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		<title>An Open Letter from James R. Lewis</title>
		<description>Discuss An Open Letter from James R. Lewis</description>
		<link>http://www.scientology-cult.com/an-open-letter-from-james-r-lewis.html</link>
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			<title>Academic critique of Lewis</title>
			<link>http://www.scientology-cult.com/an-open-letter-from-james-r-lewis.html#comment-4323</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In this letter Lewis explains his academic stance, and blame much of the critique against him on "misunderstanding of the academic process". It should be noted however that Lewis has also come under sharp criticism from other scholars for his rejection of x-members trustfulness, and for his shallow scholarship when dealing with controversial groups, where his method involves a "top down" approach basing his research on the cults upper echelons rather than on the rank-and-file members. This famously lead him to defend Aum Shinrikyô after the sarin attack in Tokyo, indicating they had been the victim of government prosecution. He based his defence on the "sincerity" and "honesty" of the Aum representatives he had interviewed, apparently disregarding the possibility that such leaders could lie. His research on Scientology should be understood accordingly. A general critique of the stance of stance on testimonies from former members of scholars on general and Lewis in particular: [censored]://griess.st1.at/gsk/fecr is/warsaw/Kent EN.pdf A rather scathing review of the role of cult apologists in the wake of the Aum Shinrikyô gas attack in Tokyo, discussing Lewis' research in particular: [censored]://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/14 563/1/nr.2000.3.2.pdf]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Andie</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:25:24 -0600</pubDate>
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