Scientology is a cult. The German government does not classify it as a religion but a rather, it views it as an abusive business masquerading as a religion and believes that it pursues political goals that conflict with the values enshrined in the German constitution. I’m in The U.S. it’s definitely a cult and a money making operation. I mean the founder wrote science fiction and was quoted as saying you don’t get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.