Understanding the Appeal of Scientology

Scientology has gained a lot of publicity in recent times because of the fact that it has several celebrity patrons, such as Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and Isaac Hayes. But other than this what is it that drives people to become scientologists and face possible ridicule and giving up a lot of their personal wealth at the same time? Well the answer is that as with any other religion scientology has a number of different appeals that draw people to it. It professes to offer answers to many of life's questions, as well as claiming to be able to make you happier and more complete as a person. Which when you think about it is pretty standard for any cult or religion to use as a means of attracting impressionable people.

Most non scientologists will tell you that they are very skeptical about a religion conceived by a science fiction writer that features aliens and him being the reincarnation of an ancient alien spirit. However the fact that the entire thing is based on a story about aliens isn't actually revealed to the scientologist until he has been into he church for several years and has undergone hundreds of different and costly tests and courses of study. At the end of which something as strange as the alien story doesn't seem out of place.

Scientology seems mainly to be desperate to attract people into its ranks. They claim things like that they can cure drug addictions, as well as mental illnesses and depression. Of course there is no evidence or records of this happening, but to someone who is depressed or ill, it is often enough to make them listen. While they do offer a range of counseling and programs to help people, this is a long way away from being able to cure mental illness.