Studying Scientology as an Anti-Democratic Institution: Suggestions and Cautions to Future Researchers
Addressing future researchers who may undertake research on Scientology, this commentary offers a number of cautions related to issues that they likely will encounter. Most of these issues stem from the organization’s anti-democratic, authoritarian nature and resultant policies, which include attemp...
| Auteur principal: | |
|---|---|
| Type de support: | Électronique Article |
| Langue: | Anglais |
| Vérifier la disponibilité: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Publié: |
2021
|
| Dans: |
Implicit religion
Année: 2020, Volume: 23, Numéro: 2, Pages: 167–174 |
| Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés: | B
Scientology International
/ Autoritarisme
/ Membre
/ Manipulation
/ Science des religions
/ Recherche
|
| RelBib Classification: | AA Sciences des religions AD Sociologie des religions AZ Nouveau mouvement religieux |
| Sujets non-standardisés: | B
Ethics
B Research B Authoritarianism B Scientologie |
| Accès en ligne: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Résumé: | Addressing future researchers who may undertake research on Scientology, this commentary offers a number of cautions related to issues that they likely will encounter. Most of these issues stem from the organization’s anti-democratic, authoritarian nature and resultant policies, which include attempts to curtail any and all activities and research that its leaders conclude are out of alignment with members’ obligation to ‘keep Scientology working.’ Ethically and morally questionable activities within the cult (which is a term that I define) include its own judicial and penal systems, its systematic harassment of perceived critics, its data storage and protection issues, and its extensive but highly questionable manipulation of members - any study of which likely will elicit censoring reactions from leadership. So too will studies about probable membership shrinkage; its sizable body of financial constituents; and its lobbying efforts and network of lawyers, supportive academics, and expert witnesses. Although I encourage newer scholars to undertake Scientology studies, I urge them to prepare for interference attempts that almost certainly will come. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1743-1697 |
| Contient: | Enthalten in: Implicit religion
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/imre.19161 |
