Marco Frenschkowski, Review of James R. Lewis (ed.), Scientology, OUP, 2009. Chapter: Carole M. Cusack, "Celebrity, the Popular Media, and Scientology: Making Familiar the Unfamiliar,” pp. 389-409. (original) (raw)
Related papers
At last there is an academic publication with the simple title "Scientology". It aims at covering one of the most controversial developments among newer religious groups, while it is being debated whether this phenomenon can be labelled a "religion" at all. James R. Lewis, well known and prolific writer and editor of many books on new religious phenomena, undertook the difficult task of bringing together various authors of different professions to give a state-of-the-art overview, although not a complete one yet. But the result though is an impressive collection touching many important areas of interest concerning this group. Its controversial nature however cannot be overlooked. This is obvious when we consider that there are not many academic books which receive their own private Wikipedia-entry after its publication (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology\_(James\_R.\_Lewis\_book)). With this we are already in the eye of the storm: Saying something about Scientology means also taking part and being an actor in a problematic discourse. This is especially true for Religious Studies, which -per definitionemtends (or should tend) to focus on a non-partial approach. From this point of view Scientology is also a kind of litmus-test for the discipline of religious studies itself. Although with Scientology there is the question, whether this is possible at all. In this regard the scope of the contributors to this volume is quite far-ranging: On the one hand you may find authors deeply impressed by Scientology, either because of its program (as it is regarded as an example of a movement on the edge of what may be labelled religion) or because of the proud fierceness the group tries to defend its position as a new religious movement among others. On the other hand you may find contributors who clearly have a purely academic interest in handling a controversial development fully aware of the problems surrounding it and making cautious statements in regard to the major questions. What you will not find in this book is a sample of the "critics" of Scientology, meaning all the authors from various fields of interest challenging the claim of Scientology in different fields and "criticizing" it for whatever reason. On the one hand this absence is legitimized by the fact that
Scientology, from controversy to global expansion and recognition - Eric Roux
The story of Scientology, a religion relatively young at sixty years old, is quite a rich tale. This chapter focuses on the past twenty-five years, but with a prologue from the early 1980s, just before the death of Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard, giving a broad overview. It covers the "struggling for survival times" of Scientology, the stressing of the religious mission of the Church, the work to deliver Scientology to parishioners in its purest form, the "Ideal Churches" program, the humanitarian programs and the passage from being a struggling controversial new religion to being a recognized religion steadily expanding.
New Directions in the Study of Scientology – Transcript
Implicit Religion, Vol. 23, No. 2, 2020, pp. 89-101.
David Robertson: So we’re here at the BASR Conference 2018, in Belfast. And I have gathered several colleagues together today to have a discussion about Scientology: the idea of new directions in the study of Scientology, and how do we move the conversation about Scientology forward? There’s a large number of different directions we can go in that conversation, so I’m not going to constrain it at this point by saying exactly what I mean by that. But we’re going to start off by looking at some interesting data and approaches and move into a discussion of the larger methodological issues about the study of Scientology in relationship to NRMs and other more established religious traditions. And then we’ll end the conversation by opening it out to some interesting responses, in the coming week. But for now I’m going to start by going round the table and asking my colleagues to introduce themselves.
„Scientology – A New Age Religion?“
Jim Lewis (ed.), Scientology. Oxford University Press. Oxford 2009, 225–243, 2009
In the German context, the term "New Age" has almost vanished completely from the discourses in society as well as in academics. 1 This is due to the fact that the New Age label has been replaced by a broader use of the term "esotericism" (Esoterik), and even in academia the term is used only in a narrow sense nowadays, with reference to the "historical" and formative phase of a relatively distinct movement or "discourse" in the seventies and eighties of the last century. 2 Accordingly, and different from the usage of the term in Anglophone contexts, contemporary people with alternative or esoteric religious orientations would not refer to themselves as "New Agers" in Germany at all, as it would still be possible in, for example, Great Britain. Accordingly, the title of this essay is referring to the wider and unspecific notion of "New Age" as it is still established in the Anglophone context. Scientology has often been put into question with regard to its "religious" nature, and several scholars in the new religious movements area have even refrained from a closer study of Scientology. If Scientology is viewed as a religion at all-an issue which is again and again debated both in academic religious studies as well as in the quarrels about the legal status of this organization in various countries-it is mainly perceived as a candidate which might fit into this 'alternative' realm of modern religiosity denoted by such labels like "New Age" or "Esotericism". Following its formal beginning in the 1950ies, the "Church of Scientology" has gradually surfaced as the most hotly debated movement during the second half of the twentieth century, and it is stimulating ongoing discussions until today. For a differentiated and unbiased answer to the question concerning the religious "nature" or "function" of Scientology, it is therefore necessary to recapitulate the historical formation of Scientology, its basic anthropological, soteriological and cosmological convictions, as well as its rituals and institutions, and to relate these findings to the wider realm of contemporary, or older, religious movements-a task, which obviously exceeds the scope of this essay. Certainly, several aspects of Scientology don't fit easily into "traditional" concepts of religion, whereas others appear definitely "religious" again.-The question of this essay therefore is, whether Scientology could be perceived as a typical esoteric or "New Age"-version of religion and "Weltanschauung" within the context of our postmodern industrial society.
Postscript Subsidia IV - Scientology in a scholarly perspective
Scientology in a Scholarly Perspective, a collection of academic papers by a wide range of international scholars, was released January 25 in Antwerp by the Faculty for Comparative Study of Religions and Humanism (FVG). The bilingual work, in English and French, is the 2017 edition of the FVG’s annual publication Acta Comparanda. It contains papers by religion scholars from the United States, Belgium, France, Italy and Australia delivered at the 2014 International Conference “Scientology in a Scholarly Perspective.” This is the english version of the postscript written by Rev Eric Roux.
Religion, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 497-500. , 2018
The Journal of CESNUR - Scientology and the New CultWars
The Journal of CESNUR Volume 2, Issue 2 March-April 2018, 2018
Introduction: Scientology and the New CultWars ABSTRACT: Russian efforts aimed at “liquidating” the Church of Scientology confirm that the “cult wars,” often described as long dead in the West, continue in countries such as Russia, China, or Hungary. Media remain largely hostile to Scientology even in the West. This issue of The Journal of CESNUR explores developments in the Church of Scientology in the 21st century and the reasons of this persistent hostility, which appears somewhat paradoxical as both scholars and courts of law throughout the world increasingly recognize Scientology as a religion. NOTE: I am not an author of this Journal, I am simply a promoter of this work. Unfortunately the current Academia program doesn't allow one to be removed from the author's box. The work is made available as is with the links to the exact reference source where it was found. Director-in-Charge | Direttore responsabile Marco Respinti Editor-in-Chief | Direttore Massimo Introvigne Center for Studies on New Religions, Turin, Italy Associate Editor | Vicedirettore PierLuigi Zoccatelli Pontifical Salesian University, Turin, Italy Editorial Board / International Consultants Milda Ališauskienė Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania Eileen Barker London School of Economics, London, United Kingdom Luigi Berzano University of Turin, Turin, Italy Antoine Faivre École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris, France Holly Folk Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, USA Liselotte Frisk Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden J. Gordon Melton Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA Susan Palmer McGill University, Montreal, Canada Stefania Palmisano University of Turin, Turin, Italy Bernadette Rigal-Cellard Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Bordeaux, France Instructions for Authors and submission guidelines can be found on our website at www.cesnur.net. ISSN: 2532-2990 The Journal of CESNUR is published bi-monthly by CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions), Via Confienza 19, 10121 Torino, Italy. The Journal of CESNUR Volume 2, Issue 2, March—April 2018 Contents Articles 3 Introduction: Scientology and the New Cult Wars The Journal of CESNUR 11 Is Scientology a Religion? Luigi Berzano 21 A Contemporary Ordered Religious Community: The Sea Organization J. Gordon Melton 60 “The Most Misunderstood Human Endeavor”: L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and Fine Arts Massimo Introvigne Research Notes / Scientology, Anti-Cultists, and the State in Russia and Hungary 93 The Social Construction of “Extremism” in Russia: From the Jehovah’s Witnesses to Scientology and Beyond Massimo Introvigne 101 The Provisions Against Religious Extremism and Illegal Business Activity as Instruments for Outlawing Religious Minorities in Russia: The Case of the Church of Scientology Boris Falikov Volume 2, Issue 2, March—April 2018 111 What Is Really Happening in Russia? A Response to Prof. Introvigne and Prof. Falikov PierLuigi Zoccatelli 118 Religious Discrimination and State Neutrality: The Case of Scientology in Hungary Patricia Duval BookReviews 124 Kent, Stephen A., and Susan Raine, eds. Scientology and Popular Culture: Influences and Struggles for Legitimacy Reviewed by Massimo Introvigne 129 Aldo Natale Terrin, Scientology. Libertà e immortalità Reviewed by Luigi Berzano