SCIENTOLOGY
AND RELIGION
CONTENTS INCLUDE:
ABOUT THE EXPERTISE
In this article from 1996, Dr. Christiaan Vonck analyzes the religious nature of Scientology on the basis of its teaching and practices. When examining Scientology, he sees points of comparison with other religious systems, including Christian Science, the Society of Friends (Quakers), Antoinism and Buddhism. “While it has characteristics in common with other religions,” explains Dr. Vonck, “Scientology itself is unique, with an extensive doctrine of its own, based on the writings of L. Ron Hubbard, and its own unique religious praxis.” With respect to the question of whether or not Scientology is a religion in the first place, he is unequivocally affirmative: “For scholars in the field of the history of religions, sociology, and/or comparative religion, there is no doubt that Scientology is a religion.”
BIOGRAPHY
Christiaan Vonck, Ph.D., is rector, Faculty for Comparative Study of Religions (FVG) in Wilrijk, Antwerp (Belgium), board member of the European Observatory of Religion and Secularism, and founder and secretary of the World Congress of Faiths in Belgium. He has served as a Visiting Lecturer at Columbia International University (South Carolina, USA), Union of Arab Historians (Baghdad, Iraq), Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (Iran), and Silpakorn University (Thailand). He has written many articles on religion and theology and serves as editor of Acta Comparanda.
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