Scientology Sees Historic Growth

January 2, 2010

Author: David Yonke

Source: The Toledo Blade

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100102/NEWS10/1020350/-1/NEWS

In a tumultuous year in which most religious groups scraped by or tried to hold their own, the Church of Scientology reported its biggest expansion in history in 2009.

The church that was founded in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard said it has expanded to more than 8,000 churches, missions, and affiliated groups in 165 nations.

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Its in-house publication arm, Bridge Publications, Inc., opened a 274,000-square-foot digital printing and manufacturing facility in Los Angeles that has the capacity to print half a million books and 925,000 CDs every week.

It also opened a publishing facility in Copenhagen.

David Miscavige, Scientology's ecclesiastical leader and chairman of the board of its Religious Technology Center, announced the completion of a four-year project to produce 32 films presenting Dianetics in visual form.

The Church of Scientology also completed a $40 million renovation and restoration of the Fort Harrison Hotel, its spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Fla.