Tom Cruise divorce raises question: What is Scientology?

News of Tom Cruise's split with Katie Holmes and questions about any role that Cruise's status as a Scientologist may be playing in the divorce have a lot of people wondering: What is Scientology, anyway?

In a series of tweets on Sunday, News Corp. boss Rupert Murdoch called the religion "a very weird cult" and said that Cruise is the "number two or three" man in the church's hierarchy.

Here are the basics about the religion. What other questions do you have?

What is Scientology?

Scientology describes itself as a religion that was founded in the 1950s by L. Ron Hubbard.

At the core of Scientology is a belief that each human has a reactive mind that responds to life’s traumas, clouding the analytic mind and keeping us from experiencing reality. Members of the religion submit to a process called auditing to find the sources of this trauma, reliving those experiences in an attempt to neutralize them and reassert the primacy of the analytic mind, working toward a spiritual state called "clear."

Continue reading at religion.blogs.cnn.com

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Chris P

Scientology is very bad science fiction. Worse than Mormonism. All about money and control. Humans manipulating humans.
- Eagle
  
  You need to find out about the Mormon Church before you run your mouth. Mormons are not about Manipulating anyone. We belive in the Lord and his son Jesus Christ. We believe in family, we believe in helping others, no matter who they are or what they believe in or don't believe in. My church does a lot of things you never hear about because they don't beat their own drum. Remember Haiti? Go find out where a lot of the stuff came from that was given to them. If you would open your eyes before you speak, you would find out it's a pretty good church.
  - millergroup2
    
    Yea "pretty good church" Mormonism is a cult that does not have a clue of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They did not understand the word of God, so they wrote their own book of lies. Now their cult has a new jesus and a new word of god and a new bible. Mormonism is blasphemous group who tell God that he did not get it right. At least all the other "little god's" think so.
    I have found all that I need to know of Mormon teachings, as a result I label this bunch of nuts a CULT!
  - petroskhan1262
    
    Yes, a pretty good church for delusional egomaniacs who want to become gods themselves. LOL What a bunch of malarkey. Mormons are as delusional as Scientologists. Their entire "doctrine" dreamed up by a convicted con man, followed by gullible and deluded fools, seeking equality with God Himself. Idiots.
Brenda

The St. Petersburg Times (TBT) – now known as Tampa Bay Times, in St. Petersburg, Florida did several in depth exposes on this cult – very derogatory as to their practices. It contacted several men/women who had been devout followers who, finally leaving Scientology, revealed what goes on at the highest levels and it isn't good. They would insist that followers buy this and buy that – under this new leader, after Hubbard died is raking in the dough. If you go astray, they come after you with a vengeance.
ONTIME

Those I have met have been reluctant to speak alone about this cult and from what I read this is a apt word for those bent on creating wealth by anothers skills and then keeping that wealth as well as the maker of that wealth in check. To go outside the cult and reveal much of what is done in the name of this cult could net you disiciplines that could jeopardize your own comfort and decisions…we are not talking love and charity, we are talking a cult mindset.
Mexseko

Questions? What questions? Everyone knows Scentology is a mind bending cult.
- http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
  
  So is every religion. It simply depends on whether you accept it or not. Christianity is a mind bending cult. It requires that one believe that snakes and donkeys can talk. It requires that you state human sacrifice is pagan and wrong yet the entire religion is based on a human sacrifice.
  - http://youtu.be/HlD3Gaq4cN0 Despeville
    
    "entire religion is based on a human sacrifice."
    
    Only if one is a complete moron like you and skips the fact that Jesus is not just a man but God and man. The rest of your moronic tirade is just laughable too. Dodo you are in fact become dumber by a month. This post is way dumber from the dumb ones in the post which only confirms the truth of Romans 1 that you have been given over body, soul and your mind.
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      Of course because Jesus was not sacrificed, now was he? Loon.
      - http://youtu.be/HlD3Gaq4cN0 Despeville
        
        Moron He was as proclaimed by the faith that you do not believe. You may deny it and disbelieve it but that is a different story.
        You are making an irrational and illogical category error by replacing outside tenets of the Christian Faith with your internal and subjective notions. This a classic irrational and illogical error of mixing categories and your are so incredibly dumb that you do not even perceive it under-educated imbecile.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        It is always the same. You post some nonsense about god and expect that people assume it is a reasonable response. But it is simply absurdity.
      - http://youtu.be/HlD3Gaq4cN0 Despeville
        
        Moron mixing categories as you do in your irrational mind has nothing to do with a question if the faith is true or not for you have asserted in your moronic mind that whatever you believe is superior to anything else and the claims of that faith do not exist and cannot exist in light of your subjective notion that you superimpose on that faith. You are truly one of the dumbest atheists I have ever seen in my life and continually getting dumber.
      - Dave
        
        Just by that comment shows your group of Jeff Dixon are a bounce of fonies and that like to spread lies. Show that this group of Jeff's do not use historical fact but wishfull think to collectively spread opionated views.
  - petroskhan1262
    
    Of course we believe donkeys can talk. Well, we have proof from your posts that they can at least type. JUST KIDDING! I couldn't let that one pass by. No offense intended, honestly, it was just too easy for me to pass it up,
    
    On to the real reason for the post. Christianity requires no "mind bending", just some fairly simple understanding. It has not escaped my notice that your favorite "Bible-bashing" tactic is to take things out of their context, and then claim that there is some contradiction in there somewhere.
    
    In the Bible, human sacrifice is wrong, since it would be murder. Murder is wrong. However, since the Bible also clearly states that the "wages of sin is death", then a sinner must atone, with some sort of sacrifice, or his own life. Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial requirement for us, by laying down His life. Now, as the Son of God, and God Himself, that would not, then, be termed "human sacrifice", but something far greater.
    
    And again, even more seriously, you should really be careful about bashing the beliefs of others. I mean, you believe in that whole "life from lifelessness" thing. Which is against the laws of biology. You believe more complex organisms came from less complex organisms, which is also in violation of the laws of biology. Your belief system if rife with contradictions, illogical assumptions, and scientific impossibilities, yet you choose to labor against that which is logical, provable, and consistent.
    
    Glass houses…rocks…???
bighoss

Scientology is the commercial invention of the late L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard is reliably reported as telling several of his friends that he had been unsuccessful in making money after trying several things, but that his next venture would be to start a religion and hope for a big payoff.

Hubbard wrote a number of second-rate science fiction books and his core book on Scientology is also science fiction and far worse than second-rate. He was a charlatan of the worst kind. His mind-control cult has damaged and destroyed many lives.

He is currently residing in a location where an asbestos suit would provide only minimal relief.
Despeville

It is just another cult…
- dwoodphd
  
  Anyone join the Church of Nun Vespe… oops Despe … yet?
Deepizzaguy

A bunch of wierdos since Tom Cruise admits he uses bird feces to make him look young. You do the math.
Dennis

You all left out the best parts.Aliens and Xenu and such.L Ron Hubbard when you dig was involved in the occult and magic as well and was a very twisted man.It all started with Dianetics and just went down hill from there.
http://www.divinenewsnetwork.com Min. Thomas Allen

My mother in law was trying to get into this at one pont in her life. She had a rude awaking when some of the members showed up to her house and said if you want to be a full member you have to sign the deed to your house to us. She told them to get out, that they were insane. Very sad that those with money fall for this. I wonder what Tom had to sign over to be a member.
- keyboardshark
  
  Min. Thomas Allen says: "I wonder what Tom had to sign over to be a member."
  
  Sadly, the answer is 'his soul', for any cult ultimately leads to eternal death and separation from God. He will lose everything if he remains unrepentant in this cult the rest of his life on earth.