In terms of international importance, it is a fact that the Church of Scientology International’s most significant precedent establishing the right to religious freedom came not from Australasia or Europe, but the United States. Although U.S. courts early recognised the religious nature of Scientology, its nonprofit status with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was a point of recurring contention from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Because of false information in IRS files and a misunderstanding of the nature of Scientology and how churches of Scientology operate, this situation remained unresolved for decades.

Finally, in 1991, at the Church’s request, the Commissioner of the IRS assigned a high-level team to resolve the issue of the Church’s exemption. In particular, rather than undergoing a review by regular employees at IRS district offices in Los Angeles, the home of Church headquarters, Scientology churches were examined by the IRS’ most senior officials over exempt organisations at its national office in Washington, D.C. The team leader reported directly to the Commissioner of the IRS.

The IRS examination that followed was a comprehensive, detailed and exacting scrutiny of all major Church organisations at the most senior level of management in the United States, and all large Scientology churches in Europe. It embraced both the Church’s associated publishing houses, Bridge Publications, Inc. in the U.S. and New Era Publications in Copenhagen. It also covered all related social betterment organisations and activities.

When it comes to the extent of those examinations, there is no parallel in the history of United States internal revenue exemption procedure. An average application for religious nonprofit exemption includes approximately ten pages of narrative and results in a brief review by an IRS official. By comparison, Scientology churches were subjected to an IRS review that lasted two years and posed thousands of questions requiring more than 11,000 pages of narrative responses and metre upon metre of financial records.

Nor is that all. The Church provided detailed compensation information about its executive administrators, financial information concerning its largest vendors, extensive information concerning its structure and organisations, and it answered many other in-depth financial questions. That information included balance sheets for all Church organisations of a certain size, even those in Europe; all expenditures from Church reserves for a three-year period; all planned expenditures for the next five years and a report on the general expenditures for the five previous years. This fact-gathering process by the IRS involved hundreds of hours of meetings with Church representatives.

In addition, the IRS requested evidence to answer:

Does the Church have its own religious creed and form of worship?

Does it have its own definite and distinct ecclesiastical government?

Is there a formal code of doctrine and discipline?

Does Scientology have a distinct religious history?

Are there ordained ministers?

Does it have a literature of its own?

Are there established places of worship and a regular congregation?

Are there regular religious services?

Is there religious instruction of the young?

Further, the IRS sought to establish that the Church “serve an associational role in accomplishing its religious purpose in order to qualify as a Church.” The documentation by the Church demonstrated completely that the Church accomplishes a religious purpose through Scientology ministerial counselling and training, special prayers and rituals, celebration of religious holidays and weekly church services.

In sum, the IRS concluded that funds raised by Scientology churches are used exclusively for charitable purposes that forward the churches’ religious objectives.

The IRS also examined reports from numerous sources to sift out truth from falsehoods, resolving that the Church’s activities are exactly as represented — purely religious.

In building upon that momentous achievement, churches of Scientology around the world have continued to achieve official recognition in their countries as religious organisations with idealistic purposes and serving the public benefit. And while this trend continues in the 21st century, the 1993 determination by the IRS yet stands as a watershed in the Church’s history. That the Church emerged with flying colours from the most exacting test the world’s largest tax agency has ever conducted says everything about the integrity of the religion and the commitment of its practitioners.

4: Published in 1980 by the Library Association for the Freedom of Information Campaign.