The Road to Total Freedom
Encyclopedia
The Road to Total Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of Scientology is a non-fiction
book about Scientology
by sociologist Roy Wallis
. Originally published in 1976 by Heinemann, it was republished in 1977 by Columbia University Press
. The original manuscript was the product of Wallis's doctoral research at Oxford under the tutelage of Bryan Wilson. Wallis, after a review of the original manuscript by Scientology leaders, made edits to about 100 passages before publication.
In the book, Wallis first analyzes the degree to which the Church of Scientology
views itself as legitimate, as well as to what degree external society regarded the organization as "respectable" or "deviant". Furthermore, he provides a contextual history of the organization, including a discussion of the Dianetics
movement founded by L. Ron Hubbard
. Next, Wallis discusses the appeal of the Scientology practice of Auditing
, and compares this to abreaction therapy. And finally, he examines how Scientology shifted from a cult
to a sect
in structure, and analyzes the authoritarian nature of the management of the organization.
While Wallis was researching the book, the Guardian's Office, Scientology's intelligence agency, investigated him. They assigned an individual as an undercover agent who pretended to be a student at Stirling University, where he was teaching. The agent inquired if Wallis was involved with illegal drugs. Wallis later discovered forged letters purportedly sent by him and designed to implicate him in controversial acts. Wallis assumed this was a reaction by the Guardian's Office to The Road to Total Freedom.
The Road to Total Freedom received generally positive reception in book reviews and media coverage. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Society acknowledged Wallis "displayed characteristic skill" in bringing a large amount of information together in an analysis of Scientology. Similarly, Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries described the author's research as "substantively important", and Library Journal
called it "a sociological analysis for the serious student, with all the appropriate scholarly apparatus".
. The author's research into new religious movement
s began in the 1970s with study of the Church of Scientology
. He had performed research on the subject of Scientology for his doctoral thesis; this was later printed as The Road to Total Freedom in 1976. Wallis' study of Scientology also led to an article by Wallis in the Sociological Yearbook of Religion in Britain.
The research began with an attempt at participant observation
: Wallis enrolled at a "Communications Course" in Scientology's facility at Saint Hill Manor
, but left after two days because he was not willing to lie about his reaction to the course content. To collect further data, Wallis circulated a survey by post and reviewed Scientology's extensive published material. He also interviewed current and former members, including Helen Parsons Smith, a former sister-in-law of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard
.
After Wallis had finished the initial manuscript for The Road to Total Freedom, he provided representatives of Scientology leadership with a copy. Wallis negotiated with the Scientology leaders, and it was agreed upon that certain sections of the book would be edited. In total, approximately 100 sections of the book were edited due to input from Scientology leaders. This fact was not made public at the time of the book's publication.
for two reasons: the level with which the organization viewed itself as a sincere structure, and the degree to which the external society saw Scientology as "respectable" as oppposed to "deviant" in nature.
The Road to Total Freedom begins with a history of Scientology, then explores it within a context of a belief system, organizational structure, and form of social control. Wallis then describes how Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard
"asserted the originality of the entire theory and practice and acknowledges having been influenced only in a most general way by other writers". He next compares the Scientology practice of Auditing
to that of abreaction therapy – a process where repressed memories are unearthred, usually through hypnosis
, to aid improving the mental well-being of a patient.
The author goes on to explain how individuals were attracted to Dianetics
, the precursor to Scientology. Wallis notes, "[Dianetics] offered a rationale for failure in social mobility and in social interaction. It provided an explanation in terms of traumatic incidents in which the individual had been unwittingly involved, and thereby relieved him of responsibility for his failure." Scientologists who participated in a questionnaire for Wallis' research identified areas of their life that they hoped Scientology would improve, including: loneliness, financial difficulties, marital issues, other interpersonal relationships, psychological problems, and physical illness. Wallis describes Hubbard's thought process to turn his methodology of Dianetics into a religion, noting, "Hubbard's theory and techniques had been moving increasingly in this direction". Wallis notes how Scientology became a focus for those previously involved in the Dianetics movement. Wallis points out that Hubbard instructed members of Scientology not to immediately tell new followers about methodologies that might be less familiar to some, such as belief in the existence of prior lives.
Wallis then continues his argument regarding the transitional period the organization underwent, and describes how Scientology has transformed from a cult
to a sect
, and explains patterns of membership and leaving the group. He delves into the structure of authoritarian managerial control of the organization, which is seen to have developed as a result of perceived problems in society. He characterizes the "Org" management system in Scientology as "an elaborate and imposing bureaucratic structure". Wallis describes a process referred to as "deviance amplification", and analyzes how individuals maintain perceptions of reality within a deviant belief system. He notes that individual believers in Scientology methodologies are kept within the organization by management techniques which shield members from external society. Wallis posits that exposure of members of the Church of Scientology to a reality external to the organization presents "a major challenge to the legitimacy or validity of their definition of reality".
Unusually for a sociological study, the book features a rebuttal from a believing member of the organisation; a fellow sociologist called J. L. Simmons. He criticises many of Wallis' procedures and conclusions, saying that these alleged erros are "indicative of either a decline in scholastic method or are deliberate and malicious." Simmons invites the reader to compare The Road to Total Freedom against Hubbard's Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
, asking which is more "alive and hopeful and scientifically objective".
that while Wallis was researching the book, individuals from the Scientology intelligence agency
called the Guardian's Office investigated the author. Alan E. Aldridge notes in his book Religion in the Contemporary World: A Sociological Introduction, "Roy Wallis gave graphic accounts of attempts by members of the Church of Scientology to discredit him personally and professionally, and to subvert or suppress his research findings."
An undercover agent for Scientology went to Stirling University, where Wallis was a teacher. The individual pretended to be a student, and asked Wallis if he was involved with illegal drugs. Wallis recognized the individual from the Scientology facility Saint Hill Manor, and the agent switched his cover and then asserted that he was actually a defector from Scientology. In a 1977 article in Doing Sociological Research titled "The Moral Career of a Research Project", Wallis details what occurred after this incident, "In the weeks following his visit a number of forged letters came to light, some of which were supposedly written by me. These letters sent to my university employers, colleagues and others, implicated me in a variety of acts from a homosexual love affair to spying for the drug squad. Because I had few enemies and because this attention followed so closely upon the receipt of my paper by the Church of Scientology organization, it did not seem too difficult to infer the source of these attempts to inconvenience me." According to Lamont, as of the publication of Religion Inc. in 1986, "the book is now accepted by the Public Affairs office of the Church of Scientology as reasonable and fair", and he was provided a copy of the book from the organization itself.
described The Road to Total Freedom as "A thorough study of the early development and organization of Scientology". The Encyclopedia of Religion and Society noted that Wallis "displayed characteristic skill in assimilating and simplifying a large amount of diverse material into a parsimonious reworking of the classic church-sect typology". Writing in The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival and Cult Formation, authors Rodney Stark
and William Sims Bainbridge
characterized the book as "the first major scholarly study of Scientology".
A review in Religious studies
describes the book as "a convenient and in many respects convincing account of the history of Scientology." However, it comments that Wallis "does not really succeed in the formidable task of giving the reader a rounded picture of what it is like to be a believing member of the Org[anisation]. His analysis, like its subject matter, is rather mechanical and follows a particular pattern." The review observes that Wallis did not explore the parallels between Dianetics and B. F. Skinner
's psychological theories, nor between the screening processes used in Scientology and in Communist China
. It recommends that the book would have been more interesting if it had compared its subject with initiation rites
, including those of Freemasonry
. It dismisses as "facile" the book's background material on seculariation and religious schisms.
Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries noted of the book's research, "The study is substantively important and theoretically grounded". The review noted the book had a "good bibliography", and concluded that the book be "recommended for academic libraries." Library Journal
compared the book to Scientology by author George Malko, but commented that The Road to Total Freedom is "a much more scholarly, documented work". Library Journal concluded, "The record – often a chilling one – speaks for itself. Not a polemic nor a popular treatment, this is a sociological analysis for the serious student, with all the appropriate scholarly apparatus."
A review in The Times Literary Supplement
commented, "this is a most informative, candid and valuable book". Writing in Quill, published by the Society of Professional Journalists
, Robert Vaughn Young commented, "Perhaps because this is a sociological study of Scientology, this is a cold, calm, academic dissection of the subject and Hubbard." The California Court of Appeal cited the book as a reference in a decision relating to a criminal defendant who was a member of Scientology. When Wallis died in 1990, his obituary in The Independent
noted that The Road to Total Freedom "still stands as a classic of good field research".
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
book about Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
by sociologist Roy Wallis
Roy Wallis
Roy Wallis, was a sociologist and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the Queen's University Belfast. He is mostly known for his creation of the seven signs that differentiate a religious congregation from a sectarian church, which he created while researching the Scientology...
. Originally published in 1976 by Heinemann, it was republished in 1977 by Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, history, social work, sociology,...
. The original manuscript was the product of Wallis's doctoral research at Oxford under the tutelage of Bryan Wilson. Wallis, after a review of the original manuscript by Scientology leaders, made edits to about 100 passages before publication.
In the book, Wallis first analyzes the degree to which the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
views itself as legitimate, as well as to what degree external society regarded the organization as "respectable" or "deviant". Furthermore, he provides a contextual history of the organization, including a discussion of the Dianetics
Dianetics
Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that was invented by the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is practiced by followers of Scientology...
movement founded by L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
. Next, Wallis discusses the appeal of the Scientology practice of Auditing
Auditing (Scientology)
Auditing was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, and is described by the Church of Scientology as "spiritual counseling which is the central practice of Dianetics and Scientology".-Description:...
, and compares this to abreaction therapy. And finally, he examines how Scientology shifted from a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
to a sect
Sect
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...
in structure, and analyzes the authoritarian nature of the management of the organization.
While Wallis was researching the book, the Guardian's Office, Scientology's intelligence agency, investigated him. They assigned an individual as an undercover agent who pretended to be a student at Stirling University, where he was teaching. The agent inquired if Wallis was involved with illegal drugs. Wallis later discovered forged letters purportedly sent by him and designed to implicate him in controversial acts. Wallis assumed this was a reaction by the Guardian's Office to The Road to Total Freedom.
The Road to Total Freedom received generally positive reception in book reviews and media coverage. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Society acknowledged Wallis "displayed characteristic skill" in bringing a large amount of information together in an analysis of Scientology. Similarly, Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries described the author's research as "substantively important", and Library Journal
Library Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
called it "a sociological analysis for the serious student, with all the appropriate scholarly apparatus".
Research
Wallis completed his doctoral studies under Bryan Wilson at the University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. The author's research into new religious movement
New religious movement
A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...
s began in the 1970s with study of the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
. He had performed research on the subject of Scientology for his doctoral thesis; this was later printed as The Road to Total Freedom in 1976. Wallis' study of Scientology also led to an article by Wallis in the Sociological Yearbook of Religion in Britain.
The research began with an attempt at participant observation
Participant observation
Participant observation is a type of research strategy. It is a widely used methodology in many disciplines, particularly, cultural anthropology, but also sociology, communication studies, and social psychology...
: Wallis enrolled at a "Communications Course" in Scientology's facility at Saint Hill Manor
Saint Hill Manor
Saint Hill Manor is a country house at Saint Hill Green, Mid Sussex, near East Grinstead, West Sussex, England that serves as the location of the head office for the Church of Scientology in the United Kingdom.-Early history:...
, but left after two days because he was not willing to lie about his reaction to the course content. To collect further data, Wallis circulated a survey by post and reviewed Scientology's extensive published material. He also interviewed current and former members, including Helen Parsons Smith, a former sister-in-law of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
.
After Wallis had finished the initial manuscript for The Road to Total Freedom, he provided representatives of Scientology leadership with a copy. Wallis negotiated with the Scientology leaders, and it was agreed upon that certain sections of the book would be edited. In total, approximately 100 sections of the book were edited due to input from Scientology leaders. This fact was not made public at the time of the book's publication.
Content
In the book, Wallis brings together a significant amount of information and presents an analysis of the church-sect structure which simultaneously exhibited a denomination-cult pattern. The book presents a critical analysis of Scientology. Wallis introduces an argument that individuals were intrigued by the Church of ScientologyChurch of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
for two reasons: the level with which the organization viewed itself as a sincere structure, and the degree to which the external society saw Scientology as "respectable" as oppposed to "deviant" in nature.
The Road to Total Freedom begins with a history of Scientology, then explores it within a context of a belief system, organizational structure, and form of social control. Wallis then describes how Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
"asserted the originality of the entire theory and practice and acknowledges having been influenced only in a most general way by other writers". He next compares the Scientology practice of Auditing
Auditing (Scientology)
Auditing was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, and is described by the Church of Scientology as "spiritual counseling which is the central practice of Dianetics and Scientology".-Description:...
to that of abreaction therapy – a process where repressed memories are unearthred, usually through hypnosis
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
, to aid improving the mental well-being of a patient.
The author goes on to explain how individuals were attracted to Dianetics
Dianetics
Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that was invented by the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is practiced by followers of Scientology...
, the precursor to Scientology. Wallis notes, "[Dianetics] offered a rationale for failure in social mobility and in social interaction. It provided an explanation in terms of traumatic incidents in which the individual had been unwittingly involved, and thereby relieved him of responsibility for his failure." Scientologists who participated in a questionnaire for Wallis' research identified areas of their life that they hoped Scientology would improve, including: loneliness, financial difficulties, marital issues, other interpersonal relationships, psychological problems, and physical illness. Wallis describes Hubbard's thought process to turn his methodology of Dianetics into a religion, noting, "Hubbard's theory and techniques had been moving increasingly in this direction". Wallis notes how Scientology became a focus for those previously involved in the Dianetics movement. Wallis points out that Hubbard instructed members of Scientology not to immediately tell new followers about methodologies that might be less familiar to some, such as belief in the existence of prior lives.
Wallis then continues his argument regarding the transitional period the organization underwent, and describes how Scientology has transformed from a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
to a sect
Sect
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...
, and explains patterns of membership and leaving the group. He delves into the structure of authoritarian managerial control of the organization, which is seen to have developed as a result of perceived problems in society. He characterizes the "Org" management system in Scientology as "an elaborate and imposing bureaucratic structure". Wallis describes a process referred to as "deviance amplification", and analyzes how individuals maintain perceptions of reality within a deviant belief system. He notes that individual believers in Scientology methodologies are kept within the organization by management techniques which shield members from external society. Wallis posits that exposure of members of the Church of Scientology to a reality external to the organization presents "a major challenge to the legitimacy or validity of their definition of reality".
Unusually for a sociological study, the book features a rebuttal from a believing member of the organisation; a fellow sociologist called J. L. Simmons. He criticises many of Wallis' procedures and conclusions, saying that these alleged erros are "indicative of either a decline in scholastic method or are deliberate and malicious." Simmons invites the reader to compare The Road to Total Freedom against Hubbard's Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is a book by L. Ron Hubbard which sets out self-improvement techniques he developed, called Dianetics. The book is also one of the canonical texts of Scientology. It is colloquially referred to as Book One...
, asking which is more "alive and hopeful and scientifically objective".
Scientology's response
Author Stewart Lamont writes in Religion Inc.Religion Inc.
Religion Inc. The Church of Scientology is a non-fiction book about Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard, written by Stewart Lamont. The book was published in hardcover edition by Harrap, in 1986.-Cited by other works:...
that while Wallis was researching the book, individuals from the Scientology intelligence agency
Intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
called the Guardian's Office investigated the author. Alan E. Aldridge notes in his book Religion in the Contemporary World: A Sociological Introduction, "Roy Wallis gave graphic accounts of attempts by members of the Church of Scientology to discredit him personally and professionally, and to subvert or suppress his research findings."
An undercover agent for Scientology went to Stirling University, where Wallis was a teacher. The individual pretended to be a student, and asked Wallis if he was involved with illegal drugs. Wallis recognized the individual from the Scientology facility Saint Hill Manor, and the agent switched his cover and then asserted that he was actually a defector from Scientology. In a 1977 article in Doing Sociological Research titled "The Moral Career of a Research Project", Wallis details what occurred after this incident, "In the weeks following his visit a number of forged letters came to light, some of which were supposedly written by me. These letters sent to my university employers, colleagues and others, implicated me in a variety of acts from a homosexual love affair to spying for the drug squad. Because I had few enemies and because this attention followed so closely upon the receipt of my paper by the Church of Scientology organization, it did not seem too difficult to infer the source of these attempts to inconvenience me." According to Lamont, as of the publication of Religion Inc. in 1986, "the book is now accepted by the Public Affairs office of the Church of Scientology as reasonable and fair", and he was provided a copy of the book from the organization itself.
Reception
In his book The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism: Sects and New Religious Movements in Contemporary Society, Wallis' former mentor Bryan R. WilsonBryan R. Wilson
Bryan Ronald Wilson, , was Reader Emeritus in Sociology at the University of Oxford and President of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion 1971-75.-Academic life:...
described The Road to Total Freedom as "A thorough study of the early development and organization of Scientology". The Encyclopedia of Religion and Society noted that Wallis "displayed characteristic skill in assimilating and simplifying a large amount of diverse material into a parsimonious reworking of the classic church-sect typology". Writing in The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival and Cult Formation, authors Rodney Stark
Rodney Stark
Rodney Stark is an American sociologist of religion. He grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota in a Lutheran family. He spent time in the U.S. Army and worked as a journalist before pursuing graduate studies at The University of California, Berkeley...
and William Sims Bainbridge
William Sims Bainbridge
William Sims Bainbridge is an American sociologist who currently resides in Virginia. He is co-director of Human-Centered Computing at the National Science Foundation and also teaches sociology as a part-time professor at George Mason University. He is the first Senior Fellow to be appointed by...
characterized the book as "the first major scholarly study of Scientology".
A review in Religious studies
Religious Studies (journal)
Religious Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press. It addresses problems of the philosophy of religion in the context of a variety of religious traditions...
describes the book as "a convenient and in many respects convincing account of the history of Scientology." However, it comments that Wallis "does not really succeed in the formidable task of giving the reader a rounded picture of what it is like to be a believing member of the Org[anisation]. His analysis, like its subject matter, is rather mechanical and follows a particular pattern." The review observes that Wallis did not explore the parallels between Dianetics and B. F. Skinner
B. F. Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an American behaviorist, author, inventor, baseball enthusiast, social philosopher and poet...
's psychological theories, nor between the screening processes used in Scientology and in Communist China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. It recommends that the book would have been more interesting if it had compared its subject with initiation rites
Rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....
, including those of Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. It dismisses as "facile" the book's background material on seculariation and religious schisms.
Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries noted of the book's research, "The study is substantively important and theoretically grounded". The review noted the book had a "good bibliography", and concluded that the book be "recommended for academic libraries." Library Journal
Library Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
compared the book to Scientology by author George Malko, but commented that The Road to Total Freedom is "a much more scholarly, documented work". Library Journal concluded, "The record – often a chilling one – speaks for itself. Not a polemic nor a popular treatment, this is a sociological analysis for the serious student, with all the appropriate scholarly apparatus."
A review in The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
commented, "this is a most informative, candid and valuable book". Writing in Quill, published by the Society of Professional Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
, Robert Vaughn Young commented, "Perhaps because this is a sociological study of Scientology, this is a cold, calm, academic dissection of the subject and Hubbard." The California Court of Appeal cited the book as a reference in a decision relating to a criminal defendant who was a member of Scientology. When Wallis died in 1990, his obituary in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
noted that The Road to Total Freedom "still stands as a classic of good field research".
See also
- 1970s in sociology1970s in sociology-1970:*Robert Adrey's Social Contract is published.*Jean Baudrillard's The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures is published.*Thomas R. Dye's and L...
- A Piece of Blue SkyA Piece of Blue SkyA Piece of Blue Sky: Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard Exposed, published in 1990, is an examination from a critical perspective by former British Scientologist Jon Atack of the history of L. Ron Hubbard and the development of Dianetics and the Church of Scientology...
- Bare-faced MessiahBare-faced MessiahBare-faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard is a posthumous biography of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard by British journalist Russell Miller. First published in 1987, the book takes a critical perspective, challenging the official account of Hubbard's life and work promoted by the...
- Scientology and the legal systemScientology and the legal systemThe Church of Scientology has been involved in court disputes in several countries. In some cases, when the Church has initiated the dispute, question has been raised as to its motives. The Church says that its use of the legal system is necessary to protect its intellectual property and its right...
- Scientology controversies
External links
- Dr. Roy Wallis, sociologist and author, compiled archived news articles