Scientology is a True World Religion

The world’s foremost experts in the fields of comparative religion, history of religion, religious studies and sociology agree that Scientology is a world religion. Because of their interest in major and emerging world religions, distinguished scholars have published numerous studies, opinions and papers testing Scientology against a list of world-religion norms by which they judge any religion. Although these experts and scholars proceed from their unique cultural background and method of analysis, they have all independently concluded that Scientology possesses the requisite elements and characteristics of a bona fide religion.

Objective research on this subject has been conducted by more than one hundred experts, including the most preeminent and acclaimed scholars from interrelated disciplines.

Millions of Scientologists sincerely believe in and have adopted the tenets and practices of the religion. For every one of them, Scientology is their true religion and fulfills their deepest spiritual needs. This is the most important test of any religion. Nevertheless, if one relies on secondary sources, there is no genuine religious expert anywhere who does not recognize Scientology as a religion.

Scientology, Social Science and the Definition of Religion

by James A. Beckford, Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick, England

Social Change and New Religious Movements

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

The Church of Scientology

by Juha Pentikäinen, Marja Pentikäinen, University of Helsinki, Finland

The Relationship Between Scientology and Other Religions

by Fumio Sawada, Eighth holder of the secrets of Yu-itsu Shinto, the oldest religion in Japan; President, Ahlul-Bait Center

The Religious Nature of Scientology

by Geoffrey Parrinder, Methodist minister, Professor, Comparative Study of Religions, University of London

Religious Philosophy, Religion and Church

by G.C. Oosthuizen, Professor of Science of Religion, University of Durban-Westville, Natal, South Africa

Scientology a New Religion

by M. Darrol Bryant, Department of Religious Studies, Renison College, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Apostates and New Religious Movements

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

Scientology: An Analysis and Comparison of its Religious Systems and Doctrines

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

The Reliability of Apostate Testimony About New Religious Movements

by Lonnie D. Kliever Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies

The Sea Organization and its Role Within the Church of Scientology

by Frank K. Flinn Ph.D. Adjunct Professor in Religious Studies

Brief Analyses of the Religious Nature of Scientology

by J. Gordon Melton, Baylor University, Samuel Hill, Gary Bouma, Irving Hexham

Congregational Services of the Church of Scientology

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

Is Scientology A Religion?

by Alan W. Black, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

Is Scientology a Religion?

by Dean M. Kelley, National Council of Churches

Religious Toleration & Religious Diversity

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

Scientology A Religion In South Africa

by David Chidester, Professor of Comparative Religion, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Scientology: A True Religion

by Urbano Alonso Galan, Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Gregorian University of Rome

Scientology: A Way of Spiritual Self-Identification

by Michael Sivertsev, Moscow Academy of Sciences

Scientology: A Worshipping Community

by Lonnie D. Kliever, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

Scientology and Contemporary Definitions of Religion in the Social Sciences

by Alejandro Frigerio, Professor of Sociology, Catholic University of Argentina, Buenos Aires

Scientology and Islam an Analogous Study

by Fumio Sawada, Eighth holder of the secrets of Yu-itsu Shinto, the oldest religion in Japan; President, Ahlul-Bait Center

Scientology and Religion

by Christiaan Vonck, Rector, Faculty for Comparative Study of Religion, Antwerp, Belgium

Scientology: A Comparison with Religions of the East and West

by Per-Arne Berglie, Professor of History of Religion, University of Stockholm

Scientology Its Cosmology, Anthropology, System of Ethics and Methodologies

by Régis Dericquebourg, Professor of Sociology of Religion, University of Lille III, France

Scientology – Its Historical-Morphological Frame

by Dario Sabbatucci, Professor of History of Religions, University of Rome

Scientology: Its True Nature

by Harri Heino, Professor of Theology, University of Tampere, Finland

Scientology: The Marks of Religion

by Frank K. Flinn, Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies Washington University

THE AUTHORS

Authors of these studies include the foremost scholars of religion, past and present, including Dr. Bryan Wilson, Reader Emeritus in Sociology at Oxford University from 1963 to 1993; Dr. Geoffrey Parrinder, former Professor of Religion at the University of London; Dr. James Beckford, Professor of Religion at the University of Warwick; Dr. M. Darrol Bryant, Professor of Religion and Culture, Renison College, University of Waterloo, Canada; Dr. Régis Dericquebourg, Professor of Sociology of Religion at the University of Lille III, France; Dr. Alejandro Frigerio, Associate Professor of Sociology, Catholic University of Argentina; Dr. Frank K. Flinn, Adjunct Professor in Religious Studies, Washington University, Missouri; Mr. Fumio Sawada, Eighth Holder of the Secrets of Yu-Itsu Shinto; Professor Urbano Alonso Galan, Theologian and Philosopher, Madrid; Professor Dario Sabbatucci, Professor of History of Religions, University of Rome; Professor Harry Heino, Professor of Theology, Research Chief, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland; Professor David Chidester, Professor of Comparative Religion, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Professor Alan W. Black, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.

Dr. Bryan Wilson was acknowledged as one of the most distinguished scholars of new religions in the world in his lifetime. He was a fellow of All Souls College at Oxford and the British Academy. He researched, published and lectured on religion and new religious movements around the world for fifty years and provided expert opinions on religion for the British House of Commons and the courts. He studied Scientology for over 30 years, visited Churches of Scientology, read volumes of Scientology Scripture and interviewed numerous Scientologists. His considered conclusion exemplifies the worldwide academic view of the Scientology religion:

“Scientology is a bona fide religion and should be considered as such… [Scientologists] perceive their beliefs and practices as a religion, and many bring to them levels of commitment which exceed those normally found among believers in the traditional religions.”

Professor Wilson’s scientific findings are shared by scholars from Germany, France, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Russia, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Holland, Austria, Argentina, Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the United States and other countries. The following excerpts of opinions by these experts are illustrative:

“For scholars in the field of the history of religions, sociology, and/or comparative religion, there is no doubt that Scientology is a religion.”

Christiaan Vonck, Ph.D., Rector, Faculty for Comparative Study of Religions, Antwerp, Belgium

“Scientology appears fully as a religion and it is therefore natural to express the opinion that, in a community which has religious freedom, it should be provided with the facilities to satisfy the need of its adherents and members of the religious faith.”

Per-Arne Berglie, Ph.D., Professor, History of Religion, University of Stockholm, Sweden

“One cannot reach any other decision than that Scientology is a religion. It has more similarities to Japanese religions than Western religions, and for this reason it may be misunderstood in the West for not being similar to the other mainstream religions. But, nevertheless, it is an international religion, very similar to religions in Japan that have adherents numbering 20 million.”

Haji Muhammad al-Qaaim Safa Sawada, President, Ahlul‐Bait Center, Japan

“Everything which is said or done in Scientology can and must make sense in our culture only if understood as a religion.”

Dario Sabbatucci, Professor of History of Religions, University of Rome

“Scientology clearly meets the scholarly definition of any religious tradition, clearly pursues the goals of any religious quest, and clearly exhibits the dimensions of any religious community.”

Lonnie D. Kliever, Professor of Religious Studies, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

“Apart from individual salvation, Scientology sees it as its task to clean up our whole planet and create a civilization where there is no irrationality, criminality or wars.... Scientology in its present form is a religion, offering crucial religious services, a distinctive belief and a tightly organised religious denomination.”

Harri Heino, Professor of Theology, Research Chief,
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

“Therefore, per the analytical definitions of religion, the Church of Scientology constitutes a religious institution, since its expectations in relation to its adherents correspond to what such institutions expect of religious individuals.”

Alejandro Frigerio, Professor of Sociology, Catholic University of Argentina

“Scientology appears to have adopted from the outset and as a basic doctrine a spiritual attitude to life.”

Geoffrey Parrinder, Professor of the Comparative Study of Religions, University of London

“As a religion that is both old and new, the Church of Scientology has continued to advance religious aspirations that have gained adherents all over the world. At the very least, the Church of Scientology merits continued recognition and attention as a religion in South Africa.”

David Chidester, Professor of Comparative Religion, University of Cape Town, South Africa

“I consider that Scientology is rightly regarded as a religion. As well as having the salient generic characteristics that typify recognized religions, Scientology has its own distinctive features—particular beliefs and practices that mark it out as a different religion rather than a non-religion.”

Alan W. Black, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

“Based on my extensive experience as a scholar of religious movements; my studies of the doctrines, beliefs and practices of the Church of Scientology, my visits to several Scientology Churches ... and my lengthy visits with several ministers of the Church of Scientology, I find it to be a religion in the fullest sense of the word. It has a well thought-out doctrine, including a belief in a Supreme Being, a belief in the freedom of spirit and the immortality of the spirit, a system of worship and liturgy, an extensive pastoral counseling program and an out-reach ministry of service to the community that embodies the doctrines and beliefs of the Church. Such a full program is rarely attained by a new religion in its first generation.”

J. Gordon Melton, Distinguished Professor of American Religious History at the Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University, in Waco, Texas; Founder and Director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion

OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS RECOGNITIONS
OF THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY

In addition to this overwhelming acceptance of Scientology’s religious bona fides by the world’s foremost scholars, Scientology has been officially recognized as a religion in hundreds upon hundreds of executive, administrative and judicial decisions.

CONCLUSION

The status of Scientology as a world religion cannot be questioned—as every qualified and objective academic expert of religion agrees. Scientology is fully developed in its theology, religious practice and organization. The breadth and scope of the religion include more than eleven thousand Churches of Scientology, missions and related organizations in countries all over the world.

Scientology is a truly unique contemporary religion—the only major religion to emerge in the twentieth century. As Scientology addresses the spirit and the relationship of humanity to the universe and the Supreme Being, it can be nothing other than a religion in the fullest sense of the word.

This overwhelming consensus of academic opinion by the international luminaries of religious study and scholarship has been formulated in a series of academic papers.

These expertises provide a thorough understanding of how Scientology compares with other religions. They provide an academic overview of the religion and the rich traditions from which Scientology springs. They are available for study and review as listed below. Some of these expertises are contained on this website and others are also contained in the book Scientology, Theology & Practice of a Contemporary Religion.