A parliamentary inquiry has heard claims the Church of Scientology leaves members to fund local charitable activities out of their own pockets, as it siphons donations to church officials overseas.

The Senate committee was formed after Independent Senator Nick Xenophon raised concerns about Scientology, and proposed changes to tax law that would require religions to pass a public benefit test in order to be exempt from income tax.

The Church of Scientology, seen by many as a destructive cult involved in the marketing of quackery under the guise of religion has compared itself to the Salvation Army during a senate inquiry in Australia.

The inquiry also heard from ex-Scientologists who went public with their shocking experiences earlier this year, when Senator Xenophon twice failed in efforts to have an inquiry into abuse allegations.

An investigation by Channel 7′s TodayTonight reporter Bryan Seymour alleged to have uncovered a ploy used by Scientology to dodge tax obligations in the United Kingdom and eight European countries.

Investigations have been launched by the Office for Consumer and Business Affairs as well as the Attorney-Generals Department and with UK authorities.

The Scientology cult in Germany has lost 500 members in 2009, the country's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution says in a report.

Plans to turn a former sailors’ refuge in Plymouth, UK, into a Church of Scientology headquarters have caused uproar. A local ex-church member, who did not want to be named, said: “All it will do is fleece the gullible.” [But how else will they keep buying up historic buildings?]

A St. Petersburg Times investigation found that more than a dozen women said the culture in Scientology‘s Sea Org pushed them or women they knew to have abortions, in many cases, abortions they did not want.

Some said colleagues and supervisors pressured them to abort their pregnancies and remain productive workers without the distraction of raising children. Terminating a pregnancy and staying on the job affirmed one’s commitment to the all-important work of saving the planet.

A number of former employees of the church have told ABC’s Lateline they were only paid a few thousand dollars per year for full-time work and had to resort to welfare payments to survive.

The Church of Scientology claims people who sign up to work do so as volunteers. But the former Scientologists Lateline spoke to deny that all staff are volunteers.

Australia’s industrial inspectorate has confirmed it is investigating the employment practices of the Church of Scientology.

The inspectorate has interviewed Scientology members along the east coast of Australia to establish whether they are being properly remunerated for their church work.

A former member of The Church of Scientology has accused the organisation of attempting to cover up a case of child sexual abuse.

The ex member who says she was abused as a child has told the ABC’s Lateline program that she was coached to lie to police and community services about what had happened.

Police raided a local Scientology chapter here and discovered a hidden archive which contained not only information on the group’s members but also on the sect’s ‘enemies’, the Turin daily La Stampa reported on Thursday.

Note: Religion News Blog often files news about the Church of Scientology under the subject of ‘hate groups’ because Scientology has a lengthy history of hate- and harassment activities.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that passages of the Bible forbid blood transfusions. Members who do accept such treatment can be cast out of the church.

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses carry a signed and witnessed advance directive card absolutely refusing blood and releasing doctors from any liability arising from this refusal.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon has called for a judicial inquiry into the Church of Scientology following further claims of systematic abuse of members.

“We have allegations of child abuse, coerced abortions, false imprisonment, bullying and extortion. Surely the victims of Scientology deserve a proper inquiry,” he said.

The daughter of the president of the Church of Scientology in Australia has spoken out against the organisation, describing it as toxic and accusing the church of tearing some families apart.

She claims children of Sea Org members rarely had contact with their parents, lived in separate homes and were granted only 20 minutes each night with their parents.

Senator Nick Xenophon has vowed not to give up on his quest to bring the controversial Church of Scientology to task over tax exemptions.

Scientology had been variously accused of criminal behaviour, coercing abortions, stalking, transcending child labour laws and unconscionable treatment of members who were charged hundreds of thousands of dollars for their courses, he said.

With two recent public confrontations, a year-long, highly publicized drama in the world of Scientology has spilled into the streets of Clearwater.

The latest incident occurred Friday afternoon as seven members of the Church of Scientology — including five senior members of its California-based international management team — surrounded and screamed at a former church executive, then loudly carried the dispute into the office of an unsuspecting and startled doctor.

[Note: it is our policy to post news about acts of hatred on the part of 'religious' organizations in the 'hate groups' file.]

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