Time Magazine article on the problem Scientology is having with losing members. The Internet is making life difficult for them because it is much harder to hide their history and teachings. Former Scientologists are organizing online and supporting one another. Scientology is responding by doing more outreach to people who don't have access to the Internet. Sound familiar?

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2080870-2,00.html

It also sounds quite hopeful. Scientology is horribly abusive.

I really have to wonder how much of a role the internet will play in the evolution of religion in the next 20-30 years.

I see nothing but lies and abuse within scientology and I hope it dies.

Only David Miscarriage will cry...

And Tom Cruise.

Wow! I just went and visited one of the ex-scientology forums and read a few of the threads. I think this religion beats out mormonism for sure on weirdness.

It's like reading a science fiction novel or something. I couldn't understand what the heck they were talking about. Some pretty weird stuff.

Yup. Scientology outweirds Mormonism by at least 100 times. So effing scary.

That's probably because L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, was a science-fiction writer. Amazingly, his inspired religious works sounded eerily.. science-fictiony.

Even more amazingly, people believe that crap.

My post wasn't intended as a scientific statement,there, CateS, but this site and the discussions by posters here of the impact of the Internet on their decision to leave Mormonism provides some evidence that Mormonism loses members because of the Internet.

It might be argued the Mormon Church has a net gain because of the Internet, but I personally doubt it because the conversion process depends more on close social relationships rather than information. That is why Mormons get a bigger bang for their missionary buck through fellowshipping non-Members rather than tracting.

Again, not a scientific statement but my current view. I also think the biggest impact of the Internet on the Mormon Church is not "anti-Mormon" materials or sites like this one but porn. It is porn that is driving the Brethren crazy--and the priesthood holders, too, but in presumably different ways. I would love to see the impact of porn on members leaving the church, if you could get anyone to admit it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2011 04:13PM by robertb.

Scientology seemed to thrive on dripping out bits of knowledge at a high price. Big celebs with more money than common sense don't mind dropping $250,000 to find out about science fiction/religion. The Internet has allowed scammed members to post these "truths" online and save people lots of time and money.

The South Park episode was enough to convince me it was all a scam. They are doing a real number on LDS, Inc. as well. It's hard to attract members when you are the laughing stock of the nation.

Scientology thrives on giving out bits of fantasy at a high price.

;)

Make them believe they know something no one else does and that such "knowledge" is hard to come by, and they pay big bucks. The penalties in the earlier Mormon endowment ceremonies was, among other things, one way to raise the "value" of the endowment ceremony. It's mostly marketing.

then the chance to feel superior to other people?

If you ever get a chance, go to You Tube and type in L. Ron Hubbard and watch some of his live interviews. I have seen one in particular which was done on his "Ship Headquarters" and he was clearly an unstable, superstitious, manipulative, etc... individual. Hmmmm, sound familiar?

...Whose founder stated that "if you want to get rich, start a religion."