As in most European countries, the Church of Scientology is not officially acknowledged in Ireland as a charitable group. The Irish government has not invited the Church of Scientology to national discussions on secularization by the Religious Council of Ireland. The meetings had been attended by Roman Catholic bishops, representatives of the Church of Ireland, Ireland’s Chief Rabbi, and Muslim leaders. In September 2007, a Belgian prosecutor introduced mimicry champion hole that they had finished an investigation of Scientology and stated they would probably deliver charges. The Church of Scientology stated the prosecutor’s public announcement falsely advised guilt even before a court docket might hear any of the fees.
Critics say it is improper to repair a donation for religious service; due to this fact the exercise is non-religious. Scientology points out many lessons, exercises and counseling may also be traded for “in type” or performed cooperatively by college students for no value, and members of its most devoted orders can make use of providers with none donations bar that of their time. A central tenet of Scientology is its Doctrine of Exchange, which dictates that each time a person receives something, he or she should give something again. By doing so, a Scientologist maintains “inflow” and “outflow”, avoiding religious decline. In the US, the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey discovered that the there were 25,000 Scientologists within the US. A 2008 Trinity College survey similarly concluded there were 25,000 Scientologists.
Scientologists are taught that a sequence of events, or incidents, occurred earlier than life on earth. Scientologists additionally imagine that humans have hidden skills which could be unlocked. The group claims that they provide methods by which a person can achieve larger religious awareness. Within Scientology, development from level to degree is commonly called The Bridge to Total Freedom. Scientologists progress from “Preclear”, to “Clear”, and ultimately “Operating Thetan”.
In April 2008, the Freewinds was sealed, and work stopped on refurbishments, because of “intensive contamination” with blue asbestos. Los Angeles, California, has the most important concentration of Scientologists and Scientology-related organizations on the planet, with the Church of Scientology’s most visible presence being within the Hollywood district of the city. The organization owns a former hospital on Fountain Avenue which homes Scientology’s West Coast headquarters, the Pacific Area Command Base – sometimes called “PAC Base” or “Big Blue”, after its blue paint job. Adjacent buildings embrace headquarters of several inner Scientology divisions, including the American Saint Hill Organization, the Advanced Organization of Los Angeles, and the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles.
The RTC employs lawyers and has pursued individuals and teams who’ve legally attacked Scientology or who’re deemed to be a legal threat to Scientology. This has included breakaway Scientologists who apply Scientology outside the central organization and critics, in addition to numerous government and media organizations. Scientology’s Celebrity Center International is located on Franklin Avenue, while the Association for Better Living and Education, Author Services and the official headquarters of the Church of Scientology International are all situated on Hollywood Boulevard. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition, a museum detailing his life that’s open to the general public. The Celebrity Centre was acquired by the organization because the Chateau Elysee in 1973, constructed to accommodate members within the arts, sports and authorities. The organization was founded in 1975 when a Scientology-founded group referred to as “Southern Land Development and Leasing Corp” bought the Fort Harrison Hotel for $2.3 million.
The 2011 census nonetheless discovered a lower of thirteen.7 % from the 2006 census. The 2001 United Kingdom census contained a voluntary query on religion, to which approximately forty eight,000,000 selected to reply. Of these dwelling in England and Wales who responded, a total of 1,781 said they have been Scientologists. In 2001, the American Religious Identification Survey reported that there were fifty five,000 adults within the United States who contemplate themselves Scientologists. A 2008 survey of American spiritual affiliations by the US Census Bureau estimated there to be 25,000 Americans identifying as Scientologists. On January 22, 2013, attorneys for the group, as nicely as a few of its members, reacted towards the CNN News Group for its airing of a narrative covering the release of a guide revealed by a former member, entitled ‘Going Clear’, published earlier the identical year.
In the 2006 New Zealand census, 357 people identified themselves as Scientologists, although a spokesperson for the group said there were between 5,000 and 6,000 Scientologists in the nation. Earlier census figures were 207 in the 1991 census, 219 in 1996, and 282 in 2001. In 2011, Statistics Canada, the nationwide census agency, reported a complete of 1,745 Scientologists nationwide, up from 1,525 in 2001 and 1,220 in 1991. In order to facilitate the continued growth of Scientology, the organization has made efforts to win allies in the form of powerful or revered folks. Scientology has had a written program governing celebrity recruitment since a minimum of 1955, when L. Ron Hubbard created “Project Celebrity”, offering rewards to Scientologists who recruited focused celebrities.
CNN News Group then chose to publish the reactionary correspondence, with confidential info redacted, on its website online. In 1974, Hubbard established the Rehabilitation Project Force as a sub-unit of the Sea Org, to supply a “second likelihood” to members whose offenses had been considered severe enough to warrant expulsion. RPF members are paired up and help each other for 5 hours each day with spiritual counseling to resolve the issues for which they were assigned to this system. They additionally spend eight hours per day doing bodily labor that will profit the Scientology facility the place they are positioned.