Sample of bona fide sources demonstrating or referring to official US recognition of Scientology as a religion Here is how the New York Times commented on the 1993 tax exemption The landmark reversal shocked tax experts and saved the church tens of millions of dollars in taxes More significantly the decision was an invaluable public relations tool in Scientology s worldwide campaign for acceptance as a mainstream religion On the basis of the I R S ruling the State Department formally criticized Germany for discriminating against Scientologists The German Government regards the organization as a business not a tax exempt religion the very position maintained for 25 years by the American Government I think the NY Times writer clearly expresses the view here that the US abandoned their earlier view of Scientology as a business as still espoused today by Germany Note that the State Department Report referred to in the NY Times article is the Religious Freedom Report The Religious Freedom Reports for Germany have discussed discrimination against Scientologists by the German state almost every year since the IRS decision referring in 2006 for example to certain religious minorities notably Scientologists Following the 1993 IRS decision the IRS wrote to foreign governments appending a document entitled Description of the Scientology Religion to their letter and stating that various Scientology organizations had demonstrated that they were organized and operated exclusively for religious or charitable purposes and that no part of their net earnings inures to the benefit of any private individual Media references to the Scientology religion and similar references to Scientology as a religion are common The Encyclopedia of American Civil Liberties says that Despite its legal setbacks Scientology has achieved full legal recognition as a religious denomination in the United States As for the claimed inability of any governmental entity in the United States to determine what is or is not a religion the United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit stated in a 1992 decision that Indeed the IRS itself has stipulated in other cases that the Church of Scientology is a bona fide religion so in the view of that court at least the IRS has been quite capable of making such stipulations The St Petersburg Times wrote in 1998 that After a 40 year battle the IRS dropped its tax dispute with Scientology and declared it a tax exempt religion in 1993 Such sources can not be dismissed with a wave of the hand as Scientologist misrepresentation 466