Scientology Attacks Back on Religious Discrimination - Example: Australia

Example Australia: The Australian High Court's decision regarding the Scientology religion in Church of the New Faith v. Commissioner of Payroll Tax (1983) is recognized as a landmark legal decision, establishing the standard for the definition of religion and religious charities in both Australia and New Zealand, and, indeed, throughout the Commonwealth of Nations.

The High Court determined that:

"The Church of Scientology has easily discharged the onus of showing that it is religious. The conclusion that it is a religious institution entitled to tax exemption is irresistible."

The High Court not only ruled that Scientology is a religion, it did so on the basis of a definition of religion that encompassed the teachings of all faiths accorded religious status:

"Belief in a supernatural being, thing or principle; and acceptance and observance of canons of conduct in order to give effect to that belief."

This ruling is internationally acclaimed because it represents an improvement over the exclusionary definition of religion in English common law that, in contravention of human rights, restricted religiosity to narrow Judeo-Christian concepts standards that excluded many major world religions.

Today, the High Court decision regarding Scientology forms the basis for determining what a religion is for purposes of Australian charity law. The Australian government's Inquiry into the Definition of Charities and Related Organizations, published in 2001, 18 years after the High Court decision, cites this case as "the most significant Australian authority on the question of what constitutes a religion.... The High Court found Scientology to be a religion. On the question of the current approach to the meaning of religion, the Scientology case provides the best elucidation."

Commonwealth Acceptance for the High Court Decision