Monday, April 13, 2015
A Wild Religion
I first started researching the commonalities between scientology, christianity, and pastafarianism. This topic was a little to broad and I ended up slimming it down to just scientology, and then once again into the main beliefs of scientology. Reading both a current book on scientology and a book that was the foundation of the religion helped me see how the roots flourished into the tree. This also helped me see some of the turns Scientology has taken and how it has really differed from its original purpose of self-help and more into revenue. Learning about the controversies that Scientology has been a part of has shown me how corrupt the organization really is. I will keep looking for corruptness but also will continue investigating how they treat critics, which historically has been awful. I have done enough research on the creation story but I hope to be able to portray the story in my paper accurately so readers can see the ridiculousness of it. I still have some research to do but the bulk of it has been completed.
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Gabe,
ReplyDeleteI think your topic is rather interesting and definitely unique! Scientology is definitely a new-age religion that twists and turns the original standing doctrines of the old religions - or religions that have stood up to the test of time. I have to say it is more of an organization, or cult, and not a religion. I am curious at how long scientology has been around, as it definitely has be, as I said new-age. I'd suggest, in steps to finishing your research, you look up current books on cults or organizations like this, if you haven't already. It's a curious fact at how mere and eager beliefs meant to help others blossom into more selfish motivations, like that of revenue, of which you mention. I'm not trying to be bias against this specific organization, as all religions have some conceited component to them, or churches (if taking Christianity as an example) that are more for looks, rather than evangelization and preaching the gospel. I'm curious to how your paper will turn out - the thesis statement you submitted for the group analysis was interesting. Good luck with your further research.
Gabe,
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have heard of your topic, it seems to have some highly contested points, and I think that will prove to be of tremendous help to you in creating a strong research paper: having a topic you can take a definitive stance on, like what is mentioned in the thesis packet, has definite potential. Your blog post seems to emphasize how ridiculous the "religion" is. Have you given much thought to researching a counter-argument? I don't know if you will find it useful, but perhaps bringing up a strong point from the view of scientologists and disproving that would lend more credence to your own beliefs. I don't actually know much about Scientology, so I look forward to finding out more! Good Luck!
Gabe,
ReplyDeleteUp until this point, I had no idea what your research paper topic was. Scientology is indeed something that I know is often joked about because the atypical views attributed with it and the celebrities who follow it. I wouldn't consider myself to be in any way informed about Scientology in general. I believe that those who don't practice it, or research it, remain unaware of the religion's main concepts. So no matter how you go about this paper I feel it will be informative to everyone.
Gabe,
ReplyDeleteI would suggest, as Tori does, to look at current Scientology. I feel it has gained popularity in recent years. Especially with the involvement of celebrities. I'm not sure exactly of the history of Scientology but I would suggest possibly looking at it as a fad and what causes it to be an attractive option.