Deep Play

“Science Fiction as Scripture: Robert A. Heinlein’s ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’ and the Church of All Worlds”

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”

Elevationism and the International Church of Cannabis

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

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”

Yoism: a shared vision of rational, human possibility

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

“I’m Starting a Religion” (MTV’s “True Life”, 2015)

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)

“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

Scattered notes on Poetic Faith

Poetic Faiths are those new religions that take the skeptical, scientific worldview as read and then ask “now what?” They tend towards: They are, in various permutations, simultaneously post-theistic and post-atheistic; beginning with the premise that there is no literal supernatural and then honoring the actual power of myth, symbolism, etc. in the human psyche, … Read moreScattered notes on Poetic Faith