American professor of religious studies
Hugh Bayard Urban is a professor ofreligious studies atOhio State University's Department of Comparative Studies and author of eight books and several academic articles, including a history of theChurch of Scientology , published byPrinceton University Press in 2012. He received his PhD inhistory of religions from theUniversity of Chicago .
[ edit ] Urban is the son of a psychologist andPennsylvania State University professor and was brought up in a devoutEpiscopal family. He is married to Nancy Jesser, who also teaches in the Department of Comparative Studies atOhio State University .[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
Urban's academic focus began with thereligions of India [ 4] new religious movements in both the United States and Europe, about which he has written many academic books and articles.[ 2] [ 3]
Scientology scholarship [ edit ] In 2006, Urban wrote an article for theJournal of the American Academy of Religion Oxford University Press on behalf of theAmerican Academy of Religion ) titled "Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America".[ 5]
By 2011, Urban had expanded his research into the practices of the Church of Scientology,[ 6] The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion [ 7] Princeton University Press ) which received praise:
Michael Shermer , founder ofThe Skeptics Society and a columnist forScientific American [ 7] Rachel Aviv of theLondon Review of Books L. Ron] Hubbard ] reacted to legal and political challenges to his authority by attempting (largely successfully) to conceal his theories from the public."[ 8] Kirkus Reviews [ 8] Urban also observed that Hubbard formed many of his theories from those previously written about by the early to mid 20th centuryastral projection pioneerSylvan Muldoon [ 9] The Phenomena of Astral Projection [ 10] Hereward Carrington .
Songs of Ecstasy: Tantric and Devotional Songs from Bengal (2001) (New York: Oxford University Press)[ 2] The Economics of Ecstasy: Tantra, Secrecy and Power in Colonial Bengal (2001) (New York: Oxford University Press)[ 2] Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics and Power in the Study of Religion (2003) (University of California Press)[ 2] Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic and Liberation in Modern Western Esotericism (2006) (University of California Press)[ 2] The Secrets of the Kingdom: Religion and Concealment in the Bush Administration (2007) (Rowman & Littlefield)[ 2] The Power of Tantra: Religion, Sexuality and the Politics of South Asian Studies (2009) (I.B. Tauris/ Palgrave MacMillan)[ 2] The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion [ 2] ^ "Profile: Nancy Jesser" .Ohio State University ^a b c d e f g h i "Profile: Hugh Urban" .Ohio State University ^a b Ortega, Tony (September 15, 2011)."Hugh Urban: An Interview With the Professor Who Took on Scientology" .The Village Voice the original on June 18, 2015. RetrievedApril 20, 2016 . ^ [1] Hugh Urban, OSU College of Arts and Sciences Department of Comparative Studies^ Urban, Hugh (June 2, 2006)."Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America" (PDF) .Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74 (2).Oxford University Press :356– 389.doi :10.1093/jaarel/lfj084 .S2CID 143313978 . Archived fromthe original (PDF) on February 2, 2017. RetrievedApril 20, 2016 . ^ [2] Hugh Urban, OSU College of Arts and Sciences Department of Comparative Studies^a b Urban, Hugh (2012).Scientology A History of a New Religion Princeton University Press .ISBN 978-1-4008-3943-8 ^a b "Additional Reviews" .Princeton University Press ^ Urban, Hugh (2012).Scientology A History of a New Religion Google Books :Princeton University Press . p. 77.ISBN 978-1-4008-3943-8 ^ Muldoon, Sylvan (1951).The Phenomena of Astral Projection Amazon :Rider .ASIN B0000CHX60 .
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