Hugh Urban
Hugh Bayard Urban is a professor of religious studies at Ohio State University's Department of Comparative Studies and author of eight books and several academic articles, including a history of the Church of Scientology, published by Princeton University Press in 2012. He received his PhD in history of religions from the University of Chicago.
Early life, education and family
Urban is the son of a psychologist and Pennsylvania State University professor and was brought up in a devout Episcopal family. He is married to Nancy Jesser, who also teaches in the Department of Comparative Studies at Ohio State University. They have one child.Academic research
Urban's academic focus began with the religions of India and expanded to his studies of new religious movements in both the United States and Europe, about which he has written many academic books and articles. He has said that the knowledge and power used by religions to keep information hidden from others had always fascinated him.Scientology scholarship
In 2006, Urban wrote an article for the Journal of the American Academy of Religion titled "Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America".By 2011, Urban had expanded his research into the practices of the Church of Scientology, incorporating his information into a new book titled The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion which received praise:
- Michael Shermer, founder of The Skeptics Society and a columnist for Scientific American, called Urban's book "the most scholarly treatment of the organization to date."
- Rachel Aviv of the London Review of Books said that Urban's book "chronicles the way Hubbard] reacted to legal and political challenges to his authority by attempting to conceal his theories from the public."
- Kirkus Reviews called the book "a fascinating and oftentimes mind-bending account of how penny-a-word sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard doggedly pursued the religion angle in his quest to create the worldwide Church of Scientology."