Church of Scientology

The Church of Scientology is a new religious movement that was founded by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard as an organization dedicated to the practice of Scientology, an "applied religious philosophy" formulated by Hubbard.

Membership statistics

It is notoriously difficult to obtain reliable statistics detailing membership numbers of the Church of Scientology. The Church itself issues only vague figures (without breaking them down by region or country), and public censuses have only in recent years included questions about religious affiliations.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Church of Scientology has claimed anywhere from eight million to fifteen million members world-wide, and has stated that "Scientology is the fastest growing religion in the world". Critics, however, state that the evidence for Scientology's expansion suggests otherwise. The International Association of Scientologists (IAS) maintains a list of Scientologists world-wide. However, not every active Scientologist is a member of the International Association of Scientologists.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• In 1986, the New Zealand national census found 189 Scientologists nationwide.
• In 1991, the National Survey of Religious Identification http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html reported 45,000 Scientology followers in the United States. This survey has been placed in evidence in the court case "Raul Lopez v. Church of Scientology Mission of Buenaventura" by Scientology's attorney, Gerald L. Chaleff. That same year, the New Zealand national census found that the nationwide total of Scientologists had increased to 207.
• In 1994, there were 3,400 Scientology "Sea Org" members, 34,000 lifetime IAS members, and 54,000 yearly IAS members. This produces a total of 91,400 names on the membership lists. Observers of Scientology estimate that at least half of these people no longer participate in Scientology, and do not consider themselves Scientologists.
• In 1995 IAS membership was estimated at 65,000 active Scientologists world-wide.
• In 1996, Australia's national census recorded 1,488 Scientologists nationwide (equivalent to 0.00767% of the population). The New Zealand national census found a further increase in the number of Scientologists, to 213—putting them on a level with Hare Krishna and Christian Science but considerably behind Satanism (903 members).
• In 1998, the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution estimated a total of 5,000 – 6,000 Scientologists in that country.
• In 2001, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) reported 55,000 adults in the United States who consider themselves Scientologists. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0922574.html Observers of Scientology estimate an additional 20,000 Scientologists outside the United States, for a total of 75,000 world-wide.
• The 2001 UK Census contained a voluntary question on religion, to which 48,000,000, 92% of the population, chose to respond. Of those living in England and Wales who responded, a total of 1,781 claimed to be Scientologists. The New Zealand national census reported 282 Scientologists, continuing its upward trend, though still behind Satanism (down to 893).
• In 2003, the Canadian national census reported a total of 1,525 Scientologists nationwide.