Poll: Most Americans don’t think Scientology is a religion

[cbayer]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/poll-most-americans-dont-think-scientology-is-a-religion/2012/10/02/30381626-0cd4-11e2-ba6c-07bd866eb71a_story.html


WASHINGTON — Most Americans do not believe Scientology is a real religion, according to a recent poll by 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair.

The survey, conducted by CBS News, found that 70 percent of Americans say that Scientology is not a true religion; 13 percent believe it is; and 18 percent either don’t know or don’t care.

Out of the more than 1,000 people polled, Christian Americans were even more likely to question Scientology’s status as a religion — 79 percent of evangelicals, 74 percent of Protestants and 72 percent of Catholics surveyed responded that they did not think Scientology is a religion.

L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction author, established Scientology in 1952, and the Church of Scientology has been acknowledged as a religion in the United States since 1993. Scientology is known for its celebrity followers, such as actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

more at link

[rrneck]

1. Some scams are more obvious than than others. nt

[cbayer]

2. The thing I don't get is how some people (celebrities) who seem relatively bright

could go all in with scientology. Whatever recruitment and retention methods they are using, they sure seem to have perfected them for a certain kind of person.

[pnwmom]

4. I think some go into it hoping the connections will help their Hollywood careers.

And once they're sucked in, it's hard to get out. Don't forget, blackmail is one of the tactics, according to many ex-followers.

[cbayer]

5. Most likely true, though some were huge stars when they got involved.

I think Scientology is masterful at playing into the deepest insecurities of certain kinds of personalities and those are the personalities often attached to celebrity.

[pnwmom]

7. True. Narcissistic people -- and there are many of those in Hollywood --

are deeply insecure.

I'm surprised there aren't more Scientologists in politics, come to think of it.

[cbayer]

11. I think it would be a losing proposition in politics, as many see Scientology

as not just kooky, but dangerous.

[rrneck]

12. I think, but I'm by no means sure,

that the bulk of the celebs lack an advanced education. I have been surprised at how it seems many really big stars have little more than a high school diploma.

If you have a natural talent for a specific task and possess the proper physical attributes, you get treated like a thoroughbred racehorse, much like an athlete. And the start 'em young for both.

[cbayer]

13. I had never thought of that.

Just researched

Tom Cruise - no ed past HS except for a brief stint in a Franciscan seminary.

John Travolta - dropped out of HS in his junior year.

[OriginalGeek]

18. He did?

Mr Kotter will be crushed!

[Dorian Gray]

20. Yes

It appeals to their ego. The Celebrity Center is supposed to be absolutely amazing. And when a religion speaks to your ego and makes you think you're more evolved than others (see Tom Cruise and interview with Matt Lauer), then it's obvious why it may appeal to some.

Stroking the ego of people with huge egos is a method lots of people use in this world to get what they want.

[pnwmom]

3. And most Americans are right. It started up from a series of sci-fi books,

and morphed into a religion when L. Ron realized there would be tax advantages.

Many people are old enough to remember that.

[gcomeau]

8. Cult vs. Religion...

"A cult has people on top who knows it's all a scam. In a religion, those people are dead"

[Goblinmonger]

10. Right, but Christianity

started for all the right reasons. There were no concepts of power that come into play.

Most people think:

religion: that which I believe in.
cult: that which others believe in that I think is stupid.

[dimbear]

14. You are so right there. For instance, when Marcion attempted to buy the Christian church

for 200,000 sesterces, the bishops carefully considered the offer and accepted the money for a time but finally returned it.

All pure and correct.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

21. That would be a nice story, except for one thing

It didn't happen. Marcion, who had made a fortune in shipping, donated 200,000 sestertii to the Roman church. When Marcion broke with the Roman church over doctrinal differences, they excommunicated him and returned his money. Marcion did not "attempt to buy" the Roman church.

[dimbear]

23. Of course, silly me. When lobbyists channel millions to politicians, they aren't trying to buy

them, they're making free-will donations. I see it now.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

24. So when Mitt Romney gives 10% of his income to the Mormon Church

he is attempting to buy it.

There is a difference between lobbyist's bribes and free-will donations. Marcion's gift was the latter, not the former.

[Angry Dragon]

25. If you do not give 10% of your earnings to the Mormons

you are not in good standing with the temple ..........
Does not sound like free will to me .............

LDS was founded less than 200 years ago ........... they should be able to produce those gold tablets

[dimbear]

27. The key to understanding the story is that Marcion didn't get his way. The bishops

didn't want to accept his very different version of what was to be the New Testament. They had to give Marcion his fortune back.

Sound like a freewill gift to you? Really?

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

28. The accepted his gift BEFORE he became a heretic

And why couldn't they just have kept the money? What was he going to going to do, sue them for breech of contract?

No, it was a GIFT, which they graciously returned when they kicked him out. At least in this case, there is not the slightest evidence that Marcion was trying to buy the Church. Tell me, if they could be bought, don't you think that Marcion would have succeeded?

I notice that you do not answer my question about Romney's donation of millions to the Mormons.

[dimbear]

30. In spite of Bishops Romney's extravagant fortune, his donations are a trifling fraction of the

Mormon church's revenue. To buy it would require serious money, more than any private person on this planet possesses.

This has been a valuable exchange of opinions, at least to me, and I hope perhaps others will enjoy reconsidering this quirky little corner of church history. For many it may be a long time since they first considered it in Sunday school.

It's sad to me that poor Marcion would only be dragged out of obscurity by Adolph Hitler and his goons. Marcion deserves to be better remembered than that. Let's just remember that he invented the idea of a New Testament. As to his unfortunate dislike of the Jews, it's good he was overruled there.

There are many other historical instances where power in the Christian world has been exchanged for cash. Sometimes at a profit. Perhaps in the fulness of time we can discuss them too.

[trotsky]

15. Thing is, no one is old enough to remember how your religion got started.

Who's to say it wasn't essentially the same way (minus the tax advantages)? The parallels between your Jesus and other savior gods / sun gods are remarkable.

[pnwmom]

16. Christianity didn't start as a tax-advantaged money-maker.

There were many poor followers and no one required them to buy "courses" to be a Christian.

[trotsky]

17. How do you know? Were you there?

All we have to go on is what someone else wrote. Someone who may or may not have been there themselves. Impossible to know either way.

[gcomeau]

6. What exactly is a "true" religion? -eom

...

[cbayer]

9. It seems they asked the question without providing a definition.

Like pornography, it may be one of those cases when people know it when they see it.

[murielm99]

26. A brand of jeans, and other clothing.

[Dorian Gray]

19. I'll admit it

I don't think it's a religion. I think it's a psudo-scientific psychological endeavor that has a list of superstitions that give it a "mystical" slant. But, I think that the majority of what they do with their adherents is psychologically analyze them and try to fix their "deficiencies."

The thetans and Xenu are just the gravy to the meat and potatoes of what they do.

[cbayer]

22. Agree. They are selling a treatment, not a theology, hence their overt hostility

towards psychiatry, but not so much to other religions.

[skepticscott]

29. Two questions that I wish someone would ask

a Scientology leader in an interview (but which I don't think anyone ever has):

"What does Scientology have in common with other religions that in fact makes it a religion, and not, as some have claimed, a cult, or a business?"

"What distinguishes Scientology from all other religions?"