chuckbeatty
Patron with Honors
http://www.religiousstudiesproject....on-the-need-of-new-quantitative-data-on-nrms/
Over the years, for whatever reason, if you wished to stay up on a new religion scholar, and what is on their mind, and what they research, this interview of Jim Lewis gives you the insider view as to what a Jim Lewis is interested in.
Scientology is a new religion, and people like Lewis and his new religion studying colleagues do an outer layer study of these new religions, and of the people who get involved in new religions.
Obviously, what I've now learned, is that people who've been observers and participants of the chat sites on Scientology, are far more expert in all sorts of details relating to Scientology, compared to these scholars who look at the outer layers and at the factors they are interested in.
The chat site participants, often have read at least, the ex member books, like all of the ex Scientology member books out in recent years, this list are likely not read and not even something the new religions scholars would even be interested in this degree of insider detail.
One thing I got from this Lewis interview, is the fact that the surveys Jim tries to get done, do have value, even if not completely satisfying to us ex members of Scientology, who are way more expert in all of the inside the movement trends and fads and un-reported still important details, that new religion scholars don't choose to become interested in.
Anyways, this interview is a good raw data interview to see what a new religion sholar like Lewis, is interested in.
The very end of the interview, he compares US new religion scholarship to EU scholarship and interest, which means to me, that EU Scientologists and ex Scientologists will find a more interested and informed group of scholars, overall, in EU countries.
Lewis names names of some EU scholars, who ex Scientologists might profit to contact and assist.
I think "we" ought do a lot more in helping scholars get their surveys done.
Over the years, for whatever reason, if you wished to stay up on a new religion scholar, and what is on their mind, and what they research, this interview of Jim Lewis gives you the insider view as to what a Jim Lewis is interested in.
Scientology is a new religion, and people like Lewis and his new religion studying colleagues do an outer layer study of these new religions, and of the people who get involved in new religions.
Obviously, what I've now learned, is that people who've been observers and participants of the chat sites on Scientology, are far more expert in all sorts of details relating to Scientology, compared to these scholars who look at the outer layers and at the factors they are interested in.
The chat site participants, often have read at least, the ex member books, like all of the ex Scientology member books out in recent years, this list are likely not read and not even something the new religions scholars would even be interested in this degree of insider detail.
One thing I got from this Lewis interview, is the fact that the surveys Jim tries to get done, do have value, even if not completely satisfying to us ex members of Scientology, who are way more expert in all of the inside the movement trends and fads and un-reported still important details, that new religion scholars don't choose to become interested in.
Anyways, this interview is a good raw data interview to see what a new religion sholar like Lewis, is interested in.
The very end of the interview, he compares US new religion scholarship to EU scholarship and interest, which means to me, that EU Scientologists and ex Scientologists will find a more interested and informed group of scholars, overall, in EU countries.
Lewis names names of some EU scholars, who ex Scientologists might profit to contact and assist.
I think "we" ought do a lot more in helping scholars get their surveys done.