Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: dennis.l.erlich@support.com
Subject: Have you seen their e
Message-ID: <9511051320.0IR4S00@support.com>
Organization: L.A. Valley College Public BBS (818)985-7150
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Distribution: world
Date: Sun, 05 Nov 95 13:20:58 -0800
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wolftrip <wolftrip@micron.net>

> >Okay. Just trying to be helpful. Still my opinion that scn must first
> >be proven to not be a religion, then any issues with the tech can be
> >dealt with.

Diane:
> How does one prove that something is *not* a religion in the
> United States, Wolf?  It is my understanding that essentially
> anyone who cares to can incorporate as a religion in any state
> and be afforded "religious" status (that does not mean 501(3)(c)
> status, however).  Requirements vary from state to state, but
> there is *no* government body in this country that determines
> what does and doesn't deserve to be called a religion.  The
> First Amendment forbids the government to hold such authority.

Woof, changing the subject:
>I'd have thought that stripping it of it's tax-exempt status would
>accomplish just that. After all, aren't churches tax exempt?
>
>OTOH, I see your point (freedom of religion). Narrowing down what I
>perceive as an effective goal would be to expose the crimes of
>Scientology in a fashion that aids the removal of preffered tax status
>and makes a public display of the Scn's false claim as a church.

    You're trying to get us to accept a losing argument, Dogboy.

    The fact is, that for many people, the scienokult *is* their
    religion ... now.  But this is 26 years after the scam went 
    public with the phoney trappings (dogcollar and 8-pointed, 
    occult cross).

    I'm sure there are trekkies who would say that Startrek is
    their religion, too.

            +--------------------------------------+
           Rev. Dennis L Erlich  * * the inFormer * *
      dennis.l.erlich@support.com  +  inForm@primenet.com
                           "tar baby"