These different types of definitions include:

Substantive definitions of religion which attempt to characterize “from within” or in terms of the intrinsic significance;

Comparative definitions of religion which approach it by distinction from other systems of meanings;

Functional definitions of religion which characterize it in terms of its consequences over other spheres of social and personal life;

Analytical definitions of religion which characterize it by the distinct aspects which religious phenomena encompass; and

Emic definitions of religion which consider religious those phenomena which the members of its society or its institutions consider to be such.

From the viewpoint of the social sciences, the task of establishing whether a body of beliefs and practices constitutes a religion requires that one take heed of the diversity of definitions of religion in the current discussion in these disciplines.

In the following pages we propose to establish if Scientology constitutes a religion, taking into account the diverse definitions by which this term is currently characterized by the social sciences.