Scenario: We were interested in the general public’s opinions, remarks, and knowledge of Scientology, so we went to Santana Row during a Saturday afternoon and asked random people what they knew, if anything, about Scientology. 20 people were interviewed at random, all over the age of 18.
Questions:
1. Have you ever heard about Scientology?
2. Have you ever heard about Dianetics?
3. Who is L. Ron Hubbard?
4. When you think of a famous Scientologist who comes to mind?
5. Would you label Scientology as a cult or a religion?
6. Do Scientologists believe in God?
7. What is a Thetan?
8. What is the most important holiday for Scientologists?
Responses:
1. Yes—20
No—0
Unsure—0
2. Yes—6
No—11
Unsure—3
3. Creator of Scientology—11
Unsure—7
Other—2
4. Tom Cruise—15
John Travolta—3
Will Smith—1
Katie Holmes—1
5. Cult—13
Religion—7
6. Yes—10
No—2
Unsure—8
7. The spirit of a person—0
Unsure—18
Other—2
8. L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday—0
Unsure—17
Other—3
Notes on the Interviews:
Brian DeVoto:
I was unsure what to expect for the survey. I wasn’t familiar with any of the details of Scientology before starting this project and it was interesting to see what random people knew. The fact that all twenty of the random participants answered yes to question # 1 shows that Scientology is well-known. However, only thirty percent of the people questioned knew what dianetics were. Dianetics is one of Scientology’s most core beliefs.
I wasn’t too surprised that Tom Cruise was the most famous scientologist that the majority thought of. He advocates publicly for the religion and is one of their largest spokesmen. However, I was a little disappointed to hear that Will Smith was a scientologist. I wasn’t even aware of this before we started the survey (Smith’s roles in “Men in Black” and “Independence Day” are much more relevant to me now, perhaps Tommy Lee Jones is also a scientologist).
The questions about their most important holiday, a definition of a ‘thetan’, and belief in God didn’t have surprising results. Only about half answered that they do believe in God while no one knew the answer to the other two. It’s also important to note that while ten people said scientologists believed in God, only seven people labeled Scientology as a religion. This means that while some people acknowledged scientologists believe in God, they deferred from labeling it as an actual religion. This seems to indicate that the general public view scientology in a negative light. News and media representations of Scientology be a cult influence the public into thinking that also.
The survey interview was helpful because it provided us with information about Scientology indirectly. These answers were able to give us some real-life insight into what the ‘every day’ person thinks and knows about Scientology.
Catherine Nally:
The street survey proved to be a great way to figure out how much or how little people actually know about Scientology. The internet is plastered with information about all types of religions, but for some reason Scientology seems to be the only one that is really scrutinized and seen as a “fake religion”.
I myself originally thought of Scientology as somewhat of a “fake” or a cult, however, this project changed some of these notions for me. I came to appreciate the religion for its scientific background. Before interviewing people I was rather certain that most people would be familiar with Scientology, but unfamiliar with what its beliefs were. My thoughts were correct. People seemed to respond to our questions with a laugh or a snide remark. A lot of people didn’t consider Scientology to be an actual religion, but as the media represents it to be, a cult.
Paul Sanchez:
When we went to Santana Row on a sunny Saturday afternoon to ask people what they knew or thought they knew about Scientology, we were greeted with mixed responses, as well as plenty of people wanting to ignore us. This neglect was somewhat expected though, for I know when I walk down the street and am asked to participate in an interview or survey I typically decline. Nevertheless, we found 20 people who were willing to respond to our basic questions about Scientology.
Everyone who participated had heard about the religion, which was not a surprise, but interestingly enough very few people had heard about Dianetics or knew what it was. When prompted about famous Scientologists, almost all participants thought of Tom Cruise, which can be attributed to how outspoken he is about the religion. An interesting connection Brian made after we pooled the results of these questions was that while only 7 participants thought Scientology to be a religion instead of a cult, 10 participants knew Scientologists officially believe in God. I think these results can be attributed to the multitude of bad press that Scientology receives in the public forum and media. Finally, no one knew what a “Thetan” was or what the most important holiday of Scientology was, which shows that the religious beliefs of this tradition are fairly unknown to outsiders. In conclusion, this experience was very helpful in understanding the public’s opinion and knowledge about the church.
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