Engaging with the Church of Scientology and the Free Zone in the Field
Challenges, Barriers, and Methods
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.41396Keywords:
Scientology, Free Zone, fieldwork, methods, onlineAbstract
An increasing number of scholars are turning their attention towards the study of Scientology, the New Religious Movement founded by L. Ron Hubbard. Such studies tend to focus on the institutionalized Church of Scientology (CoS). However, of increasing importance to the study of Scientology is the rise of the Free Zone—a category for groups of individuals who identify as Scientologists but practise outside the CoS. The CoS and Free Zone have experienced a turbulent history. Both groups often view one another with suspicion, raising debates concerning legitimacy and Scientological heresy. Successfully navigating between both the CoS and Free Zone in the field requires a careful approach on behalf of the scholar. Furthermore, working with both the CoS and Free Zone individually also presents specific challenges, particularly in terms of gaining the trust of fieldwork participants. This article draws from the author’s fieldwork with both the CoS and the Free Zone as a case study of the challenges faced when conducting fieldwork with minority groups in direct opposition to one another, and explores ethnographic issues that have arisen in the contemporary study of Scientology.
References
Cowan, Douglas E. 2009. Researching Scientology: Perceptions, Premises, Promises, and Problematics. In Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis, 53–79. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331493.003.0004
Cusack, Carole M. 2016. “Squirrels” and Unauthorized Uses of Scientology: Werner Erhard and EST, Ken Dyers and Kenja, and Harvey Jackins and Re-Evaluation Counselling. In Handbook of Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis and Kjersti Hellesøy, 485–506. Leiden: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004330542_023
Graham, Ruth 2014. Are Academics Afraid to Study Scientology? https://daily.jstor.org/scholarson-scientology/
Gregg, Stephen E. and Thomas, Aled J. Ll. 2019 “Scientology Inside Out: Complex Religious Belonging in the Church of Scientology and the Free Zone.” In The Insider Outsider Debate: New Perspectives in the Study of Religion, edited by George D. Chryssides and Stephen E. Gregg, 350–370. Sheffield: Equinox.
Grossman, Wendy M. 1995. alt.scientology.war. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.12/alt.scientology.war_pr.html
Hubbard, L. Ron 1950. Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. Copenhagen: New Era Publications (this edition 2007).
Scientology: A History of Man. Copenhagen: New Era Publications.
Have You Lived Before This Life? Copenhagen: New Era Publications.
a. Keeping Scientology Working. https://stss.nl/stss-materials/English/Courses%20Black%20und%20White%20Printing%20EN_BW_CR/EN_BW_CR_Keeping_Scientology_Working__KSW.pdf
b.Safeguarding Technology. http://internationalfreezone.net/safeguardingtechnology.shtml
Introduction to Scientology Ethics. Copenhagen: New Era Publications.
Lamont, Stewart 1986. Religion Inc. The Church of Scientology. London: HARRAP.
Lewis, James R. 2009. Introduction. In Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis, 3–14. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof: oso/9780195331493.003.0001
Scientology: Up Stat, Down Stat. In The Cambridge Companion to New Religious Movements, edited by Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein, 133–149, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521196505.010
Free Zone Scientology and Other Movement Milieus: A Preliminary Characterization. Temenos: Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion 49(2): 255–276. https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.8203
The Dror Center Schism, The Cook Letter and Scientology’s Legitimation Crisis. In Handbook of Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis and Kjersti Hellesøy, 462–484. Leiden: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004330542_022
Monahan, Torin and Jill A. Fisher. 2015. Strategies for Obtaining Access to Secretive or Guarded Organizations. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 44(6): 709–736. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241614549834
Melton, J. Gordon. 2000. Studies in Contemporary Religion: The Church of Scientology. Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books.
Birth of a Religion. In Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis, 17–33. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331493.003.0002
Peckham, Michael. 1998. New Dimensions of Social Movement/Countermovement Interaction: The Case of Scientology and its Internet Critics. The Canadian Journal of Sociology 23(4): 317–347. https://doi.org/10.2307/3341804
Rigal-Cellard, Bernadette. 2009. Scientology Missions International (SMI): An Immutable Model of Technological Missionary Activity. In Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis, 325–334. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331493.003.0017
Robertson, Bill. 1983. “Captain Bill Robertson at Crown Hotel Meeting 1983 East Grinstead Scientology.avi.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvfioivtY6c
Ron’s Org Committee. n.d. “Myths and Facts About Captain Bill Robertson.” http://ronsorg.com/roc/english/mythaboutcbr.htm
Schorey, Shannon T. S. 2016. “‘LRH4ALL!’”: The Negotiation of Information in the Church of Scientology and the Open Source Scientology Movement.” In Handbook of Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis and Kjersti Hellesøy, 341–359. Leiden: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004330542_015
Scientology Cult. 2018. “The Indie 500.” http://www.scientology-cult.com/declarations-of-independence/the-indie-500.html South Park.
“Trapped in the Closet.” Directed by Trey Parker. Written by Trey Parker and Kenny Hotz. Comedy Central, November 16.
The Church of Scientology International. 1998. What is Scientology? California: Bridge Publications.
Thomas, Aled J. Ll. 2021. (Forthcoming). Free Zone Scientology: Contesting the Boundaries of a New Religion. London: Bloomsbury.
Urban, Hugh B. 2011. The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400839438
Wallis, Roy. 1976. The Road to Total Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of Scientology. London: Heinemann.
Westbrook, Donald. 2016. “Walking in Ron’s Footsteps: Pilgrimage Sites of the Church of Scientology.” Numen 63(1): 71–94. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685276-12341409
a. Among the Scientologists: History, Theology, and Praxis. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190664978.001.0001
b. “Scientology Studies 2.0: Lessons Learned and Paths Forward.” Religion Compass 14(2): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12345
Whitehead, Harriet. 1987. Renunciation and Reformulation: A Study of Conversion in an American Sect. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
