In the futuristic world of Logan’s Run (1976), humanity – or at least that portion of humanity that the movie is concerned with – is sequestered away from the unknown “world outside”, living and dying inside vast Xanadu-like pleasure domes. Their lives and deaths are supervised by an AI who ensures that they want for … Read more“Renew! Renew!” The Cult of Carrousel in Logan’s Run (1976)
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.
Religion is the emulation of the adult by the child. Religion is the encystment of past beliefs: mythology, which is guesswork, the hidden assumptions of trust in the universe, those pronouncements which men have made in search of personal power, all of it mingled with shreds of enlightenment. And always the ultimate unspoken commandment is … Read moreBreaking the Unspoken Commandment (Children of Dune, 1976)
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s new documentary about CREATION, the queer insurrectionary science fiction climate change religion developed by artist Deborah Kelly and her collaborators: Why would you create a new religion? In 2020, Australian artist Deborah Kelly began pondering that question. She was filled with grief over the Black Summer bushfires, and wanted something to believe in. … Read more“CREATION: A New Religion” (2025)
A heads-up that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s documentary about CREATION, the queer insurrectionary science fiction climate change religion developed by artist Deborah Kelly and her collaborators, will soon be available. It’s scheduled for 6.30pm eastern standard time this coming Sunday across Australia and will also be available internationally through the ABC’s youtube channel from Sunday morning (roughly … Read moreUpcoming CREATION documentary
Scientist Bernard Quatermass has his first glimpse of the Planet People, a hippie/punk cult drawn to megalithic stone circle sites, in this clip from the 1979 series (also released internationally as a movie) The Quatermass Conclusion. On a personal note, while I have no other memory of having seen this show, I do recall this … Read moreThe Planet People (“The Quatermass Conclusion”, 1979)
The Genetically Modified Skeptic YouTube channel offers a cogent comparison of religious/cultic themes in the Mad Max universe with real-world fascistic (and anti-fascistic) movements. Readers with a taste for Mad Max cult action may also enjoy this behind-the-scenes glimpse into the training of the actors and stuntmen who played Immortan Joe’s War Boys.
In Sound of My Voice, amateur documentarists Peter (Christopher Denham) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius) go undercover to investigate a secretive cult led by the enigmatic Maggie (Britt Marling, who also co-wrote the story), who claims to have traveled back in time from the year 2054. According to co-writer/director Zal Batmanglij: We were interested in fringe … Read more“The Sound of My Voice” (2012)
M.L Clark writes for OnlySky: One unspoken tenet of anti-theist discourse is that we are limited by the religious stories at the core of our culture. For that slice of the nonreligious spectrum, it’s not enough not to believe, personally, in a god. The nature of religion poses a narrative problem that anti-theists feel must … Read more“Solarpunk humanism: How we dream bigger than despair”