I don’t get all the hubbub about Scientology. Why is it such a big deal? Why is everyone so freaked out about Tom Cruise or Kirstie Alley or John Travolta being part of this religion? Why would a BBC reporter yell things like “Are you a member of a sinister brainwashing cult?” at Hollywood stars as they walk down a red carpet? Or, more to the point, why wouldn’t he yell it at Christians? Or Jews? Or Muslims, or Hindus, or Buddhists, or anyone else who’s public* about their religious beliefs? Because really, can anyone explain why Scientology should be taken any less seriously than any other cult** that’s currently in vogue? Does anyone give Madonna grief about her designer religion*** as she’s walking down the street?
Obviously, I religion’s silly in general, but I find it particularly baffling that one religious person could look at another and think they’re silly for acting that way.
* really though, in the grand Hollywood scheme of things, the afore-mentioned Scientologists aren’t very public at all. when was the last time you heard someone thank Xenu at an awards show?
** yes, cult; after all, what’s a religion but a cult with some longevity?
*** waitaminnit…is Kaballah even fashionable these days? you never hear about it anymore…
[tags]scientology, religion, kaballah, hollywood[/tags]
Skirl | Dan Dickinson 
The reasons are obvious.
The other religions you mention are very old. Society has had lots of time to get used to them. They’re mainstream now. Scientology is new, and therefore isn’t as mainstream. Christianity was certainly seen as cultish in its early days.
Religions that compete for the hearts and minds of people – especially evangelical ones like Christianity – have an obvious interest in downplaying and denying other religions. It’s not surprising if the established religions want to sideline Scientology.
Scientology seems to require paying an awful lot of money to go through its testing and phases. Although I’m not an expert in early Christian practice, and while there’s certainly pressure to contribute or tithe or lend a hand with labour, I’ve never heard of anyone being kicked out of Islam, Christianity, or Judaism because they couldn’t pay to get to the next level. A lot of the resistance in Germany to allowing Scientology to be called a religion is based on this, I think: they think it appears much more like an enterprise than a faith.
The fact that it’s commonplace doesn’t make it sensible.
The people I’m talking about putting Scientology down or calling it weird aren’t ministers or priests or imams…they’re regular boring everyday people who have no overwhelming vested interest in putting down someone else’s religion to promote their own (beyond the very human reaction of being uncomfortable with what’s different, but this goes beyond that).
I understand the nuance about oddity becoming normality over time — in fact, I explicitly point it out in my post — and I understand that it’s a common reaction; I’m just pointing out that I have yet to hear a single sensible argument about why Scientology is any more or less silly than any other religion.
If you’re looking for sensible behaviour from the masses, then we’re off on a whole other tangent entirely. Good luck with that search.