Scientology is one of the wealthiest and most powerful new religions to emerge in the past century. To its detractors; L. Ron Hubbard's space-age mysticism is a moneymaking scam and sinister brainwashing cult. But to its adherents; it is humanity's brightest hope. Few religious movements have been subject to public scrutiny like Scientology; yet much of what is written about the church is sensationalist and inaccurate. Here for the first time is the story of Scientology's protracted and turbulent journey to recognition as a religion in the postwar American landscape. Hugh Urban tells the real story of Scientology from its cold war-era beginnings in the 1950s to its prominence today as the religion of Hollywood's celebrity elite. Urban paints a vivid portrait of Hubbard; the enigmatic founder who once commanded his own private fleet and an intelligence apparatus rivaling that of the U.S. government. One FBI agent described him as "a mental case;" but to his followers he is the man who "solved the riddle of the human mind." Urban details Scientology's decades-long war with the IRS; which ended with the church winning tax-exempt status as a religion; the rancorous cult wars of the 1970s and 1980s; as well as the latest challenges confronting Scientology; from attacks by the Internet group Anonymous to the church's efforts to suppress the online dissemination of its esoteric teachings. The Church of Scientology demonstrates how Scientology has reflected the broader anxieties and obsessions of postwar America; and raises profound questions about how religion is defined and who gets to define it.
#381364 in Books Margot Canaday 2011-07-25Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.10 x .80 x 6.10l; .95 #File Name: 0691149933296 pagesThe Straight State Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth Century America
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Pink Gingerinteresting ideas...0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An Excellent Work for Recovering Pre-WWII Gay HistoryBy RDDIn "The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America"; Margot Canaday works to dispel the notion that “the extreme state repression of sex and gender noncomformity in the mid-twentieth century was a result of the sudden visibility of gays and lesbians during and after World War II†(pg. 2). Her scope; then; focuses on how the government defined homosexuality beginning in World War I; through the Depression; and finally during and after the Second World War with the advent of the G.I. Bill. While military and governmental personnel did their part in defining homosexuality prior to World War II; the G.I. Bill; more than any other piece of legislation; tied the gender roles associated with heterosexuality to the concept of proper citizenship. This bill serves as the focal point of Canaday’s argument.Canaday begins her chapter on the G.I. Bill arguing; “The suggestive and symbolic removal of the sexually deviant from federal relief…has morphed into the actual removal of homosexuals from programs for veterans’ benefits†(pg. 139). The social stigma associated with receiving an undesirable; or “blue;†discharge prevented many veterans from using the advantages offered through the G.I. Bill and thus gaining the ideal rewards of American citizenship (pg. 145). Though the military initially used the blue discharge for a number of offenses; including drunkenness; the discharge soon transformed into a code for those dismissed due to homosexual acts or tendencies. Further; while the language of the G.I. Bill only prohibits those dishonorably discharged from taking advantage of its benefits; the Veterans’ Administration took the responsibility for determining which blue discharges were acceptable for benefits. The Veterans Administration; in explicitly linking homosexuality with undesirability; condemned American veterans who; despite serving their country; belonged to a different gender than those in power.In denying benefits to those discharged for homosexuality; the Veterans Administration created a group of second-class citizens to whom the benefits of a college education or a home loan were not available. The 1957 Doyle Bill; intended to offer relief to those given blue discharges for behaviors other than homosexuality; further reinforced gender lines. Doyle’s rehabilitation program identified those who had married; started families; and sought employment as most likely to deserve rehabilitation. All of these traits fit in with traditional ideas of manhood. Tellingly; one congressman described a veteran deserving of this program as having “assumed the position of a man†(pg. 166). The use of binary language indicates that the other choice was the position of a woman; which would equate the veteran with a homosexual in the eyes of the government. Canaday summarizes this program; “In continuing the World War II-era practice of using the undesirable discharge for soldiers discharged for homosexuality; the military increased the association between undesirability and homosexuality†(pg. 167). The entire program served as a self-perpetuating system for ensuring only those that met strict heterosexual gender standards received rewards and full citizenship from the government.Canaday’s book demonstrates that the government defined homosexuality more than homosexuals themselves. Concepts of manhood played a significant part; but the desire to prosecute or deny benefits; especially in the case of the G.I. Bill; dominated the discourse surrounding homosexuality. This discourse of punishment explains why homosexuality continues to suffer from a social stigma in the United States to this day.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. An Important BookBy courtandconstitutionMargot Canaday's Straight State is an eye-opening and occasionally entertaining account of the ways in which the national government helped to construct modern understandings of homosexuality and heterosexuality throughout the twentieth century. Canaday begins with harrowing tales of medical inspection predicated on bogus scientific theories linking homosexuality; physical deformity and dependence on state aid. She then goes on to detail the ways in which the military culture during and between two World Wars first challenged dominant conceptions of "gender inversion" and then consolidated alternative theories of sexuality predicated on desire. Finally; in the most engaging sections of her work; she shows how the post-war military complex and immigration law helped to shape public conceptions of lesbianism and the connections between sexuality and citizenship respectively. At times Canaday's style of writing and analysis can be a little on the "dry" side; but she approaches an important and previously understudied aspect of sexual and legal history with great skill and erudition.
