The Church of Scientology

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2012 "In The Church of Scientology, one of only a handful of academic treatments of the subject, Hugh Urban is less interested in the experiences of Scientologists than in the legal processes and semantic twists through which a set of beliefs becomes a religion. A professor of religious studies at Ohio State, Urban is interested in secrecy in religion, and in this book he chronicles the way Hubbard reacted to legal and political challenges to his authority by attempting (largely successfully) to conceal his theories from the public."--Rachel Aviv, London Review of Books "[A] slim, thoughtful investigation of Scientology as a uniquely American religious phenomenon, one whose history has a great deal to teach us... He is more interested in how the church has reflected and influenced currents in American history... Most fascinating is Urban's argument that Scientology has been instrumental in shaping how the US government defines religion."--Mark Oppenheimer, The Nation "The most scholarly treatment of the organization to date."--Michael Shermer, Scientific American "The Church of Scientology is a fascinating book... [A] deep and often brilliant anthropological dissection... Where more populist authors might find it difficult, for instance, to take seriously a religion that makes its most devoted followers sign a 'billion-year contract', Urban is po-faced throughout. As a result, he is granted exceptional access to Scientologists and their detractors, and builds from the often barmy material a compelling picture of the birth of a new religion. For this is the book's central thesis: that by analysing how new religions emerge and flourish, we may better understand those whose origins are lost in the haze of time... Urban's portrayal of the birth and boom of Scientology is absorbing and impressive."--Alex Preston, The Guardian "Judiciously balanced, with a myriad of footnotes ... mercifully free of the jargon to be found within both Scientology and all too many academic volumes."--Eileen Barker, Times Higher Education "Urban's book is valuable for how well he organizes a massive amount of information in a well-paced, enjoyable read... [A] fascinating book."--Tony Ortega, Village Voice "A fascinating and oftentimes mind-bending account of how penny-a-word sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard doggedly pursued the 'religion angle' in his quest to create the worldwide Church of Scientology. Urban makes it clear from the outset that he could have written a lot more about Scientology than he has here--perhaps even a few volumes more. Settling on a narrower scope, however, hasn't precluded the author from presenting a thoroughly absorbing chronicle of Scientology's 60-year history in America... An intriguing introduction into the labyrinthine world of Scientology and its meaning in American society."--Kirkus Reviews "Urban describes concisely the development of the Church of Scientology from a pseudopsychological self-help business venture to a self-proclaimed 'religion' fighting vigorously for government recognition... Highly recommended, this is a valuable, evenhanded, academic but engaging introduction to the controversial church, both for those interested in the topic of religious studies and for general readers."--Library Journal "A fascinating account of how a healing practice called Dianetics came to define itself--and become officially recognized--as a religion in the United States. Urban strains to strike a balance between what he calls 'a hermeneutics of respect and a hermeneutics of suspicion,' grounded in a firm belief in freedom of worship and an obligation to ask tough questions about alleged misbehavior by Scientologists."--Glen Altschuler, Boston Globe "Essential... Urban [has] brought the study of Scientology to a cr

Hugh B. Urban is professor of religious studies at Ohio State University. His books include Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic, and Liberation in Modern Western Esotericism and Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics, and Power in the Study of Religion.

List of Illustrations vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction: The World's Most Controversial New Religion and Why No One Writes About It 1 Chapter One: L. Ron Hubbard: American Entrepreneur, Spiritual Bricoleur 26 Chapter To: Scientology, Inc.: Becoming a "Religion" in the 1950s 57 Chapter Tree: Cold War Religion: Scientology, Secrecy, and Security n the 1950s and 60s 89 Chapter Four: Thee "Cult of All Cults"? Scientology and the Cult Wars of the 1970s and 80s 118 Chapter Five: "The War" and the Triumph of Scientology: Becoming a Tax-Exempt Religion in the 1990s 155 Chapter Six: Secrets, Security, and Cyberspace: Scientology's New Wars of Information on the Internet 178 Conclusion: New Religions, Freedom, and Privacy in the Post-9/11 World 201 Appendix: A Timeline of Major Events in Scientology's Complex Journey to Becoming a "Religion" 217 Notes 221 Selected Bibliography 257 Index 265