Los Angeles, California, has the largest concentration of Scientologists and Scientology-related organizations in the world, with the Church of Scientology's most visible presence being in the Hollywood district of the city.

Several of the Church's practices resemble business operations, including paying recruiters a cut of the money made from the people they attract and the franchising network that results in large revenues for the highest levels of the Church. Such activities distinguish Scientology from other religious organizations.

Among the basic tenets of Scientology are the beliefs that human beings are immortal, that a person's life experience transcends a single lifetime, and that human beings possess infinite capabilities. Scientology presents two major divisions of the mind.

Scientologists believe each person is an immortal being, a force that believers call a thetan. “You move up the bridge to freedom by working toward being an 'Operating Thetan,' which at the highest level transcends material law,” says David Bromley, a professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University.