Abstract
Phillip Bennett Wearne exited the Hubbard Association of Scientologists International (HASI) in March 1963. Over the subsequent seven years before his death in March 1970, Wearne waged a one-man crusade against Scientology in Australia and abroad. His campaign led to an official government inquiry and anti-Scientology legislation in three Australian jurisdictions. This article examines the extensive documentation surrounding Wearne's exit from Scientology and subsequent campaign utilising insights from the socialogical study of contested-exits and apostasy from New Religions.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the International Conference - Scientology in a scholarly perspective, 24-25th January |
| Editors | Chris Vonck |
| Place of Publication | Belgium |
| Publisher | Faculty for Comparative Study of Religion and Humanism |
| Pages | 129-146 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |
| Event | Scientology in a scholarly perspective - Faculty of Comparative Studies of Religions (FVG) – Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium Duration: 24 Jan 2014 → 25 Jan 2014 http://www.isa-rc22.org/scientology-in-scholarly-perspective/ (Conference call for papers) |
Publication series
| Name | Acta Comparanda |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Faculty for Comparative Study of Religion and Humanism |
| Volume | 4 |
| ISSN (Print) | 0779-9853 |
Conference
| Conference | Scientology in a scholarly perspective |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Belgium |
| City | Antwerp |
| Period | 24/01/14 → 25/01/14 |
| Other | Compared with other New Religious Movements, Scientology was largely ignored by religious studies scholars for decades. Following the groundbreaking work of Roy Wallis, The Road to Total Freedom (1976), and Harriet Whitehead, Renunciation and Reformulation (1987), one had to wait more than two decades for the next academic volumes on the Church to appear, Scientology (2009), edited by James R. Lewis, and The Church of Scientology (2011), by Hugh B. Urban. There are now positive signs that more and more researchers are involved in researching issues raised by various aspects of Scientology. The Observatory thus feels it is time to hold a major international conference to bring this new scholarship to light. We seek to bring together researchers working on Scientology in the fields of theology, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, literature, film et cetera, whether established academicians, doctoral students or masters students. This will be the first academic conference devoted exclusively to Scientology. |
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