Resolved: Scientology is a proper religion based on conventional definition of what a religion is.

Of importance to note is I specifically am referring to Scientology generally as a religion and not the specific organizations that make up the religion. (i. e. Church of Scientology, Ron's Org(and independent group) etc. .) I can still defend the Church of Scientology in the context of governmental and common definitions of religion and will do that here. re"li"gion (Defintion - Google Dictionary) noun 1) The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. 2) A particular system of faith or worship 3) A pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. It should be noted that not all of these elements are required to fit the definition of religion but I will address how each relate to Scientology. C1: The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods Scientologists are theists, they believe in a God. The creed of the Church of Scientology references the laws of God and many rites and practices in Scientology recognize God. (1) Scientology further recognizes superhuman or supernatural controlling powers as evidenced by materials contained throughout Scientology including spiritual level Operating Theatan III "The Wall of Fire" or as many would say "The Xenu Story" (2) I make no comments about the merits of the theology of Scientology but only point to it as evidence that it meets this criteria for being a religion. C2: A Particular System of Worship Scientology clear has a system of worships and search for spiritual enlightenment and/or salvation. L. Ron Hubbard the founder of Scientology laid out what is called the "Bridge to Total Freedom" (1) which lays out exacting steps and levels a Scientologist must take toward enlightenment or salvation. Scientology practices such as courses, auditing, and Sunday services also point to a organized particular system of worship of their spiritual ideas. C3: A pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. Individual Scientologists be they practicing in the Church of Scientology organization or in the church organization can be observed placing significant importance on their religious activities. This manifests especially in the the amount of time they dedicate to it. C4: The Church of Scientology meets the criteria the US Internal Revenue Service generally uses along with court decisions to determine what is a church. a) Distinct legal existence The Church of Scientology is goverened by generally by legally recognized non profit corporations known as the Religious Technology Center inc and the Church of Scientology International inc(CSI) along with other legally recognized entities such as the Church of Spiritual Technology(CST) (3) b) Recognized creed and form of worship The church has a creed that it makes available publically as well as in gneral form or worship and operation (1) c) Definite and distinct ecclesiastical government As I stated before the church has an ecclesiastical government managed by RTC, CSI, CST, and what they call a watchdog committee that coordinates activities among those organizations. Under those entities there are also local and regional church governing bodies. d) Formal code of doctrine and discipline Scientology has a formal doctrine that is codified in other 4000 written works by Mr. Hubbard. There are also policy pronouncements of church rules and discipline. e) Distinct religious history Scientology has a distinct written history traced back to the early 1950s (1) f) Membership not associated with any other church or denomination Scientology is not directly affiliated with other religons, churches, or denominations. g) Organization of ordained ministers Scientology has a Chaplin organization that provides services in every organization, auditors would also be considers ministers (1) h) Ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study Auditors must complete a course of study prescribed on the "training" side of the "Bridge to total freedom" in order to audit others. i) Literature of its own Scientology consists of hundreds of book an lectures by Mr. Hubbard. j) Established places of worship The Church of Scientology and independent organizations have places where they meet and practice that a widely known and most of which are open to the public. k) Regular congregations The Church of Scientology has regular events and meetings of the members l) Regular religious services Churches of Scientology and independent organizations are available and/or open for regular services including sunday meetings, scheduled auditing, and course study. m) Sunday schools for the religious instruction of the young Sunday school is not part of Scientology practice but local organzations do have services for young people. n) Schools for the preparation of its members The Church of Scientology though its charities supports Delphi Schools Inc which operates Delphi Academy schools in Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Campbell, California, San Diego, Santa Monica, California, as well as Milton, Massachusetts, Lombard, Illinois, and Clearwater, Florida. These are private schools open to the public and Scientologists and use L. Ron Hubbard's developed teaching methods to educate children. (4) As you can see, regardless of what you think of the theology or operations of the Church of Scientology and other organizations of Scientology or your general personal opinion, the religion and its tenets qualify under both a general and governmental standard of what constitutes a religion. I look forward to Con's arguments. Sources: 1) www. Scientology. org 2) . http://kspaink.home.xs4all.nl... 3) www. rtc. org 4) . http://www.delphian.org...