In late October 2009, a French court charged its country's branch of the Church of Scientology with fraud for allegedly conning several members out of thousands of dollars. The court fined the church the equivalent of $888,000, only after the decision was made against shutting it down completely.
This has spurred questions in media circles of what would have led France to consider shutting down an entire church. The answer they gave: "cultish tendencies."
Religions Seen As Cults
Classifying a church or entire religion as a "cult" may seem degrading, but it is not a new practice. Ancient Romans saw Christianity as a cult because it differed from Judaism and attracted and excited the lower-class Romans, which the upper classes found politically threatening.
According to HistoryofMormonism.com, 200 years ago when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or the Mormon Church, was getting its start, Mormons were highly prosecuted. The Mormon Church, founded by Joseph Smith in the 1830s, has rules for living life and spiritual beliefs that differ from those of other Christian branches, so in some circles, the Mormon Church was classified as a cult.
Sometimes groups or churches deemed cults actually turn out to be very dangerous, such as the followers of Charles Manson, several of whom were murdered, or the members of the Jonestown group who drank poison-laced Kool-Aid and committed mass suicide in 1978 (ReligiousTolerance.org)
Charismatic Religious Leaders And Hope
One thing that all of these groups seem to have in common is a charismatic leader and the promise of salvation or happiness for those who follow the church or group. The Church of Scientology not only has a tremendously popular leader and celebrity members, it promises an unearthly happiness and sense of peace to those who convert.
An example from Scientology is that this higher happiness can come from "auditing," a session in which the auditor "helps another examine specific areas of their existence so they can rid themselves of unwanted spiritual conditions and increase awareness and ability."
What is Scientology?
According to the official Church of Scientology website, Scientology is "the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others and all of life."
However, it's a bit more complicated than that. The Church prides itself on not asking any of its members to believe anything based on faith, but instead asking them to apply the Church's principles to their lives and "observe or experience the results," which may be different for everyone. The Church also has a list of "fundamental truths," which are as follows:
- Man is an immortal, spiritual being
- His experience extends well beyond a single lifetime
- His capabilities are unlimited, even if not presently realized – and those capabilities can be realized
- He is able to not only solve his own problems, accomplish his goals and gain lasting happiness, but also achieve new, higher states of awareness and ability
There are many other tenets of the Church of Scientology, outlined in detail on their official website. Some of the more controversial practices are the prohibition of psychological drugs or chemicals of any kind (including prescribed drugs), allegedly exorbitant membership fees, and the fact that the Church was founded by Ron L. Hubbard, a science fiction author.
France's Cult-Fighting Unit
The government of France sees cult-fighting as such an important task, they've dedicated a unit called Miviludes to the purpose of ridding the country of these unsavory groups. But how do the officers of Miviludes differentiate between a legitimate religion and what they deem a "cult" – a word that's associated with much controversy and lacks a static definition?
According to the French Board of Inquiry of Sects at the National Assembly of France, there are ten characteristics that, if it can be proved a group has just one, can qualify an organization — whether it be a church or not — as a cult. These "dangerous tendencies" as they are called are as follows, roughly translated from French:
- The members of the group are in some way "mentally destabilized."
- The group demands exorbitant amounts of money from its members (This is what the Church of Scientology has been charged with.)
- Group members are separated from their home environments.
- Group members are damaged or damage themselves physically.
- Indoctrination of children.
- Anti-social discourse.
- Disturbances to public order.
- Legal troubles.
- Possible diversion of economic arena.
- Attempts to infiltrate the public.
These are just the characteristics Miviludes uses to track down what it deems dangerous groups. Other countries, like Germany, have different ways of keeping cults from causing trouble.
In the United States, there is no official "cult-fighting unit" to decide whether a religion like Scientology is legitimate or if it is a fraudulent cult, but the skeptical public may pin the term "cult" to any number of groups they find strange or disturbing.
Kaitlin Ugolik - Kaitlin graduated from Elon University in Elon, N.C. in May 2009 with a BA in Journalism. She has always loved writing, whether it be news ...
