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Scientology Religious Recognition in Tanzania and Zimbabwe
The recognition of the Scientology religion in these countries marks a new era both for churches of Scientology in Africa and for the peoples of these African nations who benefit from the tools for living that this practical religion provides.
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The governments of Tanzania and Zimbabwe have officially recognized Scientology as a religion, while the Zimbabwean government has additionally confirmed Scientology churches to be tax–exempt.
Tanzania, home to the world famous Serengeti wildlife reserve, is made up of a predominantly Bantu population of 130 different tribes. At the foot of Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, is the city of Moshi, where the Church of Scientology Mission of Kilimanjaro was established in March 2002. The Tanzanian Ministry of Home Affairs has now registered the mission as a religious organization.
In his books Self–Analysis and Dianetics 55!, L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion, tells how natives on Lake Tanganyika, which borders Tanzania, use the equatorial sun to create shadows that penetrate the depth of the lake and drive fish onto the rocks and beach where they are easily caught. “Yet there was nothing to be afraid of but shadows,” Mr. Hubbard writes, drawing an analogy to the mental and spiritual fears of individuals that are resolved through Dianetics procedures.
It was through seminars in Dianetics techniques that many Tanzanians were first introduced to the Scientology religion. With the assistance of Scientologists from Churches of Scientology in South Africa, where Scientology has been officially recognized since March 2000, the staff of the Scientology mission has introduced Dianetics and Scientology to parliamentarians, religious leaders and members of the general public throughout the country.
While Scientology was recognized as a religion by the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe as early as 1975 and received approval for its ministers to perform marriages in 1988, it was only recently that the government fully confirmed religious recognition and tax exemption.
In 1966, Mr. Hubbard visited Zimbabwe, then called Rhodesia and ruled by a white minority. Consistent with his belief that the majority black populations of southern Africa had a right to a government for all the people, Mr. Hubbard drafted and proposed a new constitution based on the principle of equal rights for all southern Africans. He also spoke in favor of empowering blacks with education. Needless to say, this did not endear him to the all-white government at that time. When officials discovered that he was also teaching native students the tools for literacy he had developed, the government decided he had gone too far and refused to renew his visa. In point of fact, their fears were justified. What he stood and fought for was, indeed, nothing less than the awakening of the African people to education and freedom. Thus he was thoroughly gratified when, a decade later, his educational tools were introduced into native schools for the benefit of some two million Black African children.
1. Dianetics The word Dianetics comes from the Greek words dia, meaning "through", and Inous, meaning "soul," and is defined as what the soul is doing to the body. Dianetics addresses and handles the effects of the spirit on the body. Dianetics thus helps provide relief from unwanted sensations and emotions, accidents and psychosomatic illnesses (ailments caused or aggravated by mental stress).
For more information visit www.dianetics.org.
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