Ryan, Debi, and Toren Cragun's Blog

I don’t typically mention my publications on this blog, but this is one about which I am particularly proud.  I think it is a significant contribution not only to the study of Mormonism but also to theory in the Sociology of Religion as well.  I’m also proud of it because of the amount of time that went into it.  I’m guessing that this article took me close to 1,000 hours to produce (that’s about 41 days).  It started as a class project in graduate school, probably around 2003 or 2004.  It then turned into a series of conference presentations, was submitted to three different journals, all of which rejected it but provided useful feedback.  Eventually I decided that the article needed to aim larger than just Mormons, so I included Adventists and Witnesses and invited Ron Lawson to help me (he’s an expert on Adventists and Witnesses).  Anyway, here’s a link to the article:

The Secular Transition: The Worldwide Growth of Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Seventh-day Adventists

If you’re really geeky and want to read the article but don’t have access to the journal via a university subscription, let me know and I can send you a copy of the article.

He’s ranting about this report, of which I am a co-author. I consider this a shining achievement and derive almost as much satisfaction from watching Glenn Beck’s hysterics over our survey as I did when I learned I was going to publish my first article.

My only regret: I didn’t make him cry!

Yesterday morning I was reading the local paper when I came upon this story about Scientology (part 1 of 3). Apparently 4 fairly prominent members of the religion have defected over the last few years and the St. Petersburg Times finally got them to agree to be interviewed. The Times is rolling out the interviews over 3 days, much to the chagrin of Scientology (part 2 of 3 is out today).

For those who don’t know, Scientology has a major headquarters in Clearwater, FL, which is about 30 minutes from where we live. It’s the training headquarters of the religion, not the corporate headquarters (that’s in LA), and not where the leader, David Miscavige, lives (that’s near San Jacinto, CA). As the training headquarters, there are lots of Scientologists living and regularly visiting Clearwater. The St. Petersburg Times (St. Pete is the adjoining city to the south of Clearwater) has a long history of investigating Scientology and the relationship between the two, Scientology and The St. Petersburg Times, is not very amicable.

I learned that Scientology had a strong presence in Clearwater shortly after we moved here and have wanted to go check out their digs ever since then. Seeing the story yesterday morning re-awakened that interest. Luckily, Debi and Toren were feeling rather generous yesterday, so they agreed to go walk around downtown Clearwater to check out the sites.

I did a bit of research before we went so I would know what there is to see. The St. Petersburg Times has a quasi-interactive though slightly dated map showing the property Scientology owns in Clearwater.

(1) Red properties were actual structures in 2004; (2) Blue properties were planned or under construction; (3) Gold were properties that were owned but as of yet undeveloped in 2004.

Another guy, who I believe is affiliated with Anonymous, has put together a Google Map of Scientology properties in the US that includes their many holdings in Clearwater:

Scientology sites in Clearwater according to Anonymous

Based on those two sites, I put together a little tour for us.  Having driven to Clearwater last week when Brent visited, I knew there was a little park right near the water in Clearwater, so we drove there to begin with and parked on Drew St..  The park is actually adjacent to the Clearwater library:

Clearwater library

The library itself is gorgeous. But it looks out over the park and this:

the view from the Clearwater library

If anyone comes to visit us and has a day they want to spend just relaxingly reading in a library, well, I’m not sure you can beat this one. It’s a gorgeous view.

Toren was hungry once we got here, so we stopped for a bit to feed him. While Debi took care of Toren, I saw a sign that said “Sandcastle.” I knew that the Sandcastle resort was right next to the library, but I didn’t realize there was a separate entrance for their restaurant:

A sign by the entrance to the Sandcastle restaurant. If you look close it says "Church of Scientology Religious Retreat"

Feigning ignorance, I walked toward the restaurant (with my huge camera around my neck).  The two security guards looked very skeptical, but I’m pretty good at acting like a tourist when I want to.  I walked straight up to them and asked them if what I was seeing was a restaurant:

Sandcastle's restaurant and the security guards

They said it was in what sounded like a native Spanish speaker’s accent.  I then asked them if I could eat there.  Them hemmed a bit, then said that I couldn’t unless I was a member.  I acted really naive here and said, “Oh, a member of what?”  They said I had to be a member of the Sandcastle resort.  I then acted like I was just seeing the sign and said, “Oh, is that affiliated with Scientology?”  They nodded.  I followed up with, “So, if I was a Scientologist I could eat here?”  Yep.  I told them that Debi was hungry and then asked if there were any other places we could eat nearby.  They were very friendly and offered some suggestions.  I thanked them then walked back across the street to the park.  I waited for them to turn their backs before I snapped a photo of them in front of the restaurant.

Once Toren finished up his snack, we packed everything into the stroller and headed up Drew st. toward Fort Harrison Ave. where there were some restaurants.  I snapped these along the way:

The Sandcastle Resort

This is at the intersection of Drew St. and N. Osceola Ave.:

The front entrance sign to the Sandcastle Resort

Directly east of the Sandcastle Resort is the Osceola Inn, which is also billed as a “religious retreat” and is owned by Scientology:

Osceola Inn sign

This was also taken at the corner of Drew St. and N Osceola Ave.:

Osceola Inn wide shot

From here we headed up Drew St. to Fort Harrison Ave. then turned South where we immediately encountered the West Coast Building, which is also owned by Scientology.  There were uniformed Scientologists coming and going from the building while I snapped a few pictures.  This first one is looking at the front of the building.  It’s actually quite large and surrounded by parking lots on both sides (which I believe are owned by the Church of Scientology).  What I liked about this is it shows two cameras.  The first is just above the green bushes and is pointing down the street.  The second is just above it and is a controllable camera:

profile of the West Coast Building capturing the cameras

They seem a little obsessed with security.  We crossed the street and stopped at an Italian pizza place for dinner (owned by a Scientologist, but the employees were not; I asked).  Then I snapped this shot of the front of the West Coast Building:

The front of the West Coast Building

The building really does look unassuming from this angle, but it goes back quite far from the street.  Also, you can’t see it from this far away, but on the front doors are two white crosses, which are symbols of Scientology.

From here we only had to walk about another 1/2 block before we entered the heartland of Scientology.  The corner of Fort Harrison Ave. and Cleveland St. is really the center of action.  As we neared the corner we could see droves of Scientologists walking back and forth.  We weren’t sure what was going on, but one of the many Scientology security guards floating around the streets of Clearwater (yes, you read that right, Scientology security guards patrol the sidewalks in Clearwater outside their buildings) helped clarify things.  The first building we came upon is the former Clearwater Bank Building that was bought out by Scientology and refinished.  There are no tours; they turned it into a cafeteria for Scientologists.  Everyone was coming out the Church of Scientology training center (see below), walking down Fort Harrison Ave., crossing Cleveland, then walking down Watterson Street to a side entrance into the former Clearwater Bank Building where the cafeteria is.  Strange.  Here’s the building from further down Fort Harrison Ave:

former Clearwater Bank Building; now a cafeteria for Scientologists; the side entrance is on the right

Here’s a shot of a plaque on the front:

Bank of Clearwater plaque

The security guard was very nice.  He saw Debi and I looking around (we probably looked suspicious to some degree, though the baby is a great cover) and approached us, asking us if we needed some help.  We did.  We were actually looking for an ice cream shop for dessert (the dinner we had wasn’t very filling).  He pointed out the Baskin Robbins down the street.  I then asked him if we could take a tour of the Bank of Clearwater building.  He was the one he told us that it was now a cafeteria.  He did say we could take a tour of the Church of Scientology training center right across the street, though.  But when I looked across the street I didn’t really understand what it was I was seeing as no one was coming out of that end of the building (poor design).  We thanked him and headed to Baskin Robbins.

After we got our dessert, we found a nifty little side ally that took us to Park St. (turns out the side alley is where the Scientologists who are smokers hang out; I wonder if that is an engram they are working on…).  Here’s Debi walking down the side alley:

Debi heading down Scientology-smoker alley

At the corner of Park St. and Fort Harrison Ave. we had a good view of the main entrance to THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY.  Toren also got a little hungry, so while Debi fed him I approached a uniformed member of the religion and asked her (she was from Columbia) what the building was.  She said it was THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY.  When I asked her to clarify she said, “No, really, it is THE church.  It’s the main one.  This is the chief church of all the churches in the world.  They do training here that you can’t get anywhere else.”  That explained why she was there, along with so many other foreigners – they needed the specialized training.  I asked her if we could go in and she said yes.  So, with Toren topped off, we headed in.  Here’s the building:

the north side of THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY; apparently no one uses this entrance

the south side of THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY; this is the main entrance; the area with the exhibits is in the center glass enclosure

Another security guard approached us as we headed that way.  I forget his name, but he was also very nice and asked us if we needed anything.  We told him we were just interested in seeing what was inside and learning a bit more.  He was from Mexico but had only a minor accent (he had been in the US for 14 years).  He guided us in to the main hallway, started a short video for us, then went to find one of the guides, Beth.  We ended up hanging out inside this building for a good hour and a half at least, peppering Beth with questions.  There’s no way I can recount the entire conversation, but I’ll try to hit on some of the highlights.

It did eventually come out that I’m a college professor and that I’m a Sociologist of Religion.  They, of course, had no idea what that meant.  But when they would ask me if I knew anything about Scientology, I always said, “Yes.”  And when they asked whether I had heard anything good, I usually said, “Not much.”  I think I surprised them when I told them that I had read Dianetics, which I really don’t recommend (wow is that a terrible, terrible book).  Even so, they treated me like I didn’t know anything, which was kind of funny because I think I knew more about their religion than they did in some regards (neither of them showed any knowledge of Xenu when I asked them about him), though I did learn a few things.  I asked Beth if Scientologists believe in a god-like entity.  She said they did, kind of.  She also said that you didn’t have to be exclusively a Scientologist to belong – Scientology is not an exclusive religion (i.e., you could be Jewish and a Scientologist).  I asked if you could be an atheist and a Scientologist, but she said not really, as they believe in something akin to a soul (called a Thetan).  Their notion of god is kind of Buddhist or Hindu – it’s an ill-defined supreme being that they associate with the term “infinity,” which is also the symbol of their god.

I also asked Beth how many Scientologists there are.  She claimed, initially, 2 billion.  After I stopped guffawing and choking on my tongue, I asked her if she was sure.  It took her a few minutes, but eventually she realized her mistake – she meant 2 million.  Okay, I could live with that number (probably an over-estimate, but that’s okay; some religions do that… “Mormonism” – ahem).

I also asked her who or what created their Thetans.  She said she didn’t know.  Then I asked her how old the Thetans were.  She also couldn’t put a specific time on it, but said that she, herself, was older than the Earth (they believe in past lives).  When I told her that meant she was at least 4.6 billion years old, she nodded and said that she had dealt with engrams that went at least that far back (Note: Beth is a 27 year veteran of the religion; she was probably in her late 40s or early 50s).  I asked her if Thetans predated the known universe.  She said she had been created some time after the creation of the universe, but she couldn’t put an exact date on it.  So, Beth (i.e., her Thetan component) is somewhere between 4.6 and 14 billion years-old.  That’s better than most religions can do!

I was peppering her with so many questions that she eventually pulled me into a backroom and showed me The Bridge to Total Freedom:

The Brigde to Total Freedom Beth showed me

Apparently what this shows is the different levels of Scientology.  On the right are the levels of self-improvement (a.k.a. “processing”) that you can attain.  In Dianetics, Hubbard only talks about getting to the “Clear” stage (all your engrams are gone).  Apparently they have introduced additional stages that include more knowledge.  However, the last 6 or 7 stages have yet to be revealed.  Beth, my 27 year veteran guide, was a Grade 0 on the self-processing side.  The other side is the levels of training you can receive (so you can audit other Scientologists).  She was a Class II or III.  This chart gave me a ton of questions.  I asked her what “Total Freedom” is.  She said it is complete control over time, space, matter, and energy.  Basically, if you reach that stage you no longer need a body and are kind of omnipotent.  I asked her if L. Ron Hubbard, the founder, who died from a stroke in the 1980s, had reached Total Freedom.  She said she assumed so because he was the one who knew about it.  I asked her why not all of the stages had been revealed since L. Ron Hubbard had to have known about them.  She said that Scientologists were not ready for them.  I asked her if anyone knew what they were.  She said she thought David Miscavige must know them but he was waiting until Scientologists were ready to hear them.  I asked how he would know.  She said that L. Ron Hubbard must have written some indicators that must first occur before they could be revealed, but that they had to be included in his final papers.  I asked her how L. Ron Hubbard figured them out.  She said he studied.  I asked her what he studied.  She said philosophy and science.  So I said, “Well, that means all of this secret knowledge must already have existed then.”  She agreed, but said that it was L. Ron Hubbard (LRH for short) who was able to discern between the truths and the falsehoods.  There are millions of falsehoods mixed in with the truths; his special gift was being able to discern the truths.  Then I said, “Well, how did L. Ron Hubbard know what is special and what is not?”  She said he used a scientific method.  I almost lost it at this point when I said, “Well, you must not mean the same thing I mean when I say I, a scientist, use the scientific method.”  She said his scientific method was taking out of the many ideas those that worked.  I asked what the alternative approach would be.  She said you could do things philosophically and just take what you like.  So, what made LRH special is he had a “scientific method” for discerning truth and it was based on “what works.”

We talked about a bunch of additional things, but I ended with a final question (it was starting to get dark and we still hadn’t made it to the Fort Harrison Hotel).  I asked her, “Beth, why are you a Scientologist?”  She said, “I was raised a Methodist and never felt like I  found happiness or contentment in life.  Methodism didn’t hold the answers for me.  When I found Scientology I found happiness and contentment.  Scientology has the technologies and tools to bring me peace and happiness in life.”  I asked her if she thought that was the reason most people join and she said yes.

This last question does bring up some of the basic elements of the religion that I was less familiar with and seem to be quite prominently on display in the center.  A lot of what I saw in The Church had to do with pop psychology stuff (which is what Dianetics is, except it’s really poorly written, obtuse, and retarded).  The current teachings seem to be all about overcoming your own problems and learning how to interact with other people.  They still do this using auditing and e-meters (which are known to be hokum).  They now also include some pseudoscientific gobbledy-gook about toxins in our bodies and a detoxing program that includes vitamins, potions, special food, and time in a sauna (a good way to get you to spend more money on their processing programs).  So, maybe it has helped Beth.  Who knows.  But it does seem like a lot of people are interested.

Beth gave us 3 videos to watch and her card (I wanted it so I could call and get the time for a Sunday morning service some time).  She also introduced the head chaplain at the Church.  Oh, and I left out the little interaction I had with the security guard and Beth while Debi was feeding Toren.  The security guard followed up with me about what it is I do.  Not unlike most people who hear I’m a Sociologist of Religion, he didn’t know anything about what I do, about other religions, or about the worldwide picture of religion generally.  So I gave him and Beth a quick rundown on which religions are growing where and why.  He seemed genuinely interested in what I was saying, but Beth eventually interrupted – she was the one who was supposed to be teaching me stuff, not vice versa.  This does seem like a common feature of many missionaries – they are so confident they are right and that they have “ALL TRUTH” that they don’t realize just how much they don’t know.  If graduate school did anything for me it taught me how little I know.  Case in point, I have a PhD in Sociology but was asking them questions to LEARN more about their religion.  I know a lot about some things, but I also know that I know virtually nothing relative to what there is to know.  Alas, missionaries don’t seem to realize that…

Anyway, once we got out of THE CHURCH, we snapped a shot of the Super-Power Building that is still unfinished (and has been under construction for quite some time):

the unfinished super-power building

We then headed down Fort Harrison Ave. to the Fort Harrison Hotel:

The front of the Fort Harrison Hotel

The bellhops kindly helped us carry Toren’s stroller up to the main lobby where we waited a good 20 minutes for a tour guide.  One never showed up, so a bellhop showed me around briefly: the hotel has a very nice restaurant, Hibiscus, that isn’t too pricey but was empty.  He also showed me their massive auditorium where they hold receptions, graduations, and services.  It’s a swank hotel.  We didn’t stay too long as it was getting late.

As we walked back to our car, Debi couldn’t help but reflect on just how bizarre this all was.  She had no idea that Clearwater was really kind of Scientology-ville.  (For my Mormon readers, imagine what downtown Ogden would look like if the Missionary Training Center was across the street from the Ogden Temple and the campus was open, not fenced in, and you’ll get a sense of what it is like.)  Most of the people we saw were wearing Scientology uniforms and there were dozens of Scientology buses (all with “Flag” on them) shuttling people back and forth to buildings.  While it’s kind of an exaggeration to say that Clearwater is now Scientology-ville, it really isn’t much of an exaggeration.  Clearwater Beach remains a tourist spot with people of all stripes.  But the old Clearwater downtown area does now seem to be dominated by Scientology.

If anyone wants to come visit us and check out Scientology-ville, here’s my recommended walking tour:

Start at the Clearwater Library and park:

100 N. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, Florida 33755-4083

There isn’t much to see of either Sandcastle or the Osceola Inn, but you can check them out briefly through the foliage that surrounds them.  Follow Drew St. to Fort Harrison Ave.  Take Fort Harrison to Cleveland and check out the former Clearwater Bank Building.  You can only see the outside, but it’s intriguing to see nonetheless.  Take the little side alley to the east of The Church of Scientology, which is on the south of Cleveland opposite the former Bank (the address is 503 Cleveland St., Clearwater, FL; it’s also called the “Coachman Building”).  Wrap around the building then enter the main doors and spend some time inside.  You’ll likely be approached by someone inside (their version of a missionary).  Spend as much time in there as you’d like, then exit back out the same doors and head down Fort Harrison Ave to the Fort Harrison Hotel (210 S Fort Harrison Ave, Clearwater, FL 33756).  You can get a good glimpse of the Super-Power Building along the way.  If they aren’t super busy you should be able to get a tour.  You could even finish it off with lunch or dinner at the Hibiscus restaurant.  As near as I can tell, there isn’t much else to see, just keep your eyes open for the swarms of Scientologists floating around the city, primarily around the Coachman Building.  And if you’re feeling daring, go up and talk to a Scientologist; they don’t bite.  They may even let you get a picture with them (something we didn’t do).

Stolen Innocence

Author:
Elissa Wall with Lisa Pulitzer

Publisher:
HarperCollins

Date of Publication:
2008

ISBN:
978-0-06-162801-6

Rating:
7

Summary:
Stolen Innocence tells the story of Elissa Wall, a woman raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The book starts out describing her childhood. She spent a large portion of it in the Salt Lake Valley with her biological father, Douglas Wall, and two, then three mothers (her mother was the second wife). She spent time at Alta Academy, the school of the FLDS in the Salt Lake Valley, until it was closed down. The principal of Alta Academy while she was there was Warren Jeffs, son of Rulon Jeffs (the prophet most of the time she was growing up), and the future prophet of the FLDS.

At about the age of 13 her biological father had his priesthood revoked and lost two of his wives, including Elissa’s, Sharon Steed, mother. Her mother was reassigned to Fred Jessop, the bishop of Hildale/Colorado City, the FLDS town on the border of Utah and Arizona. Elissa lived there for about a year before her new father, Fred, and Warren Jeffs decided it was time for her to marry. She was assigned to marry her first cousin, Allen Steed, of whom she was not a fan, “Not only would they force me to get married at fourteen, they would force me to get married to the one person I had come to loathe in my short life.” (p. 134).

Despite her protests, which she describes as quite vociferous, she was forced to go through with the marriage. It took several months after the marriage, but eventually Allen convinced/forced her to have sex with him. Elissa never grew to even like Allen, let alone love him, and consistently asked for a dissolution of the marriage from both Rulon Jeffs and then Warren once Rulon died. She eventually took to sleeping in her truck at night so she would not have to spend the night with Allen in their trailer where he would regularly force her to have sex with him. In her first two years of marriage, she had two miscarriages and a stillbirth, all with a man she hated (p. 239). During the second miscarriage she fled from Allen and ended up stuck in the desert with a flat tire. Luckily, a disenfranchised male member of the FLDS, Lamont, happened by at that point (also out in the desert contemplating his future as a non-priesthood holding young man in the FLDS). He helped her change the tire then followed her as she drove to safety.

Eventually, Elissa and Lamont became friends, even though doing so was taboo among the FLDS as she was married and any romantic contact with other men was strictly forbidden. The friendship led to a romantic relationship and ultimately they became lovers. It was only when she became pregnant with Lamont’s child and was caught spending time with him that Allen, her husband, finally pushed for a divorce and was granted one by Warren Jeffs, “In one moment, what I’d been asking for since the very beginning had been granted. Not because of all my begging and pleading. Not because I’d complained about the terrible things that Allen had done to me. Not because I’d endured three years with a man I didn’t love and Warren had taken pity on me. I had been forced to suffer with no hope of it ever stopping. And now that I’d finally taken a step toward my own happiness, I was being punished and labeled a sinner.” (p. 317). Allen was commended for his efforts in the marriage, but Elissa was punished. She was initially sent back to be the property of her biological father, but she snuck out and she and Lamont left the FLDS at that point.

Within a couple years of leaving the FLDS, Elissa’s family, friends, and Utah law enforcement prevailed on her to testify against Warren Jeffs as an accomplice to rape. Since she was 14 and not willing to marry when she was forced to marry Allen and then was forced to have sex with him repeatedly against her will, this made Warren an accomplice to her rape (he arranged the marriage and performed the ceremony). Warren also knew what was happening in the relationship, knew that Elissa did not like it and wanted no part of it, but did nothing to stop it. Elissa eventually testified against Warren and Warren was convicted and sentenced to two “5 years to life” sentences. Elissa Wall was the Dane Joe who put Warren Jeffs in jail.

Review:
I have mixed feelings about this book. First, the book is very long, probably too long (431 pages). In a sense, the details of the book work at cross purposes. The fact that there are so many events recounted suggests that Elissa tried her best not to leave anything out, lending weight to the accuracy of the book. However, the detailed recounting of some specific events, particularly when it included speech, makes me a little wary. I have a decent memory, but have a really hard time remembering exactly what people said just a few minutes after I hear it, let alone years after the fact. Thus, the specific details of some of these events may be off – our memories are remarkably pliable and can change over time. I’m not questioning the broad outline of what happened – I think Elissa has probably fairly accurately recounted what happened to her (as outlined above). But the minute details of the events make me just a tad skeptical. Despite my mixed feelings here, I think the book makes some great points.

One of the characteristics of the FLDS that I think Elissa does a good job describing, even though she clearly frames it in a negative light, is the power of the “priesthood” (i.e., the authority to act in god’s name) among the FLDS, “Lines of priesthood authority are patriarchal and strictly observed. In this system all women and children basically belong to the priesthood—not just to their husband or father. In reality, they are possessions of the priesthood and the prophet, and revelations from God determine their ultimate fate. When the prophet decides to award a wife to a priesthood man, it is viewed as a transfer of a possession to the man. The prophet decides when two people should marry, when families can form, and when families that are not working are to be reorganized.” (p. 17). While there are likely members of the FLDS who would disagree with this description, it does seem to be fairly accurate. In fact, I experienced a milder version of this priesthood authority growing up in the LDS Church. While women certainly don’t “belong” to their spouses in the LDS Church (practically, theologically this is more muddied), men are still seen as the head of the household and it is generally agreed that you don’t dissent from the prophet (though it seems this may be changing, especially in light of the widespread dissent among the LDS as a result of the LDS Church’s position on Proposition 8 in California).

Another characteristic of the FLDS that, while perhaps overly critical in Elissa’s words, does seem fairly accurate, is the depiction of women, “From birth, girls are prepared for this role [marriage]. Their way of life is chosen for them by the priesthood. They are told whom to marry, what to believe, and how to live their lives. Women are taught that they have already chosen their destiny before their birth, at which point they chose to willingly place their lives in the hands of the prophet and priesthood, having everything dictated for them.” (p. 19). As she rode in the car to Nevada to be married, Elissa recalled her thoughts on the role of women among the FLDS, “It should have dawned on me that many aspects of the religion were based on revoking the rights of women. If a girl speaks her mind, get her married. Once she’s married, get her pregnant. Once she has children, she’s in for life—it’s almost impossible for any FLDS woman to take her children if she leaves, and no mother wants to leave her children behind. At the time, I was still too young and blind to see the pattern. All I could think was that this land and these people were my home, but for me—and for most FLDS women—there is an unspoken yet enormous sense of entrapment.” (p. 153).

Perhaps the most compelling evidence to support Elissa’s argument that women are poorly treated among the FLDS comes from an exchange she had with Warren Jeffs when she was trying to get him to end her marriage to Allen, “”But Uncle Warren,” I said, “I hate having husband-wife relations [sex] with him.” “You are being very selfish. You need to set aside your feelings and do what you are told to do,” he said without sympathy. His response flattened me. “I don’t know what to do because you’ve got to do something,” I said. “It is impossible for me to love this man.” “You know, you have no right to feel that way,” Warren told me, his tone growing hostile.” (p. 208). This is clearly the perspective of someone who suffered the harshest version of this system of gender stratification. I have read numerous accounts of women in the FLDS and in other polygamous groups (see Altman and Ginat’s book) who willingly choose to participate in these relationships and do not feel like they are powerless. I’m guessing the real situation is somewhere in-between these two extremes – women in the FLDS don’t have a lot of power, but probably have more than Elissa describes.

That said, Elissa’s mother, Sharon Steed, does seem to typify the role of the FLDS women Elissa describes. Sharon was forced to give up son after son in the name of the religion. She abandoned twin sons when she was sent to Hildale (p. 103). Those sons, “…begged her to come back to Salt Lake and take care of them. When she said she couldn’t, they accused her of choosing her religion over them. Her heart was torn in two, but the reality was apparent: her faith required that she choose the prophet and religion over everything else. It didn’t matter how much she loved us, missed us, or wanted us by her side. She could not forsake her duty to the prophet and priesthood.” (p. 117). One might initially think she was forced to make these decisions, and certainly there was a substantial amount of pressure to do so. But Sharon reveals her priorities at various points in the book, with disturbing effect. When Elissa reveals to her mother that she is going to testify against Warren, her mom responds with, “I’d rather see you die than fight the priesthood” (p. 338). Elissa ultimately addresses the depiction of her mother at the end of the book, “While I am sure my mother may feel disrespected and hurt by my actions, I hope she understands that coming forward was something I had to do. Her staunch support of the religion and inability to extract herself from that mindset put me in a position where she couldn’t protect me. It is for this reason that I have resolved to make it my mission to help my little sisters and others like them in any way possible.” (p. 429). While I can understand Elissa’s mother’s devotion to her religion, it is hard to argue with the fact that Sharon could do nothing to protect her daughter. She knew Elissa didn’t want to get married, but couldn’t stop it. And after the marriage, when Allen was forcing himself on Elissa, Sharon was, again, helpless. If Sharon Steed is at all representative of the women in the FLDS, there is a real problem of female disenfranchisement among the FLDS. If she’s not, I think the FLDS need to work harder to illustrate she is not.

One final point I think Elissa makes quite well in this book is her depiction of the outside world and how hard it is to adjust to it when you have spent your whole life in a community like the FLDS. Elissa was taught that blacks were the most evil people on the planet, but when she met the wife of one of her brothers who had been expelled from the group, Whitney, she realized what she had been taught all her life was not true, “As I sat there talking to Whitney, I found myself thinking that all it took was contact with the outside world and the barriers of fear that Warren had constructed came tumbling down. It was becoming much harder for me to view outsiders as evil when they were my family. Jacob was a good person and he was creating a good family. I could not stomach the idea that he, his wife, or his daughter were somehow wicked just because they were not a part of our church.” (p. 235). I experienced this same feeling as I became better acquainted with people outside the LDS prior to leaving the religion. Mormonism is not a requirement for being a good person.

But once you do finally leave, it’s very hard to adjust, “Getting out wasn’t just about starting a fresh routine, it was about establishing a totally new way of thinking. When you leave the FLDS, your whole foundation crumbles. You have to start from scratch and think about large, far-reaching questions, like What do I believe in? What about heaven? What are morals? What will I fight for? We had gained freedom and each other, but we had lost the ground beneath our feet. It made it even harder when our thoughts turned to the families we’d both lost.” (p. 329). This, too, is an accurate depiction of what I went through when I left the LDS Church. While the LDS Church does not have such an all-encompassing worldview and lifestyle as does the FLDS, it is still a particularly well-constructed sacred canopy. When the plausibility structure holding up that sacred canopy collapsed, it took quite a bit of time to build a new one. And, it was hard and painful to deal with the emotional and psychological baggage and the changes in relationships, but worth it.

While it’s difficult to judge a book like this as it is almost as though you are judging the author (it is her story), I do think it’s a good book. Elissa is definitely critical of the FLDS, though with reason as she was forced to marry and have sex with someone she disliked against her will. But she also points out that the FLDS have a lot of positive characteristics, like the tight-knit community and how supportive they are of each other (or, at least, how supportive they were in the past). I wouldn’t say it is a perfectly balanced book, but it gives a fairly accurate account of what life was like for someone who was not treated fairly in the FLDS system. It may not be the best-written book of 2008, but it’s an engaging read. I recommend it for anyone interested in the FLDS, though it should be contrasted with books that present a more positive depiction of polygamy and the FLDS (see here).

Christotainment: Selling Jesus through Popular Culture

Author:
Shirley R. Steinberg, Joe L. Kincheloe

Publisher:
Westview Press

Date of Publication:
2009

ISBN:
978-0813344058

Rating:
1/10

Summary:
The book purports to be an analysis of how Christianity and Christ have become part of popular culture in the US. I guess, in a sense, it is, but only in the sense that it’s a book that mentions Christ and popular culture, not because the arguments are coherent or even provocative.

Review:
Usually, when I start a book, I finish it. There’s just something about starting a book that makes me feel like I have an obligation to the author to see the book through to the end. There have been a few books over the years that I opened and, just a few pages into them I said, “Wow, this is so bad I’m not going to read it.” Alas, Christotainment can now be added to that list. So, this is a review of the Introduction and the 8 pages or so I read before I put the book down, never to be taken back up again.

What is so problematic about a book that you’d think would be ideally suited for someone like me who is critical of religion, but particularly critical of religions that seem money hungry and greedy? Well, it’s not scientific. It seems to suggest that it is, but only because most of the authors are academics (mostly education and communications professors) and they use references. When you check the references you see that the authors cite “publications” that range from (1) their own books, (2) some journal articles from education and communications journals (scary!), to (3) blogs (including the Daily Kos). Um, there are a few blogs that I might reference for non-scientific purposes, but never as a scientific source. So, first off, the book is not really an academic book. It’s, well, a pseudo-academic book.

Second, in line with the first problem, the authors make wildly unfounded statements. Here’s one from page 5, “At the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, you can’t turn on the radio or TV, go to the movie theater, listen to contemporary music, or attend on- and off-Broadway musicals without encountering Jesus.” I immediately asked myself after reading this line, “When was the last time I “encountered” Jesus? The answer: About two weeks ago when I was discussing an independent study with a student next semester. And in the conversation, Jesus was not the focus. We were talking about Bible manuscripts and Bart Ehrman’s work. So, I was talking specifically about religion and Jesus came up since he’s kind of the focus of the Bible (the New Testament at least). That’s two weeks without any “Jesus encounters.” I’ve read plenty of news, watched TV, and spent time with a lot of people since then, and Jesus hasn’t come up a single time. Granted, I’m not religious and most of the people I surround myself with are not either, but still… Maybe I’m just completely disconnected from popular culture in the US…

Okay, I figure you could chalk something like this up to hyperbole – the author is just trying to make a statement about the pervasiveness of religion, Christianity in particular, in the US (ironically, the editors are Canadian – go figure!). So, let’s try a few other choice quotes. Here’s another one from the same paragraph, “This book wants to understand this merging of popular culture and Christian fundamentalism. In this context, we use a bricolage of methods to understand religious marketing, what such theotainment looks like, and its theological, cultural, social, and political effects. Our assertion is that such dynamics are changing the world in a dangerous and frightening manner.” Well, they admit that they are critical theorists (meaning they reveal their biases). Okay, fine with me. But what’s their evidence that it is dangerous and frightening? They don’t mention the shooting of doctors who perform abortions. They don’t mention Timothy McVeigh (even though his actions were mostly political, just inspired by Christianity). They don’t mention any of the real threats of fundamentalist Christianity, just that it is around – on TV, in music, and sports. Scary!

What’s more, there is quite a bit of evidence suggesting that religion is on the decline in the US. In fact, I’d submit that the very fact that there are a lot of “Jesus encounters” (at least for some people) is evidence of this. Jesus has been so watered-down that he gets thrown around frequently, but not to convert people. It’s basically a marketing gimmick; Jesus has been commercialized (he makes for a pretty good celebrity promoter). There is plenty of evidence to support this, including the pharmacy across the street from my house that advertises with a sign out front that says, “Abortion Kills” and the chiropractor a few blocks away that advertises as a “Christian Chiropractor.” This isn’t the infusion of fundamentalist Christianity with popular culture – which is the central thesis of the book – but rather the commercialization and commodification of Christianity for capitalistic ends. That doesn’t suggest the growing influence of religion but the declining orthodoxy and authority of religion. Religion is now just one more thing people use to sell you stuff. If that is what religion has come to, how big of a step is it to simply dismiss religion altogether? In short, the fundamental premise of the book – that fundamentalist Christianity (which the author of the first chapter can’t actually define) is growing increasingly pervasive in popular culture – reflects exactly the opposite of what the authors claim.

To top that off, the authors simply get their facts wrong (not to mention don’t cite sources). Here’s my favorite from page 7, “Dominionists [who the author clearly thinks are all people who say they are Christian] have carefully engaged in their surreptitious political activities – sometimes successfully, sometimes not – in the process putting together mass communications complexes. Indeed, at the end of this decade, they own six TV networks and two thousand Christian radio stations, and they control the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.” First off, Dominionists are people who want to replace our secular government with a Christian theocracy. While there are plenty of Dominionists out there, the majority of Christians in the US don’t think that way. To then assume that just because a radio station or TV network is owned by Christians that it must be Dominionist is patently absurd. There is a huge variation in theology among Christians in the US, ranging from ultra-liberal to ultra-conservative and these stations are owned by a variety of groups. This is misleading. Finally, the Southern Baptist Convention recently elected a more moderate leader, which didn’t get front page press, but was noteworthy in the circles I travel. The new leader is no Michael Moore, but he is being touted as a moderate. So, two factual errors and one misleading statement. Not bad for a single sentence.

My last complaint – the writing is atrocious. Here’s an example of wholly disjointed thinking from page 6, “Thus, in this new cultural atmosphere, the Bakkers merged Disneyland with the orgasmic [not a typo] delights of the camp meeting. With the sexual and financial scandals that beset the couple, their version of Heritage USA fell apart. Evangelicals knew they had a good marketing idea, and numerous efforts to reconstitute the fundamentalist theme park continue into the twenty-first century. Suffice it to say that the Jesus marketed at Heritage USA was an American patriot.” So, the author called camp meetings “orgasmic” and then, out of the blue, says that the Jesus of Heritage USA was an American patriot. Maybe he’s drawing a connection between USA and patriotism, but that line was completely unrelated to the collapse of Heritage USA. Bizarre…

So, about 10 pages in, I decided I’d had enough. I wasn’t going to learn anything from this book, and I don’t think you will either. If you want good books on the marketing of religion and how religions have become pseudo-corporations, ask me. This is not the book I will recommend.