21 January 2008

MADRID - Long derided as a cult or a sect, Scientology has finally come to be recognised as a religion in Spain thanks to a High Court ruling that has forced the Justice Ministry to equate it with Catholicism, Islam and any other major faith in the state registry of religions.

The decision, announced by the Justice Ministry on 19 December, marks a hard-fought victory for Spain's 10,000 Scientologists, who have spent decades battling official scepticism and even scorn of their beliefs. It also sets Spain apart from most European countries, where Scientology continues to exist in a legal limbo. Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom do not consider Scientology to be a religion. Portugal recognised it last September, while Germany classes it as a business, and has even gone so far as to consider banning it.

Spain's High Court took a different view, basing its verdict on previous Constitutional and Supreme Court rulings that had forced the government to recognise other minority faiths such as the Unification Church, founded by Korean preacher Sun Myung Moon. It argued that to continue to refuse to recognise Scientology as a religion would undermine the "neutrality and impartiality of the state toward religious beliefs."

Founded by American science fiction author L Ron Hubbard in the 1950s, Scientology is described by believers as encompassing "all aspects of life from the point of view of the spirit." It preaches that "man is a spiritual being whose existence spans more than one life and who is endowed with abilities well beyond those which he normally considers he possesses." It is perhaps best known thanks to its high-profile followers, many of them Hollywood stars. John Travolta subscribes to the religion's beliefs, as does Tom Cruise, one of its most fervent followers. Just last week, in fact, a video of Cruise espousing the benefits of Scientology was released on the internet.

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