For fun: lets create a religion...

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Kada, this is a great topic, thanks for creating it. You had many good points. I would like to add more, for I fear it just wouldn't take off and fly, as it were, otherwise. There's alot of unintuitive dynamics as to how human nature generally works, when large groups of people organize into religions.

Please forgive the following windy rant:

Creating a religion is suprisingly hard, I say.

- you're going to need said miracles mentioned earlier. These miracles need to be things like psychic powers, or convincingly seeing into other dimensions with heavenly beings. This is not to mention having supremely good vibes on a consistent basis from all that skillful meditation and yoga you did, etc. Skills and talents such as charisma and performative showmanship, reading the room (hard to do; especially if you're autistic ) - this is one part - but exuding authenticly good vibes in front of the audience, is another important part as well.

- incorporate about 50% of ideas from past religions, carrying forward the good, tried-and-true methods and ideas, sloughing off all the historical baggage. Yay, a long-overdue cleaning out of many a dusty broom closet (with many skeletons) of past religions. Some terminology would be re-used - don't cite your sources, as religion is not about intellectual honesty, folks, but is rather about emotional inspiration, if no other thing - and then also re-define some key concepts a bit, putting a more modern spin on them.

- your new doctrine can then present a fresh and original 50% which speaks to the times you live in, and speaks to what Heidegger would call the "Dasein" - the externally-imposed conditions that you were uniquely thrown into as a human being having a modern-day human experience. So here's where you'd put in your highly timely - but none-too-specific - general messages about, say, environmentalism, progressive and compassionate social engagement, skillful living despite Social Media, the role and place of AI, etc... Your doctrine should be carefully stated such that the rubber never really meets the road of you doing anything to improve the world directly. You are merely to be a salesman and embassador of your doctrine - the cherry on top of the whole system - which in turn gets others to take all the direct action, you see.

Doing a few one-offs of "healing of the sick" is a good idea, having said this - just to provide an example for others to follow. It's moreso just sort of a "sales demo" of the concept - just to get others motivated and started in copying your example - but it's not something you should practice regularly, as the leader. As the leader, you have bigger fish to fry, as it were.

By incorporating the 50% from the past, this establishes a nice balance, whereby your religion is familliar enough to adopt, but also has a "unique selling proposition" to be worth converting to - it has something new and compelling.

The type of religion that John Lennon sings about.

I prefer Lennonism over Leninism, me.

When studying ancient Greek mythology I took a particular liking to the muse Euterpe, as she is said to have created the aulos and other wind instruments. It may not be super evident (although it is in the obscure meaning of my username), but I'm like a major wind instrument nerd, could even call it a special interest. So when I found a deity said to have created wind instruments, I was so enamored.

I didn't think I'd ever talk about this with anyone else, like ever, but in my The Sims game I have a fake religion with Euterpe as the deity. Apollo is kinda the devil. This is all in jest, of course. It's based off of my personal bitterness with since the ancient Greek era, string instruments being preferred throughout all eras - a phenomenon that was influenced by the writings of the ancient Greek philosophers, who kinda scoffed at the aulos while lifting up the lyre, IIRC. For anyone who knows even a little western art and music history, the ancient Greeks (or at least how their writings were interpreted/misinterpreted) were a claimed inspiration throughout the different eras (most famously the Renaissance, but it is not exclusive to that era).

So.. of course, bitter from that, I created this silly religion in the game. The religion makes no sense, of course. Aesthetically I used a mixture of ancient Greek and ancient Catholic architecture. I still mean to create some more CC for it. I have a statue of Euterpe that I use in a replica of an ancient Greek temple. xD But despite using Catholic aesthetic, that's where the similarities to Catholicism stop, of course. I don't want Christianity in my game in any way, shape or form, but I do use the aesthetics (not the cross, or Bible, but I mean, like the cathedrals, which, yes, I know they're shaped like a cross. It's a minor thing in my eyes.) And, because I'm not talented at modding, it's not really even functionally a religion in the game or anything. Those don't exist in the game (for good reason). If I ever became a better modder, I might play around and have fun with it. lol.

Anyway, this is just a silly religion I made because I was being silly. I don't believe any of it, of course. And neither should anyone else.

One where fornication is encouraged, not condemned.

Building a social media following can work wonders for starting a religion and the thing is it does not require the best social skills like building a cult in the real world normally would.

I'm not sure I'm qualified to create a religion but one of my favourite artificial religions is Bokononism from Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.

The religion starts by saying it's entirely false. In their creole, "Foma" is a term meaning comforting lies. The Book of Bokonon opens with " Don't be a fool! Close this book at once! It is nothing but foma!"

Adherents are fully aware that the religion is a fabrication.

The island's governer banned the religion in order to make it more popular. The population had no interest in following state institution but found anything rebelious to be more enticing.

Unbeknownst to them, the Bokonon himself was working with the governer to create the religion. And then the world ended.

Does our religion have a name yet?

I propose the following name: "The Church of Salesmanship of Vaguely-Pleasing Idealism"

I have been actually working on starting a religion or a version of a religion since 2014....I am working to start my own sect or division of the church of Christ. I have even looked into incorporating as a church. It may become its own denomination at some point.