Is Scientology Actually a Religion?

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Since 1993, Scientology, which many people have long considered to be a “cult,” has been a religion in the eyes of the United States government, with the tax exemption that goes along with that. But whether it is actually a “religion” in the way that most of us think about religion is a wholly different matter.

To address the basics: there is no God in Scientology.  There is also no prayer, no concept of Heaven or Hell, no turn-the-other-cheek forgiveness or love, nor any of the other things we typically associate with religion, at least in the Judeo-Christian context. There is also no “faith” – no concept of belief. Instead, there is knowledge, a certainty beyond a shadow of a doubt that Scientology’s doctrine, all of which was authored by the church’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard, is the absolute truth.