What do football, iPhone and Harry Potter have in common? At first glance, nothing, but if you think about it - each has a colossal army of loyal fans who devote a lot of time to their favorite thing, know everything or almost everything about even the smallest details, and, most importantly, are ready to die on this hill for their beliefs.
In other words, the same characteristics that religion had for the vast majority of mankind just a couple of hundred years ago. Remember the Crusades, religious wars and other "charms" of the Middle Ages? Yes, now religious fanaticism has significantly decreased, but worship of new idols has definitely taken its place.
This was also noticed by the topic starter of one of the threads in the AskReddit community, who just a few days ago asked the question: "What is not a religion, but people treat it with the same attention?" And so, as of today, the thread already has over 34.8K upvotes and around 27.7K different and sometimes extremely pathetic comments.
Bored Panda made a list for you that includes the most interesting and popular elements of the original thread. Sports and brands, music legends and internet traditions - all that make people worship them so devotedly. So feel free to scroll to the very end (literally everything is interesting there!), mark what you definitely agree with and, of course, don't forget to write your point of view straight in the comments!
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elon musk. he’s annoying, he’s not saving the world so please shut up about what a selfless person he is. he exploits his workers. stop being annoying fanboys. don’t worship billionaires
The way Americans talk about their constitution is very reminiscent of religion.
They worship it, but they haven't read it in a long time. Maybe never.
They insist that you should respect it, even if you're not a member of the cult.
They tend to assume that a justification for every opinion they have is in there somewhere.
They treat the men who wrote it as if they're prophets.
They can become sullen, withdrawn, or even hostile when you say it's wrong and requires serious alteration.
Antivaxism
Problem in States is when ANYTHING is made mandatory people flip out and think somehow their freedoms are being threatened.
Mommy groups. Started getting completely out of hand when my kids were teenagers. I'm a crunchy mom, I'm this kind of mom, or that kind of mom. Those people get rabid. How DARE YOU listen to advice given to you from a doctor about your individual child, MY group thinks "THIS". Heresy! Blasphemy! We will CRUCIFY you!
They used to helpful, now they are f*****g cults.
Scientology
Germany considers it to be a scam, I can only hope that the US can follow that lead soon.
Workaholism / hustle culture.
I find this so... weird. I mean, it is cool that you work like 60 hours a week and so your boss can say bravo, but i want to work as much as i am payed, do my 8 hours a day and go and spend time with my wife, kids, friends or just by myself
Some MLM schemes.
Right. A colleague of mine invited me over for dinner so she and her husband can talk to me about an "opportunity". Big red flag flopping in the breeze. I asked what sort of opportunity. She said "We can't tell you until you get here." Red flug bursts into flame with streaming rockets and sparklers. I gave her a polite, but definitive Nope. Like most rejected cultists, she stopped speaking to me, even though previously she could barely do her job without my help. So, I guess, yes, it was an opportunity for me.
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What's the name of the documentary and where can I find it? My mom used to be heavily involved in Lularoe, leading me to know a lot about them, so now I'm interested
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My cousin is heavily sucked into one of these. I went on a youtube deep dive of anti-mlm content and it's terrifying.
Wife got talked into going to a presentation for a "coffee company" years ago. They talked for over an hour about recruiting people under you. Not one word about selling product.
ALL! Every. Single. One. They are all cultish and prey on the weak willed and weak minded. How it is legal for any of them to exist is abhorrent
Random guy at Borders (back in the day) asked me out for coffee. Met him at coffee place and then he walks me to the building next door to attend his Amway meeting. Excused myself to the restroom before it started and bee-lined to the closest exit. Sorry, don't know how to build pyramids.
Same as a pyramid scheme. Think Amway or Mary Kay.
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My gay butt read this as men living men and was confused for a whole 5 seconds
I got licensed in insurance and have been trying to find a company that fits my home life. I thought I had found the perfect one, until I realized that they were trying more to get me to employ people under me than actually trying to build a customer base. I am no longer working for them for this reason, plus the fact that they never truly helped me with my business, they were more focused on hiring more people themselves.
The term "Multi Level Marketing" was developed by the pyramid scheme industry because it sounds nicer than pyramid scheme and MLM also sounds legal. An MLM is nothing but a pyramid scheme.
Yep, I was on this one for a while. Over $200 each buy (each month) for protein powder that just made me lose weight fast because I was starving myself on a liquid diet. Eventually couldn't even stomach the overly sweet shakes anymore; nearly threw up trying.
Certain sports
Gender ideology (aka the pseudoscience surrounding transgenderism). I say this as a trans person. If you do not follow a woke belief system to the very letter you are treated like an apostate. The left used to be very areligious but it is all spiritual gender woo woo stuff now.
See, the use of the word "woke" is what concerns me in this one. Their gender identity notwithstanding, cis or trans, anyone who refers to someone as "woke" in order to dismiss them, I can't trust to comment on the issue they're talking about.
Brands in general.
People praising Adidas, Apple, Hugo Boss, etc.
Companies don't want customers, they want fans who will buy anything that company sells
Politics
Definitely. "THEY" are wrong, the blasphemers. WE are the true ones. etc.
Fraternities and Sororities. Down to the recruitment/shunning culture
They also can't even pronounce Greek the right way. "GGGGGAMMA", "BETA", "PHYYYYY", "DDDDELTA" (γβφδ). I may be exaggerating but still.
Crypto
No dude, crypto is as scammy and religiony as the stockmarket. Sure, some people are obsessed with it, yep. But so are stockbrokers.
astrology zodiac signs
let's see. Unscientific. Check. Magic. Check. Unfalsifiable. Check. Irrational beliefs, check. PS why are there jiggleballs there?
College football
I think it's Alabama's state college that has an adorable pug for a mascot. I don't like football, but I love dogs.
Homoeopathy
Also a potentially dangerous religion when the believer relies on it instead of science based medicine
Football! Biggest sport in the world, stadiums are genuinely awe-inspiring and the atmosphere created during a game is crazy.
(Edit) Okay okay... guys, I do mean FOOTBALL as that's what the vast majority of the world calls it but to allow other cultures to understand... yes, "soccer" is the biggest sport in the world.
What I don't understand is why, when someone grabbed the ball and ran, the people who turned it into a new sport chose "FOOTball." Was it just that it came from football/soccer? Why didn't they call it handsball or something like that?
Crossfit
This is the only thing that came to mind. But I think it's ok if it's treated that way, you get a community and you stay fit. Win win.
The idea of a nation.
Nationalism, aka. the idea that you're superior because you were randomly born inside a certain set of nonexistent lines on the map.
Hot take: owning dogs
EDIT: owning specific breeds of dogs
The very concept of "pure-breed" dogs is a genetic disaster waiting to happen. As soon as you restrict the genetic diversity in this way, the extinction of the breed becomes inevitable. As much as people don't want to hear it, this is scientific fact. Don't even get me started on the ethics of deliberately breeding deformed animals that suffer throughout their lives in search of an aesthetic. And now we've moved on to doing the same thing to other species, like cats, rats, mice and guinea pigs. Even reptiles aren't immune to the greed and selfishness of the humans who breed them for "pretty colors".
Harry Potter
Note: this post originally had 35 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Right? I've seen people literally call him The Messiah. Literal worship of a false godking.
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Trump should Definitely be on this list! Why his Idiot Supporters Deify him, defeats me! He's a Cretin
Even if I supported his politics and thought he was worthy to lead the country, I think it's downright dangerous to worship a politician. They're fallible human beings.
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Well in my country at the moment it's 'royalty'.... so many people living in poverty that'll still go out and line the streets waiting for a coffin to pass by. I get that bit, what I don't get is all the doffing of caps and about how wonderful our queen was..... when she lived all her life absolutely cushioned from all the shite the rest of us normally have to deal with. I view her passing away with thoughts to her immediate family......... but i'm not going to go out of my way to idolise her or even give her death any more personal attention than she gave my daughter's........ which was none. I vowed when I volunteered for armed service that i'd serve her and her heirs.... but that vow ran out the moment I retired from service,. and it was tainted very much from several encounters with 'royalty' from her family whilst serving where theyen were just f*****g entitled pricks. Andrew used to 'work' just down the corridor from me the old war office...
when he wasn't out playing golf and passing it off as 'duty'....... I used to think of him as just a lazy f**k until it all came out about his association with sex offenders.. now it's not 'just' that I think bout him.
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i loved seeing the generational difference in the comments as well as the stereotypical millennial things: harry potter and ‘i can’t live without my coffee’ lmao
The coffee thing is way older than millennials. My grandmother had all these old posters, tees, pretty much any merchandise with coffee addict on them
Load More Replies... I feel like these can be broken into three categories: things that are genuinely formulated in a manner that mimics religious thinking, cultural/societal pressures that aren't necessarily religious in terms of the way they work but trigger similar levels of devotion/jackassery/personal parasocial /stuff/, and the inevitable results of leaving people alone with either an intentionally contrived point of contention or a single topic to talk about.
This often is rooted in religion, tho, ie Buddhism, Hinduism, etc
Load More Replies... Skin-care routines. I'm sorry but I refuse to believe that plastering your face with make-up and the need for a deep cleanse everyday because otherwise you develop severe skin irritations aren't directly correlated. I'm all for taking care of yourself and people being free to do with make-up whatever they want even though I don't wear any myself - but the sheer amount of skin products available these days is insane. I see youtubers dragging BOXES of bottles around just to get that perfect, Barbie-like skin.
This is so very accurate. The entire list is, yes yes, yep, huh uh. I'm either getting old and grouchy or people are becoming more awful. I think, the latter. Not all! But lots.
Yeah, fitness is important but there are people who take it WAY too far. In a few years, people will remove all hair, fingernails, toenails, teeth, tounges, and all non-vital organs.
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When I started working for a nonprofit years ago, I was shocked to discover the intensity of Starbucks fandom. People were downright perplexed that I didn't drink Starbucks until one day somebody finally asked me why. I said I don't dislike the coffee, but prefer to support local businesses instead. After that, nobody ever mentioned again it for fear of being called out as "less progressive!"
Load More Replies... Godzilla stans. Some people stan certain incarnations, like the Heisei one. A lot of them think he can defeat extremely powerful characters like Goku. Although it's true that he can defeat most other fictional monsters, he's not the strongest character ever (except for Divine Godzilla, who could come back to life and plow through hell with sheer willpower).
Hearing voices and having imaginary friends in a single person is a psychosis, but when thousands do it it's called a religion.
First off Scientology maybe a a cult... but the for the followers it is a religion. But the rest are just obsession, not like a religion. Smh
Different things work for different people. Thing is...do you have the stanima to find works for you? Tiresome TBS lol
Most of these are rubbish, the real question is why isn't environmentalism on this list? The idea that humans are a cancer on the earth? Yeah that can't be good for us. Where's Critical Race theory? The idea that the US, the most free country on earth is racist and that we need to equalize wealth based on race, which sounds identical to what happened in the Soviet Union.
"Science" - actual science is a method of questioning and adjusting your understanding to reflect reality. Currently "science" is a slavish worship of some "scientific consensus" that conveniently can include only the scientists that obey and repeat the beliefs of the powerful. In the name of science actual scientists are excommunicated and questions are forbidden.
"Climate change" - what was once "global cooling" then "global warming". Now it's a term that can't be proven wrong as the first two were since the climate exists and will always be changing. You can agree that the climate exists, is changing, and even that man may be contributing in part to that change. However, of you disagree with the climate priests that their ridiculous law will have any effect you are a "climate denier" and need to be excommunicated. Sheesh, you can't even question the honestly of the climate priests who own homes by the rising sea and commute in their personal jets.
Number 1 should be---VEGANS.....They've gone waaaay beyond nutrition and formed a CULT!!
Most of these are just rubbish, the real question is why isn't environmentalism on this list? What about this idiotic trans epidemic of people who think they can change humans biological functions, who play at being God?
what on this list is against America? Most of these are about fandoms and stuff.
Load More Replies... Right? I've seen people literally call him The Messiah. Literal worship of a false godking.
Load More Replies... Trump should Definitely be on this list! Why his Idiot Supporters Deify him, defeats me! He's a Cretin
Even if I supported his politics and thought he was worthy to lead the country, I think it's downright dangerous to worship a politician. They're fallible human beings.
Load More Replies... Well in my country at the moment it's 'royalty'.... so many people living in poverty that'll still go out and line the streets waiting for a coffin to pass by. I get that bit, what I don't get is all the doffing of caps and about how wonderful our queen was..... when she lived all her life absolutely cushioned from all the shite the rest of us normally have to deal with. I view her passing away with thoughts to her immediate family......... but i'm not going to go out of my way to idolise her or even give her death any more personal attention than she gave my daughter's........ which was none. I vowed when I volunteered for armed service that i'd serve her and her heirs.... but that vow ran out the moment I retired from service,. and it was tainted very much from several encounters with 'royalty' from her family whilst serving where theyen were just f*****g entitled pricks. Andrew used to 'work' just down the corridor from me the old war office...
when he wasn't out playing golf and passing it off as 'duty'....... I used to think of him as just a lazy f**k until it all came out about his association with sex offenders.. now it's not 'just' that I think bout him.
Load More Replies... i loved seeing the generational difference in the comments as well as the stereotypical millennial things: harry potter and ‘i can’t live without my coffee’ lmao
The coffee thing is way older than millennials. My grandmother had all these old posters, tees, pretty much any merchandise with coffee addict on them
Load More Replies... I feel like these can be broken into three categories: things that are genuinely formulated in a manner that mimics religious thinking, cultural/societal pressures that aren't necessarily religious in terms of the way they work but trigger similar levels of devotion/jackassery/personal parasocial /stuff/, and the inevitable results of leaving people alone with either an intentionally contrived point of contention or a single topic to talk about.
This often is rooted in religion, tho, ie Buddhism, Hinduism, etc
Load More Replies... Skin-care routines. I'm sorry but I refuse to believe that plastering your face with make-up and the need for a deep cleanse everyday because otherwise you develop severe skin irritations aren't directly correlated. I'm all for taking care of yourself and people being free to do with make-up whatever they want even though I don't wear any myself - but the sheer amount of skin products available these days is insane. I see youtubers dragging BOXES of bottles around just to get that perfect, Barbie-like skin.
This is so very accurate. The entire list is, yes yes, yep, huh uh. I'm either getting old and grouchy or people are becoming more awful. I think, the latter. Not all! But lots.
Yeah, fitness is important but there are people who take it WAY too far. In a few years, people will remove all hair, fingernails, toenails, teeth, tounges, and all non-vital organs.
Load More Replies... When I started working for a nonprofit years ago, I was shocked to discover the intensity of Starbucks fandom. People were downright perplexed that I didn't drink Starbucks until one day somebody finally asked me why. I said I don't dislike the coffee, but prefer to support local businesses instead. After that, nobody ever mentioned again it for fear of being called out as "less progressive!"
Load More Replies... Godzilla stans. Some people stan certain incarnations, like the Heisei one. A lot of them think he can defeat extremely powerful characters like Goku. Although it's true that he can defeat most other fictional monsters, he's not the strongest character ever (except for Divine Godzilla, who could come back to life and plow through hell with sheer willpower).
Hearing voices and having imaginary friends in a single person is a psychosis, but when thousands do it it's called a religion.
First off Scientology maybe a a cult... but the for the followers it is a religion. But the rest are just obsession, not like a religion. Smh
Different things work for different people. Thing is...do you have the stanima to find works for you? Tiresome TBS lol
Most of these are rubbish, the real question is why isn't environmentalism on this list? The idea that humans are a cancer on the earth? Yeah that can't be good for us. Where's Critical Race theory? The idea that the US, the most free country on earth is racist and that we need to equalize wealth based on race, which sounds identical to what happened in the Soviet Union.
"Science" - actual science is a method of questioning and adjusting your understanding to reflect reality. Currently "science" is a slavish worship of some "scientific consensus" that conveniently can include only the scientists that obey and repeat the beliefs of the powerful. In the name of science actual scientists are excommunicated and questions are forbidden.
"Climate change" - what was once "global cooling" then "global warming". Now it's a term that can't be proven wrong as the first two were since the climate exists and will always be changing. You can agree that the climate exists, is changing, and even that man may be contributing in part to that change. However, of you disagree with the climate priests that their ridiculous law will have any effect you are a "climate denier" and need to be excommunicated. Sheesh, you can't even question the honestly of the climate priests who own homes by the rising sea and commute in their personal jets.
Number 1 should be---VEGANS.....They've gone waaaay beyond nutrition and formed a CULT!!
Most of these are just rubbish, the real question is why isn't environmentalism on this list? What about this idiotic trans epidemic of people who think they can change humans biological functions, who play at being God?
what on this list is against America? Most of these are about fandoms and stuff.
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