At AX (that’s Anime Expo, not Armani Exchange) a few days ago, I bought myself the cutest little murderous monster ever. And I started thinking about why I like the fake religion of Cthulhu (see this treatise to prove I’m not the only one thinking about this in a vaguely serious manner). As stated in its FAQ at it’s campaign site (why vote for a lesser evil?), Cthulhu devotees are awarded “the following priveleges: They will die last”. It suggests to me the impermanence of this life and the unlikelihood of the next.
The only reason these religions seem less authentic to me than “real” religions is that they don’t take themselves seriously and they were invented more recently. And, maybe, because their adherents don’t care if there are any other adherents.
This week’s challenge: What is your favorite fake religion? Could be from a book you read or a common atheist’s god. And why does it appeal to you?
(for more Cthulhu, check out Tales of the Plush Cthulhu, Pokethulhu, Hello Cthulhu, and Yes, Virginia, there really is a Cthulhu.
5 responses so far ↓
1 TammyT // Jul 3, 2007 at 6:12 pm
The best fake religion - evah.
http://www.venganza.org/
2 Bored in Vernal // Jul 3, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Heinlein’s “Church of All Worlds” from “Stranger in a Strange Land.” (The fake one, not the real one that was modeled on the novel)
3 Kullervo // Jul 8, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Yeah, but have you actually read Lovecraft? It turns out Cthulhu worship’s actually no great shakes.
4 Miko // Jul 9, 2007 at 8:58 am
Cthulhu is like a force of nature: even if you respect it, it could still kill you. To a large extent I think god, if it exists, is just like that. We could worship the sun, like the Egyptians, but it will still go nova; it will still burn our skin; it will still scorch the earth. The very fact that Cthulhu shows no extra mercy to its followers is why I like him. There’s no bullshit, which I feel most religions have a fair amount of.
5 John // Jul 10, 2007 at 1:52 pm
I purposely held out, and I finally remembered my favorite fake religions: the missionaria protectiva of the Bene Gesserit in the Dune series (not strictly a religion, but close enough) and the Earthseed religion in Octavia Butler’s Parable novels.
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