I was raised in the Catholic church. Yes, donations can be made, and they do prefer you to tithe, but it is not mandatory. You do not have to put anything in the basket when they pass it. We do not have to sign up or sign anything to attend or worship at the Catholic church. We also do not have to buy anything - we do not need/have to buy a bible or any reading materials. Most churches I know of offer bible study but there is no fee to pay, it's voluntary and free. We can also speak out about the pope or anyone associated with the Catholic church without fear of any retribution. We are free to come and go as we please. No punishment from the church would be levied upon us for any reason. We are welcomed back without any rhyme or reason, without any questions. We are not whisked away to a "prison" for any reasons. There are no aspects of fear or retribution if you simply decide to no longer show up, or if you chose to speak out about anything.
Yes Scientology does try to model itself after some aspects of what most of us would consider a church/religion or a church like atmosphere. But from what I have read....or it may have been in a doc I watched - LRH worked very hard to get his "theories" recognized by legitimate doctors for treatments, and when his ideas were rejected - he went a different route. He decided to make it "a religion" or sorts. I believe it was Going Clear that I watched that provided this interesting background, but I could be mistaken it's been a few years.
I just do not see any correlation between a legitimate religion vs Scientology. JMO. You/others may very well feel differently. And that's cool.
About the preachers who drive a Rolls and live very high on the hog - I feel they are grossly misusing the funds from their patronage and I question their true intentions- but that a whole other issue.
