The Church of Scientology is rapidly losing support in Switzerland, and the number of members is declining, religious experts say.
According to a report in the SonntagsZeitung newspaper, theologist Georg Otto Schmid, an expert on sects, said that support for Scientology is "shrinking."
"I would imagine that the sect will no longer exist in Switzerland in a few years," he was quoted as saying by the paper. According to Schmid, the organisation currently has 1,000 active members, a steady decline compared to the 3,000 registered in 1990.
Other religious experts share Schmid's view, the paper said, adding that activists who try to recruit new members on the streets appear to be poorly trained.
Also, according to Swiss sect expert Dieter Sträuli from Infosekta, Scientology is running out of money, the paper said.
However, Church of Scientology spokeswoman Annette Klug rejected the experts' analysis, which she dubbed "completely absurd".
Spokespeople from the Church of Scientology argue that the group founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard still has 5,000 "passive and active members in Switzerland."
