I don't know anything about Scientology, but I suspect most of its followers don't literally believe the mythology. I imagine that it's more of a weird kind of mason-like social club for networking and shit.
Most the members aren't allowed to know the mythology. You don't learn the mythology until you've been in for many years if you get the point where you are allowed to learn it at all. By the time you reach that point you are basically ready to believe anything they tell you. You have separated from all your non-scientologist family and friends, you have probably signed a bunch of questionable contracts and are deeply in debt or have paid tens of thousands of dollars (they don't teach lost cost fallacy). You have been told for many years about the incredible power and happiness of the people who rank above you in the process and your own lack of happiness makes you chase the idea that if you keep to it maybe it will happen to you. You feel like a fraud because so much of this stuff isn't happening to you and the solution is to try harder, believe harder.
Some of the mythology is common knowledge through the Book of Dianetics written by the founder of Scientology: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics It has to start somewhere and Hubbard's sci-fi authorial past seems to do the job until this day.
Yup. Human's have the desire to be part of a group. It's called "Belongingness" Scientology certainly provides that to a unique set of individuals, especially those, like Cruise, who have a narcissistic tendencies. Plus, high profile people in the entertainment industry probably hesitate to walk into any old church, where they may cause quite a stir and be surrounded by a demographic that is vastly different than them. Take a look at the list of Scientologists
Definitely agree. Our desire to be apart of a social group is one of the great crutches of modern religion. I have met so many people that care more about the social group religions inherently provide, than the doctrine or even the philosophy. However, Scientology confuses me because they do seek explanation. It is really the only "new religion" that recruits and still strongly depends on explanation. I guess the only way that this is possible in the 2013 is to utilize the word "science" and a pseudoscientific approach to lure in people who lack a strong social network and have no science education.Human's have the desire to be part of a group. It's called "Belongingness"