Church of Scientology Receives 10th Annual Religious Excellence Award
Service to the community—a central element of the Scientology religion.
The Church of Scientology was among the religious groups recognized September 10 with a Religious Excellence Award from the Minister Interior of Taiwan ROC for outstanding contributions to the society.
This is the 10th consecutive year the Ministry of Interior has recognized the Church of Scientology for its charitable activities and community work.
Service to the community is a central tenet of the Scientology religion. The Church supports humanitarian initiatives to remedy some of society’s most pressing problems including drug abuse and violations of human rights.
- Over the past year, Taiwan Scientologists have conducted The Truth About Drugs drug education and prevention lectures and workshops in 64 schools.
- Through these programs, since September 2012 they have reached 14,000 students with factual information on drug abuse and its consequences.
On the human rights front, a 2011 Ministry of Education survey found 4,300 reported cases of school violence and bullying in the previous 2 1/2 years, with 4.5 percent of the 100,000 secondary school students surveyed admitting they were beaten or targeted for extortion by their fellow students.
To change the underlying attitudes that make these abuses possible:
- Volunteers from Taiwan Scientology Missions reached more than 129,000 students with human rights education.
- Scientologists have conducted human rights lectures and seminars in 188 schools reaching more than 21,000 students in the past year alone.
For more information on the humanitarian programs supported by the Church of Scientology, visit the Scientology website.