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 Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 12:02 pm
So, I'm sure you've all heard about at least one cult or religion (that people actually practice) that was originally based off of a movie, TV show or fiction book. The most recent of which was "Cullinism", a religion based around the worship of the fictional character Edward Cullin from S. Meyer's gothic-romance Twilight. But there have been and are far more than that.
"Jedi" and "Sith", originally hailing from George Lucas' Star Wars saga have also become actual religions practiced by actual people within the real world. A cult has risen around the works of H. P. Lovecraft and his Cthulhu novels. And, if I'm not mistaken, the anime Naruto also has a cult of its own floating around some where.
My question is, what is it about these works of fiction that make people base their spiritual/religious paths on them. Not just individuals, but organized groups. What is it about them that causes "churches" to form? Is it just their popularity and nothing more? Is that all something needs to become a "religion", simple popularity? Or is there something more to it that we are just not seeing?
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 2:16 pm
Dude, Ann Radcliffe is gothic-romance xd Twilight not so much. Although funnily enough, Ann Radcliffe was probably the Stephanie Meyer of her day. Her writing is amusingly bad.... she's a guilty pleasure author.
People don't do it with any genuine belief. They're just having fun, enjoying their fandom in another way. People who do it and genuinely believe it are either bonkers or nicking off with various elements of the mythos to change it to something else. If you can't move s**t with your mind you ain't a Jedi and I doubt very much if people who call themselves Jedi remain abstinent and eschew all family ties.
What I mean is, they take the name from this or that popular thingy and apply it to their vague belief system out of a desperate desire to be cool or just like Obi Wan or something. People do the same thing with "vampire". I don't agree at all that "Jedi" and "Sith" have become actual religions. I think the few people who use the word in any seriousness have tried very hard to make something with some vague semblance to these fictional orders so they can with some pseudo-legitimacy refer to themselves as Jedi. It's sad, and everyone can see through it.
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:22 am
I think if somebody has a strong enough passion for something, then they can turn that something into their religion. Religion is supposed to help us grow as human beings and help us be happy. If star wars makes somebody happy, then they should follow the philosophies and principles of light and dark and the Force freely without ridicule. I admit, the majority of those people are probably trying to just look cool because they like feeling different and unique, but sometimes there are those who truly feel connected to it, not because they are trying to be cool, but because it sits on the same page of how they feel inside, even if it was derived from the media.
Unfortunately, people can't just practice which ever religion they want for fear of being ridiculed or accused of following a fake religion. It's those kinds of people who force me to lie and say I'm atheist when really, I'm not. Basically, if it makes you happy, then follow it no matter how ridiculous it may seem. Everybody deserves to practice what they want peacefully.
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 5:52 am
I think that most people are probably just having fun, and expressing their fandom.  Of course, this is the internet, so there might be people who believe they are one (like Otherkin, Otakukin, Therians, "Vampires", etc) but I think most people are just having fun. A fandom I'm in, the Haruhi Suzumiya series, has fans saying they belong to "Haruhiism", because in the series, Haruhi, a schoolgirl, is unaware that she is a god, and I've been known to join in the fun occasionally, but it's only harmless fun, that's it. There's no religion involved at all.
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 4:12 pm
The only people I've heard of taking fiction seriously as religious thought (and are aware they are using fiction) are chaos magicians. Even then, I've gotten the impression from most of them that using fiction as a mainframe for ritual and magic is done both very seriously and irreverently at the same time.
I suppose that some popular and cult works have enough following and fan base to draw energy off of thought forms to complete a goal, assuming the goal aligns with that thought form's power. I haven't personally tried it and I don't think I'd be interested in trying it.
I think a lot of people just do it for fun fannish jokes and pleasure. That's fine.
People who are serious are deluding themselves or are badly informed or other wised confused.
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