This link from the operation clambake website should answer most of your questions.
http://www.xenu.net/roland-intro.html
I apologize if I seem a little blunt but there is no good in the CoS. They mercilessly attack their critics and I am sure I will be labeled SP at some point for what I have said here. I feel that every every belief system has its place in our society and I have much respect for them all from Islam to Voodoo, from Shinto to Wicca. I have no right to judge anyone. nobody does. I have on my short travail on this planet looked into every religion I could to find the answers to my questions (I was even a Mormon for a year!). All i found in Scientology was poison and deception.
You are actually charged to progress in their "church". Religion in my opinion should be relatively free and if you wish to donate you can. The current (conservative) total cost for the whole bridge to OT9 readiness (i.e. to study their beliefs from start to finish) is estimated at $365,000 - $380,000. You have to pay lots of money to get anywhere in Scientology!
Quotes from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
I have put each quote within quotation marks to make it easier to read.
"Xenu (sometimes Xemu) is introduced as an alien ruler of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of people to Earth in spacecraft resembling Douglas DC-8 airliners, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Their souls then clustered together and stuck to the bodies of the living. Scientologists believe the alien souls continue to do this today, causing a variety of physical ill-effects in modern-day humans. Hubbard called these clustered spirits "Body Thetans", and the advanced levels place considerable emphasis on isolating them and neutralizing their ill effects."
"Reports and allegations have been made, by journalists, courts, and governmental bodies of several countries, that the Church of Scientology is an unscrupulous commercial enterprise that harasses its critics and brutally exploits its members"
"Germany classes Scientology as a business, rather than a religious organization, and Belgium, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom remain unconvinced that Scientology is a religion"
"The controversies involving the Church and its critics, some of them ongoing, include:
* Scientology's disconnection policy, in which members are encouraged to cut off all contact with friends or family members critical of the Church.[84]
* The death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson while in the care of the Church.
* Criminal activities committed on behalf of the Church or directed by Church officials (Operation Snow White, Operation Freakout)
* Alleged Fair Game policy that encouraged the abuse of critics.
* Conflicting claims about L. Ron Hubbard's life, in particular accounts of Hubbard discussing his intent to start a religion for profit, and of his service in the military.
* Scientology's harassment and litigious actions against its critics and enemies.
* Attempts to legally force search engines such as Google and Yahoo to omit any webpages that are critical of Scientology from their search engines (and in Google's case, AdSense), or at least the first few search pages"
"Scientology pays members commissions on new recruits they bring in, encouraging Scientology members to "sell" Scientology to others."
"Although "Scientology" is most often used as shorthand for the Church of Scientology, a number of groups practice Scientology and Dianetics outside of the official Church. Such groups are invariably breakaways from the original Church. The Church takes an extremely hard line on breakaway groups, labeling them "apostates" (or "squirrels" in Scientology jargon) and often subjecting them to considerable legal and social pressure. Breakaway groups avoid the name "Scientology" so as to keep from being sued, instead referring to themselves collectively as the Free Zone or Ron's Org."
"The Church of Scientology is one of a number of groups involved in the anti-psychiatry movement, and one of the few organizations that publicly oppose the study and application of psychology in addition to psychiatry.
The Church says that psychiatry was responsible for World War I, the rise of Hitler and Stalin, the decline in education standards in the United States, the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, and the September 11 attacks. The Church's point of view on these issues is documented mainly by Church groups and magazines such as those published by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights and Freedom Magazine."
"Hubbard stated that the delivery room should be as silent as possible during birth. This stems from his belief that birth is a trauma that may induce engrams into the baby. Hubbard asserted that words in particular should be avoided because any words used during birth might be reassociated by an adult later on in life with their earlier traumatic birth experience. Hubbard also wrote that the mother should use "as little anesthetic as possible"
The complete wikipedia article is about the most balanced view of Scientology I have found to date. Please by all means do your own research. I encourage it. A Scientologist wouldn't.
P E A C E back 'atcha ma'am and I hope I have not offended. I just hate to see people exploited in any form.
Zastrox
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. Most of their supporters appear to be wealthy superstars who have no where else to park their money. Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction isn't it.
Do you know what their belief system is all about? (in a nut shell, please) 
