New Religion

In the Beginning Was a Flying Spaghetti Monster

Avantika Bhuyan | 10 Jun, 2009

The last couple of years have witnessed a jumble of parody religions and movements. A round-up of the newest religious movements and spoofy cults.

The last couple of years have witnessed a jumble of parody religions and movements. A round-up of the newest religious movements and spoofy cults.
Santeria. Also known as Lukumi and of Caribbean origin. The philosophy is aimed at attaining balance here in earth instead of focusing on the afterlife. In 2001, there were an estimated 22,000 known practitioners in the US alone. Pastafarians. Created in 2005 by physics graduate Bobby Henderson, this parody religion’s adherents follow the Church of the Flying Monster. Pastafarians insist that a drunk invisible Flying Spaghetti Monster created the world. The cult protests against religion posing as science.
Invisible Pink Unicorn. This parody deity takes the form of a unicorn that is strangely pink, yet invisible. The unicorn is used as a symbol to confound supernatural properties attributed by theists to deities.
Church of Sub Genius. Founded by JR Bob’ Dobbs in Dallas, Texas, in the 1950s. Its philosophy: “The Church of the Sub Genius is an order of scoffers and blasphemers, dedicated to total slack delving into mockery science, sadofuturistics, megaphysics, scatalography, schizophrenics, cynisacreligion…”