Is Scientology a Religion? Faith, Business, or Cult?
This essay examines the contested question of whether Scientology constitutes a genuine religion or functions primarily as a business or cult. Drawing on comparisons with early Christianity, the paper analyzes Scientology's rituals—such as auditing and the E-meter—its institutional hierarchy, and the financial demands placed on members. It considers arguments from scholars like Reza Aslan, who contend that Scientology's main distinction from established religions is simply its youth, while also engaging critics who point to its high membership costs, lack of charitable diversity, and allegations of exploitative practices. The essay concludes that, while parallels with early Christianity are instructive, Scientology presents notable structural differences from conventional religious institutions.
- Introduction: The Question of Scientology's Religious Status: Debate over Scientology as religion versus cult
- Early Christianity as a Parallel: Persecution and Marginalization: Early Christianity's persecuted origins as analogy
- Scientology's Rituals and the Auditing Process: Auditing, E-meter, and ritual purity practices
- Financial Demands and Criticisms of Scientology: High session costs and cult-like financial burdens
- Legal Recognition and Ongoing Controversies: IRS tax-exempt status and member bankruptcy claims
- Conclusion: Measured verdict on Scientology's religious legitimacy
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What makes this paper effective
- It grounds the central argument in a concrete historical analogy — comparing Scientology's current contested status to the early persecution of Christianity — giving the reader a familiar framework for evaluating an unfamiliar topic.
- It fairly presents both sides: defenders of Scientology's religious legitimacy and critics who frame it as a cult or business, without dismissing either position outright.
- The conclusion synthesizes the evidence honestly, acknowledging the partial validity of the parallel while identifying clear structural differences such as cost burden and lack of denominational diversity.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper uses analogical reasoning as its primary argumentative strategy. By mapping Scientology's features — persecution, rituals, sacred hierarchy — onto those of early Christianity, the writer tests whether the same standards used to legitimize Christianity apply to Scientology. This technique allows the author to expose the implicit double standard in how "new" religions are judged, while still drawing a defensible line based on specific institutional differences.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens by framing the debate and introducing the scholarly claim that Scientology's age is its only disqualifier. It then builds the Christianity analogy across two body sections before shifting to Scientology-specific critiques — first ritual and then financial. The penultimate section addresses legal recognition, and the conclusion weighs both sides to reach a measured verdict. This funnel structure (broad claim → analogy → specific critique → judgment) is well-suited to a comparative argumentative essay.
Introduction: The Question of Scientology's Religious Status
One common objection raised against so-called New Age religions like Scientology is that they are not truly faith-based systems, but function more as businesses or cults. Scientologists and atheists and agnostics alike, however, have objected to this distinction, arguing that there is little difference between conventional Christianity and newer faiths. In fact, scholar and podcaster Reza Aslan has argued that the only difference between Scientology and other religions is its age, given that it was founded in the 1950s by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard (Gilgoff and Escobedo).
Early Christianity as a Parallel: Persecution and Marginalization
It is true that when Christianity was just beginning, it was a persecuted and marginalized religion. It originally sprang up as a distinct sect of Judaism, but gradually spread to the gentile community, thanks to the preaching of Paul ("Early Christians"). While Judaism was a religion very much located in the belief structures of the ancient Israelites, the Apostle Paul and the early Christians explicitly sought to spread the new religion to a more receptive community in the form of the gentiles of the Roman Empire ("Early Christians"). As a result, the new religion and its members were persecuted and mistrusted. Gradually, the religion gained new converts and became more respectable. It developed certain sacred texts, rituals, and an entire institutional hierarchy.
Scientology's Rituals and the Auditing Process
Scientologists would similarly argue that, like the early Christians, they are persecuted and misunderstood, and that it is only because of the support of certain respected celebrities that the sect has been able to survive. Critics, however, would argue that rather than a search for truth, Scientology has ultimately emerged as a cult or a business based upon delusion and intent on accumulating money and power.
Like Christianity, there is an emphasis on purity, and this purity is achieved through rituals and confessions similar to those of many religious sects. Scientologists are "audited," and the goal of this auditing is comparable to that of psychotherapy — helping members relieve past traumas (Gilgoff and Escobedo). But unlike psychotherapy or even confession to a priest, a Scientologist's purity is measured through an actual mechanical device called an E-meter, which assesses the body's electrical flow while the believer answers questions about past trauma (Gilgoff and Escobedo). This method is not grounded in evidence-based therapy; rather, its efficacy is taken entirely on faith. Those who stress the religious nature of Scientology would compare this to the trust placed in a priest or member of the clergy as a representative of God on Earth.
Conclusion
Religions are perhaps inevitably controversial, much like Christianity once was. However, it is clear that there is far less diversity of different sects, far less charitable outreach, and far greater expense shouldered by members in the Church of Scientology than in most established religious traditions. While the analogy to early Christianity illuminates how new religions face skepticism and persecution, the structural differences — particularly regarding financial demands and institutional accountability — remain significant and difficult to dismiss.
Works Cited
"Early Christians." The Roman Empire. PBS. Web. 29 October 2020. https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/christians.html
Gilgoff, Dan, and Tricia Escobedo. "Scientology: What Exactly Is It?" CNN. 22 March 2017. Web. 29 October 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/us/believer-what-is-scientology/index.html
Nededog, Jethro. "How Scientology Costs Members Up to Millions of Dollars." Business Insider. 12 March 2016. Web. 29 October 2020. https://www.businessinsider.com/scientology-costs-leah-remini-recap-episode-3-2016-12
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