Church of Scientology on Hollywood Boulevard, California. Photo: Kent Kanouse.

"In Scientology I have found several tools that I can apply to my daily life and they have allowed me to help myself and to help others to better the conditions of my life and of society." --Tom Cruise, actor and Scientologist (source)

The Church of Scientology was founded in 1954 by L. Ron Hubbard, a former science fiction writer. It is perhaps best known for its celebrity adherents, among them Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Leah Remini.

Whether Scientology is a "religion" is a matter of debate. Scientology presents itself as a "technology" that leads people to "true spiritual release and freedom." It does not emphasize particular beliefs about God or other traditional religious topics, yet it calls itself a "Church" and presents many of its teachings in spiritual and religious terms. Scientology is also highly controversial, with many regarding it as a dangerous cult or financial scam.

It is not the job of ReligionFacts to present our own opinion on these issues, but only to provide facts about the group's history, beliefs and practices. We have included Scientology on ReligionFacts simply because it meets our basic criteria of including teachings about the meaning of life and some set of rituals. The Scientology Links page leads to both critical and supportive arguments on the controversies of Scientology.