is given pride of place on one of the official scientology websites.

Not surprising really as he was in a minority, in the academic world ,re cults. He always argued that new religions/cults should be particularly defended if religious freedom was really meant to mean just that.

Now that's fair enough, I suppose. I've personally never argued that people shouldn't be free to follow disreputable cult leaders and cults, whether scientology, Rawatism, Sai Babaism or whatever. However, I also believe I and others should be free to criticise them, too. Whenever I argue and discuss with Premies, somewhere along the line I always make it clear that they are free to do whatever they like. Obviously. Most Premies, though, either run away from an argument ( Yadot, for example) or refuse to discuss anything in depth ( their prerogative) or say I have no right to discuss anything and that I shouldn't be free to speak my mind.

B. R. Wilson took flak from friends and foes alike for his insistence on speaking up for cults in general and scientology in particular. I personally think he focused on cult critics, apostates etc as a direct result of the fundamental stand he was making i.e. full religious freedom. As a result, I think he was a bit skewed in this regard and, of course,he never lived through the madness of cultism himself, so perhaps he underestimated the validity of former cultists.

Still, he was, by most accounts, a decent guy and, IMO, a person with a great deal more integrity than the cultists who made him their " intellectual" darling.