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A recent parody religion, Pastafarianism was created in 2005 to protest a decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to allow intelligent design to be taught in science classes alongside evolution.

A parody religion or mock religion is either a parody of a religion, sect or cult, or a relatively unserious religion that many people may take as being too esoteric to be classified as a "real" religion. One parody religion can be a parody of several religions, sects, gurus and cults at the same time. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 227 KB) In celebration of your birth, you, JENNIFER STRANART, are entitled to one touch by His divine Noodly Appendage. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 227 KB) In celebration of your birth, you, JENNIFER STRANART, are entitled to one touch by His divine Noodly Appendage. ... Bobby Henderson redirects here. ... For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ... In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... This article is about religious groups. ... Cult typically refers to a cohesive social group devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture considers outside the mainstream, with a notably positive or negative popular perception. ... Look up Esotericism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In some parody religions the emphasis is on making fun and being a convenient excuse for pleasant social interaction among like-minded, e.g. the Church of the SubGenius. J. R. Bob Dobbs The Church of the SubGenius is a group that satirizes religion, conspiracy theory, UFOs and popular culture originally based in Dallas, Texas, which gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s subculture, with a large presence on the Internet. ...

Other parody religions target a specific religion, sect, cult, or new religious movement. With some parody religions only ex-members of the specific group being parodied may understand it or be interested in it. This article is about religious groups. ... Cult typically refers to a cohesive social group devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture considers outside the mainstream, with a notably positive or negative popular perception. ... A new religious movement or NRM is a term used to refer to a religious faith, or an ethical, spiritual or philosophical movement of recent origin that isnt part of an established denomination, church, or religious body. ...

Other parody religions are aimed at highlighting deficiencies in particular pro-religious arguments — the thinking being that if a given argument can also be used to support a clear parody, then the original argument is clearly flawed (an example of this is the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which parodies the equal time argument employed by Intelligent Design Creationism^[1]). Bobby Henderson redirects here. ... Equal time refers to a doctrine, usually in broadcast communications regulation, to give political candidates equal time on television or radio. ... For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ... Creationism is a religious belief that humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe were created in their original form by a deity or deities (often the Abrahamic God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam), whose existence is presupposed. ...

An example of a movie that parodies religion is Monty Python's Life of Brian. Monty Pythons Life of Brian is a 1979 comedy written and performed by the Monty Python comedy team. ...

In 2001 following an Internet campaign, the fictional Star Wars "religion" Jedi became a parody religion as 0.7% of the UK population were persuaded to state their religion as Jedi in the official census^[2] (see Jedi census). Similar campaigns in other countries also took place. This article is about the year. ... This article is about the series. ... Jedi Knights and Jedi Knight redirect here. ... Jedi Knights and Jedi Knight redirect here. ... Image:1870 census Lindauer Weber 01. ... The Jedi census phenomenon was a grassroots movement in 2001 for citizens in a few English-speaking countries to record their religion as Jedi or Jedi Knight (after the fictitious quasi-religious order of Force-attuned knights in the Star Wars films) on the national census. ...

Several religions that are classified as parody religions have a number of relatively serious followers who embrace the perceived absurdity of these religions as spiritually significant, a decidedly post-modern approach to religion. The most notable of these religions may be Discordianism. With Discordianism, it may be hard to tell if even these "serious" followers are not just taking part in an even bigger joke. This joke, in turn, may be part of a greater path to enlightenment, and so on ad infinitum. Postmodernism (sometimes abbreviated pomo) is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... Discordianism is a modern, chaos-centered religion founded circa 1958–1959 by Malaclypse the Younger with the publication of its principal text, the Principia Discordia. ...

Parody religions are almost never recognised by existing organised religions.

Notable parody religions

This section does not cite any references or sources. (January 2008) Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

Parodies of particular beliefs

The following were created as parodies of particular religious beliefs:

• Eventualism, a subtle parody of Scientology.
• Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, also known as Pastafarianism, a parody of intelligent design ^[3]. (Some followers of this faith assert that it is a parody religion because their deity chooses it to be so)
• Invisible Pink Unicorn, a parody of theist definitions of God. It also purports to highlight the arbitrary and unfalsifiable nature of religious belief, in a similar way to Russell's teapot.
• Kibology, a humorous Usenet-based satire of religion, partly parodying Scientology.
• Landover Baptist Church, a parody of Evangelical Christianity.
• Last Thursdayism, a joke version of omphalism, again demonstrating problems with unfalsifiable beliefs.
• The Great Pumpkin, a Santa Claus–like being in the comic strip Peanuts, interpreted as a parody of Christian evangelism by some critics.
• The Church of Google, a parody religion that proves that there is more evidence for Google being a god than there is for the existence of the gods of other religions.
• Eastboro Baptist Church, a parody of the Westboro Baptist Church hate group.
• The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism, the Christian denomination attended by most residents of Springfield in the animated TV series The Simpsons. It has been used to parody many religious beliefs and activities, though its absurdly long, qualifier-filled name is a parody of Protestant denominations in particular, as is the history of its founding: centuries ago, Presbylutherans split from the Catholic Church during the "Schism of Lourdes" to defend their "god-given right to come to church with wet hair," a right the Presbylutheran church later abolished.
• Goofyism, a parody religion that tries to teach non-judgmentalism and not taking life or religion to seriously!

Eventualism is a fictional self-help company/religion/lifestyle led by T. Azimuth Schwitters. ... Doctrine Practices Concepts People Public outreach Organization Controversy Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by American pulp fiction author L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as an outgrowth of his earlier self-help system, Dianetics. ... Bobby Henderson redirects here. ... For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ... A depiction of the Invisible Pink Unicorn, in the style of a heraldic animal rampant, though the nearest heraldic color to pink is purpure (purple). ... Theism is the belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities. ... Russells teapot, sometimes called the Celestial Teapot, was an analogy first coined by the philosopher Bertrand Russell, intended to refute the idea that the burden of proof lies upon the sceptic to disprove unfalsifiable claims of religions. ... Kibology is a parody religion, partly satirizing Scientology. ... Doctrine Practices Concepts People Public outreach Organization Controversy Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by American pulp fiction author L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as an outgrowth of his earlier self-help system, Dianetics. ... The Landover Baptist Church is a Bible believing, Fundamentalist, Independent Baptist Church. ... Evangelicalism, in a strictly lexical, but rarely used sense, refers to all things that are implied in belief that Jesus is the savior. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The omphalos hypothesis was named after the title of an 1857 book by Philip Henry Gosse in which he argued that in order for the world to be functional, God must have created the Earth with mountains, canyons, trees with growth rings, Adam and Eve with hair, fingernails, and navels... Linus awaits the Great Pumpkin. ... For other uses, see Peanut (disambiguation). ... WBC member Jael Phelps (right) and an unidentified Westboro Baptist child protesting near the Boston Avenue United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is a religious organization headed by Fred Phelps and based in Topeka, Kansas, United States. ... The First Church of Springfield The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism is the Protestant church attended by the Simpson family on the animated American television program The Simpsons. ... Springfield is the fictional city in which the animated American sitcom The Simpsons is set. ... Simpsons redirects here. ...

Post-modern or otherwise odd religions

The following are post-modern religions that may be seen as elaborate parodies of 'real' religions:

• Bokononism, a fictional religion from Kurt Vonnegut's novel Cat's Cradle, where one major point is that human happiness is more important than truth, even scientific truth. Another is that Bokononism freely acknowledges that all its tenets are false.
• Basil Baxter, a fictional cult promoting killing in new and inventive ways. [1]
• Campus Crusade for Cthulhu
• Church of Emacs
• Church of the SubGenius, often regarded as a parody of religion in general, with elements of fundamentalist Christianity, Scientology, new-age cults, pop-psychology, and motivational sales techniques amongst others, has become a notable movement in its own right, inspiring several books, art exhibits, rock albums, conventions, and novelty items.
• Discordianism
• Jedi Religion see Jedi census phenomenon.
• Iglesia Maradoniana ("Church of Maradona"), an Argentinian group of fans of the top association football player Diego Armando Maradona.
• Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth
• Pornsaints, both a fictional cult and an art collective, promoting who attains sanctity through pornography.

Bokononism is the fictional religion practiced by many of the characters in Kurt Vonneguts novel Cats Cradle. ... Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ... For the string game, see Cats cradle. ... Campus Crusade for Cthulhu is an American student organization. ... In hacker culture, the editor war is an ongoing debate in the computer programming community about which text editor is best for general-purpose editing. ... J. R. Bob Dobbs The Church of the SubGenius is a group that satirizes religion, conspiracy theory, UFOs and popular culture originally based in Dallas, Texas, which gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s subculture, with a large presence on the Internet. ... Discordianism is a modern, chaos-centered religion founded circa 1958–1959 by Malaclypse the Younger with the publication of its principal text, the Principia Discordia. ... The Jedi census phenomenon was a grassroots movement in 2001 for citizens in a few English-speaking countries to record their religion as Jedi or Jedi Knight (after the fictitious religious order from the Star Wars films) on the national census, apparently as a very large-scale practical joke. ... The Jedi census phenomenon was a grassroots movement in 2001 for citizens in a few English-speaking countries to record their religion as Jedi or Jedi Knight (after the fictitious quasi-religious order of Force-attuned knights in the Star Wars films) on the national census. ... Religious display on Maradona in Naples. ... Maradona and the World Cup trophy Diego Armando Maradona (El Diego) (born October 30, 1960) is a former Argentine football player. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Notable usage by atheist commentators

Many atheists, most notably Richard Dawkins, use parody religions such as those of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Invisible Pink Unicorn — as well as ancient gods like Zeus and Thor — as modern versions of Russell's teapot to argue that the burden of proof is on the believer, not the atheist.^[5] Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. ... Bobby Henderson redirects here. ... A depiction of the Invisible Pink Unicorn, in the style of a heraldic animal rampant, though the nearest heraldic color to pink is purpure (purple). ... For other uses, see Zeus (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Thor (disambiguation). ... Russells teapot, sometimes called the Celestial Teapot, was an analogy first coined by the philosopher Bertrand Russell, intended to refute the idea that the burden of proof lies upon the sceptic to disprove unfalsifiable claims of religions. ...

Dawkins also creates a parody of the criticism of atheism, coining the term athorism, or the firm belief that the Norse deity Thor does not exist. The intention is to emphasize the fact that atheism is not a form of religious creed, but merely a sane denial of implausible beliefs.^[6] A common challenge against atheism is the claim that atheism is itself a form of "faith", a belief without proof. The theist might say "No one can prove that God doesn't exist, therefore an atheist is exercising faith by asserting that there is no God." Dawkins argues that by replacing the word "God" with "Thor" one should see that the assertion is fallacious. The burden of proof, he says, rests upon the believer in the supernatural, not upon the non-believer who considers such things unlikely. Athorism is an attempt to illustrate through absurdity that there is no logical difference between disbelieving any particular religion. Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... For other uses, see Thor (disambiguation). ... Atheist redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

See also

• New religious movement
• Religious satire
• Syncretism
• Discordianism
• Church of the SubGenius

A new religious movement or NRM is a term used to refer to a religious faith, or an ethical, spiritual or philosophical movement of recent origin that isnt part of an established denomination, church, or religious body. ... Religious satire is a form of satire targeted at religion and religious practices. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Discordianism is a modern, chaos-centered religion founded circa 1958–1959 by Malaclypse the Younger with the publication of its principal text, the Principia Discordia. ... J. R. Bob Dobbs The Church of the SubGenius is a group that satirizes religion, conspiracy theory, UFOs and popular culture originally based in Dallas, Texas, which gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s subculture, with a large presence on the Internet. ...

References

Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. ... Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Betty Bowers Parody of Christianity
• Scientology Losing Ground To New Fictionology An Onion article parodying religion
• The Ultimate Comment, a self-proclaimed "psychedelic cult" trying to find the secret of the universe.