I took a Sci Fi literature class in college, and we spent an entire unit learning about Ron L. Hubbard and Scientology. Hubbard was only interested in exploiting people. The whole religion of Scientology is based only on pseudo-science, mythological stories and brainwashing techniques. And like Bible Belt said, it is legally classified as a religion and earning tax-exempt status, when it shouldn't be.
I wouldn't have a problem with Scientology if it didn't repress free speech, exploit innocent people and misuse taxpayers' dollars. Normally, I'm the kind of person who is extremely respective of other peoples' religious beliefs, but that isn't the case at all with Scientology, which is more of a cult or a corporation than a religion.
It's flat-out ridiculous for you to compare Scientology to Christianity. People are allowed to leave Christianity freely, and the central beliefs of Christianity are a little bit more founded than Scientology's. There are plenty of historical accounts of Jesus, not to mention the group of people who followed Him. It's understandable that someone wouldn't believe in the acts of water-walking and turning water into wine, but the ideas of Body Thetans and the story of Xenu and his Galactic Confederacy are a lot more far-fetched than anything Christianity has ever produced. Sure, the Old Testament has many stories that are comparable, but the majority of Christian-based religions don't literally interpret the Old Testament. It's understandable for someone to have a hard time believing in miracles, but at least the story of Jesus has some sort of historical context and proof to it.
The nutty thing is, it took a group of Internet nerds to bring all of Scientology's exploitations to the public's eye.
I could go through and summarize the "Controversies" section of the Scientology Wikipedia page, but I'm going to save myself the time because I have a feeling the OP is a Scientologist himself who is only going to respond by saying things like "Naaah" "Nooo" "Christianity killed people too".
Sorry, but this thread sucks
