Kent Manthie back here - I saw my posting today-thanks, guys, - but I wanted to correct two errors I made in my haste to finish up, I wrote some erroneous information regarding the two rockers who converted to Islam and, as is de rigueur, changed their name to reflect the "new life" they embraced. Well, it is correct that "Cat Stevens" (who, ironically, wasn't even his real name - he was born, of Greek extraction, Stephen Georgiou, but nonetheless, changed it a third time when he denounced all things Western, to Yusuf Islam). But the stupid error I made was when I mentioned the former Byrds front-man also converted to Islam back in the 60s - the mistake was that I referred to him as "Jim" in both instances, when I should've written that he was originally Jim McGuinn and his "new", "Islamic" name was the imaginative "Roger (McGuinn)". And since I know that there's probably a million "know-it-alls" (myself, not excepted) who'd read that & wonder what idiot would write that a guy named Jim changed his name to Jim. So, please accept my apology for a silly mistake caused by haste. Otherwise, everything else in the piece was correct. (aren't you glad that it was McGuinn & not David Crosby? Think of all the great tunes the world would've been deprived of - "Guinevere", "Almost Cut My Hair" and his great but underrated solo LP, If I Could Only Remember My Name.
-km

And there I was enjoying the deeply ironic joke of the Jim McGuinn who changed his name to Jim McGuinn.
What a shame that it was really only a typo!

I walked into the kabbalah centre once somewhere and they pounced right on me. They had lady gaga songs playing etc. Btw I'm jewish and I'm going to tell you it's nothign like real kabbalah...from the little knowledge I have of it.

Let's not forget the big connection between shallow movie actors (John Travolta, Tom Cruise, to name two of the most shallow, untalented actors) and other "celebrities" - singers, dancers, writers, whatever... and Scientology. Scientology is nothing but a big pyramid scheme that was started by the really bad sci-fi writer, L. Ron Hubbard, who was really nothing but a con-man.
Here's a little something about the cult I found from Wikipedia:
Scientology teaches that people are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature. Its method of spiritual rehabilitation is a type of counselling known as auditing, in which practitioners aim to consciously re-experience painful or traumatic events in their past in order to free themselves of their limiting effects. Study materials and auditing courses are made available to members in return for specified donations. Scientology is legally recognized as a tax-exempt religion in the United States and some other countries, and the Church of Scientology emphasizes this as proof that it is a bona fide religion. In other countries, notably Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, Scientology does not have comparable religious status.

When you read about all the kinds of people in Scientology, you'll see a big list of names of famous names, people who have plenty of money to waste and that's exactly what they do - they pay through the nose for all the various literature and the "auditing" equipment and other junk that the cult is constantly hawking.
Scientology certainly has plenty of non-famous, non-rich members, who also pay a lot of money for a whole lot of garbage but it's the rich and famous that the cult thrives on, bilking them for all they can and piggybacking on their fame to promote themselves and try to seem normal by parading out their famous spokespeople: movie actors & entertainers. This is so ridiculous. Basically most of the people involved in Scientology are gullible, impressionistic people who have no other real belief systems and so go looking for something to get involved with and when they discover Scientology they end up falling for the pitch and next thing you know, they're pouring most of their money into the cult's coffers and making a few select people at the top of the pyramid really rich while the rest just keep on getting poorer by giving Scientology more and more of their money - that's why they love it when some rich and shallow movie actor gets involved with them: because they can expect to get loads of their millions.

Stars are already icons.

Most so-called "stars" are very insecure and even with all the money and fame, they still don't have any "meaning" in their lives which is why they take all the free time they have and seek out groups and cults, etc with whom they can join in order to put some kind of purpose in their lives - at the very least, it shows to the public-at-large that they aren't just the shallow hams that they are (especially John Travolta, Tom Cruise, et al); but when it involves really idiotic, totally discredited bunk like Scientology, the thing they are trying to do actually backfires on them.

I really can't stand John Travolta - as a person he seems like the most shallow, one-sided person. He and Tom Cruise, most notably, are the public face of Scientology and that is really saying something about the cult - that it seeks out pea-brained, gullible follower-types who want to be involved in something, anything and won't ask any critical questions about the group and instead just shut up and keep on paying tons of money for what seems to be nothing but a tax-dodging organization (they put the word "Church of..." into the name of their organization for the express purpose of getting a tax-free status anywhere they can - so far, the scheme has only been successful in the US, as other countries, most notably Germany and France, refuse to recognize them as a real "church" and they won't give them any tax-free status, which is the right thing to do.

There's really no "dogma", per se, in Scientology: it's all about "clearing out your head" of all the negative, old junk and re-programming it with new, Scientology-filled positivism. And to get through that - the so-called "auditings" and the myriad books and gadgets they push on you, you have to pay, pay, pay. Now, of course, most, if not all, religions, are money-hungry, especially the Catholic Church, who just loves it when people give a big chunk of their money to the Church - for no reason except that they say to. But, Scientology is actually blatantly selling its members worthless junk that the brainwashed of the cult pay through the nose for and in the end, all they get is poorer.