The Church of Scientology was founded in December 1953 in New Jersey by American pulp fiction and science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, his then wife Mary Sue Hubbard, John Galusha and a few others.

Some central tenets of Scientology:

• A person is an immortal spiritual being (termed a thetan) who possesses a mind and a body.
• The thetan has lived through many past lives and will continue to live beyond the death of the body.
• Through the Scientology process of "auditing", one can free oneself of "engrams" and "implants" to reach the state of "Clear", and after that, the state of "Operating Thetan". Each state is said to represent recovering the native spiritual abilities of the individual, and to confer dramatic mental and physical benefits.
• A person is basically good, but becomes "aberrated" by moments of pain and unconsciousness in his or her life.
• What is true for you is what you have observed yourself. No beliefs should be forced as "true" on anyone. Thus, the tenets of Scientology are expected to be tested and seen to either be true or not by Scientology practitioners.
• Psychiatry and psychology are evil and abusive.

Hubbard's stated claims of Scientology were: "A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology."

The nature and legal status of the Church continue to arouse controversy around the world. The government of Belgium and, until recently, that of Germany, officially regarded the Church as a totalitarian cult; in France, a parliamentary report classified Scientology as a dangerous cult; in the United Kingdom and Canada, the Church is not regarded as meeting the legal standards for being considered a bona fide religion or charity. However in 1993, during the administration of President Bill Clinton, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service recognised the Church as a "non-profit charitable organization", and gave it the same legal protections and favorable tax treatment extended to other non-profit charitable organizations.

Recent legal actions involving the Church's relationship with its members have caused the church to publish extensive legal documents that cover the rights granted to followers. It has become standard practice within the church for members to sign lengthy legal contracts and waivers before engaging in Scientology services, a practice that contrasts greatly with many mainstream religious organizations. They must also pay a $240.00 fee, which is why many question the tax-exempt status of the organization. In 2003, a series of media reports examined the legal contracts required by Scientology, which state, among other things, that followers deny any psychiatric care their doctors may prescribe to them.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia articles "Scientology" and "the Church of Scientology"