We are Cultpunks. We affirm that belief systems, rituals, symbols, pilgrimages, tenets, holy days, shrines, festivals, taboos, mythologies and pantheons can and should be created as works of art. If so, then surely any sufficiently advanced magic is likewise indistinguishable from technology, and religions may usefully be considered as psychological technologies. Just like any other tech, … Read moreRead this first: “A Cultpunk Manifesto”
Mark Winegust interviews Martin Karlqvist & Patrik Andersson, who designed the elaborate rituals of the Hårga cult in the modern folk-horror classic movie Midsommar: MARTIN: It’s of course a lot of backwards engineering, because we knew what we had at an early stage, but it’s also highly influenced by my psychology studies,and the writings of … Read more“The Cult of Midsommar”
Jamie Wheal of the Flow Genome Project speaks on the Conspirituality podcast on his pet subject of ethical cults.
The unveiling of the world’s first public Pastafarian shrine is scheduled for Saturday, September 27 at 3 p.m. The sculpture was created by artist Bartosz Banasik of the Słaboszów commune, who said: I love spirituality in its broadest sense. I’ve created many religious objects, primarily for Christian denominations. When a representative of the Flying Monster … Read moreFirst Public Shrine to the Flying Spaghetti Monster (Solec-Zdrój, Poland)
The ReligionForBreakfast YouTube channel offers advice for science fiction and fantasy worldbuilders towards creating imaginary religions that feel lived-in and real.
“A ritual, if it is truly a ritual and not a gauzy affirmation of the best of life, or a threadbare disdain for the lowly and the prosaic, carries something of the radioactive about it, something of the dark arts.” “Rituals are out at the edge of what is likely, what is familiar. They are … Read moreStephen Jenkinson on Ritual
The incomparable George Carlin explains his conversion to sun worship during his 1999 TV special You Are All Diseased.
Above: Pat Morita in the godawful film version of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, which omits the Clock People storyline entirely. For your own sake, read the novel instead. The Clock People manage their anarchism (if that is not a contradiction) simply because they have channeled all of their authoritarian compulsions and control mania into … Read moreThe Clock People (from “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues”)
Wayne Martin Mellinger writes on the past and future of religious naturalism, arguing in favor of a more Dionysian, intuitive, deeply playful approach than has often been evident in this niche movement: Abstract The Rise of Religious Naturalism: A New Public Theology of Sacred Nature explores the emergence of Religious Naturalism (RN) as both a … Read more“The Rise of Religious Naturalism: A New Public Theology of Sacred Nature”
Photos courtesy and Kathrynne and Tony Wolf. Recently returned from another week-long stay at Sky Meadow, our soulful home-away-from-home deep in the mountains of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Originally a dairy farm and homestead dating back to the mid-19th century, the 114-acre property has served as a spiritual/nature retreat and permaculture farm since the 1980s. The … Read moreNew Traditions: an Illustrated Memoir of the Sky Meadow Sacred Harvest 2025
Richard Turner, a former cult member who is now a recovery therapist, explores how social groups that establish coercive control often don’t fit the “cult” stereotypes, and don’t need to, in order to pose a threat.