This book - Scientology: The Fundamentals Of Thought is excellent beginning book on Scientology.              WHERE DOES SCIENTOLOGY STAND WITH OTHER RELIGIONS? This is an intelligent question. The word religion comes from Latin, meaning to fear the gods. Major religions that came off that Latin line are Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions, and more. The 1949 Chambers dictionary is relevant here. It gives two categories of religion. There is the "revealed religion, that which is derived from positive revelation by divinely inspired Scripture, or otherwise." Then there is "natural religion, that religion which is derived from nature and not revelation." This latter definition would include Buddhism Hinduism Shintoism, and more. It also includes Scientology. These definitions of religion are important. In Scientology you learn about life. You are life. Life follows certain laws. The founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, researched these laws. These laws are natural. Mr. Hubbard made no claims to receiving divine inspiration. He teaches about life. In my church in Canberra - right this minute - I have a Mormon studying in our academy, and I also have a devout member of a a local new Christian church studying other days. I have taught Scientology to some important people in Asia. They were Hindu, Muslim Christian and Buddhist. They could see no conflict with Scientology and their own major faith. I cannot either. I have a website which has a religious expertise in it by a Shinto scholar, whose son studied under the Pope at the Vatican. His expertise deals in Scientology and why it is a religion. Click on the page below for more data. That you for reading thus far.