Scientology in dock

Scientology Trial in France: Can a Religion Be Banned?
In a long-awaited trial that opened this week, French prosecutors are charging Scientology's French affiliate with organized fraud.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1901373,00.html#ixzz1lHMq5TKg

Update: according to Polish newspaper "Gazeta Wyborcza" yesterday (Feb. 02) Appellation Court in Paris declared Scientology's French affiliate an organized criminal organization and sentenced its leader, Alain Rosenberg, to 2 years suspended suspended prison sentence and 30.000 euros fine. 3 other leaders were also sentenced to suspended prison sentences and fines.
French Scientology's "Celebrity Center" and main publisher were also fined 600.000 euros.
http://wyborcza.pl/1,75248,11081321,Francja_kaze_scjentologow.html

Interesting. I do wonder where the line would be drawn, though.

The church's bookstores and celebrity center were described by Hullin's investigation as instrumental in ensnaring psychologically fragile people "with the goal of seizing their fortune by exerting a psychological hold."

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Would it really be that hard to apply that same statement to all organized religions? If they're really going to go down that road, shouldn't they go full monty?

I was thinking about that myself. Difference seems to be that most of traditional organized religions accept voluntary contributions rather than demand money from their faithful. This was the clincher:
"Aude-Claire Malton, a hotel employee who makes $1,620 a month, told the court that once she'd agreed to accept the treatment the Scientology "auditors" had prescribed to remedy her spiritual imperfections, she found herself facing a $27,000 bill within two months. The second plaintiff claims she was forced by her Scientologist boss to undergo spiritual auditing in 1998 and was fired when she refused to accept similarly expensive treatment"
Additionally, in Polish paper, it was reported that: "During the trial French public learned that scientologists, without consulting doctors, proscribed harmful vitamin therapies which ended in serious complications. Or that they snared their victims with the help of sophisticated psychological tests. That's how Ms Malton revealed to them her weaknesses - for example that she has low self esteem and that she was vulnerable to manipulations. Scientologists than made use of this information. And that was what court have found fraudulent." (my translation)

I think that - although I'm not for 100 % sure - here in Germany (or was it elsewhere ?) "Scientology" is not seen as a religion - but rather as a business … company of some sorts.

Sounds good.

It's applicable to most religions and most larger corporations (or any gathering of a sufficient amount of people in any structured form). It's just exploiting sheep under whatever guise.

German government indeed doesn't recognize Scientology as a religion Alrik.

Wiki: "German courts have so far not resolved whether Scientology should be accorded the legal status of a religious or worldview community, and different courts have reached contradictory conclusions. German domestic intelligence services have monitored the organization's activities. The German government does not recognize Scientology as a religion. It views it as an abusive business masquerading as a religion and believes that it pursues political goals that conflict with the values enshrined in the German constitution."

Where do you draw the line? Good question. If you are too strict you trample on people's freedoms. Too loose and you'll get every billionaire starting his own Religion of Self (or at least formalizing it) for tax/estate planning purposes.

BillSeurer said:

Too loose and you'll get every billionaire starting his own Religion of Self (or at least formalizing it) for tax/estate planning purposes.

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LOL I was thinking about that too. Kochism?

And than there was that: "Operation Snow White was the Church of Scientology's name for a conspiracy during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Snow_White