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  • Free Zone Scientology: Contesting the Boundaries of a New Religion

    Free Zone Scientology by Thomas, Aled;

    Contesting the Boundaries of a New Religion

    Series: Bloomsbury Advances in Religious Studies;

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      • Publisher's listprice GBP 95.00
      • The price is estimated because at the time of ordering we do not know what conversion rates will apply to HUF / product currency when the book arrives. In case HUF is weaker, the price increases slightly, in case HUF is stronger, the price goes lower slightly.

        45 386 Ft (43 225 Ft + 5% VAT)
      • Discount 20% (cc. 9 077 Ft off)
      • Discounted price 36 309 Ft (34 580 Ft + 5% VAT)

    45 386 Ft

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    Long description:

    In this novel academic study, Aled Thomas analyses modern issues surrounding boundaries and fluidity in contemporary Scientology. By using the Scientologist practice of 'auditing' as a case study, this book explores the ways in which new types of 'Scientologies' can emerge. The notion of Free Zone Scientology is characterised by its horizontal structure, in contrast to the vertical-hierarchy of the institutional Church of Scientology. With this in mind, Thomas explores the Free Zone as an example of a developing and fluid religion, directly addressing questions concerning authority, leadership and material objects.

    This book, by maintaining a double-focus on the top-down hierarchy of the Church of Scientology and the horizontal-fluid nature of the Free Zone, breaks away from previous research on new religions, which have tended to focus either on new religions as indices of broad social processes, such as secularization or globalization, or as exemplars of exotic processes, such as charismatic authority and brainwashing. Instead, Thomas adopts auditing as a method of providing an in-depth case study of a new religion in transition and transformation in the 21st century. This opens the study of contemporary and new religions to a series of new questions around hybrid religions (sacred and secular), and acts as a framework for the study of similar movements formed in recent decades.

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    Table of Contents:

    Preface
    1. Introduction: Researching 'Scientologies'
    Part 1: From Scientology to Scientologies
    2. The Church of Scientology and the 'Free Zone': A Complex Relationship
    3. Auditing and the 'Tech': The Basics
    4. 'You are YOU in a body': Negotiating the Self in Scientology
    Part 2: Fluidity and Boundaries
    5. Authenticity and Innovation: The 'True Tech' and 'Mistakes by Hubbard'
    6. 'Doing Scientology': E-Meters, Objects, and Material Culture
    7. Moving Forward: Reflections on Free Zone Scientology and the Wider Study of Religions
    8. Conclusion
    Appendix A
    Appendix B
    Notes
    References
    Index

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