Legally the only reason it is recognized as a Religion by the U.S. government is because of blackmail attacks against the IRS.

The practices of Scientology far closer resemble that of a cult than a religion. A good example of this would be Scientology's official attitude towards people who practice the religion without giving Scientology their dues.)

The religious generally believe in a "truth" and all people who follow the religion don't owe any money or loyalty to a central organization. Seriously. Pick up a bible or quran and start a new sect. Nothing will happen to you. Try it with "Dyanetics," and it's another story. If it's a religion, you should be free to practice it, right? Nobody can stop you, that's what America was built on, right? So start up your own sect of Scientology and see what happens.

Even the moreso, organized religion doesn't charge money for services and reinvest their profits to services and charities for the public good. While this isn't always the practice, in theory, this is why tax exempt status exists for churches; because a church will use their money for the good of the public regardless of federal mandate. Scientology doesn't do this. In fact, they charge an increasing rate for their services (auditing,) pay their employees almost nothing, and don't fund charities or public benefit projects.

Any time you have to pay for a service, that's not a church; that's a business. Churches operate for free. Businesses operate for money. And you damn sure aren't going to get anything from Scientology without some deep pockets.