The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 23: The apologist academics - 2020-08-13

In 2011 we spent the month of August counting down a list of the "Top 25 People Crippling Scientology." Nine years later, Scientology is still hurting, but church leader David Miscavige learned long ago that paid membership was only one resource that kept him in business. He also relies on a small army of enablers, some paid, some not, who help him stay in business even though they aren't Scientologists themselves. So we thought we'd recognize them with this countdown.
It's true that religious studies academics struggle to get anyone to pay attention to what they have to say. And for the most part, the professor types who insist on helping out Scientology by claiming it's a bona fide "religion" that has been unfairly treated by the media rarely get much traction with the public or press.
But apologist academics can be a real pain for legitimate researchers who come under attack from these Scientology cheerleaders.