Scientology is nonpolitical. Individual Scientologists hold their own political views and tend to support governments or political parties which form democratic systems, honor the dignity and freedom of citizens and protect human rights.

L. Ron Hubbard wrote of his views of democracy that it, “postulates a belief in the goodness of men and the good sense of men in council. It postulates the belief that men should be free to decide things for themselves. It outlaws tyranny as undesirable and relegates government to the service of the group rather than the group to the service of the government.”

And further, he wrote that, “where a government is obviously working hard for all its people, rather than for some special interest group or insane dictator, one should support it to the limit.”

Mr. Hubbard’s attitude toward democracy is best expressed in his statement that:

“...democracy works and works far better than any other type of political activity.

...

“Democracy is probably the best political theory, workably, that has been introduced over the last twenty-five hundred years.”

What about the Church’s involvement in privacy and Freedom of Information Act cases?

The Church has spearheaded the rights of citizens to gain access to government documents and there are literally thousands of cases on file. In the United States, the Church has been one of the foremost proponents of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and in fact, published a very popular booklet on the subject which has empowered citizens across the nation.

Nor have Scientologists limited their energies in these matters to the United States. When freedom of information legislation was passed in France (1978), Canada (1982), Australia (1982), New Zealand (1983), Italy (1991) and Belgium (1991), members of the Church played a decisive role to bring these laws about.

In 1991 Scientologists also assisted passage of a new law in France providing individuals greater access to the files of Renseignements Generaux (General Information), the French intelligence police, known as the “RG.”

Journalists and others have directly benefited from the precedents established by the Church in cases which have held government agencies accountable to release vital documents to the public on a variety of subjects. The Church’s actions have been heralded as vital contributions to the cause of ensuring honesty and openness in government.