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Started by H Needles; Last updated Feb 4, 08 11:38 AM CST by K Schwartz | View history

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Scientology

"It is a religion. Because it's dealing with the spirit. You as a spiritual being. It gives you tools you can use to apply to your life." -Tom Cruise

Dubbed "the study of truth" by its founder and spiritual messiah, the late science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology was born in the early 1950s and now claims more than 10 million members in 159 countries. One of America's most controversial religions, its widely known for attracting Hollywood celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 24

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  • July 2008

    • Monday's Child Is ... Sunday?

      newser  |  MSNBC  |  Jul 8, 08 12:18 PM CDT

      Monday's Child Is ... Sunday?

      Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's newborn daughter’s name, Sunday Rose, may be part cross-promotion, part payback, reports MSNBC. The couple decided on the name after Urban wrote a song, "Sunday," about his daughter-to-be—but a source says the name could also be a shot at Tom Cruise's favored belief system. More »

    • Holmes' Sept. Broadway Debut Already a Bust?

      newser  |  New York Post  |  Jul 2, 08 11:41 AM CDT

      Holmes' Sept. Broadway Debut Already a Bust?

      Katie Holmes is not drawing the tickets sales for her Broadway debut producers had hoped for, the New York Post reports. "I bought 1,000 tickets to the show," one broker says of the September revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons . "I still have them." Some had predicted Holmes' turn would rival Julia Roberts' box-office success with Three Days of Rain in 2006. More »

    • So What If Will Smith's School Preaches Scientology?

      newser  |  Los Angeles Times  |  Jul 1, 08 12:19 PM CDT

      So What If Will Smith's School Preaches Scientology?

      Will Smith denies he, wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, or the school they founded are affiliated with the Church of Scientology, writes the LA Times in an opinion piece , but who cares if L. Ron Hubbard himself is teaching Scientology 101? The school, set to open in September amid rumors that it uses Scientologist-developed teaching methods, is being funded on the Smiths' dime and should be subject to the Smiths' beliefs. More »

  • June 2008

    • Cruise's Lawyer Rips Dr. Drew

      newser  |  Radar  |  Jun 13, 08 11:20 AM CDT

      Cruise's Lawyer Rips Dr. Drew

      Celebrity psychiatrist Dr. Drew Pinksy's armchair diagnosis of Tom Cruise in Playboy has riled up Cruise’s lawyer, who compares the doc to a Nazi, Radar reports. The host of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew said Cruise’s attraction to the “cultish kind of environment” of Scientology is “a function of a very deep emptiness and suggests serious neglect in childhood—maybe some abuse, but mostly neglect." More »

  • May 2008

    • No Charges for Scientology Protester

      newser  |  BBC  |  May 23, 08 1:10 PM CDT

      No Charges for Scientology Protester

      Charges against a 15-year-old who called Scientology as a ‘cult’ were dropped today, the BBC reports. The London police issued a mea culpa after a court ruled that the teen’s holding up a sign reading, "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult," did not constitute “abusive or insulting” behavior. More »

    • Teen Calls Scientology a 'Cult,' Faces Charges

      newser  |  Guardian (UK)  |  May 20, 08 3:40 PM CDT

      Teen Calls Scientology a 'Cult,' Faces Charges

      A 15-year-old is facing charges for holding a sign calling Scientology a "cult" during a peaceful protest. A London policewoman asked the teen to remove the sign; when he refused, she handed him a court summons, the Guardian reports. Free speech and anti-cult groups are furious, particularly in light of recent gifts from the Church of Scientology to the London Police Department totaling thousands of pounds. More »

    • Smith Puts His Money Where His Church Is (Maybe)

      newser  |  Guardian (UK)  |  May 19, 08 12:05 PM CDT

      Smith Puts His Money Where His Church Is (Maybe)

      Doing little to dispel widespread rumors that he's a new recruit to Scientology, Will Smith is funding a school that will use teaching methods devised by L. Ron Hubbard. Smith's own kids will attend the school, reports the Guardian . So-called "Study Technology" has been criticized for its ties to religious dogma and lack of data about its educational value. More »

    • Another TomKitten?

      newser  |  E! Online  |  May 9, 08 10:05 AM CDT

      Another TomKitten?

      Tom Cruise had better watch it: E! Online reports that wife Katie Holmes has the baby-making "itch." "Now that Suri is more toddler than baby, she said she misses having an infant in the house. And, of course, she thinks Suri would make a great big sister," a friend to the power couple dished. "She said she's got the itch."  More »

  • April 2008

    • Cruise Kid Lands Gig in Will Smith Flick

      newser  |  People  |  Apr 22, 08 11:17 AM CDT

      Cruise Kid Lands Gig in Will Smith Flick

      Which gets you further in Hollywood: having Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as parents or having Will Smith as your close family friend? Either way, Connor Cruise, the famed actors' adopted 13-year-old son, has scored himself a big screen debut in Smith's upcoming drama, "Seven Pounds," People.com reports. The younger Cruise will play a minor role as a young Smith. More »

    • Take a Toke of 'Tom Cruise'

      newser  |  New York Daily News  |  Apr 4, 08 3:56 PM CDT

      Take a Toke of 'Tom Cruise'

      Wonder what it's like to be as high—on life and on couch cushions—as Tom Cruise? Head west, where licensed California medical-marijuana dealers are hawking a bud called "Tom Cruise Purple." The vials reportedly feature the actor's maniacally laughing mug—and aficionados  say it'll have you hallucinating in no time, the New York Daily News reports. More »

  • March 2008

    • Cruise Busts Moves in Birthday Video

      newser  |  Gawker  |  Mar 14, 08 8:32 PM CDT

      Cruise Busts Moves in Birthday Video

      The lock on Scientology's media vault must be missing. Gawker has obtained "secret video" of a lavish birthday bash thrown for church booster Tom Cruise on board a cruise ship, in which the couch-jumper enters to theme music from Top Gun , and sings and dances through Old Time Rock and Roll from Risky Business . More »

    • Internet Activists Target Scientology

      newser  |  Los Angeles Times  |  Mar 3, 08 2:10 PM CST

      Internet Activists Target Scientology

      Scientology is increasingly under attack on the Internet, where critics and dropouts are undermining the church's traditionally tight control of its public image, reports the LA Times . Three ex-Scientologists, including the niece of the church's head, launched ExScientologyKids.com last week. Its motto: "We were born. We grew up. We escaped." More »

  • February 2008

    • Video Sparks Hacker War vs. Scientology

      newser  |  Guardian (UK)  |  Feb 4, 08 4:04 PM CST

      Video Sparks Hacker War vs. Scientology

      After the Church of Scientology removed a video of Tom Cruise calling his religion a “blast” from YouTube, the Internet world declared war. Hackers have been furiously shutting down and “Google bombing” Scientology's website while free-speech protesters gather and pranksters send white powder in envelopes to LA-area Scientology locations, the Guardian reports. More »

  • January 2008

    • Cruise Out to Save World in Wacky Video

      newser  |  ABC News  |  Jan 16, 08 9:00 AM CST

      Cruise Out to Save World in Wacky Video

      The latest Tom Cruise thriller is a Scientology testimonial video circulating online in which the weirdly intense actor promotes the faith as the way to save the world, and urges fellow Scientologists to "educate to bring a new reality" to non-believers. "When you drive past an accident," Cruise says, with the Mission: Impossible theme throbbing in the background, "you have to do something because you know you're the only one that can really help." More »

    • Scientologists Blast Cruise Bio's Claims

      newser  |  Daily Mail (UK)  |  Jan 7, 08 9:45 AM CST

      Scientologists Blast Cruise Bio's Claims

      The Church of Scientology is preparing a libel suit against an upcoming biography of actor Tom Cruise that calls him the organization's second-most-powerful man and says it influences nearly every facet of his life, reports the Daily Mail . The book, by Princess Diana biographer Andrew Morton, says Scientology staffers from cleaners to nannies scrutinize and influence Cruise's every move. More »

    • Cruise is second most powerful Scientologist, Morton book claims

      Independent (UK)  |  Jan 7, 08

      Tom Cruise has been promoted to second in command of the Church of Scientology, according to an extraordinary new book by Princess Diana's biographer, Andrew Morton. The Hollywood star is now allegedly consulted by Scientology leader David Miscavige on "every aspect of planning and policy", claims Morton. The unauthorised Cruise biography makes a number of surprising claims about the actor and his growing interest in the movement.

  • December 2007

    • Germany to Try Scientology Ban

      newser  |  Der Spiegel  |  Dec 7, 07 10:22 PM CST

      Germany to Try Scientology Ban

      German ministers accused Scientology of being unconstitutional today and took steps to ban it from the country, Der Spiegel reports. They ordered spies to assemble a dossier on the group, based on 10 years of surveillance, to support the ban. Scientologists were outraged, and called themselves victims of "on-going and never-ending discrimination," the BBC reports. More »

  • October 2007

    • Scientology and Seinfeld: What's the Deal?

      newser  |  Access Hollywood  |  Oct 30, 07 11:34 AM CDT

      Scientology and Seinfeld: What's the Deal?

      After raising a ruckus by acknowledging that he dabbled in Scientology, Jerry Seinfeld has cleared the record: “It is not my complete wacko resume. It’s just one aspect!” Seinfeld said he spent his younger days exploring “self-help things” —meditation, Aikido, yoga, and karate. Of Scientology, he told "Access Hollywood," “I just did a little, but I liked it.” More »

  • August 2007

    • German Leaders Reject Scientology Ban

      newser  |  Der Spiegel  |  Aug 8, 07 1:30 PM CDT

      German Leaders Reject Scientology Ban

      German leaders say they won't press for a ban on Scientology—not because they're against it, but because they don't think it would succeed. The German government officially considers the organization a cult, Der Spiegel reports, but politicians from both major parties say that they probably don't have enough evidence to take their case to court. More »

    • Scientology: No Weirder Than The Others

      newser  |  Slate  |  Aug 1, 07 10:36 PM CDT

      Scientology: No Weirder Than The Others

      Scientology has earned cult status for many outsiders, but Slate ’s Mark Oppenheimer argues it's no more bizarre than any mainstream faith. He says the peculiarities of the celebrity-friendly religion abound, but that they're reflected right back in the wacky ideas of more accepted theologies—say, by the Book of Mormon or Intelligent Design. More »

Stories 1 - 20 of 24

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View at the new Scientology headquarters in Germany in Berlin on seen in this Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007 file photo. Germany's top security officials said Friday Dec. 7, 2007, they consider the goals of Scientology...   (Associated Press)
View at the Scientology headquarters in Germany, in Berlin Friday, Dec. 7, 2007. Germany's top security officials said Friday they consider the goals of Scientology to be in conflict with the principles...   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre, Kirsty Alley, John Travolta and Kelly Preston, left to right, pose for photos during the 38th Anniversary Gala held at the Church...   (Associated Press)
FILES - A picture taken 01 May 2006 shows US actor Tom Cruise...   (Getty Images)
The Church of Scientology might be best known for its high-profile members such as film and television star, Jason Lee, as seen here at the Church's 33rd Anniversary Gala.   (Getty Images)
Scientology Church Opens In Berlin   (Getty Images (by Event))
L Ron Hubbard   (Archive Photos)
Cruise allegedly makes important decisions on a daily basis regarding Scientologist policy. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)   (Associated Press)
The new biography claims Scientology has a tight hold on the personal lives of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. (AP Photo/Miguel Villagran,File)   (Associated Press)
The new biography details the alleged inner workings of Cruise's life as a Scientologist (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)   (Associated Press)
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Background

Hubbard, L. Ron
World Encyclopedia

Hubbard, L. Ron ( Lafayette Ronald) (1911–86) US science fiction writer and the guiding spirit of the Church of scientology. His works Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health ...

» Read more about Hubbard, L. Ron at Encyclopedia.com

Church of Scientology
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

Church of Scientology see Scientology, Church of . Author not ...

» Read more about Church of Scientology at Encyclopedia.com

scientology
World Encyclopedia

scientology ‘Applied religious philosophy’ based on a form of psychotherapy called dianetics, which was founded (1954) by L. Ron Hubbard in California, USA. It advocates confrontation with, and ...

» Read more about scientology at Encyclopedia.com

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