English Literature & Creative Writing
Pay to Pray: Tech, Immortality and Celebrity in America’s Most Secretive Cult
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Subject Area
English Literature & Creative Writing
Start Date
11-4-2014 1:00 PM
End Date
11-4-2014 2:30 PM
Sponsor
Joseph Colavito (Butler University)
Description
Cult or legitimate religion? America would like to know. Founded just less than sixty years ago, the Church of Scientology has been the subject of many a tabloid headline. In an age when most religions resolve to take the back seat in popular culture, Scientology shamelessly caters to the People Magazine crowd while simultaneously enjoying the spoils of a tax-exempt status. At its worst the Church of Scientology has been attacked as a vicious cult run by money hungry criminals. At its best a community of an enlightened few devoted to the globalization of knowledge. In the face of competing views, debate usually centers on an investigation of the facts; but despite the overwhelming high profile of the church and its members, there is very little hard evidence supporting either side's claim to Scientology. Following a lack of scholarly research and clarification by the church, it is necessary to analyze the organization for its rhetorical content. Under a rhetorical lens much of the mystery surrounding Scientology can be dispelled and the church can be assessed upon its artifacts and deliberate actions. In consideration of the preceding it is evident that the Church of Scientology is making strategic rhetorical choices in order to manipulate the spiritually vulnerable into joining their organization. Through the institution's prioritizing of celebrity, displays of opulent wealth and daring claims of truth in science the Church of Scientology sells the promise of status and enlightenment to its members at the cost of coin from their pockets. In this study I will explore the rhetorical implications of the actions (as well as the absence of actions) that the Church of Scientology takes in order to establish immortality in our changing popular culture.
Pay to Pray: Tech, Immortality and Celebrity in America’s Most Secretive Cult
Indianapolis, IN
Cult or legitimate religion? America would like to know. Founded just less than sixty years ago, the Church of Scientology has been the subject of many a tabloid headline. In an age when most religions resolve to take the back seat in popular culture, Scientology shamelessly caters to the People Magazine crowd while simultaneously enjoying the spoils of a tax-exempt status. At its worst the Church of Scientology has been attacked as a vicious cult run by money hungry criminals. At its best a community of an enlightened few devoted to the globalization of knowledge. In the face of competing views, debate usually centers on an investigation of the facts; but despite the overwhelming high profile of the church and its members, there is very little hard evidence supporting either side's claim to Scientology. Following a lack of scholarly research and clarification by the church, it is necessary to analyze the organization for its rhetorical content. Under a rhetorical lens much of the mystery surrounding Scientology can be dispelled and the church can be assessed upon its artifacts and deliberate actions. In consideration of the preceding it is evident that the Church of Scientology is making strategic rhetorical choices in order to manipulate the spiritually vulnerable into joining their organization. Through the institution's prioritizing of celebrity, displays of opulent wealth and daring claims of truth in science the Church of Scientology sells the promise of status and enlightenment to its members at the cost of coin from their pockets. In this study I will explore the rhetorical implications of the actions (as well as the absence of actions) that the Church of Scientology takes in order to establish immortality in our changing popular culture.