Anonymous

I was reading the Wikipedia page for Scientology and it says this...

"In the UK, the Charity Commission for England and Wales ruled in 1999 that Scientology was not a religion and refused to register the Church as a charity"

If they are not a religion then can they be stopped from using the word "church" in their name?

Could we approach legitimate organisations, who may be concerned about its activities, such as the Church of England or others with influence, to do something about this situation.

CaptainAdderall

If it were up to me, sure... but... nobody made me king of the UK yet....
yet........
*cues mysterious music

Doing my part to get the Cult out of Hollywood!

... Fighting the CULT of Scientology Since 2005
-Victim of Disconnection Policy-

Skype- CaptainAdderall
Twitter- @CaptainAdderall
323-THE-CULT
http://www.captainadderall.com

Anonymous

Just thinking our loud here. If it is deceiving the consumer, they might be compelled to stop. On the other hand you could probably open a gym called "Church of Fitness", for example, with no probs.

Nevertheless a campaign of persuasion to have them desist from the term might be a positive thing in itself, whether they desisted or not. Lots of "religious persecution" bleating from the scam members guaranteed.

Anonymous

You'd have my vote, but that's not how this "king" business works, is it?

A Noid

"Thank you for calling the Church of England, your call is important to us. We're currently handling some minor controversy dividing the nation right now about something something women bishops or somesuch, but leave your name and number and we'll get back to you sometime before some sort of schism happens. Thank you."

xenubarb

There's a tattoo and piercing joint down on 9th Ave. called Church of Pain. But you are not likely to mistake it for a religious institution. People *do* mistake Scientology for a church all the time.

In the context of Scientology, Inc. it is indeed misleading, especially in countries where it has no official religious recognition.

thefatman

I'd assume they'd just argue that it's simply their name as it is throughout the world (regardless of recognition) and it would be confusing to their "paritioners" if they changed the name. I guess if there was a big enough drama about it they'd do what they did in Perth and call it the "Hubbard Dianetics Foundation" or some shit like that.

ryangiggs

oldpicofscilonministerwearingvicargarb.jpeg

"No!"

Anonymous

Unless there is some legal definition of a church in the UK i don't see why they can't call themselves a church.

isupeonedDavidmiscaviage

Probably could argue for a disclaimer.

The Church of Scientology*
We are not actually classified as a religion in the UK. In fact we are a dangerous and damaging cult which fucks your nation to no end.

RolandRB

They are not allowed to call themselves a Church in Scotland but I don't know why that is. England and Wales are a different entity to Scotland and Northern Ireland so if you are campaigning for this then you should stick to England and Wales. You can see from their church locator page that Scotland is treated differently.

http://www.scientology.org.uk/locator/#scotland

The Charity Commission decision was only partly based on Scientology not being a religion. The Summary of their decision can be linked to below.

http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/.../cosdecsum.pdf

...and the full decision can be linked to below.

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk...cosfulldoc.pdf

charlie

Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2009
Dear Mr xxxxx

Thank you for your email. However I'm afraid we do not, to the best of my knowledge, hold any information on the reasons why the Church of Scientology is known as the Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence or whether or use of the term "church" breaches any law.

It might be that the Scottish Government holds information on this subject and you may wish to send them your enquiry. The Government's email address for information requests is:
ceu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

More on how to access Scottish Government information is available here:
Scottish Government: Web page currently unavailable.

I hope that's helpful to you. If you have any further questions please let me know.

Kind regards

Steven Tallach
FOI Officer
-------------------------
Dear Mr xxxxxx,

Please find enclosed your request for information.

Yours sincerely,

Ellie Smith

Ellie Smith
Race, Religion & Refugee Integration Team
0131 244 0560

<<Scientology - scanned response to Mr xxxxxx - June 2009.pdf>>

Did'nt get much futher.

Anonymous

I can't find anything online - I wonder if it was a simple act of an overzealous bureaucrat at the Edinburgh office of Companies House telling them they couldn't use it...

RolandRB

I'll ask on OCMB and ESMB

Edit: Question asked on both boards. You should wait for a response. Somebody will know if this is knowable.

Anonymous

E Petition to no 10 - Nov 2008

Submitted by Shane Moore of Britons Against The 'Church' of Scientology – Deadline to sign up by: 05 October 2008 – Signatures: 1,518

“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to rename The ‘Church’ of Scientology under section 32 of the Companies Act.”
Details of Petition:
“We demand that the Prime Minister, in conjunction with the Secretary of State for Trade & Industry, use powers granted to them in section 32 of the Companies Act to insist that the ‘Church’ of Scientology (England & Wales) be made to rename themselves to a more suitable trading name that will not mislead or harm the public as to the nature of the companies main business. The Oxford English Dictionary states that a ‘church’ is “an official Christian religious organization”. Since Scientology is not a Christian nor, more importantly, recognised as a religion in The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, it should not be allowed to mislead people by referring to itself as a “church”.

[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Scientologyno - epetition response | Number10.gov.uk

New Labour government response here:
[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Scientologyno - epetition response | Number10.gov.uk

OpThetXVI

I've yet to hear any official statement on their use of the term "Church" in Scotland. Does anyone have any idea where the story/rumour originated?
This is part of the glass inner door of HAPI here in Edinburgh. It clearly says "Church of Scientology". I always assumed they just chose to go for the more academic-sounding "Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence" to avoid being seen as competition for the real churches. Edinburgh is a very academic city (3 universities, several colleges), after all.

afternon

The simplest way to go is to call Anonymous a church, have factions called the church of Xenu, church of psychs, etc-
parody works and it helps people!

Skeptic1337

There is something innately wrong with this thread.

Carry on!

afternon

That'll be the church of the inately wrong thread- praise be!

Proxima Centauri

Lulz?!