Emblematic Architecture and the Routinization of Charisma in Scientology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.v5i1.51Keywords:
Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, architecture, charisma, leadership, authorityAbstract
Departing from a comparative overview, and based on Weber’s theory of charismatic routinisation, this article explores the cult of L. Ron Hubbard in the Church of Scientology with regard to the Church’s developing investments in real estate and impressive buildings. It is argued that Hubbard’s charismatic authority has been transferred to the buildings, and that these potent items of religious hardware (the various constructions), have pushed aside the otherwise attention demanding question of Hubbard’s possible reincarnation, and thus presence in another human body. This focus on buildings and their use, it is argued, allows Scientology’s leadership to rule without being challenged by potential Hubbard-claimants.
References
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Anonymous (anonymous editors; book attributed to L. Ron Hubbard). 2012 Scientology Ideal Organizations Vols. I-III, USA: L. Ron Hubbard Library.
Armstrong, Richard N. and Gerald S. Argetsinger. 1989 "The hill Cumorah pageant: Religious pageantry as suasive form", Text and Performance Quarterly 9(2): 153–164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10462938909365924
Collison, Kevin. 2007 "Scientology center heads downtown." Kansas City Star, March 17th.
Henare, Amiria, Martin Holbraad and Sari Wastell, eds. 2007 Thinking Through Things. Theorising Artefacts Ethnographically, Routledge: London & New York.
Klostermaier, Klaus K. 2007 A Survey of Hinduism, New York: State University of New York Press (3 ed.).
Memmott, Paul and Stephen Long. 2002 "Place Theory and Place Maintenance in Indigenous Australia," Urban Policy and Research 20(1): 39–56.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08111140220131591
Meyer, Birgit, David Morgan, Crispin Paine and Brent S. Plate. 2010 "The Origin and Mission of Material Religion." Material Religion 40: 207–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.religion.2010.01.010
Refslund Christensen, Dorthe. 2005 "Inventing L. Ron Hubbard: On the Construction and Maintenance of the Hagiographic Mythology of Scientology's Founder." In Controversial New Religions, edited by James R. Lewis, Jesper Aagaard Petersen, 227–258.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rothstein, Mikael. 2001 Gud er (stadig) blå, Aschehoug: København.
Rothstein, Mikael. 2003 "Hagiography and Text in The Aetherius Society. Aspects of The Social Construction of A Religious Leader." In New Religions in a Post-Modern World, edited by Reender Kranenborg and Mikael Rothstein, 165–194. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press. [Recently reprinted in: Carole Cusack and Danielle Kirby, eds., 2013. Sects, Cults, and New Religions, Vol. II. England: Routledge, Major Works Series, chap. 23.]
Rothstein, Mikael. 2009 "'His name was Xenu. He used renegades...' Aspects of Scientology's Founding Myth." Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis, 365–388. New York: Oxford University Press.
Rothstein, Mikael. 2008 "Religious Globalisation: A Material Perspective. Assessing the Mormon Temple Institution in terms of Globalisation." In New Religions and Globalization. Empirical, Theoretical, and Methodological Perspectives, edited by Armin W. Geertz et al., 243–260. RENNER Studies on New Religions, vol. VII. Århus: Aarhus University Press.
Urban, Hugh B. 2006 "Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74(2): 356–389.http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfj084
Weber, Max. 1922 "Die drei reinen Typen der legitimen Herrschaft." Preussische Jahrbücher 187: 1–2.
Wessinger, Catherine. 2012 "Charismatic leaders in new religions." In The Cambridge Companion to New Religious Movements, edited by Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein, 80–96. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521196505.007
Wright, Lawrence. 2013 Going Clear. Scientology, Hollywood & the Prison of Belief, New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Anonymous (anonymous editors; book attributed to L. Ron Hubbard). 2012 Scientology Ideal Organizations Vols. I-III, USA: L. Ron Hubbard Library.
Armstrong, Richard N. and Gerald S. Argetsinger. 1989 "The hill Cumorah pageant: Religious pageantry as suasive form", Text and Performance Quarterly 9(2): 153–164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10462938909365924
Collison, Kevin. 2007 "Scientology center heads downtown." Kansas City Star, March 17th.
Henare, Amiria, Martin Holbraad and Sari Wastell, eds. 2007 Thinking Through Things. Theorising Artefacts Ethnographically, Routledge: London & New York.
Klostermaier, Klaus K. 2007 A Survey of Hinduism, New York: State University of New York Press (3 ed.).
Memmott, Paul and Stephen Long. 2002 "Place Theory and Place Maintenance in Indigenous Australia," Urban Policy and Research 20(1): 39–56.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08111140220131591
Meyer, Birgit, David Morgan, Crispin Paine and Brent S. Plate. 2010 "The Origin and Mission of Material Religion." Material Religion 40: 207–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.religion.2010.01.010
Refslund Christensen, Dorthe. 2005 "Inventing L. Ron Hubbard: On the Construction and Maintenance of the Hagiographic Mythology of Scientology's Founder." In Controversial New Religions, edited by James R. Lewis, Jesper Aagaard Petersen, 227–258.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rothstein, Mikael. 2001 Gud er (stadig) blå, Aschehoug: København.
Rothstein, Mikael. 2003 "Hagiography and Text in The Aetherius Society. Aspects of The Social Construction of A Religious Leader." In New Religions in a Post-Modern World, edited by Reender Kranenborg and Mikael Rothstein, 165–194. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press. [Recently reprinted in: Carole Cusack and Danielle Kirby, eds., 2013. Sects, Cults, and New Religions, Vol. II. England: Routledge, Major Works Series, chap. 23.]
Rothstein, Mikael. 2009 "'His name was Xenu. He used renegades...' Aspects of Scientology's Founding Myth." Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis, 365–388. New York: Oxford University Press.
Rothstein, Mikael. 2008 "Religious Globalisation: A Material Perspective. Assessing the Mormon Temple Institution in terms of Globalisation." In New Religions and Globalization. Empirical, Theoretical, and Methodological Perspectives, edited by Armin W. Geertz et al., 243–260. RENNER Studies on New Religions, vol. VII. Århus: Aarhus University Press.
Urban, Hugh B. 2006 "Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74(2): 356–389.http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfj084
Weber, Max. 1922 "Die drei reinen Typen der legitimen Herrschaft." Preussische Jahrbücher 187: 1–2.
Wessinger, Catherine. 2012 "Charismatic leaders in new religions." In The Cambridge Companion to New Religious Movements, edited by Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein, 80–96. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521196505.007
Wright, Lawrence. 2013 Going Clear. Scientology, Hollywood & the Prison of Belief, New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Published
2019-08-31
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Rothstein, M. (2019). Emblematic Architecture and the Routinization of Charisma in Scientology. International Journal for the Study of New Religions, 5(1), 51-76. https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.v5i1.51
