The fact that Scientologists have to pay large fees for auditing and other Scientology services has brought controversy to Scientology throughout much of its history , with governments classing it as a profit @-@ making enterprise rather than as a religion . Critics maintain that Scientology is " a business @-@ driven , psychologically manipulative , totalitarian ideology with world @-@ dominating aspirations " , and that it tricks its members into parting with significant sums of money for Scientology courses . Scientology has fought innumerable lawsuits to defend itself against such charges and to pursue legal recognition as a religion . These efforts have been partly successful – Scientology has gained recognition as a tax @-@ exempt religious group in a number of countries , most notably in Australia in 1983 and the United States in 1993 , and in 2007 won an important case at the European Court of Human Rights , which censured Russia for failing to register Scientology as a religion .