Benevolent Misanthrope: Gothnet: Benevolent Misanthrope: LOL, no. All of these things are comparisons of acts which have entirely different motivations and intents. Scientology does not differ in motivation or intent from "real religions".

False.

The motivations of most traditional religions are (gen) well meaning but misguided. The motivations of scientology are cynical and exploitative. The beliefs themselves are irrelevant, the actions of the 'church' are the only relevant part.

But you know this, and have just chosen to troll, so good luck to you.

Wow, are you naïve.

Scientology - just like every other religion - is indeed cynically exploitative.  Its adherents - just like every other religion - are well-meaning but misguided.

Man, even atheists become religion apologists when confronted with the question, "where is the line between religion and cult?".  Very interesting.  Insults, "because I said so", ignoring similarities, false comparisons... but no one willing to really think about this and decide where the line is or even if it exists.

I'm still debating the question myself, by the way.  Which is why I always ask the question in these "IT'S A CULT!" threads, and why I keep dismissing spurious arguments.

I'm still not sure if you are trolling or not, but I'll take a shot.

Scientology is more concerned with recruiting people who have money and are wiling to pay for their services/enlightenment. They tend to hook people with "personality tests", and from there, they hope the new recruits will bring in friends, family, and so on. Of course, the personality tests will indicate that they have some sort of flaw, and oh-my-goodness we happen to have a course that will help you to overcome that flaw! It's only $xx! The amounts are small at first, but over time, each new book, their "truth machines", their religious doctrines, all require more and more money to progress along their road to salvation. These salvation levels are referred to as Thetans, with the current highest being 7. There are rumors of a level 9, but I have only found reference to that in one or two sources, so I'll stick to 7 for now.

Now, lets pretend that Suzy Smith, who took that free personality test, finds herself another Scilon and they have kids. Well, of course they are going to want to raise Bobby Jr in the church, so they enroll him in Scientology-based schools that teach their own curriculum and helps to insulate the children from outside influences. Then there is the Billion-Year Contract that they push on kids, sometimes as young as 6. But for argument's sake, lets say that Bobby Jr was 12 when he signed, and his parents, devoted Scions that they are, agreed to let him travel around the world as a member of Sea Org, their priesthood. Bobby is then relegated to hard menial labor for little or no pay. Scions have their own language and terminology, and they do well to keep their "crew" insulated from outside negative influences... so by having their own society, hierarchy, lingo, and teaching Scions to buy the newest book or two donate money for another building (Sea Org members get it all for free... except if they leave the church then they are billed outrageous amounts of money for those training materials).

People who were raised in Scientology, when they leave, they often cannot function within society. Permission for everything that most of us would consider a basic right, such as carrying a driver's license, is only granted if you have a legitimate need to operate a vehicle, and oftentimes they take all forms of identification from members and lock it in the office safe. Thus, even if they wanted to leave, Scientology has their paperwork and will require them to take long, deeply personal "sec checks" before they can leave. Sometimes these last for hours, other times, days. Then from there, once they are free, many times their friends and family are forced to cut off contact with them, since they are now an outcast.

While I could explain more, like I said, I am still not sure if you are trolling or not, but this is the reader's digest version of their operations. Whether or not their religious doctrine is right, I cannot say. But I can state that the isolationist and operational ethics match those of many cults, and most people who defect from Scientology often refer to the brainwashing tactics.