ABSTRACT

When the first churches of Scientology were established in 1953 and 1954, L. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986) had already set forward dozens of writings and lectures that now form the core of the canon of scripture for the new religion. In addition to drawing on his background as a writer, most famously of science fiction, Hubbard borrowed from other sources in the construction of Scientology and its mental health forerunner Dianetics; these include popular psychology and space opera theology as well as elements from the Western esoteric tradition (showcased, for instance, in his familiarity with the work of Aleister Crowley) (Urban 2012; Bogdan 2016; Melton 2000), as Scientology fashioned itself as paradoxically scientific and religious in orientation (Lewis 2015; Westbrook 2017). Academic researchers have begun to more seriously debate Scientology’s intellectual history, looking for instance to possible influences from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Theosophy, in addition to Western Esotericism and Gnosticism broadly construed (Terrin 2017; Dericquebourg 2017; Flinn 2009; Grünschloß 2009; Hammer 2004; Kent 1999; Trolin 1977; Whitehead 1987: 170–8).