What is a Scientology Wedding Ceremony?

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

08 May 2006 06:00 AM

Scientology often tops the news because many celebrities follow the tenets of L. Ron Hubbard's religion. Celebrities make the news and thus Scientology is thrust front and center. Despite the constant appearance in a rash of recent news articles, few do more than speculate, comment or criticize the faith of the Scientologists without actually providing some explanation for what is being commented on.

Tom Cruise is among one of the more notable Scientologists in the news of late and a recent report stated that Katie Holmes, his fiancé, is studying Scientology. They will be married in a Scientology wedding ceremony. So what exactly is a Scientology wedding ceremony?

Marriage is recognized as second of the eight dynamics of existence. The second dynamic covers all creative activity including marriage, procreation and raising children. Marriages in the Scientology faith may use many different ceremonies with differing levels of formality and that the ceremony includes vows of devotion and loyalty much as other wedding ceremonies do.

Among Scientologists, a marriage ceremony has considerable meaning and weight for all that attend. Reality is created by agreement is one of the basic concepts of the Scientology religion and this is reflected in the wedding ceremony. Guests are asked to give their agreement to the union for its lasting happiness. While for some, this may seem symbolic, it is not considered a rhetorical request, but a very important contribution of the guests towards the couple and their marriage.

There are Scientology ministers and they perform the wedding ceremony. The protocol is very similar to weddings in other churches. There is a bridal procession, a father of the bride, a best man and traditional seating for family and friends. A wedding is considered an occasion for joyous celebration in Scientology.

Ultimately, Scientology does not differ from most religions when it comes to weddings or marriage. A marriage is a celebrated union and the guests are as important to the celebration as the couple. From the sounds of it, when Tom and Katie do get married, their wedding will be pretty traditional in nature and hardly worth anymore hoo-ha than any other celebrity wedding.

For more on Scientology, you can visit their website.

Related Articles:

Celebrity Marriages: Lessons We Can Learn (Part I)

Tom & Katie: The Baby Naming Controversy

Celebrity Pregnancies: The Hot New Trend

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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Nicki Bradley (1578) 08 May 2006 07:44 AM

Wow, very informative! As much as I disagree with Scientology as a "religion", I am fascinated by it!

Heather Long (16954) 08 May 2006 08:50 AM

I've always been curious -- especially because everyone seems to feel so strongly on the topic. So I went to do some research to see what I could see! Thanks for the comment, Nicki.

workingdad (2084) 08 May 2006 10:46 AM

I'm sure we've discussed this elsewhere: why is scientology so popular among celebrities?

Heather Long (16954) 08 May 2006 11:20 AM

Well, scientology really honors artists of all walks of life because they are in tune with themselves -- that may be part of it.

bluetree (2947) 08 May 2006 02:17 PM

Great post, I learned a lot. As long as Tom and Katie are happy, I'm cool with their choices.

Heather Long (16954) 08 May 2006 06:19 PM

Thanks so much for the kind comments. It's really amazing to me how much hoopla there is over Tom Cruise and the opening of MI:III -- I even saw a comment about it must be the end of an era when teenage girls aren't dreaming about Tom Cruise --- well, personally since he's over 40 -- I don't have a problem with that!

mike32 (5) 14 Nov 2006 01:36 PM

I went to a Scientology wedding once, and this post is pretty much spot on. It seemed pretty much the same as most ceremonies I've been too, except that the guests are more involved in that the minister asks for everyone's agreement to the future of the union. They have a site up about it here: http://www.scientologywedding.org/