INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENTOLOGY (AND ANTOINISM)
Scientology in a scholarly perspective.
24-25 January 2014
Venue: Faculty for Comparative Studies of Religions (FVG) - Wilrijk (Antwerpen) Belgium
website: www.AntwerpFVG.org
Sponsor: The European Observatory of Religion and Laïcité (Secularism)https://www.observatoire-religion.com/
January 24. 2014
8h30-9h30 Welcome
9 h 30 - 9 h 45 : Pr Chris VonckDean of the Faculty for Comparative Studies of ReligionsWelcome speech.
9 h 45 - 10 h 15 : Eileen Barker. Keynote speaker
10h15 first session : The teachings of L. Ron Hubbard
Chair: Eileen Barker
10 h 30 - 11 h 00 : Marco Frenschkowski(Universität Leipzig)
- Images of religions and religious history in the works of L. Ron Hubbard.
11 h 00 - 11 h 30 : Mikael Rothstein(University of Southern Denmark, Vytautas Magnus University Kaunas)
- Space, Place and Mythology: The Physical Environment in Scientological Imaginations
11h30 - 11h45 Pause
11 h 45 - 12 h 15 : Régis Dericquebourg(University Charles De Gaulle-Lille3, CNRS-Paris)
- Scientology and Modern Theosophy. Similarities and differences.
13h00 - 14h00. Lunch
Second session : Sociological aspects of Scientology (1)
14 h 15 Chair : Bernadette Rigal-Cellard
14 h 15 - 14 h 45 : Keynote speaker. Gordon Melton(Baylor University)
- On doing research on Scientology : Prospects and Pitfalls
14 h 45 – 15 h 15 : Donald Westbrook(Claremont Graduate University)
- Invitation to Future Research on the Church of Scientology
15h15 - 16h00 Pause
16 h 00 - 16 h 30 : James Lewis
(University of Tromsø. Norway)
- The Dwindling Spiral: The Dror Center Schism, the Cook Letter and Scientology’s Legitimation Crisis.
16 h 30 - 17 h 00 : Kjersti Hellesøy
(University of Tromsø. Norway)
- « Messiah, prophet or religious entrepreneur: Hagiographies of L. Ron Hubbard. »
17h30 - 18h00 : Marco Ventura
(Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
- « Religion or not-religion? Turning the dilemma into an advantage ».
January 25. 2014
Third Session: Sociological aspects of Scientology (2)
Chair : James Lewis
9 h 00 - 9 h 30 Keynote Speech : Massimo Introvigne
(Cesnur, Torino. Italia)
- Does Scientology Believe in Brainswashing ? The strange Story of the “Brainwashing Manual of 1955
9 h 30 - 10 h 00 : Inga B. Tollefsen
(University of Tromsø. Norway)
- The Cult of Geeks
10 h 00 - 10 h 30 : Maté Toth. Nagy Gabor
(University of Szeged)
- Scientologists in Hungary and Germany. Survey data in comparison.
10h30 - 10h45 Pause
10 h 45 - 11 h 15 : Peter Åkerbäck
(Dalarna University, Sweden)
- Recently Reborn. To Come Back as Child to Scientology Parents.
11 h 15 - 11 h 45 : Liselotte Frisk
(Dalarna University, Sweden.)
- Applied Scholastics : The Educational Perspective Developed by L. Ron Hubbard.
11 h 45 - 12 h 15 : Don Jolly
( New York University). - Religious Privilege and Bricolage in Mark Ra- thbun’s Scientology Discourse.
12h15 - 12h30 Pause
12 h 30 - 13 h 00 : Guillaume Roucoux
(Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Group of Sociology of Religion and Secularism. Paris)
- From The “Org Board” to the “org”: Structural Changes, Staff Profiles and Careers.
13h00 - 14h00 Lunch
Fourth Session : The Church of Scientology and the Society
Chair: Chris Vonck
14 h 00 - 14 h 30 : Aled J. LI. Thomas
(MA; University of Wales: Trinity,Saint David)
- Outsider Perspectives of the Auditing Process within Scientology : An examination of the Influence of the Media
14 h 30 - 15 h 00 : Germana Carobene
(University of Napoli. Italia)
- Problems/ Issues on the Legal Status of the Church of Scientology.
15 h 00 - 15 h 30 : Susan Palmer
(McGill University in Montreal, Canada)
- Government Raids on the Church of Scientology in North America and Europe: Origins and Aftermaths
15h30 - 15h45 pause
15 h 45 – 16 h 15 : Aldo Terrin
(Pontificial Academy of Theology, St. Giustina, Padua. Italy)
- The affinity between Scientology and Gnostic religions.
Fifth session: The Antoinism, A Belgian Healing Church
Chair : Régis Dericquebourg
16 h 15 - 16 h 45 : Jan Keppler
Student at the Faculty of Comparative Studies of Religions. Antwerpen)
- Antoinism, a New Belgian Healing Religion
Conclusions and thankings
INFORMATION
Registration fees to be paid at the conference venue. Reservation : mail to regis.dericquebourg@univ-lille3.fr
50 euros
30 euros for students
Free for speakers and session chairs
Address : Bist 164
B-2610 Wilrijk-Antwerpen
Rectoraat (Ingang/Entrée via Sint-Bavostraat)
tel. +32 3 830 51 58
fax. +32 3 825 26 73
E-mail: info@antwerpfvg.org
website: www.AntwerpFVG.org