Saw this on the feeds earlier:

Cult Or Religion?
By Richard Zwolinski, LMHC, CASAC
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/therapy-s ... -religion/

[Richard Zwolinski, LMHC, CASAC is the author of Therapy Revolution: Find Help, Get Better, and Move On Without Wasting Time or Money

More about cults, soon…

*Update: I just received an email telling me that it wasn’t safe to identify particular cults. I decided to remove the name of any cults from these articles.

Scientology Religiosity? series outline updated w/ latest project status on Dec10. Major updates under Topical Index in Vols 1-5 for newly gathered materials & the more complex copyedits from recent external critique/feedback. Other minor additions made to Comparative Resources Catalog. Updated & New publications (Vols 1-4) coming soon!

Scientology Religiosity? series outline updated w/ latest project status on Nov28. Major updates under Master & Topical Indexes to incorporate new "levels" grouping of publications from external critique/feedback. Topical Index also refined for grouping consecutive policy together & updated for newly culled materials under Vols 1-10. Plus misc additions made to Doctrinal & Comparative catalogs for all of the above

Scientology Religiosity? series outline updated w/ latest project status on Nov23. Topical Index updated for Vols 3-6 and comparative Resources Catalog extended for newly culled materials for use in upcoming publications.

Scientology Religiosity? series outline updated w/ latest project status on Nov20. Topical Index updates for: Vol1 for 3rd ed. release, Vol3 for upcoming publication, and Vols 3&6 for misc. additions. Magazines, Doctrinal Sources & Comparative Resource Catalogs updated for latest dox gathered, and Publications Inventory section edited for latest Releases w/ new ETA publication dates.

The cult they belong to might be a pretend "religious" path recently invented by a charismatic leader such as Scientology. Or it might be a pretend, "religious" path recently invented by a charismatic leader that liberally borrows from and distorts an ...

The cult they belong to might be a pretend ”religious” path recently invented by a charismatic leader. Or it might be a pretend, “religious” path recently invented by a charismatic leader that liberally borrows from and distorts an .....

A.L. the Zwolinski article popped up on the google news feed under the scientology category.

WTF did he mean by "it wasn't safe to identify particular cults"?

[...]
Progressives are supposed to respect fundamentalists’ hyper-literal readings of scripture, even if they defy all logic. But then again we’re not required to respect New Religious Movements (“cults” to you and me), especially if they involve UFOs. Scientology and Mormonism (in some circles) are somewhere in between.
[...]

Scientology Religiosity? Research Volume I: Updated 4th edition (version v1.17Dec2011) released. Minor update from external critique feedback & cosmetic template revisions that added new content and re-organized existing materials better. New materials are now included under subsections 007, 008, & 021.

Scientology Religiosity? Research Volume II: Updated 2nd edition (version v2.17Dec2011) released. Minor update from external critique feedback & cosmetic template revisions that added new content and re-organized existing materials better. New materials are now included under subsections 008, 009, & 013.

It’s a good bet more Americans are able to name Santa’s nine reindeer than the Twelve Apostles.

The United States boasts the highest rate of religious affiliation of the world’s developed nations, yet many Americans are uniformed about the tenets, practices, history, and leading figures of major faith traditions – including their own – according to the Pew Forum’s 2010 “U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey.” On tests taken by American high school seniors, half identified Sodom and Gomorrah as a married couple.

To help people understand religions better, two William & Mary professors have written a new book, The Religion Toolkit: A Complete Guide to Religious Studies, published by Wiley-Blackwell. In it, authors John Morreall and Tamara Sonn explore the major and minor religions of the world, from Islam and Judaism to Scientology and Wicca. They also trace the history of the study of religion, and explain the difference between studying a religion academically and learning a religion as one of its members. The introductory text provides a road map for students new to the field of religious studies.

“There are lots of religion books that cover the world’s religions, and there are lots of other religion books that cover the field called ‘religious studies,’ ” said Morreall, professor and departmental chair of religious studies. “This is the first book that puts them together.”

[...continued in link...]

In their best-selling 1980s book on the tensions between community and individualism in America, Habits of the Heart, my Berkeley colleagues Robert Bellah and Ann Swidler, along with three other coauthors, described the version of religion that a woman whom they called Sheila had described to them. She believed in a faith of loving and being gentle with oneself; she labeled this theology “Sheilism” – “just my own little voice.” The authors of Habits saw her declaration as an expression of a growing tendency in America toward isolation and self-absorption raised here to an ethical principle. (The term “Sheilaism” is now so well-known it has its own Wikipedia entry.)


There were and are other signs of a make-your-own religious boom. Outside of the standard religious structures, we see the excavation of old, pagan traditions like Wicca and the construction of hybrid, New Age faiths and Eastern blends with practices such as yoga and Kabalistc mysticism. Inside standard religious structures, variants such as independent churches, new liturgies and rituals, and even re-defined theologies have emerged. Some religious leaders describe all this as “cafeteria-style” faith: take what you like and disregard the rest. (And there is a Wikipedia entry for “Cafeteria Christianity,” too.)

[...continued in link...]

Scientology Religiosity? series outline updated w/ latest project status on Jan12. Minor changes under the Topical Index in Vols 3, 4, 6 & 9 for additions, replacements, better organization and work in progress status indicators. Minor additions made to Doctrinal & Comparative catalogs for additional leaks & back-matter references recently culled for upcoming Vols 3 & 4 publications. Major update under Magazine Catalog for finishing & fixing the newly revamped Advanced Org Periodicals Index.

This volume of the Scientology Religiosity? series of research publications has been compiled as the third and final introductory module in a larger body of materials. These volumes are assembled for educational purposes with an aim for supporting additional review on basic points of comparison between Scientology principles of faith and the common beliefs of other major systems of beliefs.

The enclosed subject matter explores the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology into the topical realms of Scientology’s claims regarding their compatibility with Christian principles commonly found at the heart of pastoral responsibilities and bible study exercises. Featured highlights include the following aspects of this NRM system of beliefs:

• The manner in which Christians typically view Scientology's beliefs,
• What Scientology deems as basic ministerial duties,
• How Scientology structures its moral codes around Hubbard's teachings, and
• How Scientology justifies its compatibility with Christianity.
• The methods Scientology uses to apply Hubbard's "technology" for achieving greater spirituality,
• How Scientology interprets saintly devotion and religious miracles,
• What Scientology perceives as "truth" in their doctrines,
• How Scientology addresses problems resulting from practicing Christian beliefs, and
• The perspective Scientology adopts to explain the history of Christianity.

Section v3.01.001 provides a look at what major Christian media outlets have said about various well-known Scientology controversies in recent years. Sections v3.02.002 through v3.01.006 explores the mindset behind Scientology ministerial duties. In addition, section v3.01.005 in conjunction with sections v3.01.001-010 delves into their interpretation of popular Christian saints and their infamous contributions to the pursuit of religious spirituality.

Sections v3.02.011 through v3.01.015 includes supporting documentation for further reflection on the Church of Scientology’s long-standing and adamant claim of their beliefs being fully compatible with Christian beliefs.

Continuing on in a similar vein with the prior material, sections v3.02.016 through v3.01.019 provides a means for a further examination of Scientology’s view point on what Christians typically see as divine truths and the manifestations of God’s will. Then as an aside, sections v3.01.020 through v3.01.022 offers a comparison of Scientology’s interpretation of the more arcane Christian practices versus how their arcane concept of “spirit” (or “thetan”) is represented in the world around us.

The concluding sections starting with v3.01.023 solidifies the array of Christian-related concepts presented in this volume as seen through the eyes of Scientology adherents by showing how Hubbard’s adopted approach of demonizing upsets caused as result of Christianity’s influence on a person, and erasing those problems (or “engrams”) that essentially block one’s spiritual growth. This practice is seemingly far from the realm of being reconcilable with Christian beliefs let alone “compatible” as summarized in brief under section v3.01.024.