I would just like to point out that this is not surprising coming from a religion that was born of a hangover -induced BET. Though they vigorously deny it, the genesis of Scientology began at a World Science Fiction Convention after-party in the late 60's. I had the great pleasure of talking to Issac Azimov at a con in Syracuse in the late 80's, and I asked him about it. He was THERE, and described the whole sad event in hilarious detail. Apparently, several writer-guests were sitting around at said after-party,feeling the after-effects of several days of serious partying(ah, don't you miss the 60's?) and discussing the impact of religion on society and history, when old L.Ron made the comment that any intelligent writer could probably come up with a more sensible and socially acceptable religion if he put his mind to it. Though Issac wouldn't admit to the culprit, he said"one of the other writers then challenged Ron to put his money where his mouth was" and bet him $500 that he couldn't do it(apparently Hubbard was not very well liked by his peers). After several minutes of "spirited discussion", Hubbard accepted the bet. The rest, sadly, is history. Issac implied that the un-named author regretted his rash challenge"to this very day". There are lessons to be learned here, most notably to be wary of hung over writers...PS
