The Road to Total Freedom

The Road to Total Freedom
Cover
AuthorRoy Wallis
LanguageEnglish
SubjectScientology
GenreNon-fiction
PublisherHeinemann
Publication date
1976
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages282
ISBN0-231-04200-0
Preceded bySectarianism 
Followed byCulture and Curing 
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The Road to Total Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of Scientology is a non-fiction book about Scientology by sociologist Roy Wallis. Originally published in 1976 by Heinemann,[1] it was republished in 1977 by Columbia University Press.[2] The original manuscript was the product of Wallis's doctoral research at Oxford under the tutelage of Bryan Wilson. Wallis, after a review of the original manuscript by Scientology leaders, made edits to about 100 passages before publication.

In the book, Wallis first analyzes the degree to which the Church of Scientology views itself as legitimate, as well as to what degree external society regarded the organization as "respectable" or "deviant". Furthermore, he provides a contextual history of the organization, including a discussion of the Dianetics movement founded by L. Ron Hubbard. Next, Wallis discusses the appeal of the Scientology practice of Auditing, and compares this to abreaction therapy. And finally, he examines how Scientology shifted from a cult to a sect in structure, and analyzes the authoritarian nature of the management of the organization.

While Wallis was researching the book, the Guardian's Office, Scientology's intelligence agency, investigated him. They assigned an individual as an undercover agent who pretended to be a student at the University of Stirling, where he was teaching. The agent inquired if Wallis was involved with illegal drugs. Wallis later discovered forged letters purportedly sent by him and designed to implicate him in controversial acts. Wallis assumed this was a reaction by the Guardian's Office to The Road to Total Freedom.

The Road to Total Freedom received generally positive reception in book reviews and media coverage. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Society acknowledged Wallis "displayed characteristic skill" in bringing a large amount of information together in an analysis of Scientology.[3] Similarly, Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries described the author's research as "substantively important",[4] and Library Journal called it "a sociological analysis for the serious student, with all the appropriate scholarly apparatus".[5]

  1. ^ OCLC 462644480
  2. ^ OCLC 2373469
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference swatos was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference choice was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference libraryjournal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).