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[Mary_McConnell]

No place to comment at this article  @ Bloomberg.com.

Too bad. It's one of the best. Here are some Fair Use quotes from it.

Godless Scientology Racks Up Fees, Reveals Victoria’s Secret: Book ReviewBy Andrew Dunn - Sep 3, 2011 12:01 AM ET . Bloomberg News

Forget the “thetans” who dwelled in space a gazillion years ago, though they do add a diverting back story to Scientology, the religion founded by science- fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s.

What really distinguishes the faith followed by Tom Cruise, John Travolta and other lesser lights is commerce and godlessness.

“The traditional religious bedrock -- worship, God, love and compassion, even the very concept of Faith -- is wholly absent from its precepts,” writes Janet Reitman in “Inside Scientology: The Story of America’s Most Secretive Religion.”

[..]
‘Total Freedom’
What began as an alternative to psychotherapy evolved into a theology based on the idea that traumas over many lifetimes have stained our souls and that “auditing” -- revisiting and confronting those traumas with the help of trained interlocutors -- can help make the worshipper “Clear” and eventually bring “Total Freedom.”

Auditing costs money, and members are encouraged to pay for courses as they pursue the “bridge to total freedom.”

The Church of Scientology, like other U.S. religious groups, avoids paying taxes, honors big donors and promises simple solutions to life’s most tormenting problems (suffering, uncertainty, death).

Scientology won a long battle for broad religious tax exemptions in 1993, a time when theocracy was a rising force in U.S. politics and lawmakers were building careers by vilifying the Internal Revenue Service.

[..]
Children of Scientologists are put at the service of the Sea Org, the church’s managing body, and must pay for all their “free” courses if they choose to quit and want to remain in good standing (though no one, Reitman says, is compelled to stay with the church).
Reitman profiles a young woman raised in the church who left and became a vocal critic, only to revert to silence to reconnect with her family.
Lingerie Boxes
There are also happy stories. The teaching tools Hubbard developed enjoy a good reputation among some educators. Another young woman raised in the church has found it a source of solace and the basis of her personal growth.

And there are wacky stories. To get a message to a loved one past the prying eyes of church staffers, one defector hid a letter and cell phone in a Victoria’s Secret box. The church, which is about as puritanical as any other, had a policy of not inspecting any packages from the lingerie company, Reitman says. [..]
[..]

Internet Congregations
But, as Reitman’s book illustrates, what might hurt more than movie-star tantrums or cartoons is something Hubbard the science-fiction writer would have appreciated: the Internet.
The Web is where Scientology’s critics meet and share stories and church documents, where former members find each other, commiserate and even form alternative Scientology congregations. The book would have benefited from a deeper foundation in the history of American religion, especially faith-healing traditions such as Christian Science. Also, aside from a mention of “Battlefield Earth,” a later work, Reitman fails to mine Hubbard’s bizarre literary output for germs of the faith.

“Inside Scientology” is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (444 pages, $28). To buy this book in North America, click here. http://www.powells.com/partner/34310/biblio/9780618883028?p_isbn

(Andrew Dunn is an editor at Bloomberg news. The opinions expressed are his own.)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-02/godless-scientology-racks-up-fees-reveals-victoria-s-secret-book-review.html

[Stutroup]

“The traditional religious bedrock -- worship, God, love and compassion, even the very concept of Faith -- is wholly absent from its precepts,” writes Janet Reitman in “Inside Scientology: The Story of America’s Most Secretive Religion.”

While the write-up is good overall, I still have to call the mentions of worship and God a moot point in the frame of religion.

God is not the same deity for every religion, and many have several, many, or even no gods. Many don't worship anything. In that sense, the philosophical claim of Scientology is still completely relevant. Rather, the call-out on their non-religious (and faux-religions scamming) aspects is what sets them apart.

[ethercat]

Good point, Stu.  Most people think of God and worship as integral to religion, but what you say is true. 

My preference is to alert people to the bad scientology does instead of focusing on any religious angle.  This is similar to my approach to informing people about Narconon, where I usually focus on the harm, rather than the connection to scientology (of course, where that is useful, I will use it - for instance, where it is required to be "secular".)

[mefree]

Personally, I think it is important to inform people about the Narconon/Scientology connection. Most people I have spoken to are unaware of the affiliation and are shocked to learn of it.

Scientology has a lousy reputation these days and works very hard to hide the connection. That's reason enough for me.

[Stutroup]

I don't think it's bad to bring to light Narconon's connection with Scientology, on more levels than just the secular claim made by Narconon.

Scientology's own abuses, and policies to harm, its own trail of bodies (if Narconon's trail can actually be considered separate) is just as relevant a reason to show their connection.

[wynot]

I don't think it's bad to bring to light Narconon's connection with Scientology, on more levels than just the secular claim made by Narconon.
...

I think it's a good thing, a very good thing, to bring the Cult/Narconon connection to light! In fact, I believe that letting the public know about it may be the best way to keep them away from Narconon. And it's a knowledge that is easy to spread; you only have to talk to people.

'til next time;
wynot

[Mary_McConnell]

It just means we have a lot more work to do, mefree . Hang in there. We are making progress.