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Scientology\xa0is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author\xa0L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a\xa0cult, a\xa0business\xa0or a\xa0new religious movement. The most recent published\xa0census\xa0data indicate that in the United States there were about 25,000 followers (in 2008), around 2,300 followers in England (2011), and about 1,700 each in both Canada (2011)\xa0and Australia (2016). Hubbard initially developed a set of ideas that he called\xa0Dianetics, which he represented as a form of therapy. This he promoted through various publications, as well as through the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation that he established in 1950. The foundation soon entered bankruptcy, and Hubbard lost the rights to his book\xa0Dianetics\xa0in 1952. He then recharacterized the subject as a religion and renamed it Scientology,\xa0retaining the terminology, doctrines, and the practice of "auditing".\xa0By 1954, he had regained the rights to Dianetics and retained both subjects under the umbrella of the\xa0Church of Scientology.
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