Con't Church of Scientology

Date : 04.11.2010
Time : 5.30pm

Con't of Church of Scientology detail.

Controversy
Though it has attained some credibility as a religion,^[31] Scientology has also been described by many as both a cult and a commercial enterprise.^[32] Some of the Church's actions also brought scrutiny from the press and law enforcement. For example, it has been noted to engage in harassment and abuse of civil courts to silence its critics, using fair game policies and procedures against people it perceives as its enemies.^[33][34]
In 1979, several Scientology members were convicted for illegal activities, including the largest theft of government documents in U.S. history.^[35][36]

Classification as church or business
From 1952 until 1966, Scientology was administered by an organization called the Hubbard Association of Scientologists (HAS), established in Arizona on 10 September 1952. In 1954, the HAS became the HASI (HAS International). The Church of Scientology was incorporated in California on 18 February 1954, changing its name to "The Church of Scientology of California" (CSC) in 1956. In 1966, Hubbard transferred all HASI assets to CSC, thus gathering Scientology under one tax-exempt roof. In 1967, the IRS stripped all US-based Scientology entities of their tax exemption, declaring Scientology's activities were commercial and operated for the benefit of Hubbard. The church sued and lost repeatedly for 26 years trying to regain its tax-exempt status. The case was eventually settled in 1993, at which time the church paid $12.5 million to the IRS—greatly less than IRS had initially demanded—and the IRS recognized the church as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.^[37] In addition, Scientology also dropped more than fifty lawsuits against the IRS when this settlement was reached. Scientology cites its tax exemption as proof the United States government accepts it as a religion.^[38] In January 2009, removal of the tax exemption was rated as number 9 in items for the incoming Barack Obama administration to investigate, as determined in an internet poll run by the presidential transition team soliciting public input for the incoming administration.^[39] The U.S. State Department has criticized Western European nations for discrimination against Scientologists in its published annual International Religious Freedom report, based on the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.^{[40][41][42][43][44][45]}
In some countries Scientology is treated legally as a commercial enterprise, and not as a religion or charitable organization. In early 2003, in Germany, The Church of Scientology was granted a tax-exemption for the 10% license fees sent to the US. This exemption, however, is related to a German-American double-taxation agreement, and is unrelated to tax-exemption in the context of charities law. In several countries, public proselytizing undergoes the same restrictions as commercial advertising, which is interpreted as persecution by Scientology.
In Israel, Scientology does not use "Church" as part of its name.
Unlike many well-established religious organizations, Scientology maintains strict control over its names, symbols, religious works and other writings. The word Scientology (and many related terms, including L. Ron Hubbard) is a registered trademark. Religious Technology Center, the owner of the trademarks and copyrights, takes a hard line on people and groups who attempt to use it in ways unaffiliated with the official Church (see Scientology and the legal system).

Illegal activities
Under the Guardian's Office (now renamed the Office of Special Affairs or OSA), Church members organized and committed the largest penetration of United States federal agencies ever perpetrated by an organization not affiliated with a foreign government (that is, one such as the KGB). This was known as Operation Snow White. In the trial which followed discovery of these activities the prosecution described their actions thus:

The crime committed by these defendants is of a breadth and scope previously unheard of No.building, office, desk, or file was safe from their snopping and prying. No individual or organization was free from their despicable conspiratorial minds.
The tools of their trade were miniature transmitters, lock picks, secret codes, forged credentials and any other  device they found necessary to carry out their conspiratorial schemes.

The Church has also in the past made use of aggressive tactics in addressing those it sees as trying to suppress them, known as Suppressive Persons (SPs) first outlined by L. Ron Hubbard as part of a policy called fair game. It was under this policy that Paulette Cooper was targeted for having authored The Scandal of Scientology, a 1970 exposé book about the Church and its founder. This action was known as Operation Freakout. Using blank paper known to have been handled by Cooper, Scientologists forged bomb threats in her name.^[46] When fingerprints on them matched hers, the Justice Department began prosecution, which could have sent Cooper to prison for a lengthy term. The Church's plan was discovered at the same time as its Operation Snow White actions were revealed. All charges against Cooper were dismissed, though she had spent more than $20,000 on legal fees for her defense.^[46]

Of these activities the current Church laments:
...how long a time is the church going to have to continue to pay the price for what the (Guardian office) did....
Unfortunately, the church continues to be confronted with. And the irconic thing is that the people being confronted with it are the people who wiped it out. And to the church, that's very frustrating thing.

Yet it has continued to aggressively target people it deems suppressive. In 1998, regarding its announcement that it had hired a private investigator to look into the background of a Boston Herald writer who had written a series on the church, Robert W. Thornburg, dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University, said, "No one I know goes so far as to hire outsiders to harass or try to get intimidating data on critics. Scientology is the only crowd that does that."^[47] It has apparently continued as recently as 2006 when BBC journalist John Sweeney was making Scientology and Me, an investigative report about the Church and was the subject of harassment:
In LA, the monent our hire car left the airport we realised we were being followed by two cars. In our hotel a weird stranger spent every breakfast listening to us.

Members' health and safety
The death of some Scientologists has brought attention to the Church both due to the circumstances of their demise and their relationship with Scientology possibly being a factor.^[49] In 1995, Lisa McPherson was involved in a minor automobile accident while driving on a Clearwater, Florida street. Following the collision, she exited her vehicle, stripped naked and showed further signs of mental instability. Hospital staff agreed that she was unharmed, but recommended keeping her overnight for observation. Following intervention by fellow Scientologists, McPherson refused psychiatric observation or admission at the hospital and checked herself out after a short evaluation. She was taken to the Fort Harrison Hotel, a Scientology retreat, to receive a Church sanctioned treatment called Introspection Rundown. It was her second time on the rundown, her first time having been in June. Her appearance after death was that of someone who had been denied water and food for quite some time, being both underweight and severely dehydrated. Additionally, her skin was covered with over a hundred insect bites, presumably from cockroaches. She was locked in a room for 17 days. When she later died, the state of Florida pursued criminal charges against the Church. The Church has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and now makes members sign a waiver before Introspection Rundown specifically stating that they (or anyone on their behalf) will not bring any legal action against the organization over injury or death.^[50] These charges attracted press coverage and sparked lawsuits. Eight years later Elli Perkins, another adherent to Scientology's beliefs regarding psychiatry, was stabbed to death by her mentally disturbed son. Though Elli Perkins's son had begun to show symptoms of schizophrenia as early as 2001, the Perkins family chose not to seek psychiatric help for him and opted instead for remedies sanctioned by Scientology. The death of Elli Perkins at the hands of a disturbed family member, one whose disease could have been treated by methods and medications banned by Scientology, again raised questions in the media about the Church's methods.^[51]