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Wednesday May 9, 2012Quackery, RNB's Religion News Blog, Scientology
Kevin Hague, drugs spokesman for New Zealand’s Green Party, has alleged in Parliament that the Church of Scientology is using tax-payer money to promote an anti-psychiatry agenda and messages against medication used to treat mental illness through charities disguised as social service organisations.
Mr Hague said he had watched members of the church on Auckland’s Queen Street target vulnerable people.
Using parliamentary privilege, Mr Hague said groups affiliated to the church had been able to receive community grants.
“There’s a bunch of smiling young people with clipboards who approach people who are going past and invite them to do a personality test,” he said in Parliament.
“Those that take the personality test invariably find that the solution to the problem to their personality lies some how with the Church of Scientology.”
Mr Hague claimed 30,000 children had received the leaflets from the group.
He said the church was against the use of medicines used to treat mental illness and psychiatry and targeted vulnerable members in the community.
“It is evil to try to dissuade people with mental illness to avoid proper health professional services that they need.”
“I don’t object to churches providing social services, provided the church is transparent and that the service is not a front for recruiting into the church, but the Church of Scientology fails of both of those fronts.”
He called for the Minister of Internal Affairs to follow through with an investigation promised by the department in February.
Critics of the Church of Scientology believe it is using its front groups both to try and gain a sense of respectability and to recruit new members into its expensive programs.
Last February New Zealand media reported that the Scientology-sponsored ‘Drug-Free Ambassadors’ received funding from the Government of New Zealand to spread its unorthodox views through schools and community groups.
The cult’s front group circulated 130,000 of the cult’s drug education booklets around New Zealand, paid for in part by the Department of Internal Affairs’ Community Organisations Grant Scheme.
Fairfax NZ News pointed out that “advice offered in the pamphlets is based on research by Scientology’s controversial founder, L. Ron Hubbard, who did not believe in medical drugs or psychiatry but instead in purging oneself of painful experiences to gain immortality.”
Scientology’s medical claims are widely considered to be mere quackery.
The media revelations are said to have sparked a review by New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs.
The Church of Scientology maintains it’s ambassadors’ programme gave out good information about the dangers of illicit drugs.
However, in the USA in 2005 then State Superintendent Jack O’Connell urged all California schools to drop an antidrug education program by Narconon, another Scientology front group, after state evaluation concluded that its curriculum offers inaccurate and unscientific information.
At the time The San Francisco Chronicle quoted O’Connell as saying, “We’ll get a letter out to every school district today, saying this program is filled with inaccuracies and does not reflect widespread medical and factual evidence.”
O’Connell had requested the independent evaluation after The Chronicle reported that Narconon introduced students to some beliefs and methods of Scientology without their knowledge.
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Topics: anti-psychiatry, hate group, Quackery, Scientology
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In 1957, the Commissioner recognized it as a tax exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. The Commissioner revoked the Church's tax exempt status in 1967.
In the Church of Scientology, parishioners make donations for auditing or training they wish to receive. These contributions are the primary source of financial support for the Church and fund all Church-sponsored religious and social betterment activities.
In the course of a 37-year dispute with the IRS, the church was reported to have used or planned to employ blackmail, burglary, criminal conspiracy, eavesdropping, espionage, falsification of records, fraud, front groups, harassment, money smuggling, obstruction of audits, political and media campaigns, tax evasion, ...
From the time its tax exemption was removed by the IRS in 1967 to the reinstatement of the tax exemption in 1993, Scientologists filed approximately 2,500 lawsuits against the IRS.
In the US, its tax-free status allows the church to not report its wealth. A partial picture emerged about a decade ago in tax filings of a few of its many entities which showed Scientology in the US had wealth of at least $US1.5 billion ($2 billion). The overall figure is guesswork.
Earning too much income generated from unrelated activities can jeopardize an organization's 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. This income comes from a regularly carried- on trade or business that is not substantially related to the organization's exempt purpose.
There is a Free Scientology Center in Churches of Scientology where those who cannot afford to donate may receive auditing without donation. There are also books and free public lectures, Sunday services and other religious gatherings for which there is no requested donation.
According to Scientology beliefs, Scientology itself is a blend of science and spirituality, with a belief in an immortal spirit and in improving that spirit here on Earth using Scientology's methods. Scientologists do not typically dwell on Heaven or Hell or the afterlife, instead focusing on the spirit.
According to the official Church of Scientology website, there are now more than 11,000 churches, missions and groups in 184 nations, and the movement welcomes more than 4.4 million new people each year.
The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement.
In addition to broad-scale international programs sponsoring drug education, human rights and Scientology Volunteer Ministers, Churches of Scientology and their members support a wide variety of local and regional activities: Neighborhood Watch and other crime reduction programs, blood drives for the Red Cross and ...
“That's between two individuals, just like anybody of any religion getting divorced,” she said, adding, “There's no ceremony recognizing divorce in the Church of Scientology.” But along the way, former church members say, couples face unusual marital counseling sessions and are sometimes pressured to use in-house ...
Scientology has been shut down in Greece, indicted in Spain, its activities restricted in Russia, rebuffed by Sweden's highest court, expelled from college campuses in Norway, convicted of crimes in Canada and denied status as a charitable organization or a religion in most European countries.
Since its inception in 1954, the Church of Scientology has been involved in a number of controversies, including its stance on psychiatry, Scientology's legitimacy as a religion, the Church's aggressive attitude in dealing with its perceived enemies and critics, allegations of mistreatment of members, and predatory ...
In order to maintain their tax-exempt status, churches and other religious organizations must comply with certain ongoing rules. Failure to follow these Internal Revenue Service guidelines can result in costly fines or the loss of the organization's tax-exempt status.
If you claim exemption, you will have no Federal income tax withheld from your paycheck. This could affect your tax return filed at the end of the year. Refer to the IRS W-4 form and instructions or consult a tax expert if you are unsure if you should claim exemption.
A tax exemption reduces or eliminates a portion of your income from taxation. Federal, state, and local governments create tax exemptions to benefit people, businesses, and other entities in special situations.
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