It is the first of a series of books on new religious movements published by the Center for Studies on New Religions.

Melton deals with the history and development of Scientology, covering such matters as church's structure and organization, ethics, and nonprofit initiatives.

[2] Derek Davis said in the Journal of Church and State, "Few books pack as much information into so little space.

[2] Jana Riess said in Publishers Weekly that it was a rare, welcome impartial treatment of the subject by an outsider and that it did an admirable job covering the bases and showing the views of both the Church and its detractors.

[3] In a review in the Marburg Journal of Religion, Marco Frenschkowski [de] argued that the book "err[s] on the side of too much politeness and hesitation when discussing critical questions posed by the public about Scientology".