20 world religions and faith practices 402

The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume These materials were first disseminated on the ships, and then propagated by Sea Org members reassigned to staff Advanced Organizations on land In 1967 the IRS removed Scientology’s tax-exempt status, asserting that its activities were commercial and operated for the benefit o f Hubbard, rather than for charitable or religious purposes The decision resulted in a process of litigation that would be settled in the Church’s favor a quarter of a century later, the longest case of litigation in IRS history.10 In 1981, Scientology took the German government to court for the first time in order to obtain religious status there On January 1, 1982, the ‡Ž‹‰‹‘—• ‡…Š‘Ž‘‰› ‡–”‡ (RTC) was established to oversee and ensure the standard application of Scientology technology On January 24, 1986, L Ron Hubbard died at his ranch near San Luis Obispo, California, after spending most of his last years traveling around quietly on his yacht David Miscavige became the head of the organization Hubbard had completed all his research before his death in 1986 and left all his materials and copyrights to the Church of Scientology’s Religious Technology Centre along with most of his personal estate The Church of Scientology has pursued an extensive public relations campaign for the recognition of Scientology as a religion A number of governments now view the Church as a religious organization entitled to protections and tax relief, while others continue to view it as a pseudoreligion or cult The differences between these classifications have become a major problem when discussing religions in general and Scientology specifically Scientology is officially recognized as a religion in the United States Recognition came in 1993, when the IRS stated, after previously rescinding taxexempt status, that Scientology is “operated exclusively for religious and charitable purposes.” In 2000, the Italian Supreme Court ruled that Scientology is a religion for legal purposes In the years that followed, many other countries granted religious status to the Church, with Germany fighting the longest battle, finally giving up in 2007 Other countries, notably Canada, France, Greece, Belgium, and the United Kingdom, refuse to grant Scientology religious recognition ~ 401 ~