Talk:List of fictional religions

Initial comments

Aren't all religions fictional?

I removed the following:

• Reverend Wayne's Pearly Gates (Cult of Asherah) - Snow Crash

from the list because it deals with a real mythological figure. Anyone think it should go back on? Personally, I think the priest could go in the List of fictional clergy and religious figures, but that's just my opine. --Mitsukai 04:25, 25 May 2005 (UTC)

I think it fits, because it is a fictional church, even if based on a real mythological figure - it has the added "sacrament" of taking Snow Crash, which makes it different from the historical Cult of Asherah. It might belong on a "list of fictional churches," but there is no such list at present and I don't think the distinction is basic enough to make it a separate list anyway.

For me, the main question is "what purpose does it serve being on the list" (along with "what purpose does it serve to remove it"). Would you agree that it serves to inform readers of the literary/historical connection and perhaps inspire them to learn more?

Sounds good to me. Up it goes. ^_^--Mitsukai 23:45, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Additionally, The Silmarillion is not a religion, it's a "historical text", so that was removed as well.--Mitsukai 04:27, 25 May 2005 (UTC)

If nobody minds, I'm going to reorganize this list by book rather than religion title (if only because half of the entries are Orange Catholic). Tlogmer 09:02, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

I just split them off when I realized how many there were. Tlogmer 09:35, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

I think it really fits on the list of fictional churches, as there is not enough information to support an actual article.

Would it be possible to re-word the title from "List of fictional religions" to "List of religions used in fictional works" or something similar? It would sidestep the issue of what constitutes a real vs fictional religion.Rkent9 (talk) 05:34, 24 December 2011 (UTC)

Church of Cthulhu

hey, umm.. Church of Cthulhu Anyone? http://tsalazar0.tripod.com

Chutengodianism merger

I vote to merge. Doesn't seem enough substance to Chutengodianism to support a solo article. Bookgrrl 02:27, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Jedi

As Jedi is now an officially recognized religion (I believe it is on the Australian census, and one Memer of British Parliament has openly claimed to practise it), should it be removed from this list? It may have previously been fiction, but is now fact.

It's very much a fictional religion, and I don't think it's officialy recognized (a bunch of people just wrote "jedi" in the "other" field on the sensus forms). The "Jedi" religion as seen in the moves will never become real. People might start a new religion based loosely on the moral codes featured in the movies and call themselves Jedi, but that's it. The Jedi religion as seen in the movies will remain fictional, and whatever new religion people create based on that will be a completely seperate entity. --Sherool 23:11, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

I see there is already a good article on the Jedi census phenomenon by the way, and it seems I was right that it's not official anywhere, it is baicaly a large "clain mail" joke to poke fun at religion in genral more than anyting. --Sherool 23:30, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

I think Jedi should be removed or at least included with a note stating it was formerly a fictitious religion. It is currently an official religion by consensus and practice. Yes, not everyone who claims to be Jedi follows or understands it completely but neither do most Christians, Muslims or even Kaballah practitioners follow their religion in-depth. That doesn't suggest we could denouce those religions either. Refer to:

• Jedi - the Growth of a 'Religion' - BBC h2g2, 2005
• Census returns of the Jedi - BBC News, 2003
• Jedi 'religion' grows in Australia - BBC News, 2002
• Jedi makes the census list - BBC News, 2001
• Jedi Church - Official New Zealand site

UK 007 (talk)

Matrixism

Removed Matrixism from this list as it does not appear to be a "fictional" religion. 71.139.88.8 03:38, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

better layout

this article needs a lot of editing and a better layout such as the list of fictional drugs

A good place to start might be to organize fictional religions by their source. For instance, "Bajoran religion," "Klingon religion," and "Vulcan religion" could all be categorized under "Star Trek," hence making both easier to find for those specifically looking for religions from the series. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DerekMBarnes (talk • contribs) 04:18, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

Dark Carnival

I'm removing the dark carnival. People do actually follow it so it is a religion

Nomination for deletion

Who, by any standards, has the right to decide which religion is made up and which is not. Bokononism, a religion created by Kurt Vonnegut in his novel "Cat's Cradle", has a large worldwide following. People believe what they want to believe, and if these "fake" religions are listed, then Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and all the other supposed "real" religions should be listed also. Nobody ever knows which religion is "correct" so to say. Either rename or delete.

Soriano329 (talk) 06:18, 24 December 2007 (UTC)"

I don't think it matters here whether all religions are false or not. "Fictional religions" were created only for the works of fiction and their creators didn't mean that people should believe that they are actually true. (and they may even have fictional history etc.) This is not the case with Buddhism, Christianity and others. EetuS (talk) 08:01, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Unless you know the true author of the torah, bible, or koran, I don't think you can make that claim. They too may have written them as works of fiction. Soriano329 (talk) 012:20, 20 May 2009 (UTC)"

Why isn't Scientology listed then? We know the true author of that religion and he was an American science fiction author. Just because a religion is wide-spread doesn't mean it's fact. The defintion of fiction is 'a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact.' so by saying these are fiction, you are saying Christianity, Buddhism, Islam are fact? This article should be deleted because it's completely biased and disrespecting peoples beliefs.Equinox Sun (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 11:35, 18 September 2010 (UTC).

Cult Mechanicus - Warhammer 40,000

Why is it under A? Should it be C? Or M or W? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.131.186.22 (talk) 13:46, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Scientology

Should Scientology be listed on here? And if it should, should it be referred to as a "bogus belief system"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.154.133.29 (talk) 23:58, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

I also have doubts as to it being listed here. Yes, I am aware that its status is under intense scrutiny by Anonymous, but the fact remains that someone must believe in it, otherwise it wouldn't have taken off in such a big way. 81.129.160.105 (talk) 18:33, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

I took it off the list. There are people in the world who believe in it so it is real. Ask Tom Cruise. NeoJustin ^{(Talk page)} 20:50, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

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Pastafarianism

I don't think Pastafarianism classes as a fictional religion. While it has a certain notability on this page, on the official website it is neither explicitly stated nor implied that the religion is a parody, joke or fictional religion. Naming it as 'fictional' due to the subjective absurdity of a Flying Spaghetti Monster does not satisfy the neuturality of wikipedia. As with one of the foremost comments, all religion is 'ficitional' by even the most lax of criteria. Thus, Pastafarian should be considered for removal, perhaps to a page on 'Minor religions'? Oliverbeatson (talk) 01:29, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

not exactly neutral to say "all religion is fictional". That's like saying the Harry Potter books arn't real because they have fictional content. Even if that wasn't true, how would you feel if a Christian put atheism on this page? We *know* the inventors of pastafarianism said one day "lets make up a religion". Try not to reply offensively. This wasn't personal, it is meant for anyone with such an opinion. Kanjo Kotr (talk) 03:42, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

Arceusism

Is there any reason why mine was rejected when it does exist? What is this nonsense about providing verifiable sources when things such as "assism" are up there with no discussion or sources? In fact, the only ones with a "source" is the epsilon program and jemimas witness one. I demand to know why mine was rejected when it is somewhat well known on the internet. ChimmyChonga20 (talk) 20:40, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for discussing the matter. No sources were provided and I couldn't find any, so I removed the material per WP:V.

Yes, this article is a mess, but that's no excuse for more of the same. --Ronz (talk) 20:54, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Then by that logic you should delete the entire article except for the Jemimas witnesses and epsilon program part.. I'll try to dig up some sources on arceusism and then I'll put it back on, K? ChimmyChonga20 (talk) 21:07, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Yes, most of the article could be justifiably removed per WP:V.

Yes, all it needs is a source. WP:RS is our guideline for identifying reliable sources. --Ronz (talk) 21:30, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

I don't believe arceus.org meets our WP:RS criteria, and I don't see where it verifies that Arceusism is a fictional religion. --Ronz (talk) 21:36, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Would it be better if i just gave a website with tons of information about Arceus and how he created a fictional universe? He is the god of a religion within the Pokemon universe. ChimmyChonga20 (talk) 21:49, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Is there a religion though? I'm not going to contest it until we have a better inclusion criteria for this article. --Ronz (talk) 21:56, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Alright, since i cant find a definite and reliable source (unless Urban Dictionary counts, lol), I guess i will delete arceusism and every other unverified fake religion off this page, if thats okay. ChimmyChonga20 (talk) 22:20, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

I don't think having creation mythos means there's a corresponding religion.

As for the article as a whole, it would be better to at least discuss inclusion criteria first. --Ronz (talk) 22:46, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Selection criteria

Anyone against restricting this list to only notable entries per WP:LSC? --Ronz (talk) 19:56, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

Church of Subgenius Fictional?

If the "Dark Carnival" is "really practiced" then how am I part of a fictional religion? We get together, pay dues, and do everything "real" religions do, I suggest you remove Church of The Subgenius from this article immediately. I am not a wikipedian expert so forgive my poor editing the same way I'll forgive your poor choice of "fictional religions" -Simonzer0 (talk) 19:00, 19 July 2011 (UTC)

A category for fictional religions.

I think a Category:Fictional religious founders would be appropriate. User Ryulong is reverting all of my edits, there is a discussion at the administrators noticeboard incidents. I think Category:Fictional subjects of prophecy would be valid as well, and would apply to many time travelers. CensoredScribe (talk) 23:21, 2 February 2014 (UTC)

change name to "religions of fiction"

Changing the name to "religions of fiction" would address the argument of all religions (or all but one religion) being fictional. I'm sure if you looked you would find that christianity appears in some fiction, that does not make it fictional to christians but it is still fictional within the work of fiction. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 1.178.154.217 (talk) 07:01, 8 March 2015 (UTC)

Christianity

Well, I'm an atheist and I can't find a more pointless religion than Christianity, but I'm pretty sure Christianity is a real religion and not a fictional one. Humm, at least I know some Christians and they surely don't parody a fictional religion like I do with my faith in Arceus. :D

No, all joking aside: Why is Christianity in this list? Like I said Christianity is NOT fictional, even if there are some movies and series which may parody it in a way it isn't. And if there's a good reason (which I doubt), why aren't Islam, Judaism etc. in this list?--31.17.153.15 (talk) 07:58, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

Unnecessary deleted majoirty of others fictional religions which are real in their works without apporval to other wiki users

K, when look that whole page is now was "before" that some guy [1] E.321 claiming it's "Trimming down" never mind top said "This is an incomplete (Which there lot time of others fictional religions that appears in media and also need sourced rather than leaving unsourced put still on the page without being sourced.) list that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries." Put I believe Edward321 is very close breaking rules somewhat? So I reput back other fiction religion of South Park 'Blainetology' which itself source from episode Super Best Friends as Wikipedia example. 70.61.121.86 (talk) 13:35, 6 August 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia lists are supposed to be about notable subjects, not every passing joke in a TV series. If you believe any of these entries are notable, please create articles cited to reliable sources before re-adding them to this list, Edward321 (talk) 04:27, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Some them were jokes from likely trolls, Put rest of Majority arent jokes, There are very oblivous real if you read (Game of Thornes), watched (TV series, Web media which is popular), playing (Video Games as this decade is popular with) or look (Like BioShock series religions/cult (BioShock Infinite's Founder's religion on around Comstock [the game's main antagionist] and Founding Fathers as Saints/Gods, BioShock's The Satuarnie Cult both them were so oblivous if play both Video Games and both ether Minor/Major serious to plot), Fallout 3's Church of Atom by yourself to proof there are fictional NPCs or Fictional characters worshiping an fictional deities. And first Im sorry, Put I have very anger issues and cant take criticism (Undo edit) seriously right now. And what year its this to you (1990s or early 2000s) that there more new religions are creativity made by Authors, Creators (Webcomics, Video Games, Web media, newer TV series)? (Irrational response)

Or find all real sources to proof my point (Oops, My rational response)

PS (And please warned my grammar is could be badly or poorly) 2606:A000:85E7:4E00:DCB5:3034:A869:2771 (talk) 06:30, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia guidelines for conclusion are notabilty, not popularity. Edward321 (talk) 13:42, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Potok's fictional religion

I believe that even though there is no entry for Potok's fictional religion, since it is central to two of his major works, it should be included. This is a bit more than an inappropriate inheritance of significance. Kdammers (talk) 03:22, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

Notability is not inherited. Potok is clearly notable, that does not make a fictional religion in a couple of his books notable. For that you need independent coverage in reliable sources focusing on the religion in Potok's work Edward321 (talk) 13:31, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

Agreed. WP:IPCV may be worth reviewing with regards to this. DonIago (talk) 15:17, 20 July 2017 (UTC)