Temple of the Holy LOL For Good
August 8, 2011 12:42 PM   Subscribe

What other groups use a religious-like structure humourously as a form of activism, art, or community? Something along the veins of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence?
posted by divabat to Society & Culture (18 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
I think the best example of this is the Church of the Subgenius.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 12:45 PM on August 8, 2011 [3 favorites]




Discordianism.
posted by griphus at 12:48 PM on August 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


The Church of Euthanasia. Warning: some people find the material to be offensive.
posted by acridrabbit at 12:50 PM on August 8, 2011


The Church of Stop Shopping
posted by novalis_dt at 12:50 PM on August 8, 2011




There's actually a whole wikipedia page on "Paraody Religions" that you might find relevant.

I saw Reverend Billy perform at the Conflux Festival in NYC a few years ago--preaching against malls and consumerism. He was great!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 12:53 PM on August 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


Church of Craft
posted by craichead at 12:54 PM on August 8, 2011


Dudeism
Frisbeetarianism?
posted by mrmarley at 12:55 PM on August 8, 2011


Thee Temple of Psychick Youth
posted by mkb at 1:06 PM on August 8, 2011


Also the Church of Body Modification.
posted by mkb at 1:07 PM on August 8, 2011


Otherhood of Artmonks.
posted by cushie at 1:17 PM on August 8, 2011


Not so sure about the Church of Craft, from personal experience; I think it's just a "church" in name. thre wasn't anything really 'churchy' about the structure or event I went to.

There used to be an X-Files themed fan group-turned-charity, which called itself The Order of the Blessed St. Scully the Enigmatic. They were a group of fans who were struck by a throwaway line in an X-Files episode which implied the character Scully was immortal, and were amused enough to declare her a "saint" and founded their own "church". When a shit-ton of other fans joined as well, the core group decided to actually do something productive, and spent a few years coordinating "Services" (read: events where they broadcast a lot of Scully-themed episodes) to raise money for one of Gillian Anderson's favorite charities. Pretty sure the group petered out when the show did.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:40 PM on August 8, 2011


Father Guido Sarducci.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:11 PM on August 8, 2011




The Westboro Baptist Church?
posted by iviken at 1:49 AM on August 9, 2011


Response by poster: lol westboro.

I was thinking less of parodies that are there for the sake of parody - I was looking up the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence's webste and they've got their own initiation systems and do a lot of community service and so on, but also work off people's expectations of nuns & the absurdity of having them in drag. Most of the rest just seem like parody ideas that don't have a lot of real-world application.

Are there any that are based on something *other* than Christianity?
posted by divabat at 3:59 PM on August 9, 2011


Is Jediism a parody religion or not?

"The Jedi census phenomenon is a grassroots movement that was initiated in 2001 for residents of a number of English-speaking countries, urging them to record their religion as "Jedi" or "Jedi Knight" (after the quasi-religious order of Jedi Knights in the fictional Star Wars universe) on the national census.
It is believed the majority of self-reported Jedi claimed the religion for their own amusement, to poke fun at the government,[1] or as a protest against the inclusion of the religion question on the census form.
To date, no country has adopted or legally decreed "Jedi" or "Jediism" as an "official" religion."


Also: Matrixism.
posted by iviken at 3:48 AM on August 11, 2011


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