William, In my opinion, you have come a long way since your last project. I think that your focus on what attracts people to scientology and why they join it is very interesting. After speaking with you again, it was clear that you know your topic well. Your sources, including books, newspapers, scholarly journals, and the internet, also indicate that you are well versed in the topic.
That being said, I think that you should try to get some more concrete data, particularly in terms of numerical statistics. You indicated that due to the secrecy of scientology, it can be difficult to find truly detailed stats regarding demographics, but I think you should attempt to dig a little deeper and pull out as much as possible. Also, how does all of your information connect? You should make sure to focus on making everything run together when you are completing your project.
I will agree with Seacy and say that your project has become much more focused and coherent since your first poster presentation. You have picked a very interesting topic that covers a wide range of issues and possible directions for your research. I think that you have done an excellent job by chosing to look at why people join scientology and why they remin members. In my opinion, the research and source that has most beneifted your project is the study you found which examined the effect of scientology on members' personalities. This study could provide many answers to your two main focus questions such as showing how the members began to follow the religion and what types of people join and remain with the religion. I also think that it would be beneficial to examine the reasons for certain followers abandoning the movement. As far as sources are concerned, I think that the overall credibility of your final paper and conclusions would increase if you used less internet sources and searched for books, scholarly journals, or interviews with followers or church officials. Overall, I think the new focus of your paper is outstanding and you are working hard on your project.
I thought that your topic was very interesting. Your focus seems to be on whether or not scientology is a cult or a religion. Your research in which you found that that in most nations, scientology is taxed as a religion, seems to be a good argument for it being a religion. I personally think its a cult. You seem to be quite knowledgeable about the entire topic. You explained well the origins of scientology, as well as how it has progressed as a movement and gained popularity. Good job on having a well rounded bunch of sources. I think your final product will turn out well. You seem to have a good plan for tying it all together.
The refinement of your topic from the Religion or Cult issue to Why join is a good move in terms of ability to research and be unbiased. The fact that it is recognized by many countries as a religion and qualifies for tax credits is an interesting point as well. The organized life audits that take place to help members get their life on track and together seem to be very effective. This especially seems true as there are statistics that show that overall Scientologists have better outlooks on life and are more organized. Although this could be from just a form of psychological counseling versus any real divine intervention, one could still argue that as long as their lives are better than scientology isn't so bad. Its good how you noticed that your info is more than likely very skewed because of the availability of your information and where you have to get it from. Overall, I definitely think you're going in the right direction and have a concrete idea of what you're arguing.
Keesler, I think your question of why people join scientology still comes back to the original question of whether it is a cult or religion. I think by assessing why people join in the first place and why many have left can help you to shed light on the argument over it being a cult-like, mind-controlling organization, versus it being a legitament religion with sound intentions and teachings. I think you can work with the different reasons why people have left the organization and why many remain active members to argue for either side. In all, the cult vs religion question is much more argumentative and debatable than simple "Why do people join?" I think that overall, the reasons people join give can be used to answer a greater question about the institution.
Very interesting topic. It is clear you have done an abundant amount of research. I liked how you outlined the positives and negatives of Scientology. However, I think you may need more concrete data to support your assertions. Although it seems you do have a good case study where you derive some stats, you probably need more for the other areas you talk about. Maybe in your intro, you could also list some celebrities who are followers of Scientology to familiarize your audience. I also think it will be hard to come to a conclusion as to whether Scientology is something that people should or already do follow, as this is very opinionated without proper statistical data. Great job so far.
7 comments:
William,
In my opinion, you have come a long way since your last project. I think that your focus on what attracts people to scientology and why they join it is very interesting. After speaking with you again, it was clear that you know your topic well. Your sources, including books, newspapers, scholarly journals, and the internet, also indicate that you are well versed in the topic.
That being said, I think that you should try to get some more concrete data, particularly in terms of numerical statistics. You indicated that due to the secrecy of scientology, it can be difficult to find truly detailed stats regarding demographics, but I think you should attempt to dig a little deeper and pull out as much as possible. Also, how does all of your information connect? You should make sure to focus on making everything run together when you are completing your project.
William Presnell Keesler,
I will agree with Seacy and say that your project has become much more focused and coherent since your first poster presentation. You have picked a very interesting topic that covers a wide range of issues and possible directions for your research. I think that you have done an excellent job by chosing to look at why people join scientology and why they remin members. In my opinion, the research and source that has most beneifted your project is the study you found which examined the effect of scientology on members' personalities. This study could provide many answers to your two main focus questions such as showing how the members began to follow the religion and what types of people join and remain with the religion. I also think that it would be beneficial to examine the reasons for certain followers abandoning the movement. As far as sources are concerned, I think that the overall credibility of your final paper and conclusions would increase if you used less internet sources and searched for books, scholarly journals, or interviews with followers or church officials. Overall, I think the new focus of your paper is outstanding and you are working hard on your project.
I thought that your topic was very interesting. Your focus seems to be on whether or not scientology is a cult or a religion. Your research in which you found that that in most nations, scientology is taxed as a religion, seems to be a good argument for it being a religion. I personally think its a cult. You seem to be quite knowledgeable about the entire topic. You explained well the origins of scientology, as well as how it has progressed as a movement and gained popularity. Good job on having a well rounded bunch of sources. I think your final product will turn out well. You seem to have a good plan for tying it all together.
The refinement of your topic from the Religion or Cult issue to Why join is a good move in terms of ability to research and be unbiased. The fact that it is recognized by many countries as a religion and qualifies for tax credits is an interesting point as well. The organized life audits that take place to help members get their life on track and together seem to be very effective. This especially seems true as there are statistics that show that overall Scientologists have better outlooks on life and are more organized. Although this could be from just a form of psychological counseling versus any real divine intervention, one could still argue that as long as their lives are better than scientology isn't so bad. Its good how you noticed that your info is more than likely very skewed because of the availability of your information and where you have to get it from. Overall, I definitely think you're going in the right direction and have a concrete idea of what you're arguing.
Keesler,
I think your question of why people join scientology still comes back to the original question of whether it is a cult or religion. I think by assessing why people join in the first place and why many have left can help you to shed light on the argument over it being a cult-like, mind-controlling organization, versus it being a legitament religion with sound intentions and teachings. I think you can work with the different reasons why people have left the organization and why many remain active members to argue for either side. In all, the cult vs religion question is much more argumentative and debatable than simple "Why do people join?" I think that overall, the reasons people join give can be used to answer a greater question about the institution.
Very interesting topic. It is clear you have done an abundant amount of research. I liked how you outlined the positives and negatives of Scientology. However, I think you may need more concrete data to support your assertions. Although it seems you do have a good case study where you derive some stats, you probably need more for the other areas you talk about. Maybe in your intro, you could also list some celebrities who are followers of Scientology to familiarize your audience. I also think it will be hard to come to a conclusion as to whether Scientology is something that people should or already do follow, as this is very opinionated without proper statistical data. Great job so far.
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