Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion is Janet Reitman's full-length follow up to her award-winning article on the same subject written for Rolling Stone in 2007. If what Reitman writes here is true, one can only conclude that Scientology is no religion at all; rather, it is a business whose product is pseudo-psychology wrapped in the cloak of religion if only to obtain for itself a measure of respectability and the "benefits" that such a designation confers (particularly the apparently much-coveted designation of tax-free status). Founded by would-be science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, "America's Most Secretive Religion" is perhaps best known for high-profile adherents like Tom Cruise and John Travolta, but its tenets, processes, and internal organization remain largely shrouded from public view and not immune from a certain degree of suspicion.
I would not consider myself well-versed in Scientology's beliefs or tenets. I have not read any of its own publications or the writings of its founder. So, in fairness, I take what Reitman writes here with a grain of salt, not because I disbelieve her but because I think in matters of deeply felt belief systems--yes, religion-- one needs to drink at the fountainhead (i.e. go to the source) rather than drink downstream where the cattle have crossed.
Judge for yourself.
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