Handle with Care: Reflections on the Academic Study of Scientology

The late 2018 publication of Donald Westbrook’s Among the Scientologists marks the culmination of a decade of increased scholarship on the Church of Scientology from a variety of scholarly perspectives. In conversation with the Religious Studies Project (RSP) panel on ‘New Directions in the Study of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Doherty, Bernard ca. 21. Jh. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Equinox 2021
In: Implicit religion
Year: 2020, Volume: 23, Issue: 2, Pages: 102–128
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Scientology / New religion / Science of Religion
RelBib Classification:AA Study of religion
AZ New religious movements
Further subjects:B Polarization
B New Religious Movements
B Church of Scientology
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Summary:The late 2018 publication of Donald Westbrook’s Among the Scientologists marks the culmination of a decade of increased scholarship on the Church of Scientology from a variety of scholarly perspectives. In conversation with the Religious Studies Project (RSP) panel on ‘New Directions in the Study of Scientology’ held at the British Association for the Study of Religion (BASR) in November 2018, this academic comment seeks to highlight some of the internal and external factors which work to make the study of Scientology a potential minefield for scholars of New Religions. In addition to this I offer four modest proposals for how those within the academy might work toward overcoming some of these challenges, in particular the polarization between different camps within the study of New Religions.
ISSN:1743-1697
Contains:Enthalten in: Implicit religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1558/imre.40237