Scientology is a scifi religion created by pulp fiction author and professional narcissist L . Ron Hubbard . So you ' re a susceptible person shopping at your local mall , and you see a booth offering free personality tests . They hook you up to like an oscilloscope or something , just have you grab the two ends , and then they read a bogus number and tell you they can help you with all the ways you suck . You pay the church and the church reveals more of the scifi stories they purport are the Hidden Truth . It ' s not even good sci fi . But that ' s not where it gets sinister . The Church uses dedicated members and their financial resources to prevent anyone from being uncultified . They have compounds and facilities in which God knows what goes down except that bodies come out once in a while . They use the legal system and harassment and intimidation to mess with elected officials , judges , or the federal government itself . Read about Operation Snow White . And of course there ' s the day to day you become engrossed in the religion , and the price of the next level of Truth is always a little higher . People get bilked out of every dime they have , and then they become dependent on Scientology to feed and house them . These people are unadulterated evil , but they can ' t be taken in because they operate under the guise of religion . American justice is understandably hesitant to draw a line between churches and cults for the sake of the First Amendment .