Samhain

Hey everyone...I'm writing a process explanation paper for my professor in my English course on the Process of Creating a Religion. I'm having some trouble formulating a thesis, though, but I can get around that. What I'd like from you all is just some basic feedback on what one needs to create a religion, I have quite a few ideas already, but I'm afraid I'll leave something important out...

A few examples of what one needs to create a religion would be things such as:

-Masses of easily decieved and gullible followers...
-A theory of a god(s) which answer the "unanswerable" questions about life...
-Martyrs or potential martyrs...
-Vague prophecies about the future...
-Cryptic explanations on the god(s)...

Add/revise/delete, whatever, I just don't want to forget any of the real important stuff. And Thanks for your help

Mageth

Read up on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. Legend has it that he created Scientology to prove to a friend that he could create a religion.

Zimyatin

To create a religion I think you should look at the similarities between the Soviet Union and Christianity:

Both have an infallable leader who is now conveniently dead (can't ask questions);

Both claim to be holders of the "truth" ("pravda" is Russian for truth);

Both have integrated into their ideology a predetermined future where they will cover the world;

Both have felt it necessary to create an invisible enemy that only the most "pure" among them can see and dispel (the devil or anti-revolutionaries, i.e., capitalist);

Both attribute any good to their ideology and any bad to the invisible enemy;

Both highly discourge the introduction of new ideas;

And both convince their "followers" to sacrifice just a little longer until their predetermined future is fulfilled.

Hope this helps.

MortalWombat

Not just legend, but science fiction writer <a href="http://www.users.wineasy.se/noname/harlan.htm" target="_blank">Harlan Ellison</a> says he was present when Hubbard came up with the idea to create a religion.

echidna

As with so many things in Life, sincerity is the most important. If you can fake that you’ve got it made … (unparaphrase)

scarmig

One thing all religions tap into is the human tendancy to devalue oneself. The religion must place emphasis on how important *you* are. It must also give that person meaning. People inherently suspect that life on this earth has no purpose other than to muddle through and procreate the species. But because we are self-aware and able to question our instincts, we have doubt (which is really what consciousness boils down to, doubting your immediate instinct in preference to a less-immediate priority). By easing that doubt, religion creates a security blanket so that the doubt caused by consciousness is assuaged. The questions of consciousness are easily answered, and once answered (even incorrectly answered), those questions are no longer an impediment to instinct. Religion allows people to get on with their "natural" lives without having to deal with that pesky consciousness we've been trying to evolve for so long.

Now if you're talking about starting a *cult*, it's basically the same, but you have to prey more on people's *social* insecurity as a focal point. Give them a place, a meaning, and something to die for and they'll do anything for you. Hell, governments can be called cult institutions. Here's your Number, here's your production value to The Society, here's the War to die in.

Koyaanisqatsi

Don't forget cognitive dissonance. Without nonsensical, logically impossible constructs (like the trinity), the sheep will apply their critical analysis and immediately discover the man behind the curtain.

The idea is to always keep the sheep questioning while at the same time insuring that they never question anything specifically.

Thus the cult out: God moves in mysterious ways.

It says nothing, implies everything and makes no sense while making perfect sense, all at the same time.

Imagine a human mind getting an idea and a light bulb goes off? Cognitive dissonance causes that light bulb to pop the second it turns on.

One other thing in a similar vein: religions are designed to enslave humanity while purporting to free them. It's "Arbeit Macht Frei" lies that cause people to become followers to begin with, so it's imperative that you include several "big lies" that operate on logically impossible constructs (a savior who brings a sword, not peace kind of thing; an all loving god who commits repeated genocide, etc.).

As Hitler allegedly said, "The bigger the lie, the more poeple will believe it," and was modeling that, IMO, on Christianity.

Here's a good place to start. Have your prophet tell his audience (by the way, "one true gods" have to be male, because both male and female will accept a father figure as god, but not a mother figure as god, since father figure's are normally seen as the punishers) first and foremost, "Beware of false prophets."

By warning the crowd to beware of false prophets, the crowd will think that this prophet must, therefore, not be a false prophet and then have the prophet tell nothing by grandiose and obviously ludicrous lies. Cognitive dissonance has already kicked in and the audience will automatically believe all of the crap being told them, simply because of the initial declarative of "beware of false prophets."

One final thing: make sure that the authors of the constructs are technically unknown, but attributed to known people and that their stroies are based on oral history.

It's very important to make it seem as if nobody actually just sat down one day and made all the shit up.

[ April 15, 2002: Message edited by: Koyaanisqatsi ]</p>

ohwilleke

Formula for cults that make the big time:

(1) A demanding God (people value religion based on how much it costs them in time, money and changes in actions), whose standards are high but not unattainable.
(2) Lots of things for people to do in service of the demanding God that build strong relationships between members.
(3) A response to needs that exist in society that aren't being met by society for some relatively affluent people. A constant mantra that the need exists and that being a part of the group meets the need.
(4) A basis in things that can't be proven scientifically.

daemon

I think this one should be highly stressed--I've yet to hear of a truly successful religion or ideology which didn't have a vast amount of irrational scapegoating in it.