Hugh B. Urban is interested in the study of secrecy in religion, particularly in relation to questions of knowledge and power. His work focuses primarily on religions of South Asia and new religious movements in the United States. He is the author of numerous books, including:  Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics and Power in the Study of Religion (2003), The Power of Tantra (2010), The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion (2011), and Secrecy: Silence, Power and Religion (2021). He is also an avid amateur mycologist and member of the Ohio Mushroom Society.