ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the legal challenges posed by Scientology organizations. It identifies controversy and particular interaction styles as significant to the characterization of a religious organization as a cult. The chapter considers areas in which individual Scientologists and Scientology organizations have come before English courts. Building on the characterization of cultic markers in the preceding section, it places the cases within broader thematic clusters–immigration, taxation, copyright and breach of confidence, actions relating to organizational structures, and issues relating to children. Particular doctrines and practices of Scientology are discussed within the clusters. The chapter considers the interaction between Scientology and the English legal system dealing, insofar as possible, with the particular characteristics of Scientology which are involved, rather than seeking to determine whether Scientology is a cult. Scientology teaches that human beings are spirits, thetans, which may be trillions of years old.
