sciorg is just a bunch of greedy sociopaths using religion as a front to hurt people. (Physically, financially, and mentally.)
At least with most other religious groups, the higherups actually believe what they are preaching. I somehow seriously doubt that Miscavige believes that
Xemu blew up billions of people in space 747s, in a giant volcano crater, and that their tortured souls latch onto people and drive them crazy. He seems more than happy to charge people hundreds of thousands of dollars on auditing and tithes though.
Hilariously enough, there are former scientologists, who
dissatisfied with the church leadership, have attempted to practice their religion free from Miscavige and his cronies, only to be attacked with copyright law and worse at every turn. To me, this clearly demonstrates that it is NOT about the religious belief, it is about the money, as far as SciOrg is concerned.
If people want to believe that a space tyrant solved galactic overpopulation by blowing up billions of people on a tiny planet in the unfashionable part of the spiral arm of the milky way using nukes and space 747s, that is their business. It is when they cause real harm to people, (again,
physically, mentally, and financially), are shameless in doing so, and are opposed to the free (outside of their direct, totalitarian control) practice of those beliefs, that I call bullshit on their operation, and refuse to acknowledge them as a real religion. (I am not disqualifying the faith of the people who want to practice freely; I am disqualifying their leadership from being allowed to claim religious protection status to cover their crimes.)