IV. IS SCIENTOLOGY A RELIGION?(...)

It is in the light of the above that we can then ask whether or not Scientology is a religion. The brief answer is "yes, it is." We can make this clearer if we now take the above understanding of religion and look at the case of Scientology.

In the Church of Scientology, do we encounter a distinctive set of religious beliefs concerning the meaning and ultimate end of human life? Even the most cursory familiarity with the Scientology community and its literature will lead one to answer in the affirmative. According to their own literature, Scientology is "an applied religious philosophy and technology resolving problems of the spirit, life, and thought." Those "problems of the spirit, life, and thought" are not permanent but can be overcome, according to Scientology. That overcoming of the "problems of the spirit, life, and thought" is centered, in Scientology, in awareness and knowledge. Central to that awareness and knowledge are the thetan and the Eight Dynamics. Each requires a brief clarification in order to indicate some central aspects of Scientology belief.