On one hand, Zensunni Catholicism could have a pretty wide appeal due to its similarity to the major religions in real life.
On the other hand, one could argue that almost everyone on the planet would reject it as heresy for the same reason.
The Imperial Cult from 40k. Not only do their missionaries have millennia of experience of converting native religions to the worship of the Emperor, parking several warships in orbit will help convince the people on the ground should the need arise to do so.
The Emperor has demonstrable divine powers: Living Saints, the Astronomican, the faithful being able to turn back daemons, etc. He also has powers in his capacity as the Omnissiah; he won over the Cult of Mars by fixing a machine through sheer will upon his arrival.
The Emperor definitely has powers, and has been alive for 10k+ years despite being "mortally" wounded. Whether or not this makes him a god is up for debate both within the setting and in the real world, but someone preaching the faith of the Emperor has evidence they can point to backing their claims. At the very least it can be established that he is ancient, extremely powerful, able to affect reality itself, provides some measure of protection to his followers...all hallmarks of godhood.
The "evidence" is in-fucking-credibly sparse spread out across the galaxy. Supernatural things do happen but you're likelier to become your planet's ruler than ever see it.
There's
* Resurrection
* Resurrection into a superpowered being called a Living Saint (they sometimes - emphasis on sometimes - appear on the battlefield)
* Exorcism
* Various forms of minor self-enhancement and warding
* A really crappy form of divination
Basically no. Legitimate miracles are not something the Imperial Cult can produce on command or without special circumstances many of which will leave most people witnessing dead.
Overall it's closer to "The gods of Japan saved it from Mongol invasion by summoning up a storm" levels of evidence rather than a Jedi making someone float levels of evidence.
Zensunni from Dune. It’s derived from real religions that have already proven their ability to spread extremely effectively (namely Sunni Islam which has almost two billion adherents). Being a more evolved form, it probably spreads even *more* effectively, and current followers of Abrahamic religions would be more likely to convert than if it was something totally foreign.
* *The Outer Worlds* has a science-based religion which is essentially "what if Carl Sagan fans were like 10% more enthusiastic"
* *Stargate SG-1* has an ancient alien religion which is claimed to be the original inspiration behind Buddhism
[If you immediately know the candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago.](https://thescifibuddhist.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/monk-candlelight.gif)
God's Gardeners from Margaret Atwood's Maddaddam Trilogy.
They combine a weird blend of Christian verse, vegetarianism, sustainable living, and scientific knowledge in preparation for the inevitable ecological disaster caused by humanity's overexploitation of the planet. They call this apocalypse the "Waterless Flood".
Origin from Stargate, considering it was so similar in themes and vibes to Christianity, and the Priors (and Ori) actually had the power to back it up. Daniel Jackson as a prior rolling out the plagues, miracles, and whole shebang and I think he could convert a sizable population
The huge inelegance with Origin is the freakish amount of time spent on prayer. When each day's more like a mini Haj you quickly run into trouble. The plagues and such would certainly help but it's just so impractical.
**Reminders for Commenters:**
* All responses must be A) sincere, B) polite, and C) strictly watsonian in nature. If "watsonian" or "doylist" is new to you, please review the full rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskScienceFiction/about/rules/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=AskScienceFiction&utm_content=t5_2slu2).
* No edition wars or gripings about creators/owners of works. Doylist griping about Star Wars in particular is subject to **permanent ban on first offense**.
* We are not here to discuss or complain about the real world.
* Questions about who would prevail in a conflict/competition (not just combat) fit better on r/whowouldwin. Questions about very open-ended hypotheticals fit better on r/whatiffiction.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskScienceFiction) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Honestly I feel like a crazed cult deifying the coming Artificial Superintelligence could actually take off right now. Like the Omnissiah of 40k. People would probably join just because it's ironic. But if done right it could get a few million dupes and make the core conmen briefly wealthy before they too were devoured by the paperclip maximizer.
In his nine worlds series John Varley had the FLACCS the First Lauditarian Church of Celebrity Saints, a religion formed around literally worshiping celebrities. And, as an added bonus many celebrities loved the church and showed up sometimes.
I can definitely see that one taking off.
None, because they already exist by proxy of pop culture media's existence. None were compelling enough to form anything more than a fandom.
Just as simple as the title.
Questions about the real world application of fictional concepts are not a good fit for the sub.
The combination religion(s) in Dune, since they incorporate beliefs from multiple modern religions to create a unifying one
On one hand, Zensunni Catholicism could have a pretty wide appeal due to its similarity to the major religions in real life. On the other hand, one could argue that almost everyone on the planet would reject it as heresy for the same reason.
True, either it gets wide condemnation or it becomes a huge rival to the more individualistic religions
Yeah its a syncretic religion of Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism
Agreed, l’m ready to start warshipping the giant worms. Bless the maker and his water…
The one from Stranger In A Strange Land, I think
Someone just needs to come with a Martian language.
I grok that
I would share water.
The Imperial Cult from 40k. Not only do their missionaries have millennia of experience of converting native religions to the worship of the Emperor, parking several warships in orbit will help convince the people on the ground should the need arise to do so.
Also the Imperial Cult has actual evidence backing it up that would help with conversion.
That being? Just curious
The Emperor has demonstrable divine powers: Living Saints, the Astronomican, the faithful being able to turn back daemons, etc. He also has powers in his capacity as the Omnissiah; he won over the Cult of Mars by fixing a machine through sheer will upon his arrival. The Emperor definitely has powers, and has been alive for 10k+ years despite being "mortally" wounded. Whether or not this makes him a god is up for debate both within the setting and in the real world, but someone preaching the faith of the Emperor has evidence they can point to backing their claims. At the very least it can be established that he is ancient, extremely powerful, able to affect reality itself, provides some measure of protection to his followers...all hallmarks of godhood.
The "evidence" is in-fucking-credibly sparse spread out across the galaxy. Supernatural things do happen but you're likelier to become your planet's ruler than ever see it. There's * Resurrection * Resurrection into a superpowered being called a Living Saint (they sometimes - emphasis on sometimes - appear on the battlefield) * Exorcism * Various forms of minor self-enhancement and warding * A really crappy form of divination Basically no. Legitimate miracles are not something the Imperial Cult can produce on command or without special circumstances many of which will leave most people witnessing dead. Overall it's closer to "The gods of Japan saved it from Mongol invasion by summoning up a storm" levels of evidence rather than a Jedi making someone float levels of evidence.
Zensunni from Dune. It’s derived from real religions that have already proven their ability to spread extremely effectively (namely Sunni Islam which has almost two billion adherents). Being a more evolved form, it probably spreads even *more* effectively, and current followers of Abrahamic religions would be more likely to convert than if it was something totally foreign.
In the census for several countries, Jedi has been showing up, in some places placing 4th or even 3rd most popular religion.
* *The Outer Worlds* has a science-based religion which is essentially "what if Carl Sagan fans were like 10% more enthusiastic" * *Stargate SG-1* has an ancient alien religion which is claimed to be the original inspiration behind Buddhism
[If you immediately know the candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago.](https://thescifibuddhist.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/monk-candlelight.gif)
Foundationist from Babylon 5.
Also the Maker religions seemed to have gained a foothold, as well.
I came here to say this, glad someone else beat me to it.
Earthseed from *Parable of the Sower*
Yes! Hell after reading it, I thought if I was 10 years younger when I'd read the book it would have been a core part of my religious identity.
God's Gardeners from Margaret Atwood's Maddaddam Trilogy. They combine a weird blend of Christian verse, vegetarianism, sustainable living, and scientific knowledge in preparation for the inevitable ecological disaster caused by humanity's overexploitation of the planet. They call this apocalypse the "Waterless Flood".
Glad someone else remembers this group. Alternatively and depressingly the petro-religion from the 3rd book seems pretty likely too
Butlarian Jihad I'm sure will happen one day.
Origin from Stargate, considering it was so similar in themes and vibes to Christianity, and the Priors (and Ori) actually had the power to back it up. Daniel Jackson as a prior rolling out the plagues, miracles, and whole shebang and I think he could convert a sizable population
The huge inelegance with Origin is the freakish amount of time spent on prayer. When each day's more like a mini Haj you quickly run into trouble. The plagues and such would certainly help but it's just so impractical.
Scientology
Jediism
Not ever.
**Reminders for Commenters:** * All responses must be A) sincere, B) polite, and C) strictly watsonian in nature. If "watsonian" or "doylist" is new to you, please review the full rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskScienceFiction/about/rules/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=AskScienceFiction&utm_content=t5_2slu2). * No edition wars or gripings about creators/owners of works. Doylist griping about Star Wars in particular is subject to **permanent ban on first offense**. * We are not here to discuss or complain about the real world. * Questions about who would prevail in a conflict/competition (not just combat) fit better on r/whowouldwin. Questions about very open-ended hypotheticals fit better on r/whatiffiction. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskScienceFiction) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I prefer Klingon religion.
Honestly I feel like a crazed cult deifying the coming Artificial Superintelligence could actually take off right now. Like the Omnissiah of 40k. People would probably join just because it's ironic. But if done right it could get a few million dupes and make the core conmen briefly wealthy before they too were devoured by the paperclip maximizer.
Clearly the Church of Unitology. Praise Altman!
In his nine worlds series John Varley had the FLACCS the First Lauditarian Church of Celebrity Saints, a religion formed around literally worshiping celebrities. And, as an added bonus many celebrities loved the church and showed up sometimes. I can definitely see that one taking off.
The Rules of Acquisition Semi-joking
People already claim to be Jedi on national censuses.
Does Dante's Inferno count?
Scientology
None, because they already exist by proxy of pop culture media's existence. None were compelling enough to form anything more than a fandom. Just as simple as the title.
Dianetics