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List of Scientologists

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A Scientologist is a person who adheres to the beliefs and practices of Scientology, a movement founded by L. Ron Hubbard in the mid-20th century. The term is used for individuals who participate in Scientology services or training offered by the Church of Scientology, whether as public members or as part of the organization's staff. Estimates of the number of Scientologists vary widely, with the Church claiming worldwide membership in the millions, while national censuses and independent surveys indicate global totals in the tens of thousands.

Definition

A Scientologist is an adherent of the doctrines and practices of Scientology. The Church of Scientology states that "Scientologist" is a collective membership mark indicating membership in affiliated Scientology churches and missions.

Public Scientologists are those individuals who are not staff. They pay the Church of Scientology for training or auditing services, and live and work independently of the organization. Collectively, non-staff Scientologists may be referred to as "members", the "public", or the "field". Even though public members are not employed by the organization, they are ranked within the Church's chain of command and defer to all staff personnel, who are regarded as their seniors. Public members are frequently pressed into service for clerical or promotional tasks or to recruit new members. Public members who recruit people for Scientology services are called "field staff members" (FSMs) and are paid a commission of 10%–15% of the amount their recruit pays for a service.

Scientologists not in trouble with the ethics department are considered "in good standing" and are allowed to be on Church of Scientology premises, receive services, and attend events. Those who practice Scientology‑derived techniques outside the Church in what is known as the Free Zone, or independent Scientology, are not recognized by the Church.

Membership statistics

It is difficult to obtain reliable membership statistics. The International Association of Scientologists (IAS), the official Church of Scientology membership system since 1984, has never released figures. Other Church spokespeople have cited membership numbers in the millions, though that represents a cumulative number of anyone who ever took a service or purchased a book from the organization. Census and survey data have shown those numbers to be greatly exaggerated, and census tallies are declining in several countries.

Census and survey data

(in decreasing order of membership)

United States
A 2008 survey of American religious affiliations by the US Census Bureau estimated there to be 25,000 Americans identifying as Scientologists, as did a 2008 Trinity College survey that also concluded there were 25,000 Scientologists. The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) found 45,000 Scientologists in the United States in 1990, 55,000 in 2001, and 25,000 in 2008.
Germany
In 2005, the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution estimated a total of 5,000–6,000 Scientologists in the country, and mentioned a count of 12,000 according to Scientology Germany. Germany's government counted 3,600 German members in 2021.
United Kingdom
The 2001 United Kingdom census contained a voluntary question on religion, to which approximately 48,000,000 chose to respond. Of those living in England and Wales who responded, a total of 1,781 said they were Scientologists. The 2021 census in England and Wales recorded 1,800 Scientologists.
Australia
In 2006, Australia's national census recorded 2,507 Scientologists nationwide, up from 1,488 in 1996, and 2,032 in 2001. The 2011 census however found a decrease of 13.7 percent from the 2006 census. The Australian census reported 1,488 Scientologists in 1996 and 2,032 in 2001, before dropping to under 1,700 in 2016.
Canada
Statistics Canada, the national census agency, reported numbers of Scientologists as: 1,215–1,220 in 1991, 1,525 in 2001, 1,745 in 2011, and 1,380 in 2021.
Switzerland
In 2011, SonntagsZeitung reported that support for Scientology in Switzerland had experienced a steady decline from 3,000 registered members in 1990 to 1,000 members and the organization was said to be facing extinction in the country. A Church of Scientology spokesperson rejected the figures claiming that the organization had 5,000 "passive and active members in Switzerland".
New Zealand
In the 2006 New Zealand census, 357 people identified themselves as Scientologists, although a spokesperson for the organization said there were between 5,000 and 6,000 Scientologists in the country. Earlier census figures were 207 in the 1991 census, 219 in 1996, and 282 in 2001.
Finland
In 2011, the "Scientology Association of Finland" had approximately 120 members.

Across all countries with available data, the number of self-identified Scientologists is small and in many cases declining.

Independent estimates

One 2014 estimate indicates there were about 30,000 Scientologists. An estimate given by former high-level Church of Scientology employee Jefferson Hawkins in 2011 was of 40,000.

Andersen and Wellendorf estimated that there were between 2000 and 4000 Scientologists in Denmark in 2009, with contemporary estimates suggesting between 500 and 1000 active Scientologists in Sweden. Observers have suggested between 2000 and 4000 in France.

Church membership claims

The organization has said that it has eight to fifteen million members worldwide, but this figure is known to be an aggrandizing fabrication. Religious scholar J. Gordon Melton has said that the organization's estimates of its membership numbers are exaggerated: "You're talking about anyone who ever bought a Scientology book or took a basic course. Ninety-nine percent of them don't ever darken the door of the church again." Melton has stated that if the claimed figure of 4 million American Scientologists were correct, "they would be like the Lutherans and would show up on a national survey".

By the start of the 21st century, the organization was claiming it had 8 million members. Several commentators observe that this number is cumulative rather than collective: that is, it represents the total number of people who had any interaction with the Scientology organization since its founding, some of whom only had one or two auditing sessions. The organization also maintained that it was the world's fastest growing religion, a title also claimed by several other groups including Mormons, modern Pagans, and Baháʼí.

Demographics

Scientologists are found mostly in the US, Europe, South Africa and Australia. Within the US, higher rates of Scientology have been observed in the western states, especially those bordering the Pacific Ocean, than further east.

Internationally, the Scientology organization's members are largely middle-class. In Australia, Scientologists have been observed as being wealthier and more likely to work in managerial and professional roles than the average citizen.

Scientology is oriented toward individualistic and liberal economic values; the scholar of religion Susan J. Palmer observed that Scientologists display "a capitalist ideology that promotes individualistic values". Interviewing members of the Church of Scientology in the United States, Westbrook found that most regarded themselves as apolitical, Republicans, or libertarians; fewer than 10 percent supported the Democratic Party. A survey of Danish Scientologists likewise revealed that nearly all voted for liberal or conservative parties on the right of Denmark's political spectrum and took a negative view of socialism. Placing great emphasis on the freedom of the individual, those surveyed believed that the state and its regulations held people down, and felt that the Danish welfare system was excessive.

Recruitment

Most people who join the organization are introduced to it via friends and family. It also offers free "personality tests" or "stress tests", typically involving an E-Meter, to attract potential recruits. It hopes that if non-Scientologists purchase one service from the organization and feel a benefit from it– a "win" in Scientology terminology– they are more likely to purchase additional services from it. Other recruitment methods include lectures and classes introducing non-Scientologists to the subject.

The Church of Scientology's own statistics, published in 1998, reveal that 52.6% of those who joined did so through their family and friendship networks with existing members. 18% were drawn in through personality tests, 4.8% through publicity, and 3.1% through lectures. Westbrook's interviews with members determined that most people who joined the organization were initially attracted by "the practical benefits advertised". Westbrook found that various members deepened their involvement after having what they considered to be a spiritual experience, such as exteriorization or a past life memory, in their first few weeks of involvement.

Notable Scientologists

The list below contains names of public Scientologists. For Scientologists who are, or were, on staff, see . This list includes members who were still Scientologists in the Church of Scientology at the time of their death.

Former Scientologists

This table represents individuals who were previously Scientologists, but who left the Church of Scientology.

See also

References

Further reading

External links