An Open Letter to: Scientologists, Ex-Scientologists, and Critics of the Church of Scientology (original) (raw)
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Scientology and its ‘clear’ business
Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 1992
The Church of Scientology (CoS) has been the center of controversy and moral panics around the world. Many of its critics, including government and professional bodies suggest that it is a "destructive cult" with values in conflict with society. Against such views, it is argued that the CoS both reflects and relies on conventional values. The CoS is analyzed as a successful commercial enterprise which, seeking to achieve its goals, occasiody adopts iliicit means. The CoS's business is also deviant in that it denies its commercial structure. Ironically, it is this very denial, this very deviance that helps explain its survival and suc-
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
My View of Scientology; A Silver Lining in a Dark Cloud
My View of Scientology; A Silver Lining in a Dark Cloud, 2016
This paper investigates and tries to establish the truth about the controversial Scientology religion that has been the subject of much scrutiny in the past 20 years. It establishes a relationship between the Scientology religion and Traumatic Incident Reduction, a form of therapy invented and founded by Frank Gerbode, a graduate of Stanford Medical School and Cambridge University in the UK. It also establishes a relationship between Scientology's Dianetic Therapy and the work of Sigmund Freud, the creator of psychoanalysis and, as featured in this paper, the creator of the "Talking Cure." a method created before the invention of psychoanalysis.
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.
Brill Handbook of Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis and Kjersti Hellesøy, pp. 485-506, 2017
The Church of Scientology, following the example of its founder L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986) has been notorious for the extent to which it has striven to keep teachings (particularly the controversial OT Levels) secret, and for the virulence of the reprisals it has visited upon those who have taken the ‘Tech’ and used it for purposes other than those Hubbard mandated, or in a context outside CoS. Yet since 1954 when the Church of Scientology was founded, there have been a number of notable individuals who were briefly Scientologists, then broke away to form their own groups, whether religious, spiritual or secular. Within CoS these people are termed ‘squirrels’, a name coined by Hubbard. This chapter examines three of these ‘squirrels’: Werner Erhard (b. Jack Rosenberg, 1935), founder of est (now Landmark Education); Ken Dyers (1922-2007), founder of Kenja; and Harvey Jackins (1916-1999), founder of Re-evaluation Counselling (or Co-Counselling). Both Erhard and Dyers were insistent that their movements were not religious, yet they have nevertheless been accused of leading ‘cults’ and of sharing many of the behaviours characteristic of abusive charismatic leaders of NRMs. Harvey Jackins’ adoption of Dianetics led to a different application of Scientology ‘Tech’, which for several decades hovered at the fringe of respectable psychology. Yet the reputation of Jackins too, has been tainted by stereotypical NRM/’cult’ leader behaviours, including sexual predation on young girls in RC. It is concluded that the biography and career of L. Ron Hubbard, in addition to the teachings he developed, had a disproportionate influence on these three men, and that to a large extent each replicated LRH and CoS in their own careers and groups.
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.
Review of 'Among the Scientologists' (Donald A. Westbrook)
Correspondences Journal for the Study of Esotericism, 2019
During its relatively short history, Scientology has been the subject of little academic study. While the number of publications (particularly edited volumes and journal articles) concerning Scientology is on the rise, only a handful of monographs on the topic exist. Donald A. Westbrook's Among the Scientologists: History, Theology, and Praxis is therefore a much-needed contribution to the scholarly study of Scientology. Drawing heavily from ethnographic methods, Westbrook provides both a historical account of the Church of Scientology (CoS) and a contemporary analysis of the beliefs and practices of its members in the twenty-first century.
Scientology: Cult, Science or a Corporate Enterprise?
University of Central Lancashire, 2020
From damaging campaigns spearheaded by once-loyal celebrities (A&E, 2018; Westbrook, 2019, p150-152) to documentaries revealing internal exploitation (Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing, 2016), Scientology is now considered a cult by many, but this essay aims to understand whether that label is accurate or whether Scientology should instead be considered a science. Alternatively, may it be more accurately referred to as a new religious movement (NRMs), or as a corporate enterprise straddling the fence between the sacred and the commercial. It is the postulation of this essay that Scientology, in its complexity of operations, suits all of these labels simultaneously and that what Scientology represents is a result of contemporary spirituality in a highly commercialised modern world.