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The Road to Total Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of Scientology

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"This book is a sociological study of a new quasi-religious movement, Scientology. Its author, Roy Wallis, traces the emergence of this movement as a lay psychotherapy -- 'Dianetics' -- and its development into an authoritarian sect. Drawing on formulations in the sociology of religion, he analyses the processes involved and presents a theory to account for the transformation of cult into sect.

On the basis of over eighty interviews with members and former members, a typology of the motivations which led individuals to affiliate with the movement is derived, and the processes by which members become further committed to the movement are explored. The reasons which led a proportion of members to defect from the movement are also described.

Scientology has been notable for the extent to which it has come into conflict with the state, medical agencies, and individuals critical of its practices. The author turns to the sociology of deviance to provide a model to account for the development of a 'moral crusade' against Scientology and to explain the way in which the movement reacted and adapted to a hostile environment.

This study should find a place on courses in Religious Studies, the History of Religion, and the Sociology of Religion. It will be essential material for any attempt to understand the form and place of the new religions in advanced industrial societies. It is also like to be appropriate material for courses on the Sociology of Social Movements. The controversial nature of the topic of this work may, however endow it with a market appeal beyond the confines of the academic community."

The Author

Roy Wallis was born in 1945. After several years as a factory hand, barman, and pump attendant he took a 1st Class Honours Degree in Sociology at the University of Essex. Folloing a period of postgraduate research at Nuffield College, Oxford, he was awarded a doctorate for his work on Scientology. He subsequently became a Lecturer in Sociology in the University of Stirling and has occupied the Morris Ginsberg Fellowhip in Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Well worth reading. Along with Russell Miller's Bare-Faced Messiah and Jon Atack's A Piece of Blue Sky, this is one of the most accurate and unbiased studies into the dark world of Scientology.