''Religion Inc. The Church of Scientology'' is a book about

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a scam, a Scientology as a business, business, a cult, or a religion. Hubbard initially develo ...

and

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author and the founder of Scientology. A prolific writer of pulp science fiction and fantasy novels in his early career, in 1950 he authored the pseudoscie ...

, written by Stewart Lamont and published in 1986.

Synopsis

The work includes twenty-seven photographs, taken by the author in the course of research for the book. Lamont describes the difficulty authors often encounter in writing and publishing critical books on the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religiou ...

: "Books about Scientology have a greater permanency than newspaper articles and therefore it should not come as a surprise that vigorous smear-campaigns have been conducted against the authors of such investigations." Lamont later goes on to chronicle some of the harassment suffered by author

Paulette Cooper Paulette Cooper (born July 26, 1942) is an American author and journalist whose writing about the Church of Scientology resulted in harassment from Scientologists. An early critic of the church, she published '' The Scandal of Scientology'' in ...

after the publication of ''

The Scandal of Scientology ''The Scandal of Scientology'' is a critical exposé book about the Church of Scientology, written by Paulette Cooper and published by Tower Publications, in 1971. In 2007, Cooper wrote about the events resulting from the publication of her stor ...

'', including recounting parts of Operation Freakout. Lamont also goes into the inherent motivation for profit within the organization. The book also details L. Ron Hubbard's actions later in life: his retreat to sea, isolated lifestyle in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and death.

Cited by other works

''Religion Inc.'' is cited by other books and research reports on the subject matter, including: ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'', ''The State of the Discipline'', ''Canadian Journal of Sociology'', ''Marburg Journal of Religion'', ''Shaking the World for Jesus'',''Shaking the World for Jesus'', Heather Hendershot, 2004, P.219.,

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

,
Scientology is another belief system that clearly illustrates the

profit motive In economics, the profit motive is the motivation of firms that operate so as to maximize their profits. Mainstream microeconomic theory posits that the ultimate goal of a business is "to make money" - not in the sense of increasing the firm ...

at play in American religion. See Stewart Lamont. Religion Inc.: The Church of Scientology. ''The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism'',''The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism: sects and new religious movements in contemporary society'', Bryan Ronald Wilson, 1990, P.233.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

,
An account of Hubbard's retreat to sea, his recluse-like existence in California, and his death is given in S. Lamont, Religion Inc.: The Church of Scientology. ''Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction'', ''La Secte'', and ''The Alms Trade''.''The Alms Trade: Charities Past, Present and Future'', Ian Williams, Unwin Hyman, 1989, , P.206.

References

External links

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