Scientology
One often sees Scientology listed in books and newspapers as having over 8 million adherents. Where does this figure come from? It comes from the Church of Scientology, just as most church membership figures come from churches themselves. Our data indicate that they cite this figure because it is the total number of people who have participated in Church of Scientology activities since the inception of the church. But their figure does not include people who have only received services from their drug rehab groups and other non-Church facilities. Narconon's clientele are not counted as Church members unless and until they become Scientologists. As Narconon's mission is drug rehabilitation and not Church recruitment, the percentage of Narconon clients who become Church members is small.
The latest edition of the organization's publication What Is Scientology? lists 373 churches and missions (plus hundreds of "related organizations" which are not directly comparable to congregations) in 129 countries. (Four new countries, for a total of 133, have been opened since the publication of the book, according to a church spokesperson.) According to church officials, this publication states that in 1997 the number of people who participated in Scientology services for the first time was 642,596 internationally and that the circulation of internal Church magazines which are sent to their members was 6,630,000. Hartley Patterson, a critic of Scientology, has speculated that the circulation figure may be based on the total press run for three publications.
Adherents.com has no argument with Scientology statistics, but for the purposes of this list of "Major Religions of the World Ranked by Size," we use a different standard of counting adherents than they have used to arrive at their 8 million figure. (Figures presented here are generally estimates of primary, self-identified religious affiliation.) There are not 8 million people who, if taking a survey, would name Scientology as their religious preference. One might generously estimate up to one million worldwide, but the actual number who would fit this criterion is probably under a half million. Adding up organizationally-reported membership on a state-by-state, country-by-country basis would yield a current membership figure of about 750,000, according to a church critic. As with all religions, the complete body of adherents represent a spectrum of participation, including fully active members as well as non-attending or disengaged sympathizers.
Realistically, a figure lower than 750,000 seems be more reasonable for this page's listing. Some documents suggest that even the tabulation of 750,000 based on country-by-country/state-by-state organizationally-provided data is quite out of date. Internal documents suggest 100,000 active members -- which would easily yield an estimate of a total of 600,000 or more, including one-time members, lapsed members, and strong supporters.
One often sees Scientology listed in books and newspapers as having over 8 million adherents. Where does this figure come from? It comes from the Church of Scientology, just as most church membership figures come from churches themselves. Our data indicate that they cite this figure because it is the total number of people who have participated in Church of Scientology activities since the inception of the church. But their figure does not include people who have only received services from their drug rehab groups and other non-Church facilities. Narconon's clientele are not counted as Church members unless and until they become Scientologists. As Narconon's mission is drug rehabilitation and not Church recruitment, the percentage of Narconon clients who become Church members is small.
The latest edition of the organization's publication What Is Scientology? lists 373 churches and missions (plus hundreds of "related organizations" which are not directly comparable to congregations) in 129 countries. (Four new countries, for a total of 133, have been opened since the publication of the book, according to a church spokesperson.) According to church officials, this publication states that in 1997 the number of people who participated in Scientology services for the first time was 642,596 internationally and that the circulation of internal Church magazines which are sent to their members was 6,630,000. Hartley Patterson, a critic of Scientology, has speculated that the circulation figure may be based on the total press run for three publications.
Adherents.com has no argument with Scientology statistics, but for the purposes of this list of "Major Religions of the World Ranked by Size," we use a different standard of counting adherents than they have used to arrive at their 8 million figure. (Figures presented here are generally estimates of primary, self-identified religious affiliation.) There are not 8 million people who, if taking a survey, would name Scientology as their religious preference. One might generously estimate up to one million worldwide, but the actual number who would fit this criterion is probably under a half million. Adding up organizationally-reported membership on a state-by-state, country-by-country basis would yield a current membership figure of about 750,000, according to a church critic. As with all religions, the complete body of adherents represent a spectrum of participation, including fully active members as well as non-attending or disengaged sympathizers.
Realistically, a figure lower than 750,000 seems be more reasonable for this page's listing. Some documents suggest that even the tabulation of 750,000 based on country-by-country/state-by-state organizationally-provided data is quite out of date. Internal documents suggest 100,000 active members -- which would easily yield an estimate of a total of 600,000 or more, including one-time members, lapsed members, and strong supporters.
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