As a brand, however, Scientology has had to fight off negative perceptions since its inception, fending off allegations of cultlike practices and harassment of current and former members. Controversy about the group was recently resurrected in the form of a Scientology recruitment video featuring actor Tom Cruise that was leaked earlier this year, as well as medical-community backlash after Cruise’s 2005 reprimand of actress Brooke Shields on “The Today Show” for taking antidepressants to combat postpartum depression (a Scientology no-no). An Internet-based group called Anonymous has even launched a well-publicized online war against Scientology, distributing anti-Scientology press releases, video retaliations on YouTube, and denial-of-service attacks against the Church’s website.

Perhaps this is why it may be more important than ever for the Church of Scientology to leverage its Web presence as a brand-boosting tool. As an organization that cites itself as the “only major religion to be launched in the 20^th century,” the brand ostensibly possesses the unique understanding and technical know-how to use Internet Age implements to its advantage.

Enter the main site through the church’s new Video Channel, where the Scientology logo is all you’ll see while the page loads on your browser. The prominent placement of the logo drives home the brand’s underlying message of open idea exchange: the ARC (affinity/reality/communication) triangle is seamlessly linked with the KRC (knowledge/responsibility/control) triangle by the giant “S” that stands for Scientology.

The visually appealing, Flash-driven Video Channel kicks off with a minute-and-a-half video (with the ever-present logo superimposed in the background) that launches a preemptive strike against its detractors, commandeering some of the negative perceptions about the organization and spinning them into such matter-of-fact missives as, “It has been attacked, venerated, questioned, and praised,” “Everyone seems to have an opinion of it,” “It is in the news; it is talked about in the media, TV, and the worldwide Web.” None of which can be disputed, and all of which intrigue the viewer to keep clicking through.

The nav bar for the Video Channel includes such categories as “Beliefs and Practices,” “Human Rights,” “Anti-Drug,” and “The Way to Happiness,” delving into the religion’s core beliefs. Though some of the videos include graphics, live interviews, and other interactive elements, many of the videos consist of nothing more than scrolling text pontificating on each topic’s main points. After viewing the Video Channel’s promising, attractive home page, it’s disappointing that these scroll-screens are promoted as videos when visitors could be just as well-served (and could probably get through the materials faster) if the data was simply made available in PDF or Word format.

And what would a brand’s website be without a history of its founder? The site links through to a collection of data about L. Ron Hubbard (the founder’s image is conspicuously positioned right at the top of the main nav bar), including a chronicle of his life and a description of the dozens of careers he’s cited as a professional in. There’s also a link to David Miscavige, the current chairman of the board of Scientology’s Religious Technology Center.

Losing My Religion
Figuring out where to start on the home page is where problems with the brand’s online presence start to become evident. There are many confusing redundancies (or at least redundantly titled sections: On the home page, for example, there’s a section called “What Is Scientology?” Directly underneath that are “An Introduction to Scientology” and “Information About Scientology.” Click through the “What Is Scientology” link, and there is another subsection entitled “A Description of Scientology.” The site could be condensed and designed to get the same info across in fewer sections (the Seventh-Day Adventist Church site and the Vatican site are both examples of better-organized and more attractively presented religious portals).

Perhaps my biggest complaint about the Scientology website, however, is the sheer volume of information (and if the main Scientology site doesn’t keep you busy enough, there are plenty of links to visit some of its offshoots, including whatisscientology.org, rtc.org, scientologyhandbook.org, and dianetics.org, as well as Scientology sites in other languages). Writing for the Web is different than writing for print, or even for corporate communications materials, and some of the individual sections seem to go on forever: The section that explains Scientology auditing, for example, goes on for 19 pages. And will the average visitor have time to troll through Hubbard’s 28-page bio?

The site continually reemphasizes the brand’s position of open communication, taking issue with the common labeling of the organization as a secretive society: “Understanding is achieved through knowledge and information, and so we offer that information here.” Toward that end, the webmasters offer the 68-page FAQ (yes, 68 pages).

While undeniably comprehensive and interesting (and probably a quicker way to get the info you need than slogging through the other pages), there are so many Q&As devoted to rebutting the brand’s negative perception that it begs the question: Doth they protest too much? Examples include: “Why do some people oppose Scientology?” “Why has Scientology sometimes been considered controversial?” “Does the Church of Scientology view the press as hostile?” “Does Scientology engage in brainwashing or mind control?” “Why has the German government tried to portray Scientology as controversial?” “Why has Scientology been to court a lot of times?”

You have to applaud the organization for its brand transparency, but you also get the feeling that if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck... (And for the record, no one from the organization returned my request for a statement or interview for this article—I can speculate maybe they didn’t appreciate looking at the religion from a branding perspective, but it’s hard to dispute Scientology is a brand when you see the list of trademarks under its jurisdiction and witness how vigorously it will fight the slightest appearance of copyright infringement, including the public broadcasting of the Tom Cruise recruitment video earlier this year.)

The organization’s desire to propagate a global community that’s open to members from every walk of life is evidenced by both the site’s language selection (at least 14, by last count) and introductory video, which again disputes claims that the religion is an elitist, closed group that caters only to the whims and egos of a high-powered (and deep-walleted) A-list. The site proclaims that “Scientologists are blue-collar workers and corporate executives; they are construction workers, plumbers, dentists, and doctors... They are millions strong.”

In keeping with the brand’s open-door policy to anyone who’s interested in the religion, the site offers a personality profile quiz, which I filled out to completion. I was disappointed, however, that instead of receiving a synopsis of my personality type and how it affects my work, marriage, and health, I was instead instructed to print out a chart written in some sort of code that could only be deciphered by a trained evaluator at my local Scientology Center. On some level, this brings back that element of secretiveness the religion has been trying to dispel. After all, for a brand that prides itself on helping its members fulfill their own destinies, why do I need a third party to interpret the results for me?

Those who are looking to find out more about the Scientology brand won’t be disappointed by the plethora of information on the website. What they may be disappointed in, however, is the presentation. The truth may indeed be out there, but you’ll have to double-click through a lot of redundant links and poorly organized templates to find it—all the while still wondering if the brand’s claims are legit or whether it’s just an overload of carefully worded propaganda.