Answers to Common Questions on Scientology
Page 5

What is the attitude to the use of drugs during child-birth?

The Church has no policy on the use of medicines to help a person with a physical situation. When it is a medical problem, it is up to the doctor and the patient only. It is common knowledge that a natural childbirth is best, but realistically, that doesn't always work out, and a mother and her doctor decide what is best for her and her child.

What is the total of Scientology churches/centres in Australia and worldwide?

ASIAN/PACIFIC REGION

We have our regional headquarters in Sydney and an Advanced Organisation also in Sydney. There are 6 churches in Australia and 4 missions which is a smaller Church of Scientology that delivers introductory services. The regional headquarters also manages Scientology in the other parts of Asia and the Pacific and we have a Church of Scientology and a Scientology mission in New Zealand, a Church of Scientology in Tokyo Japan and 11 Scientology missions and 14 Scientology missions in Taiwan along with a sub-regional management office in Taipei. We also have Scientology missions in the Philippines, Thailand and Nepal. We also have many groups and ministers who work in their own communities and hundreds of auditors.

WORLDWIDE

There are more than 4,200 centers, Missions and Churches of Scientology in 156 countries. The Church also sponsors and supports an additional 1,002 social betterment groups — in the fields of education (Applied Scholastics study and tutoring centers), drug rehabilitation (Narconon) and criminal rehabilitation (Criminon).

What is the expansion rate of the Church of Scientology?

Expansion: Over the last year, new centres, Missions and Churches have opened around the world at the rate of three per day.

One statistic that is telling and shows our growth in the last 50 years is the increase in the number of Churches and missions (this is the name for a smaller Church of Scientology which deliver services but cannot train ministers or Scientology counsellors) and groups. In 1990 we had 832 churches, missions and groups in 70 nations. As of January 2006, this is now 6,065 churches, missions and groups in 159 nations.

The numbers of people coming to our churches for their first Scientology services increased by a factor of four in the past year. In terms of accelerating expansion -- we have expanded more in the last 5 years than in the preceding 50 years.

One of our biggest social programs is our anti-drug campaigns to educate kids and adults alike to stay or become drug-free and to that end we have distributed cumulatively 56.4 million fliers and booklets with facts on drugs world-wide in the last 10 or so years.