As noted by the religious scholar Hubert Seiwert , Scientology came to be seen as a " serious political danger that not only threatened to turn individuals into will @-@ less zombies , but was also conspiring to overthrow the democratic constitution of the state " . This view of Scientology as a public enemy , Seiwert adds , " became a matter of political correctness " : senior political figures became involved in launching campaigns against Scientology , and being suspected of any association with it resulted in social ostracism . Stephen A. Kent , writing in 1998 , noted that officials at all levels of German government shared the insistence that Scientology should be suppressed . Scientology was viewed as " a totalitarian , business @-@ driven organization [ ... ] guilty of significant human rights abuses . " Officials examining primary and secondary sources , legal documents , and the testimony of former members , concluded that the organization was " antithetical to a democratic state " . Federal ministries and state governments were asked to use all legal means at their disposal to check the activities of Scientology .