Scientology as a business

The Church of Scientology publicly classifies itself as a religion, and some scholars consider it a new religious movement, but that claim has been challenged for decades on the grounds that the Church operates more like a for-profit business than a church. Overall, as stated by Stephen A. Kent, Scientology can be seen as a "multi-faceted transnational corporation that has religion as only one of its many components. Other components include political aspirations, business ventures, cultural productions, pseudo-medical practices, pseudo-psychiatric claims, and (among its most devoted members who have joined the Sea Organization), an alternative family structure." The Church of Scientology justifies that its financial activities support its religious purpose, a position accepted by several governments globally.