Touched by his noodly appendage.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin—a made-up religion (done intentionally to not make any sense for the viewer) which exists to parody some specific existing religion, a group of religions and religious beliefs, organized religion in general, or just any kind of religious belief. Usually serves as a front on
The War on Straw, unless it's a someone enacting a funny
God Guise, then it's just
Played for Laughs.
Often takes the form of a
Cargo Cult, a
God Guise, some bizarre
Crystal Dragon Jesus cult, or a pastiche of a
Real Life religion with
Serial Numbers Filed Off.
See also
Path of Inspiration, which is more or less exactly this with evil instead of funny,
Corrupt Church, which is against organized religion, and
Church of Happyology, which is a subtrope that parodies a very specific religion.
Note that all examples must be intentional.
See also:
Anvilicious,
Religion Is Wrong. Contrast
Saintly Church,
Religion Is Right.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Comics
Film
- The movie Bowfinger features a cult called Mindhead, which parodies Scientology.
Literature
- The Last Guru by Daniel Pinkwater has the Silly Hat Order, with a side order of Blong Buddhism.
- Chutengodianism in Godless starts as a joke by a few teenagers, but takes on a life of its own (complete with its own heretics and fundamentalists.) In the end, the narrator is the only one left who still follows it—he doesn't really believe in it, but he wishes he did.
Live-Action TV
- The Monty Python's Flying Circus "Crackpot Religions" sketch.
- A tie-in book to the Mr. Bean series stated that Mr Bean had at one point followed a religion based around the "God of Lemonade."
Video Games
- Xavism in Sengoku Basara is a rather overt parody of the Catholic Church; its leader is a delusional (but well-meaning) Love Freak who believes in the power of blowing the crap out of someone to convert them, all its adherents get bizarre baptismal names, and the "commandments" are all Broken Aesop versions of Christian dogma.
- Bio Shock Infinite: Comstock's religion is based of Christianity, but it revolves around American Exceptionalism with the Founding Fathers treated as saints, and Comstock making himself as the Prophet of Columbia.
Webcomics
- That rabbit cult from Looking for Group. Subverted, because there is a good reason for worship.
- This
webcomic begins a Flightarianism arc, in which the cockatoo Winston explains some of the precepts underpinning his faith.
Web Original
Western Animation
- Futurama has recurring Robotology, Robot Judaism and The First Amalgamated Church, as well as occasionally mentioned Oprahism, Church of Trek, et cetera.
- The Simpsons are members of The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism, which split from the Catholics in 1573 over the right to go to church with wet hair, which the Presbylutherans have since abolished.
- In South Park, Dawkins mentions the Flying Spaghetti Monster while talking to Mrs. Garrison during a lunch in the episode Go God Go.
Real Life
- This trope was in full effect over 300 years ago: Tsar Peter the Great and his friends formed The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters that not only practiced heavy drinking and orgies, but wore church attire and used religious titles when doing so. The pious Russians were not amused - some even proclaimed the Tsar to be Antichrist.
- Flying Spaghetti Monster.
- Invisible Pink Unicorn as well.
- Various Cthulhu cults.
- The Church of Google.
- Discordianism has been described as a "religion masquerading as a joke" or a "joke masquerading as a religion." Both are correct.
- Church of the SubGenius.
- The Jedi Census Phenomenon.
- Only in part. There are people who really truly believe in the existence of The Force and who try to emulate the Jedi in their everyday lives. Places like Jedi Sanctuary, Real Jedi Knights.... Obviously, there are also Sith, though they are less extreme than in the movies.
- The Last Thursdayism claims that the Universe was actually created last Thursday, and any memories or evidence of events before that were created at the same time.
- The schism known as Next Thursdayism claims that the universe hasn't been created yet, and what we think is happening now is just false memories we'll have once it exists. Of course, some might argue that both sides are heretics: The Universe was created Last Tuesday.
- Tarvuism, created by the guys behind Look Around You and just as absurd.
- Etceterism
- The Church of the Latter-Day Dude, or Dudeism.
- And many, many, many more.
