Religious Tolerance and Human Rights

I find it amazing the lengths that anti-religious extremists will go to in their attempts to convince Scientologists of the error of their ways. They make up all sorts of stories, like a comment I just received from "Petra" who has a hidden profile. She starts off with how much her son liked Scientology and that he passed away some years ago and that she found confidential Scientology materials amongst his belongings and how she knows that it is forbidden for Scientologists below a certain level to be told this confidential stuff but here it is anyway.

I mean, come on, does the writer really think I'm going to fall for it? First of all the confidential materials are kept very secure. They are not handed out to anyone. They are studied at the Advanced Organizations and nowhere else. So saying she found them in her sons belongings is an obvious lie - unless he stole them. Then to pretend she likes Scientology yet she's going to pass on this confidential stuff to me, when she doesn't even know where I am on the spiritual levels of Scientology - wow, that's a really friendly act.

The final clincher is that she gives me a link to the website of this guy, David Touretzky, a man who lives off tax payer dollars mapping the brains of rats (amongst other things), a man who has terrorist bomb making instructions on his web site (put there in the name of "freedom of speech") and who also happens to be rabidly anti-Scientology. From his racist and anti-religious comments it appears he is also anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-Hispanic and, from other comments he has made, he likes amputee porn (I'm not kidding - just click on the link above to see all the gory details). When you read the data on this guy and then you look at the Creed of the Church of Scientology, you can clearly see why he would oppose Scientology.

Here are a couple of quotes from the creed that Touretzky appears to be against:
"We of the Church believe: That all men of whatever race, color, or creed were created with equal rights; That all men have inalienable rights to their own religious practices and their performance;" - see Touretzky's comments on Blacks, Arabs, Muslims and Hispanics.

"That all men have inalienable rights to their own lives; That all men have inalienable rights to their sanity;" - see whose theories and experiments Touretzky refers to in his own work and who he models his work on - men who had absolutely no interest in the lives and sanity of others.

I could get rather angry about these attempts to convince me that my religious beliefs are wrong but what would be the point? It saddens me to see that there are people in this world who are so intolerant and bigoted that they will go to any lengths to destroy any other ideas. That is one of the reasons I so strongly support Human Rights and especially the 18th point of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Freedom of thought. We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want." I strongly support that right. If you are not a Scientologist then I say you have a right to believe what you see fit to believe and neither I nor anyone else has the right to enforce other beliefs upon you or try to invalidate or take away your beliefs.

Who out there agrees with me?

Scientology is recognized as a religion all over the world

In my browsing around I just found this cool website: Governments and courts of countries worldwide recognize the religious character of the Church of Scientology.

It contains data about recognitions of Scientology, a long list of countries that have recognized Scientology as a religion and it also has a downloadable 28 page booklet that gives even more data on court and government recognitions of Scientology.

This find brings home to me the value of Web 2.0 sites. I got an email from a friend that had a link to someone's Stumble Upon Profile. I started looking at their recent additions and there was this one. How would I have found it otherwise?

Reply to a Comment from "Titch"

Here is my reply to a comment from Titch. He had the goodness to actually include his name and location in the post, which I appreciate because it says to me that here is someone who is willing to engage in a real dialog and not cower behind anonymity.

Titch: im 18years old and happy to say ive read everything i can get my hands on to do with scientology. Could you tell me which Scientology books you've read?

Titch: i believe we all look for answers to do with the universe and the meaning of life and so forth. but i cant help but think scientology isnt the answer. i do not wish to harm your faith or your beliefs but a man has a right to free speech in this world.

grahame: I have no problem with that. The right to believe as one decides for himself is a basic human right. (Human Right #18: Freedom of thought)

Titch then went on to relate a story that anti-Scientologists claim is the basis of Scientology.

grahame: That is not the basis of Scientology. Actual Scientology is what you read in the Basic Scientology Books. But even if that story were the basis of Scientology then we are just as entitled to believe it as you are to disbelieve it. Human Rights are a two way street. If you allow a right to others then you also get that right yourself. Take a right away from others and you lose it too.

Titch: i do not wish to harm your faith, or your beliefs. but i do not agree with your "religion" forcing scientology on everyone else. a man must make up his own mind about how he lives, and he must change in ways himself, not be indoctrinated into doing something because one of your fellow scientologist says so.

grahame: At this point I would make a guess that when you said "everything i can get my hands on to do with scientology", you didn't mean actual data on Scientology or what Scientologists do in the world (e.g., human rights, drug abuse, illiteracy, disaster relief) but that you have been reading anti-Scientology propaganda that accuses the Church and its members of all sorts of outrageous things. If you had read actual Scientology, then you'd know that it is not something you can "force" onto anyone and I personally don't know any Scientologist who would ever think of doing such a thing. Look at the bloodshed and suffering caused in the last couple of thousand years by people trying to force their beliefs onto others. Every person must make up his or her own mind when it comes to religion. There is a quote in this blog post, Scientology - What got me interested, from L. Ron Hubbard which says what the Scientology attitude is about forcing beliefs onto someone. Please take a look at it.

Titch: i also dont agree with the fact that as a religion you make people spend money to help themselves and become part of your community

grahame: Once again Titch, you have not been reading facts about Scientology. Please look at the posts on my site relating to the cost of Scientology. This should cover them: Scientology Donations, Why do you have to pay for Scientology?, Question about cost of Advanced Levels in Scientology, Questions regarding the cost of Scientology. And just to address what you said specifically: no one is "made" to spend money to help themselves or become Scientologists. If anyone told you this then you have been misinformed.

Titch: i will understand if you do not wish to approve my comment, but i wish people to know that all things in life has a choice and that covering up peoples right to free speech and indoctrinating them into your society is wrong, if people wish to join you, i say let them, but not by cohertion but by choice, and let it be free.

grahame: I absolutely agree with you. Something you have probably not read about Scientology in the places you've been looking, is that a person is not allowed to take part in Scientology services unless they are doing it under their own determinism. It's something that gets checked every time you start any course or counseling in Scientology. If you are there because someone made you then you can't do the service. You have to make up your own mind and decide you want to do it yourself.

Free speech is also looked upon as very important in Scientology. The right to free speech is actually part of the Creed of the Church of Scientology. If you have been told that Scientologists are somehow against free speech then you have been misinformed.

Thanks a lot for your questions. I do appreciate them. If you (or anyone else) have more questions then feel free to post them. See the link at the top of this page.

Scientology and Aliens

leith asked the question what have aliens got to do with scientology?

Hey leith, thanks for your question.

The answer is zip, nothing, nada. In Scientology we believe that man is a spiritual being (See the video "Scientology Beliefs: The Parts of Man"

You can see a list of other videos about what we believe here: Scientology Videos

Here is more on how come the subject of aliens ever go brought up: Do Scientologist believe in aliens?

Scientology - How to join a Church

bookslave had a question about joining a Church of Scientology.

I answered the question in a comment, but I thought it might be of interest to the causal browser so here it is repeated:

Hey bookslave, All you have to do to join the Church is: find a Church of Scientology, walk in the front door and say "Hello." :)

About the only other thing I'd suggest is to finish the books you are reading so you know what Scientology is. It is important to understand a subject before taking any serious steps in it.