Their targets used to be university students, but today fringe religious groups are believed to be recruiting school-aged children. Lynne Wallis reports. If one of your pupils became distant, distracted and antisocial, your first thought might be that they were experimenting with drink or drugs. But religious cults pose another danger to young people, and one from which it can be equally difficult to extricate them. Although the notion of children being lured into fringe religious organisations might seem far-fetched, it ...

Will Smith — charismatic, friendly and polite — is also very charitable. His Will Smith Foundation has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to local civic organizations in the Baltimore and Philadelphia areas. Last year he was even one of the few clients of Creative Artists Agency to give money to the talent agency’s own tax-free fund ($2,500). But here’s something you don’t know: After Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett, made "Collateral" with Tom Cruise in 2004, the couple donated $20,000 to ...

The homeland of legendary church reformer Martin Luther said over the weekend it will seek to ban the Church of Scientology – an organization considered to be in conflict with Germany’s constitution. High level German officials, including all 16 state interior ministers, agreed to give the nation’s domestic intelligence agency the job of preparing necessary information to ban the organization, which is considered by most Christians a cult, according to The Associated Press. The ministers, including federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, ...

WOLFGANG Schaeuble, the German interior minister, launched a verbal assault against the Church of Scientology yesterday, accusing it of trying to gain political power. Mr Schaeuble and the country's 16 state interior ministers have declared Scientology unconstitutional. And in a newspaper interview, he said: "Scientology is working in Germany to secure political power and influence. Fundamental rights, including human rights like the right to equal treatment, are limited or abrogated. The democratic system is rejected." Mr Schaeuble and his state counterparts ...

Germany's domestic intelligence agencies are warning that an effort by the country's interior ministers to ban Scientology could fail. They say the group has failed to gain a foothold in German society and that there isn't enough evidence to support freezing its activities. A plan by Germany's state interior ministers to attempt to ban Scientology appears to have little chance of success. According to an assessment made by officials at the country's state and federal intelligence agencies, the Offices for the ...

DECEMBER 7, 2007 - 11:11 AM Here's a real bargain for those of you looking for a nice homey place in Central Gardens: The Church of Scientology is offering to sell its Memphis headquarters at 1440 Central for a mere $895,000. Sure, it may sound a little pricey, but the amenities are pretty sweet: There are 17 rooms, including six bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, a game room, a 750-sq. ft. den, three fireplaces, and a "finished" basement. And that basement, by ...

Hamburg, Germany (AHN) - Hamburg's Interior Minister Udo Nagel wants a national ban in Germany on Scientology, which claims many high-profile adherents, including Hollywood actor Tom Cruise. Nagel's opposition to Scientology is premised on his view of the religion as a commercial enterprise and an anti-constitutional body with aggressive tactics. Nagel shared his thoughts with fellow state interior ministers in a gathering at Hamburg. He apparently has the state on his side. The German Office for the Protection of the Constitution ...

A tax exemption has been awarded to the SA Church of Scientology by the SA Revenue Services (SARS), the Church said on Tuesday. "We are ecstatic, this is a memorable and historic day for us as it provides us with an even better opportunity to serve our community and scientologists," said President of the Church, Ryan Hogarth. He said that SARS issued the Church with a certificate on Monday approving its status as a 'Public Benefit Organisation'. "This was after 42 ...

A LANDMARK Durban building sold to the Church of Scientology in Africa is to become the headquarters for its community work in the province. A LANDMARK Durban building sold to the Church of Scientology in Africa is to become the headquarters for its community work in the province. Scientology, popularised by Hollywood heavyweights Tom Cruise and John Travolta, has a growing following in South Africa. The Morningside building, in the city's dining and nightlife hub, was formerly an hotel. It was ...

On November 11 in the page 12 column headed 'Cruise's fury at Morton' it was reported that Andrew Morton had run into serious trouble when writing a biography of Tom Cruise because of threats from Scientologists. It is now accepted that this is not true and that Mr Morton has not received threats or that he was forced to sell his flat and move underground to write the book. We apologise to the Church of Scientology and its members for the ...

[Picture / Caption: Nov. 7: Ailing meth cops sweat it out at an Orem, Utah, clinic.] A controversial Church of Scientology treatment used on World Trade Center emergency responders is being used in Utah to "detoxify" cops who raided methamphetamine labs in the 1980s and 1990s. The Utah Meth Cops Project is treating around a dozen former and current police officers at taxpayers' expense, using a regime devised by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard at a Bio-Cleansing Centers of America facility ...

The Church of Scientology, best known for its celebrity members, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, is planning to open a church in Carytown. It will be the first established Scientology church in Richmond. The church could open by December and will offer introductory lectures, meetings and a book store, said Sylvia Standard, director of external affairs for the Founding Church of Scientology in Washington, D.C. Scientologists enter the religion as beginners and progress to higher levels as they increase ...

Attention Richmond, the mother ship is landing – assuming it doesn't get shot down by city building inspectors. The Church of Scientology, a self-help New Age religion created by best-selling science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, is opening a mission in Richmond — Carytown, to be exact. Right across the parking lot from Richmond's own defenders of the faith and purveyors of produce, Ukrop's Super Markets. The city issued building permits Aug. 8 for the property at 3600 W. Cary St., ...

TAMPA, Florida (CNN) — Some Christian congregations, particularly in lower income, urban areas, are turning to an unlikely source for help — the Church of Scientology. Scientologists do not worship God, much less Jesus Christ. The church has seen plenty of controversy and critics consider it a cult. So why are observant Christians embracing some of its teachings? Two pastors who spoke recently with CNN explained that when it comes to religion, they still preach the core beliefs of Christianity. But ...

Sunday night, Tom Cruise rewarded high-ranking members of the Church of Scientology with tickets to a private screening of his new movie, "Lions for Lambs." This is the provocative anti-war movie which he executive-produced for United Artists with partner Paula Wagner. I rather doubt that director Robert Redford, who's also a co-star, and Cruise's other co-star, Meryl Streep, had any idea that the screening room at the Museum of Modern Art and the cocktail party following was full of Scientologists, including ...

Prosecutors call the church a "criminal organization." The church says it's a "witch hunt." BRUSSELS — It all began with a woman who wanted her money back. In 1997 a former member of the Church of Scientology, unhappy with courses she had taken, tried to get a refund of 700,000 Belgian francs - about $17,000. Authorities began looking into the church's finances and interviewing people. Now, 10 years and 76 cartons of documents later, prosecutors say the evidence points to one ...

MADRID (AFP) — A court in Spain has ruled in favour of listing the controversial Church of Scientology among the nation's official register of religions, according to a decision obtained by AFP Thursday. The administrative tribunal of Madrid's High Court ruled that a 2005 justice ministry decision to scrap the church from the register was "against the law." Responding to a petition filed by the church, the ruling said that no documents had been presented in court to demonstrate it was ...