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But it was two recent events that propelled the members of Anonymous to act. Sources told ABCNEWS.com that they were initially intrigued by the publication of Andrew Morton’s biography of Tom Cruise, which was highly critical of Scientology. That drew them to the Internet for more information where they came across the leak of several church videos on YouTube featuring Cruise’s wildly enthusiastic praise of Scientology.

After an embarrassing string of high-profile defection and leaked videos, Scientology is under attack from a faceless cabal of online activists. Has America’s most controversial religion finally met its match?
Clearwater is prepared for its enemies. It’s a warm, if overcast, Saturday in February, but all the storefronts lining the sidewalks of this sleepy town on […]

Last month more than 7,000 Anonymous recruits picketed Scientology bases in 93 cities including London, Manchester and New York.

They were on the streets again yesterday, protesting outside recruitment centres around the world.

On Saturday, March 15, the surprisingly upstart, leaderless movement known as “Anonymous” will be holding its second worldwide anti-Scientology protests at Hubbard sites in more than a dozen countries.

The grassroots, Internet-based group seemed to materialize out of thin air just a few weeks ago, and it’s difficult to tell whether the surprising success of its February 10 rallies - which were held from Oslo to Sydney - will spark even more rallies beyond this weekend. The February protests featured a lot of twentysomethings, for the most part, carrying anti-Scientology signs, and wearing masks to protect their anonymity (Guy Fawkes masks were popular) in places like New York, Boston, London, and Toronto. This time, they say, they’re bringing cake and candles.

“We were born. We grew up. We escaped.”

So reads the motto of ExScientologyKids.com, a website launched Thursday by three young women raised in the Church of Scientology who are speaking out against the religion. Their website accuses the church of physical abuse, denying some children a proper education and alienating members from family.

One of the women behind the site, Jenna Miscavige Hill, is the niece of David Miscavige, the head of the church, and Kendra Wiseman is the daughter of Bruce Wiseman, president of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a Scientology-sponsored organization opposed to the practice of psychiatry.

One clue to this interpretation can be seen in other protesters’ signs: “Religion Is Free, Scientology Is Not” and “Trade Secrets Are For Business, Not Religion.” I’m a scientist who studies belief systems for a living, so take it from me: Scientology is unlike any other religion in history. Although the Church of Scientology is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt religion (despite years of litigation by the IRS to collect taxes on its income), no other religion I know of considers theological doctrines and core religious tenets to be intellectual property accessible only for a fee.

Envision converting to Judaism but having to pay to learn the story of Abraham and Isaac, Noah and the flood or Moses and the Ten Commandments. Or imagine joining the Catholic Church but not being told about the crucifixion and the resurrection until you have reached Operating Theological Level III, which takes many years and many tens of thousands of dollars.

There were no bullhorns, no loud chants and no arrests Sunday when about 25 people held a peaceful protest against Scientology in downtown Buffalo.

The members of Anonymous, an Internet-based group, held their demonstration from about 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. across the street from the Church of Scientology, 836 Main St., at Virginia Street.

The protesters, from Western New York and Rochester, braved bitterly cold temperatures, blowing snow and 50-mph wind gusts to inform the public about what they called “the harmful practices of Scientology.”

Anonymous, the new foe of Scientology, stepped out from the shadows of the Internet on Sunday with protests in Clearwater and around the world.

Some 200 marchers, mostly young people wearing sunglasses, hats and sometimes masks, met in downtown Clearwater to shout down Scientology at the church’s spiritual headquarters.

The pay-off line to a 2005 episode of South Park said it all. The show was a satire on Scientology in which a cartoon Cruise was exposed to near-continuous ridicule. In the final scene, he cries: ‘I’m going to sue you… in England!’

The real Cruise can’t sue the makers in the US, where freedom of speech is protected but, like his cartoon counterpart, he could be confident our judges would gladly shelter him under our authoritarian libel laws if he found an excuse to come here. The same thought struck TV executives and the Scientology episode of South Park has never been shown by a British station. Even though you can see it on the web, lawyers would turn pale if I suggested repeating South Park’s running gag at Cruise’s expense in a British paper.

Anonymous internet users who have previously crashed Church of Scientology websites have named February 10 as a worldwide day of protest in a bid to “destroy” the controversial religion.

The group - called Anonymous - which includes skilled computer hackers, has posted a message on YouTube declaring war on Scientology, accusing it of trying to censor the internet and conducting “campaigns of misinformation”.