Snipped from slate.com.

I have to admit, I know very little about Scientology. My exposure to it was the brief rantings of Tom Cruise concerning psychotropic drugs. I guess the reason I don’t know more is because I basically don’t like religion in any form. So, I never really attempted to learn anything about it. When I caught an article on the slate.com website concerning Scientology, I clicked to find out more. Something which I had passively observed was that very rich people like Tom Cruise and John Travolta are outspoken members and that the Church of Scientology reeks of wealth. Where does the wealth come from? You may be surprised.

When one thinks about how young this religions is which is about 50 years old, and that its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, is basically a science fiction writer, it makes me wonder what the appeal is. In the slate.com article, there is much discussion comparing Scientology to other religions such as Catholicism and Judaism which have been around for thousands of years. And, clearly Scientology does not have the base of supporters nor the thousands of years of history to fall back on.

So, they, in effect, had to get creative or they wouldn’t survive. Well, they have done more than survive. They thrive today as a very wealthy bastion of celebrities and others who are willing to pay to learn the secrets of Scientology. Perhaps the fact that they do have secrets of knowledge is what makes it so appealing.

Here is a portion of the article that speculates on the appeal of the “inner sanctum of knowledge”.

First, while the introductory Scientology costs are not outlandish (for example, a member may pay about $200 for a dozen sessions of “auditing,” to start out), the fees increase as adherents gain new knowledge through advanced course work (going “up the bridge to total freedom,” in Scientology-speak)—and it does make the religion resemble a pyramid or matrix scheme. More than one Scientologist explained to me that they don’t have the financial resources of the Catholic Church that come from thousands of years of donations. They have to charge.

Well, that’s not the whole truth. The secrecy surrounding Scientology’s higher levels of knowledge has no apparent analog in the Abrahamic faiths, and the steep financial outlay to get higher knowledge seems also unique. Catholicism doesn’t charge people to become learned, nor does Judaism. In fact, the greatest scholars in those faiths are often revered paupers: penniless rabbis and voluntarily poor priests, monks, and nuns.

If you would like to read the full article click the image below.