The Ritual or Mystical Aspect - Philosophical and Doctrinal Aspec

ABOUT I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. AUTHOR

IV. THE RITUAL OR MYSTICAL ASPECT

Part of the practices which are described in this section have already been described in the former chapter (training and auditing), therefore I will concentrate more on what can be understood as ceremonies and rites.

These are collected in the Book of Ceremonies of the Church of Scientology. Despite the fact that the founder himself places Scientology in the tradition of the oriental religions, inheritors of Buddhism and the Vedas, it nevertheless has ceremonies which to a large degree remind one of the western religions. This is the case with the Sunday Services and the Matrimonial Ceremonies.

But due to its tradition, it possesses various and very personal rites which, although reminiscent of the Judeo-Christian tradition, turn out to be completely coherent with the body of beliefs of Scientology. I’m referring to the Naming Ceremony, the Naming and Recognition Ceremony and the Funeral Service. In accordance with the belief in the immortality of the thetan, Scientologists conduct these ceremonies to give a name to the new body of the being which has arrived, to welcome the being to his new body and his new family or to say goodbye to a being who has abandoned his body in order to find a new one and to try to help to orient him in the new situation in which he finds himself.

All of these ceremonies are performed under the auspices of an ordained minister, or by the chaplain of the church, and the members of the community of Scientologists participate actively in them on a regular basis.

V. The Organizational Aspect

Scientology, Social Science and the Definition of Religion

by James A. Beckford, Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick, England

Social Change and New Religious Movements

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

The Church of Scientology

by Juha Pentikäinen, Marja Pentikäinen, University of Helsinki, Finland

The Relationship Between Scientology and Other Religions

by Fumio Sawada, Eighth holder of the secrets of Yu-itsu Shinto, the oldest religion in Japan; President, Ahlul-Bait Center

The Religious Nature of Scientology

by Geoffrey Parrinder, Methodist minister, Professor, Comparative Study of Religions, University of London

Religious Philosophy, Religion and Church

by G.C. Oosthuizen, Professor of Science of Religion, University of Durban-Westville, Natal, South Africa

Scientology a New Religion

by M. Darrol Bryant, Department of Religious Studies, Renison College, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Apostates and New Religious Movements

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

Scientology: An Analysis and Comparison of its Religious Systems and Doctrines

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

The Reliability of Apostate Testimony About New Religious Movements

by Lonnie D. Kliever Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies

The Sea Organization and its Role Within the Church of Scientology

by Frank K. Flinn Ph.D. Adjunct Professor in Religious Studies

Brief Analyses of the Religious Nature of Scientology

by J. Gordon Melton, Baylor University, Samuel Hill, Gary Bouma, Irving Hexham

Congregational Services of the Church of Scientology

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

Is Scientology A Religion?

by Alan W. Black, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

Is Scientology a Religion?

by Dean M. Kelley, National Council of Churches

Religious Toleration & Religious Diversity

by Bryan R. Wilson,
Emeritus Fellow in Sociology, Oxford University

Scientology A Religion In South Africa

by David Chidester, Professor of Comparative Religion, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Scientology: A True Religion

by Urbano Alonso Galan, Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Gregorian University of Rome

Scientology: A Way of Spiritual Self-Identification

by Michael Sivertsev, Moscow Academy of Sciences

Scientology: A Worshipping Community

by Lonnie D. Kliever, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

Scientology and Contemporary Definitions of Religion in the Social Sciences

by Alejandro Frigerio, Professor of Sociology, Catholic University of Argentina, Buenos Aires

Scientology and Islam an Analogous Study

by Fumio Sawada, Eighth holder of the secrets of Yu-itsu Shinto, the oldest religion in Japan; President, Ahlul-Bait Center

Scientology and Religion

by Christiaan Vonck, Rector, Faculty for Comparative Study of Religion, Antwerp, Belgium

Scientology: A Comparison with Religions of the East and West

by Per-Arne Berglie, Professor of History of Religion, University of Stockholm

Scientology Its Cosmology, Anthropology, System of Ethics and Methodologies

by Régis Dericquebourg, Professor of Sociology of Religion, University of Lille III, France

Scientology – Its Historical-Morphological Frame

by Dario Sabbatucci, Professor of History of Religions, University of Rome

Scientology: Its True Nature

by Harri Heino, Professor of Theology, University of Tampere, Finland

Scientology: The Marks of Religion

by Frank K. Flinn, Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies Washington University