instead on truth, according its own definition. The two ideas are obviously contradicting. Isn’t all religion based upon faith? How could any church not have an association with this elemental belief?
Is Scientology a Religion?
It may not be about faith, but the Church of Scientology is very much about spirituality. The literature and rhetoric itself is filled with esoteric assurances that man is immortal and capable of a great many things which he hasn’t even fully accessed. Scientology itself seems inseparable from spirituality, however it disavows any tie to faith. Isn’t spirituality religion? The founder of Scientology, an author of science fiction genre books known as L. Ron Hubbard, himself declared this canon of belief a religion in the early 1950s.
Or is Scientology a Cult?
In the Scientology argument, the word “cult” often factors in somewhere. But what actually makes a cult...a cult?
Cult refers to a culture, a group, a movement. It doesn’t always have religious connotation - “cult classic,” for instance. When first used, the word did very directly refer to worship. When used today to describe a religious group, it often seems somehow negative. In truth, a religious cult could refer to any religious group or the followers of a certain belief. In their way, perhaps all organized religions are cults.
Scientology...Pure Science Fiction?
Some scholars have made the Scientology argument that this collection of beliefs and practices is little more than science fiction. As it is all based on a set of books from a well-known fiction author, this argument does have weight in some circles. But, again, many other religions are likewise based upon books. Mormonism relies upon the Book of Mormon and other texts the same way Christianity relies upon the Bible. Without books, there might be no religion whatsoever.
