Jediism is losing followers in Canada, according to the latest census. Also: the arrival of religious immigrants has worked to offset the country’s growing secular population.

Scientology troubled front group Narconon now has the Oklahoma government looking over its shoulders.

Also: Vactican official says worshipping Santa Maria is blasphemy.

In today’s Religion News Briefs, find out why an outfit that calls itself ‘Friends of Narconon’ is misusing the name of one of a former Narconon, Lucas Catton, in classic Scientology-on-the-attack fashion.

The Scientology front groups finds itself under increasing scrutiny and legal pressure.

Two former Narconon executives will expose the Scientology front group to daylight in a broadcast on NBC’s Rock Center.

Also: a panel of cult experts looks at the question, Are Cults a Hidden Epidemic?

Three men who were sentenced to death for their part in the Aum Shinrikyo cult’s 1995 Sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway may be called to testify in the trial of fellow cult member Makoto Hirata.

Hirata faces trial for the fatal abduction and confinement of a notary clerk.

Also: ‘Hot Yoga’ guru Bikram Choudhury faces a sexual harassment lawsuit. Plus, more trouble for Narconon Arrowhead: Lawsuits allege its counselors traded sex for drugs.

Plus: Citizens of a polygamous cult’s town are being watched by surveillance cameras.

Parents in Asher, Oklahoma are concerned about the fact that controversial Scientology front group Narconon made a presentation — and handed out literature — at a local school.

Narconon Arrowhead currently is the target of three wrongful death lawsuits. Last week, Gary Smith, the chief executive officer of Narconon Arrowhead, and several of the center’s employees had their drug counseling certifications revoked.

Gary Smith, the chief executive officer of Narconon Arrowhead in Oklahoma, and several of the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center's employees have had their drug counseling certifications revoked.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that that France infringed the religious freedom of two religious sects and an evangelical church when it taxed their donations.

The State of Georgia is investigating Scientology front-group Narconon for insurance fraud. Plus: a waitress gets fired over posting a receipt documenting how a ‘pastor’ stiffed one of her colleagues.

Also inside: God and game fixing, Calvary Chapel, and more about the Mexican ‘slavery cult’ that calls itself “Defensores de Cristo” (Defenders of Christ)

‘Psychic’ James van Praagh is concerned that the public will be confused and deceived (but not in the way you might think).

A court has rules that the polygamous cult known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) cannot intervene in the way the State of Utah runs the sect’s property trust.

And Narconon of Georgia, a Scientology front group, is being investigated for insurance fraud.

The Georgia state Department of Community Health has notified Narconon of Georgia it intends to revoke the clinic’s license for misrepresenting itself as a residential drug treatment facility.

The Scientology front group, which bases its treatments on the medical quackery of Scientology cult founder L. Ron Hubbard, has come under increasing scrutiny after the deaths of several of its customers.

In today’s edition: the upcoming funeral of cult leader Sun Myung Moon, “one of the most preposterous egomaniacs of the post-war world.” Germany’s Federal Office of Criminal Investigation warms of impending attacks by Neo-Nazis. And Scientology front group Narconon does not want to release staff records.

Plus: ‘Death of God’ theologian Gabrial Vahanian dies. More…

The parents of a 21-year-old Texas woman who died this spring after spending two days at an Oklahoma rehab facility rooted in Scientology filed a lawsuit against the organization Thursday, court records show.

Meanwhile a former Narconon employee has launched a protest of the facility.

Today: Authorities probe deaths at Scientology-related Narconon facility; The great grandson of Scientology cult founder L. Ron Hubbard explains why he considers Hubbard to be a conman.

Also: Four in 10 Muslim congregations in Sweden are exposed to criminal attacks of various kinds; Cult expert Steve Hassan’s new book; and ‘evangelical’ Rich Mouw is still trying to whitewash the Mormon Church.

Plus more…

Health officials have ordered the Narconon rehabilitation centre for drug addicts in Trois Rivières, Canada, to evacuate and relocate its 32 residents, citing concerns over procedures that “may represent a risk to health” and a lack of doctors on staff.

The agency’s decision not to certify was based on visits to the Narconon centre in February, and the recommendations of a national committee of experts convened in March to discuss the case.

The Narconon Drug Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre in Trois-Rivières is shut down for ‘dangerous’ practices.

The organization, viewed as a front group for the Church of Scientology, employs treatments based on the medical fantasies of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.