The collaborative online encyclopedia Wikipedia has banned the from editing the site. The Register reports Wikipedia’s Arbitration Committee, or ArbCom, voted 10 to 0 in favor of the ban, which takes effect immediately.

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[According to one Wikipedia contributor involved in the arbitration:] “The edits coming out of Church of Scientology servers were of the sort that made their organization look better.  Up to a point that’s justifiable, when it comes to correcting inaccuracies or removing poorly sourced negative information. There were times when they went beyond that and deleted well sourced information that was unflattering, and there were times when they insulted other editors in a manner that would reflect poorly upon any religion.”

On a related subject, I have never understood why Scientology has ever been considered a religion at all. I don’t claim to know a lot about it — I’ve never read Dianetics and, from what I understand,  the “church” keeps much of its doctrine secret even from its adherents, who are gradually allowed to learn more as they advance toward their ultimate state. When I’ve seen celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta promote it, they do so usually by describing only its benefits, not what it is.

But this, I know: I have never heard a single scientology outlet — not a celebrity, not a man on the street, not someone at the scientology booth at a street fair, no scientology pamphlet, no scientology print advertisement, no scientology billboard — mention God.

So how, exactly, is it a religion?