Douglas Rushkoff beatified by the Church of Earthalujah (circa 2010)
Much more on Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir here.
Activism
The Guilty Remnant
A featurette on the enigmatic Guilty Remnant cult from the TV series The Leftovers, set three years after a mysterious event known as the Sudden Departure caused 2% of the world’s population to vanish. I think one key to understanding the series, and the GR in particular, is to sympathize with the characters (and their … Read moreThe Guilty Remnant
The Sisters Academy
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, The Sisters Academy is: (…) a school in a world and society where the sensuous and poetic mode of being is at the center of all action and interaction. It defines the primary mode of being and is the values on which all societal institutions are building – including the school. … Read moreThe Sisters Academy
Grimes – “New Gods”
Grimes‘ music video for her 2020 album Miss Anthropocene imagines new gods for a new world: Miss Anthropocene is an art project by Grimes in which a new pantheon of modern Gods exist as humanoid versions of the concepts that dominate our lives, such as Climate Change, plastic, biological warfare, social media, etc. In the … Read moreGrimes – “New Gods”
The Church of Euthanasia: “Save the planet, kill yourself”
Founded by the Reverend Chris Korda and Pastor Kim in 1992, the Church of Euthanasia is a Dadaist quasireligion promoting environmentalism via human extinction: Prayer for a Good Death by Rev. Chris Korda Great Spirit, I am unworthy;My species has disgraced itself.Of all the species that live, or have ever lived,Mine is the lowliest.Lower than … Read moreThe Church of Euthanasia: “Save the planet, kill yourself”
The Church of Universal Suffrage
The Church of Universal Suffrage was founded in Nashville, Tennessee on June 1, 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic, upon the belief that: (…) all people are created equal and that they are all endowed by their Creator with the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The right to vote is a … Read moreThe Church of Universal Suffrage
“A religion you can dance to”: Deborah Kelly’s Creation project
Australian artist Deborah Kelly describes Creation, a “queer science fiction climate change religion” and an experiment in collaboratively creating religion as a work of art: CREATION is a new religion, manifesting in spectacle and intimacy. A faith, a gathering of intention and purpose with which to face an era when paid opinion trumps environmental evidence. … Read more“A religion you can dance to”: Deborah Kelly’s Creation project
The Nontheistic, LGBTQIA+ Prism Sanctuary
What if we had a religion that protected LGBT rights under the umbrella of religious liberty? During the first week of 2022, Republican lawmakers in Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and South Dakota introduced at least 9 measures that limit the ability of transgender and nonbinary youths to participate in sports or receive … Read moreThe Nontheistic, LGBTQIA+ Prism Sanctuary
“W.I.T.C.H.es Brew” (2017)
Molly Birnbaum writes for Topic on the Trump-era revival of W.I.T.C.H. as a tactic of political protest and occult resistance: “Anonymity is dramatic,” says a W.I.T.C.H. (Anonymity also prevents doxxing—a real threat in this day and age.) “The witch is a powerful figure when so many people feel like they’re losing control,” another W.I.T.C.H. explains. … Read more“W.I.T.C.H.es Brew” (2017)
“The Satanic Temple’s Protest for First Amendment Rights”
In this 2018 report, Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves observes that: I think if most Christians are honest about it, I think they’ll admit that they’re just pretty much picking and choosing what they will believe and what they won’t. I think that the more people become comfortable culturally identifying with their religions and realizing … Read more“The Satanic Temple’s Protest for First Amendment Rights”