Cultpunk begins with the premise that all religions are invented as works of art (thereby alienating the gigantic majority of the conventionally religious) and then insists that it is deeply desirable to act on that premise (thereby alienating the gigantic majority of atheists). Some of the happy few we count as pioneers in this field … Read moreHow to create new religions: resources for would-be founders
Jamie Wheal argues for the “ethical cult” as distinct from “traditional cults” such as institutionalized religions and “culty cults” a la the Peoples Temple, Nxivm, et al. More detail on the same theme here:
I recorded this unusual and imaginative documentary on VHS tape back when it first screened, and re-watched it several times. During the first two-thirds, comedienne and presenter Ruby Wax lampoons various California New Age therapies and ostensibly mystical practices (or at least provides color commentary as they lampoon themselves) and it’s fun and funny to … Read more“Ruby Takes a Trip” (documentary, 1991)
Click here to read Carole Cusack’s history and analysis of the Church of All Worlds, an early neoPagan religion that drew significant inspiration from Robert A. Heinlein’s science fiction classic Stranger in a Strange Land: The process of secularization, which was assumed to be the dominant model of religion in Western culture, was supposed to … Read more“Science Fiction as Scripture: Robert A. Heinlein’s ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’ and the Church of All Worlds”
Denver, Colorado’s International Church of Cannabis promotes the new religion of Elevationism, on the premise that: (…) an individual’s spiritual journey, and search for meaning, is one of self-discovery that can be accelerated and deepened with ritual and mindful cannabis use. We use the sacred flower to reveal the best version of self, discover a … Read moreElevationism and the International Church of Cannabis
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”
Founded during the mid-’90s, Yoism is described as: (…) a community of individuals united by a shared vision of human possibility. Together, we can create Heaven on Earth. Uniting Atheist, Skeptic, Agnostic, Buddhist, Pagan, Realist, Enlightenment, Humanist, Unitarian, Deist, Psychedelic, Transcendentalist, and Pantheist systems of belief to create the World’s First Open Source, Rational Religion, … Read moreYoism: a shared vision of rational, human possibility
Like most, if not all of the diverse experiences at Shadow Traffic’s Lost Horizon Night Market, the Church of the Electric God was a one-night-only affair. Worshippers who entered the ephemeral box-truck Church (on a strictly individual basis) communed with a sonic deity via electronic drone music.
This episode of MTV’s True Life series documents the efforts of two quirky 20-somethings – Seattle’s Unicole Unicron and Chicago’s Christopher Karl Allman – as they strive to establish their new religions (Unicultism and The People of Ieya, respectively). The documentary is listed as (S2015 E18) and originally screened in 2015, which should be plenty … Read more“I’m Starting a Religion” (MTV’s “True Life”, 2015)