Scientology overcomes criminal government abuse and gains religious recognition

Church of Scientology

2009-11-17 19:51:40 - History is replete with criminal government campaigns against new religions, such as the persecution of early Christians by the Roman Empire. And the more new religious ideas grow, the more intense such efforts at repression become. Due to its unprecedented worldwide growth and as the only major religion to emerge in the 20th century, in some countries Scientology has had to fight to protect its religious freedom.

In the 1960s, three states in Australia enacted repressive legislation that essentially made it a crime to practice Scientology in those states. Once the false allegations against the religion were repudiated, these discriminatory laws became a major embarrassment to the Australian government—so much so a former Australian Senator and Deputy Premier of Western Australia traveled to the United States in

1976 to attend the Churches of Scientology International Prayer Day and apologized to all members of the Church, stating that the actions against Scientology had been the “blackest day in the political history of Western Australia.”

Subsequently, Scientology was fully recognized by the Australian High Court, which came to the “irresistible” conclusion that Scientology is a religion. Today, this landmark decision forms the basis for determining what a religion is for purposes of Australian and New Zealand charity law and has become the standard for courts and governments throughout the Commonwealth.

Scientology operates freely all over the world and has hundreds upon hundreds of religious recognitions from courts and government administrative bodies. The Church of Scientology has been formally recognized as a religion in the following countries: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgystan, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Philippines, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Tanzania, United States, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

The most recent notable decisions include the following:

On October 1, 2009, the European Court of Human Rights ruled unanimously in favor of two Scientology religious groups in Russia, finding that they have the right to be registered as religious organizations under Russian law. This decision determines that members of the Church of Scientology of Surgut and the Church of Scientology of Nizhnekamsk have the right to religious freedom and freedom of association pursuant to Articles 9 and 11 of the European Human Rights Convention.

On April 5, 2007, in another landmark decision, the European Court of Human Rights found that Scientology constitutes a religious community entitled to be registered as a religious organization, enunciating a principle binding on all 47 Member States that comprise the Council of Europe.

On September 18, 2007, the Church of Scientology of Portugal was officially recognized as a religious organization under that country’s new religious registration law.

On December 3, 2007, the South African Revenue Service granted the Church of Scientology the status of a Public Benefit Organization as a religious entity with full tax exemption.

Spain is a perfect example of a country in which Scientology battled for decades against official persecution and discrimination and achieved full vindication and religious recognition. In October 2007, the National Court in Madrid affirmed the rights of Scientology parishioners and Church organizations to religious freedom in Spain. The Church of Scientology was officially entered in the National Register of Religions of Spain in December 2007, amid broad public fanfare, with the media announcing, “Scientology is no longer a sect.”

Today while there is still some official discrimination targeting Scientologists and the Church of Scientology, nowhere is Scientology prohibited from practicing its faith. In 2009 the countries that engage in official discrimination against Scientologists can be counted on one hand while the other countries in which Scientologists are active—all 165 of them—allow Scientologists to practice their religion without interference. Moreover, even in these few countries that still engage in religious intolerance targeting Scientologists and other minority faiths, the acts of governmental officials must be placed in the context of the actual facts there—in each and every one of them, Scientology is growing at a speed unprecedented for any religion in modern times. While a few governments may be trying to impede the religion, the people certainly are not.

For more information: www.scientologynews.org