What's the word on "Scientology"?

I have been wondering what the whole stink was over with Tom Cruise and his faith. For those that were wondering what "Scientology" is, I thought I would take the time to enlighten others.

As Wikipedia defines it...Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices initially developed by L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as a successor of his earlier self-help system, Dianetics.Hubbard later characterized Scientology as an "applied religious philosophy" and the basis for a new religion.Scientology encompasses a spiritual rehabilitation philosophy and techniques, and covers topics such as morals, ethics, detoxification, education and management. The practice and promotion of the Scientology belief system is organized via the Church of Scientology, the first of which was founded in the year 1953.

The term "Scientology" and related terms are trademarks held by the Religious Technology Center which grants the mother church of the Scientology religion, the Church of Scientology International (CSI), the right to use the trademarks and to license their use to all other Scientology churches and entities.Other organizations that promote the use of Scientology’s related techniques are the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises and the Association for Better Living and Education.

Scientology and the organizations that promote it have remained highly controversial since their inception. Journalists, courts and the governing bodies of several countries have stated that the Church of Scientology is a cult and an unscrupulous commercial enterprise that harasses its critics and abuses the trust of its members.Scientology officials argue that most negative press has been motivated by interest groups and that most of the controversy is past history. The U.S. State Department has commented negatively in their annual International Religious Freedom Reports on countries that discriminate against Scientologists and their religious freedoms.