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Summary
- The Church of Scientology runs or supports programs in drug education, drug rehabilitation, literacy, criminal reform, human rights and disaster relief, and publishes large figures for their reach.
- Its Volunteer Ministers were sent to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and, about 800 strong, to Hurricane Katrina in 2005; their Scientology “assists” have drawn criticism from mental health groups and doctors.
- Narconon’s detox method rests on a theory that drugs stay in body fat, which is not medically accepted, and a Norwegian review found no reliable evidence that Narconon works.
- Three patients died at Narconon Arrowhead in Oklahoma in 2011 and 2012, and the state revoked its detox permit in 2013.
- Church officials were convicted in the United States in 1979 and in Canada in 1992, and French courts convicted its Paris Celebrity Centre and bookstore of organized fraud in 2009, upheld in 2013.
- The IRS granted the church tax exemption in 1993, and Germany’s federal domestic intelligence office ended its nationwide monitoring in 2026.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- “Global Social Betterment & Humanitarian Programs Supported by the Church of Scientology,” Church of Scientology International. https://www.scientology.org/how-we-help/
- “Scientology Volunteer Ministers,” Church of Scientology International. https://www.scientology.org/how-we-help/volunteer-ministers/
- Church of Scientology International, homepage (essential tenets). https://www.scientology.org/
- “Scientology and Other Religions,” Church of Scientology FAQ. https://www.scientology.org/faq/scientology-beliefs-and-practices/scientology-and-other-religions.html
- “What Is the Concept of God in Scientology?” Church of Scientology FAQ. https://www.scientology.org/faq/scientology-beliefs/what-is-the-concept-of-god-in-scientology.html
- “Volunteer Ministers,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_Ministers
- “Narconon,” Wikipedia (including the Norwegian Knowledge Centre review, the 2004 California review and the Narconon Arrowhead deaths). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narconon
- “Scientology and the legal system,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_and_the_legal_system
- “Scientology,” Wikipedia (Operation Snow White; 1993 tax exemption). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
- “French court convicts Church of Scientology of fraud,” CNN, October 27, 2009. https://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/27/france.scientology.fraud/index.html
- “French Scientologists lose appeal of fraud conviction,” France 24, October 16, 2013. https://www.france24.com/en/20131016-french-scientologists-lose-appeal-fraud-conviction
- “Verfassungsschutz beendet bundesweite Beobachtung von Scientology,” Handelsblatt, May 15, 2026. https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/inlandsgeheimdienst-verfassungsschutz-beendet-bundesweite-beobachtung-von-scientology/100225282.html
- “Verfassungsschutz beobachtet Scientology weiter eingeschränkt,” Sonntagsblatt (epd), May 2026. https://www.sonntagsblatt.de/artikel/epd/warum-der-verfassungsschutz-scientology-neu-einordnet-aber-weiter-beobachtet
- “Thirty Years of Surveillance Ends Without Finding the Threat Germany Claimed Existed,” Church of Scientology International statement, PR Newswire, June 22, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thirty-years-of-surveillance-ends-without-finding-the-threat-germany-claimed-existed-302808136.html
- Bible quotations from the King James Version: Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:8; Hebrews 9:27.
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