Similarities between Mormonism and Scientology

The information for this post can be found here.


-The Church of Scientology (CoS) is a cult of personality practically worshipping its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. Ditto for the Mormon church and Joseph Smith.

-Scientologists believe they are being persecuted by non-believers/apostates. Ditto Mormons.

-Scientologists are told that all books, Internet web sites, etc., critical to the CoS are false and all lies. Ditto Mormons.

-Scientologists, especially those whose lives are completely immersed in the cult like the members of the Sea Org, Estate Project Force, and the like, are discouraged from watching the news, reading non-Scientology material, associating with non-members, etc.

-Both sects have an extraterrestrial component to them: The CoS has the story of Xenu, the evil galactic overlord who is responsible for the immortal, disembodied alien souls called body thetans* that infest the human body/mind and cause all our woes including sickness, war, crime, etc. The Mormons' primary god lives on or near a planet/star called Kolob.

* Pronounced “THAY-ton” or, if you prefer, like “Satan” with a lisp. ;)

-The CoS’s Office of Special Affairs (the “OSA”) deals with church “enemies” by collecting damaging information, conducting smear campaigns, defaming them, etc. The OSA was formerly called the “Guardian’s Office” but disbanded and renamed sometime after L. Ron Hubbard’s wife, Mary Sue, and some other cronies were arrested and jailed for infiltrating U.S. gov’t offices, including the IRS, and stealing documents damaging to the CoS. The Mormons have their secretive Strengthening the Members Committee.

-The CoS grossly bloats its membership census and claims some 8 million members worldwide. Insiders who have defected from CoS estimate that there are approx. 55,000 Scientologists in the U.S. plus some 19,000 worldwide. The Mormon church’s dubious membership claims have been discussed at length here.

-The CoS is highly secretive about its finances. Ditto the LDS church.

-The CoS claims to be an altruistic organization donating funds for charitable causes but most likely only a miniscule percentage of its annual revenue is actually contributed. Ditto the LDS.

-The CoS’s goal is to convert the entire world to its belief system in order to save mankind. Ditto the LDS.

-Only after YEARS of paying substantial sums of money for auditing, courses, books and tapes can a member attain the highest “OT” (Operating Thetan) levels (currently I thru VIII) of Scientology. It is at level OT III that the story of Xenu and the thetans, mentioned above, is revealed and the member is sworn to keep this sacred tenet secret.* Likewise, Mormons must pay tithing and be found worthy to enter the temple and take out his/her endowment and swear to keep these rituals secret.

* Save yourself $100,000! Read all about Xenu here! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu-


Scientologists who have attained the OT III level [given knowledge of the Xenu space opera] are forbidden to discuss it with ANYONE, even their own spouse even if that spouse is also an OT III. Likewise, Mormons are forbidden to discuss the temple goings-on with anyone, even other TR holders.

-OT III level Scientologists are forbidden to mention the name “Xenu” or to acknowledge that the galactic overlord figures in their cosmology and are instructed to LIE by categorically denying that such a belief is part of their church. [In a recent interview, a highly placed CoS official chuckled and blandly stated that the Xenu account is NOT part of their beliefs].

-The “deeper doctrines” of both the CoS and the LDS are kept secret from outsiders because, frankly, they are bizarre and downright silly. And, more importantly, both sects rely on members to pay out lots of $$ before the “inner secrets” of the cult are revealed.

-Naïve members of the CoS who have not yet achieved the super-secret OT levels deny the Xenu story and claim it is made up by enemies of the church. Blinkered Mormons deny that Joseph Smith had more than one wife, that there were blood oaths in the temple, the Adam-God doctrine, blood atonement, etc. and claim these are lies made up by enemies of the church.

-The Xenu story invariably surfaces to embarrass the Scientologists just as polygamy and sacred underpants cause chagrin to the Mormon church.

-In 1998 the CoS furnished computer software to its members ostensibly to aid them in making their own websites that would connect to the church’s website when in truth and fact, the software contained a censorship program to block access to sites critical to the CoS, especially the dreaded www.xenu.net (also known as the “Operation Clambake” site) maintained by a Norwegian named Andreas Heldal-Lund. The Mormon hierarchy constantly harps upon the evils of the Internet, encourages the use of its “net nanny” and restricts access to certain websites from BYU computers.

-Both the CoS and the LDS are terrified of the information on the Internet about their respective organizations.

-The CoS is obsessed with public image and employs/has employed the public relation powerhouse Hill and Knowlton to help shed its bizarre fringe-group image. Ditto the Mormon church.

-The CoS is fiercely litigious, zealously guards its copyrighted material and sues with little provocation (although to my knowledge, it has not sued anyone for either revealing the super-secret Xenu story or breaking their BILLION year employment contract with the Sea Org because, c’mon, that would be just TOO EMBARASSING to trot out in a courtroom!). Though litigious, the LDS church is an amateur in this area compared to the CoS.

-The CoS teaches that all illness is psychosomatic* and treatable with auditing ($$$), vitamins, exercise and by undergoing a Purification Rundown (more $$$$). Hearing about the many instances of "annointing with oil" and "priesthood blessings" being credited for miraculous healings, even when antibiotics and other beneficial medications are prescribed is pretty typical for most Mormons , who take the stance of feeling 'blessed' whenever some illness or accident occurs, because the "priesthood" power is available to them, and only them.

*Of course, those who have attained OT III level know that illness is REALLY caused by those pesky Body Thetans* .


The CoS’s ecclesiastical kangaroo court is called a “Committee of Evidence” (or “Comm Ev”) where a member is tried for breaches of ethics (i.e., being “out-ethics” *) and the outcome is pretty much pre-determined. Just like a Mormon disciplinary court (court of love).

* For more examples of bizarre Hubbard-speak, see this glossary of Scientology terms: http://www.xenu-directory.net/glossary/glossary_a.htm

-Scientologists, especially members holding an OT level, must periodically undergo Security Checks (“Sec Checks”) by an auditor who asks probing questions such as,

“What crimes have you committed?”
“Have you had disloyal thoughts about L. Ron Hubbard?”

The results of these “sec checks” are noted in a member’s file. (Remember, too, that the member is holding the infamous “e-meters” in his hands and his emotions are registering on the dial being observed by the auditor). This procedure is akin to the worthiness interviews that Mormons are subjected to.

-Scientologists (OT III’s) attribute bad feelings and disturbances to Thetans* still clinging to their minds/bodies. Mormons blame it on loss of the spirit or the presence of Satan.

-Scientologist shills calling themselves “ministers” try to recruit new members. 19 year old mormon boys calling themselves “elders” try to recruit new members.

-Scientologists believe they are enlightened and superior to non-believers and disparagingly refer to them as Meatballs, Bashers, and Wogs. Ditto for Mormons although without the name-calling.

(Mostly the LDS refer to non-members as "Gentiles" even though that term is commonly used for anyone not of Jewish descent. The reasoning for this is that Mormons believe they are "adopted" into a tribe of Israel when they become members, and they are told which "tribe" they belong to when they receive a 'patriarchal blessing')

-Scientologists are known to aggressively stalk and badger members who have left the church in an effort to coerce them back in. Ditto Mormons.

-When a person leaves the cult or expresses any doubt about it, the CoS issues a formal “declare” deeming that person as an “SP” (Suppressive Person). The family and friends of that “SP” are frequently ordered to “disconnect” from the “SP” which means that all ties are permanently severed. Thus, the CoS completely destroys the fabric of family and friendships to keep the SP from contaminating any other members.

The Mormons have their way of shunning apostates, too, but not in such a draconian manner. They have two types of disconnection with members who do not conform---disfellowship, which mainly limits the amount of participation of the offending member, such as not partaking of the sacrement on Sundays, or being able to offer a prayer or give a talk, and excommunication, which requires up to a year of demonstration that the offending member has repented and is fully compliant with whatever requirements the local ecclesiastical leaders come up with in order to be reinstated. They will have to be rebaptised, and re-endowed, and follow through a strict regimen of showing 'contrite spirit' and sufficient 'broken-heartedness" in order to regain these "blessings". The big threat of non-compliance is the belief that your spouse and children may be assigned to a more worthy member of the LDS faith in the afterlife, and you will loose your permanent place in the family without the temple recommend that allows you access to their rituals and their signs and tokens necessary to "cross-over" into the Celestial World. As you might imagine---there is significant pressure placed upon each member to stay in line and maintain their beliefs, or face loosing the respect of their own family, even spouses and children are encouraged to leave the "apostate" behind in search of a more worthy companion.

-The writings of Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986, are considered scripture, incontrovertible and unchangeable. However, the contents of Hubbard’s earlier books have been subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, altered in current editions. Plus, “new” writings of the deceased Mr. Hubbard are still conveniently being found! The Book of Mormon, which should be dubbed the most CORRECTED book on earth, has had many changes. Plus, some speeches, articles, etc. by Mormon authorities have quietly been withdrawn from websites and apparently sent down the “memory hole.” Brigham Young's bizarre teachings (such as Adam-God theory, Curse of Cain, Blood Atonement, Plural Marriage, and men inhabiting the Sun) are found in the Journal of Discourses, which can be read here.

-All of Hubbard’s writings and speeches have been preserved and encased in titanium capsules and stored in underground vaults outside of Trementina, New Mexico. Likewise, the LDS church stores genealogical records and Mormon arcanain vaults in Little Cottonwood Canyon on the outskirts of SLC.

-CoS members are required to confess their past, including crimes, misdeeds and sexual conduct, to an auditor who notes these details in a “confessional folder” that is supposedly kept confidential (more on this below) much like a Mormon bishop keeps files on members which may also contain sensitive information.

-L. Ron Hubbard was rabidly homophobic, considered masturbation to be a great evil and held that sex is only to occur between married people. Ditto the LDS. Hubbard argued that homosexuals should be segregated from the rest of society and institutionalized to prevent their illness from spreading to the rest of the population.

In “Dianetics,” Hubbard defines homosexuality as “sexual perversion.”[As an interesting sidebar, in 1998, one Michael Pattison filed suit against the Church of Scientology, John Travolta and 21 others for fraud alleging that the CoS claimed it could “cure” Mr. Pattison of his homosexuality. Mr. Pattison alleged that the sect used John Travolta as an example of a homosexual who was "cured" by the CoS but after 25 years in the church and spending $500,000.00, Mr. Pattison was still gay. This parallels the Mormon church’s stance that programs like Evergreen can “cure” a gay person.]

-The CoS has two sets of standards: one for its celebrity members and one for the rank and file as evidenced by the lavish “Celebrity Center” in Los Angeles where stars are coddled. What other “church” has a special sumptuous facility for celebs only? Further, Tom Cruise committed a serious breach of Scientology ethics by having pre-marital sex resulting in the birth of his child 7 months before his marriage to Katie Holmes but you can bet he was not called before a “Comm Ev.” Likewise, on RfM we’ve read about members of “Mormon royalty” or those with connections to the Mormon hierarchy who get away with transgressions that no ordinary Mormon would.

[As another sidebar, it is RUMORED that John Travolta only stays in the Church of Scientology because the confidential contents of his confessional folder will be leaked to the public if he leaves. His file purportedly contains information pertaining to his two year relationship with a male porn actor].

My thoughts:

Scientology cannot be called a "cult" if the Mormons are called a "church".

They are so similar in organization and attitude, and have equally bizarre belief systems that are gradually imparted upon new members (milk before meat), that to segregate them and call one "cult" but not the other is definitely a case of pot calling the kettle black.

Mormons: do you see yourselves as others see you? Are you willing to look at yourselves from a Non-Mormon perspective?