Everybody knows that the Epsilon Program, the cult that protagonist Michael De Santa can join and make a few side-missions, is a clear parody of the Church of Scientology. However, and maybe not surprisingly enough, the producers of Grand Theft Auto V were right on track when it comes to relate the Epsilon Program to the Church of Scientology.
First of all, The Epsilon Program is home-based in Los Santos, San Andreas. The headquarters of Scientology are in Los Angeles, California. On the very beginning of the game, you can hear in a Weazel News broadcast that the Epsilon Program and its leader, Cris Formage, are involved in a litigious battle with the government to get religious status, so they didn’t need to pay taxes anymore. That’s a clear reference to back when Scientology and David Miscavige were at war with the IRS, until the agency gave up on the fight in 1993 and finally conceded religious status to Scientology — forgiving a tax bill of something around one billion dollars… read more >
