The Church of Scientology (Studies in Contemporary Religions) [Paperback]

It is very obvious that Melton basically shares materials from Scientology's public relations office. There are factual errors in his work, many ommisions, and a minimizing of major legal actions against Scientology. Melton states that L. Ron Hubbard "never claimed the kind of formal academic credentials which the average scientists or physician possesses..." (pg 58) Wrong! In 1958 Hubbard published "The Problem of Work, Scientology Applied to the Work-a-day World", by "L.Ron Hubbard, C.E, PhD." C.E. is the designation for Chemical Engineer.

Melton glosses over the conviction of Scientologists for infiltrating and and stealing IRS materials by saying "In the end, the actual crimes for which they were convicted were relatively minor." Minor? They were sentences to four to five years in jail.

Melton says nothing about one of Scientology's major losses when, at the conclusion of a trail involving Hubbard, Judge Breckenridge stated "The evidence porrays a man who has been virtually a pathological liar when it comes to his history, background and achievements..."

No mention is made of the major Supreme Court ruling (Hernandez vs. IRS 1989) in which the Supreme Court denied Scientology the right to deducted "fixed donations" for the many courses required for advancement. And no comment is made as to how the IRS could nullify that finding and give Scientology the right to do so.

Nothing said about the 23,000 persons declared to be suppressive persons, people who Hubbard stated "could be tricked, lied to or destroyed."

Finally, look at the footnotes and sources. The vast majority are from Scientology's own material. Only a Scientology would call this material "objective."

If you are looking for a book about Scientology that offers an objective understanding of the origins of the church, how the church is structured, and what the faithful believe, then this book might be a good place to start. Melton's book comes close on all three counts, but due to it's abbreviated length, doesn't quite satisfy the need.

There are all manner of information about Scientology found in traditional publications and on the internet. Unfortunately most of the information is decidely pro or anti church. The bulk of the anti information comes from individuals who have had a negative experience with the church and much of the pro information comes from church or the writings of it's founder L. Ron Hubbard. So unless you wade through the agendas found in either sides publications your unlikely to get a solid understanding of what makes this church and it's membership tick.

The one publication that seems to take an objective look at the church and it's surrounding controversy is this book. Regarding most issues addressed, Melton is careful to provide the opinion of the church's opponents as well as the church's take on the issue. It's as balanced as it can get.

Unfortunately the sheer size of the book prevents it from becoming anything but a rudimentary primer on the very basics of the church. 16 of it's 80 paperback size pages are support notes for the author's discussion. And 64 pages is about 300 pages short of a comprehensive study of one aspect of the church let alone it's entire history.

The book takes the reader from the early life of founder L. Ron Hubbard, his writings and the development of Dianetics, through the Dianetics to Scientology evolution, and ends with information about how the church is structured. What it doesn't provide is any kind of understanding about the foundations of the religion, it's dogma or tenets - you will find no mention of Xenu here.

The value of this book is that it's a short, easy to read primer that those interested in exploring Scientology (in a scholarly or spriritual context) will find to be a great, objective place to start.

This book presents the topic without a slant. The book discusses (1) an outline of the life of L. Ron Hubbard anchored by the generally agreed upon facts; (2) an introduction to the church's beliefs, practices, and organization; and (3) a synopsis of the major points of controversy.

Unfortunately, this book will not have much of an audience. Some critics will find the book too supportive of Scientology; while Scientologists themselves may support their group's official view, not that of a religious studies researcher.

Having read over a dozen books about Scientology, both critical and non-critical, I was impressed that I managed to learn a few new things from this short book. The book is only 80 pages, but there is a lot of information packed into it.