Religion News: Scientology leaders on defensive against new book
Week in Religion
After CNN requested comment on several topics to be addressed in a story about "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood & the Prison of Belief" by Lawrence Wright, the network received several letters from the Church of Scientology and their legal representatives. Wright's book claims the church uses child labor, threatened to out John Travolta as a gay man and abuses members labeled as "suppressive." Wright and his publisher, Random House, also say they have been threatened with legal action by the Church of Scientology if the book is published.
In the letters of response, which are published in full on CNN's website, the church refutes all claims made by Wright in his book. They also say they are exploring their legal actions, as they feel Wright's book is libelous but have not filed any lawsuits and legal actions yet.
Visit http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/22/us/scientology-response/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 to see the letters sent to CNN, and to watch an interview with Lawrence Wright.
Survey Says
Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 are most likely to say their religious preference is no religion, a Jan. 10 Gallup poll found. When asked, 27 percent of people in that age range answered their religious preference was either none, they didn't know or refused to answer. Nineteen percent of respondents in the age 30-to-49 category answered similarly, as did 14 percent of those ages 50 to 64. People ages 65 and older were the most religious, with only 10 percent having no religious preference.
Good Book?
"Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief" by Lawrence Wright
Based on more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists — both famous and less well known — and years of archival research, Lawrence Wright uses his extraordinary investigative ability to uncover for us the inner workings of the Church of Scientology.
At the book’s center, two men whom Wright brings vividly to life, showing how they have made Scientology what it is today: The darkly brilliant science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, whose restless, expansive mind invented a new religion. And his successor, David Miscavige — tough and driven, with the unenviable task of preserving the church after the death of Hubbard.
In "Going Clear," Wright examines what fundamentally makes a religion a religion, and whether Scientology is, in fact, deserving of this constitutional protection. Employing all his exceptional journalistic skills of observation, understanding, and shaping a story into a compelling narrative, Lawrence Wright has given us an evenhanded yet keenly incisive book that reveals the very essence of what makes Scientology the institution it is.
-- Amazon.com
Quote of the Week
"True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness." - Albert Einstein
The Word
Dogma: In religions such as Christianity and Islam, dogmas are considered core principles that must be adhered to by followers. In Roman Catholicism it is a truth proclaimed by the church as being divinely revealed. Dogma must be based in Scripture or tradition; to deny it is heresy.
-- Religionstyles.com
Religion Around the World
Religious makeup of Australia, according to CIA World Factbook:
27.4 percent: Protestant
25.8 percent: Catholic
18.7 percent: None
11.3 percent: Unspecified
7.9 percent: Other Christian
2.7 percent: Eastern Orthodox
2.4 percent: Other
2.1 percent: Buddhist
1.7 percent: Muslim
GateHouse News Service