The comparison between Fandom and Religion

Okay this is a thread dedicated to comparing Fandom and Religion (in fact and this might seem blasphemous and heretical, but I think religions were among the original fandoms, staring with the old mythologies), as well as speculating the consequences of what may happen if the latter realizes that they are Not So Different from the former. And I'd like to kick this off with some comparisons I noticed or learned elsewhere on the net (which I'll update on a regular basis):

On the Fandom side:

• There seems to be some sort of rituals in some fandoms.
• shrines dedicated to actors or live action characters (I think some examples regarding non-live action works exists as well)
• the Fan Dumb take their obsession so seriously that they can be compared to The Fundamentalist
• Most likely a stretch (due to their irregularity) but you could make a parallel between Fan Conventions and huge gatherings in churches (I say it's irregular because churches are pretty much open 24/7 while conventions have to be scheduled and occur on rented space)
• Both come from stories. Christianity was the result of the Bible, and Bronies was the result of MLP. If the bible didn't exist neither would Christianity, and the same applies to all stories and myths. Without them their fandoms or religions wouldn't exist.
• Fandom Rivalries can be compared to religions fighting another (hence why Flame War, referring to the crusades, is used to refer to these conflicts)

On the Religion side:

• Several myths such as the Bible has led to various fanfics, (keeping with the Bible analogy I'll cite The Divine Comedy and the Left Behind books as examples) interpretations and conflicts about the canon (in fact I'm certain that the term "canon" came from religion, as did the Word of God).
  • This makes fanfics of those Recursive Fanfictions
  • I make this comparison because of Running the Asylum, where the fans create an official part of the work they are fans of, like Tie In Novels
• Scientology being the only known religion to treat their canon as an IP (yes this makes it a literal Intellectual Property Religion).
• The Abrahamic religions can be seen as rife with Canon Discontinuity, Fanon Discontinuity and Alternate Character Interpretation. The same applies to Classical Mythology with the Greek and Roman versions as well as various confusing stories (Medusa's origin being an example)
• Passion plays and Nativity reenactments are similar to cosplay.

I also have some articles that may help my points:

• http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1023/Is-Apple-fandom-a-religion-video
• http://persephonemagazine.com/2012/06/the-contemporary-religion-of-fandom/
• http://www.kinephanos.ca/2013/sacralising-fandom/
• http://www.dailydot.com/culture/fandom-religion-cult-apple-steve-jobs/ (this talks about the same thing as my first link BTW)

The differences:

• Unlike religion, fans tend to use This Is Reality, they know that their work isn't real (most of the time), religions to some extent take their holy text as real.
• copyright and trademark laws make fan labor a grey areas legally but media based on religious texts are fair game (unless the religion in question is Scientology, but that's the exception, not the rule) and in those cases you can even sell fanfic based on the bible, selling fanfic based on IPs is illegal.
• Fans tend to focus on the stories themselves rather then their messages you can still be called a fan even if you disobey their message, religions on the other hand focus more on the messages instead and disobeying them might be grounds for heresy.
• Fandoms ship a lot more then religions.

Additional note:

• Christians have came with yet another term; Idoltry, as in the worship of idols, defined as...pretty much anything but their one true god. This includes Cargo Cults and Intellectual Property Religions.

Now that I gotten my points across, let discuss the comparisons between the two concepts and speculate on the effects of these revelations.

edited 22nd Aug '14 10:41:20 PM by MorningStar1337

This doesn't feel like a genuine attempt at a conversation, but rather an invidious comparison designed to spark outrage from religious folk. That may not be the intention, but we already have a number of threads dedicated to religious discussions, including this one. So the topic here is both flamebait and redundant, not a good recipe.

edited 11th Sep '14 6:59:40 AM by Fighteer