James R. Lewis is Associate Professor of Religion, University of Tromso, Norway.
"The Church of Scientology has often been viewed from the narrow
perspective of legitimacy: Is it a true religion or merely a
(destructive) cult? Here is a book, consisting of 22 articles by 27
authors, that views Scientology from the broader perspectives of
culture, religion, and philosophy. The outcome is a sober and
balanced presentation of this most controversial contemporary
religion in the Western world that no doubt will be appreciated by
fair-minded
and inquisitive readers. A truly outstanding collection of essays
for all students of religion, beginning or advanced."--James A.
Santucci, Professor and Chair of Comparative Religion, California
State
University, Fullerton
"For any reader interested in Scientology, this is an indispensable
book. Accessibly written, thoroughly researched and broad in its
coverage, it will be the standard reference on this highly visible
and controversial new religious movement for years to come."--Olav
Hammer, Professor, Institute of Philosophy, Education and Religious
Studies, University of Southern Denmark
"The master of the edited volume on new religious movements and
unusual cultural phenomena, James R. Lewis, has once again brought
together a diverse group of scholars to explore a religion that
most of us only know through sensational news headlines. This
comprehensive volume maps the broad terrain that lies between
proponents and polemical critics of Scientology. In essays on its
science fiction origins and healing practices, among many other
compelling
topics, contributors reach beyond the cult stereotype to take
seriously the religious lives of Scientologists. This is a unique
and fascinating study of religion in the context of late twentieth
and early
twenty-first century technology and culture."--Sarah M. Pike,
author of New Age and Neopagan Religions in America and Earthly
Bodies, Magical Selves: Contemporary Pagans and the Search for
Community
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