The Church of the SubGenius is a

parody religion A parody religion or mock religion is a belief system that challenges the spiritual convictions of others, often through humor, satire, or burlesque (literary ridicule). Often constructed to achieve a specific purpose related to another belief sy ...

that satirizes better-known belief systems. It teaches a complex philosophy that focuses on J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, purportedly a salesman from the 1950s, who is revered as a prophet by the Church. SubGenius leaders have developed detailed narratives about Dobbs and his relationship to various gods and conspiracies. Their central deity, Jehovah 1, is accompanied by other gods drawn from ancient myth and popular fiction. SubGenius literature describes a grand conspiracy that seeks to brainwash the world and oppress Dobbs's followers. In its narratives, the Church presents a blend of cultural references in an elaborate remix of the sources.

Ivan Stang Ivan Stang (born Douglass St. Clair Smith; August 21, 1953) is an American writer, filmmaker and broadcaster, best known as the author and publisher of the first screed of the Church of the SubGenius. He is credited with founding the Church wi ...

, who co-founded the Church in the 1970s, serves as its leader and publicist. He has imitated actions of other religious leaders, using the tactic of

culture jamming Culture jamming (sometimes also guerrilla communication) is a form of protest used by many anti-consumerist social movements to disrupt or subvert media culture and its mainstream cultural institutions, including corporate advertising. It att ...

in an attempt to parody better-known faiths. Church leaders instruct their followers to avoid mainstream commercialism and the belief in

absolute truth In philosophy, universality or absolutism is the idea that universal facts exist and can be progressively discovered, as opposed to relativism, which asserts that all facts are merely relative to one's perspective. Absolutism and relativism have ...

s. The group holds that the quality of "Slack" is of utmost importance, but it is never clearly defined. The number of followers is unknown, although the Church's message has been welcomed by college students and artists in the United States. The group is often compared to Discordianism. Journalists often consider the Church an elaborate joke, but some academics have defended it as a real system of deeply held beliefs.

Origins

The Church of the SubGenius was founded by

(born Douglas St. Clair Smith) and Philo Drummond (born Steve Wilcox) as the SubGenius Foundation. Dr. X (born Monte Dhooge) was also present at the group's inception. The organization's first recorded activity was the publication of a photocopied document, ''Sub Genius Pamphlet #1'', disseminated in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

in 1979. The document announced the impending end of the world and the possible deaths of its readers. It criticized Christian conceptions of God and

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

perceptions of spirituality. Church leaders maintain that a man named J. R. "Bob" Dobbs founded the group in 1953. SubGenius members constructed an elaborate account of Dobbs's life, which commentators describe as fictional. They assert that he telepathically contacted Drummond in 1972, before meeting him in person the next year, and that Drummond persuaded Stang to join shortly afterward. Stang has called himself Dobbs's "sacred scribe" and a "professional maven of weirdness".

Beliefs

Deities

The Church of the SubGenius's ostensible beliefs defy categorization or a simple narrative, often striking outsiders as bizarre and convoluted. The group has an intricate mythology involving gods, aliens, and mutants, which observers usually consider satire of other religions. Its primary deity, generally known as Jehovah 1, is an extraterrestrial who contacted Dobbs in the 1950s. Various accounts state that the encounter occurred while Dobbs was building a television or watching late-night television. Jehovah 1 gave him supernatural knowledge of the past and future, in addition to incredible power. Dobbs then posed deep questions to the alien, receiving mysterious answers. Some of their discussion centered on a powerful conspiracy, to which the Church attributes command of the world. Jehovah 1 and his spouse Eris, regarded by the Church as "relatively evil", are classified as "rebel gods". SubGenius leaders note that Jehovah 1 is wrathful, a quality expressed by his "stark fist of removal". The Church teaches that they are part of the Elder Gods, who are committed to human pain, but that Jehovah 1 is "relatively good" in comparison. Yog-Sothoth, a character from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, is the Elder Gods' leader. In her 2010 study of the Church of the SubGenius, religious scholar Carole Cusack of the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

states that Lovecraft's work is a "model for the Church of the SubGenius's approach to scripture", in that aspects of his fiction were treated as real by some within paganism, just as the Church appropriates aspects of popular culture in its spirituality.

J. R. "Bob" Dobbs

June and Ward Cleaver Leave it to Beaver 1958

SubGenius leaders teach that Dobbs's nature is ineffable and consequently stylize his name with quotation marks. They call him a "World Avatar" and hold that he has died and been reborn many times. The Church's primary symbol is an icon of his face in which he smokes a pipe. Stang has said the image was taken from Yellow Pages clip art, and it has been likened to

Ward Cleaver Ward Cleaver Jr. is a fictional character in the American television sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver''. Ward and his wife, June, are often invoked as archetypal suburban parents of the 1950s babyboomers. At the start of the show, the couple are th ...

, Mark Trail, or a 1950s-era salesman. The Church's canon contains references to aspects of United States culture in that decade; religious scholar Danielle Kirby of RMIT University argues that this type of reference "simultaneously critiques and subverts" the American dream. In the Church's mythology, Jehovah 1 intended Dobbs to lead a powerful conspiracy and brainwash individuals to make them work for a living. Dobbs refused; instead, he infiltrated the group and organized a counter-movement. Church leaders teach that he was a very intelligent child and, as he grew older, studied several religious traditions, including Sufism, Rosicrucianism, and the Fourth Way. Another key event in his life occurred when he traveled to

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

, where he learned vital truths about topics including

Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
''

Constance "Connie" Marsh Dobbs; SubGenius leaders identify the couple as archetypes of the genders in a belief that resembles Hindu doctrines about

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

. Church literature has variously described Dobbs's occupation as "drilling equipment" or fluoride sales, and accounts of his life generally emphasize his good fortune rather than intelligence. SubGenius leaders believe he is capable of time travel, and that this results in occasional changes to doctrine (the "Sacred Doctrine of Erasability"). Consequently, members attempt to follow Dobbs by eschewing unchangeable plans.

Conspiracy and "Slack"

The Church of the SubGenius's literature incorporates many aspects of conspiracy theories, teaching that there is a grand conspiracy at the root of all lesser ones. It says that there are many UFOs, most of which are used by the conspiracy leaders to monitor humans, though a few contain extraterrestrials. In the Church's view, this conspiracy uses a façade of empowering messages but manipulates people so that they become indoctrinated into its service. The Church calls these individuals "pinks" and states that they are blissfully unaware of the organization's power and control. SubGenius leaders teach that most cultural and religious mores are the conspiracy's propaganda. They maintain that their followers, but not the pinks, are capable of developing an imagination; the Church teaches that Dobbs has empowered its members to see through these illusions. Owing to their descent from Yetis, the Church's followers have a capacity for deep understanding that the pinks lack. Cultural studies scholar Solomon Davidoff states that the Church develops a "satiric commentary" on religion, morality, and conspiracies. SubGenius members believe that those in the service of the conspiracy seek to bar them from "Slack", a quality promoted by the Church. Its teachings center on "Slack" (always capitalized), which is never concisely defined, though Dobbs is said to embody it. Church members seek to acquire Slack and believe it will allow them the free, comfortable life (without hard work or responsibility) they claim as an entitlement. Sex and the avoidance of work are taught as two key ways to gain Slack. Davidoff believes that Slack is "the ability to effortlessly achieve your goals". Cusack states that the Church's description of Slack as ineffable recalls the way that Tao is described, and Kirby calls Slack a "unique magical system".

Members

The Church of the SubGenius's founders were based in Dallas when they distributed their first document. The SubGenius Foundation moved to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio, in 1999. In 2009, Stang claimed the Church had 40,000 members, but the actual number may have been much lower. As of 2022, becoming a minister in the Church costs $50, but is on sale for $44.99. Stang has estimated that there are 10,000 ministers and that the Church's annual income has reached $100,000. In October 2017, the Church moved to

Glen Rose Glen Rose (April 23, 1905 – September 3, 1994) was an American football and basketball coach. He served as the head basketball coach at the University of Arkansas from 1933 to 1942 and again from 1952 to 1966, as well as the head football coach ...

, Texas. Most SubGenius members are male, and, according to Stang, many are social outcasts. He maintains that those who do not fit into society will ultimately triumph over those who do. The Church has experienced success "converting" college students, particularly at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. It has also gained popularity in several American cities, including

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, and Cleveland. A few Church members have voiced concerns and/or amusement about new members who took the Church too seriously, fearing that they acted like serious cult followers, the very concept the SubGenius parodies. Stang has expressed concern that the Church's doctrines could exacerbate preexisting psychoses of mentally ill devotees, although he believes that the Church genuinely helps many adherents. Notable associates of the Church include

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 20 ...

, Mojo Nixon, Paul Mavrides,

Paul Reubens Paul Reubens (; born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. He is known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, an ...

, members of

Negativland Negativland is an American experimental music band which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! track, while their record label (Seeland Records) is named after another Neu! track. The co ...

, David Byrne, and R. Crumb. Crumb provided early publicity for the church by reprinting ''Sub Genius Pamphlet'' #1 in his comics anthology '' Weirdo''. References to the Church are present in several works of art, including the Internet-based

collaborative fiction Collaborative fiction is a form of writing by a group of authors who share creative control of a story. Collaborative fiction can occur for commercial gain, as part of education, or recreationally – many collaboratively written works have bee ...

Ong's Hat Ong's Hat is one of the earliest Internet-based secret history conspiracy theories. It was created as a piece of collaborative fiction by four core individuals, dating back to the 1980s, although the membership propagating the tale changed over ...

'', the comic book ''

The Middleman ''The Middleman'' is a comic book series written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach with art by Les McClaine and published by Viper Comics. The series was initially intended to be a television pilot that went on to be published as a comic, before bein ...

'', the band Sublime's album ''

40oz. to Freedom ''40oz. to Freedom'' is the debut studio album by American ska punk band Sublime, originally released on June 1, 1992 on Skunk Records. It was later reissued by MCA. ''40oz. to Freedoms sound blended various forms of Jamaican music, including ska ...

'', and the television program '' Pee-wee's Playhouse''.

Instructions

Church leaders have issued specific instructions to their followers; Robert Latham of the University of California, Riverside, calls their ideology "anarcholibertarian". Five specific commands particularly embody the group's values: * Shun regular employment and stop working. This encapsulates the Church's view that to repent is to "SLACK OFF", as opposed to working for a living. SubGenius leaders say it is permissible for members to collect public assistance in lieu of maintaining employment. * Purchase products sold by the Church, which its leaders say Dobbs founded to gain wealth. Unlike most religious groups, the Church proudly admits it is for-profit (presumably mocking religious groups that seem to have ulterior financial motives). Cusack sees the instruction to buy as an ironic parody of the " greed is good" mentality of the 1980s, and Kirby notes that although the group emphasizes "the consumption of popular cultural artefacts", this consumption is "simultaneously de-emphasized by the processes of remix". * Rebel against "law and order". Specifically, the Church condemns security cameras and encourages computer hacking. Cusack notes that this instruction recalls Robert Anton Wilson's critique of law and order. * Rid the world of everyone who did not descend from

Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
''

Events

Devivals

Local groups of members of the Church of the SubGenius are known as "clenches". They host periodic events known as "devivals", which include sermons, music, and other art forms. The term is used by both the Church of the SubGenius and Discordianism for a gathering or festival of followers. The name is a pun on Christian revivals. At devivals, leaders take comical names and give angry rants. Many take place at bars or similar venues. Cusack compares the style of the services to

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

revivalism; David Giffels of the '' Akron Beacon Journal'' calls them "campy preaching sessions". Cusack posits that these events are examples of

Peter Lamborn Wilson Peter Lamborn Wilson (October 20, 1945 – May 23, 2022) was an American anarchist author and poet, primarily known for his concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones, short-lived spaces which elude formal structures of control. During the 1970s, Wils ...

's concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones, spaces in which the ordinary constraints of social control are suspended. On one occasion, the presence of a Church leader's wife at a SubGenius meeting that included public nudity and a goat costume contributed to her losing custody of her children in a court case. But the publicity surrounding the event was a boon to the Church's recruitment efforts. The Church also celebrates several holidays in honor of characters from fiction and popular culture, such as Monty Python, Dracula, and Klaatu. The Association for Consciousness Exploration and pagan groups have occasionally assisted the Church in its events. Some SubGenius members put little emphasis on meetings, citing the Church's focus on individualism, though the ''Book of the SubGenius'' discusses community. SubGenius devivals are not regularly scheduled, but are recorded on the SubGenius website. Devivals have been held in multiple U.S. states, as well as China, the Netherlands, and Germany. The Church has also held Devivals at non-SubGenius events, such as Burning Man and the Starwood Festival. Ivanstang

''The Cyclone of Slack'' was a devival in Portland, Oregon, in October 2009 put on by the Church of the SubGenius and the organizers of Esozone. One of its more bizarre moments was when the alcohol and fire-and-brimstone sermon-fueled crowd in front of the stage began to sit down in twos and threes when the Duke of Uke began to play his

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

.Archived a
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and th
Wayback Machine
The "Go Fuck Yourself" devival was held in Astoria, New York, in October 2010 by the Church of the SubGenius at the Wonderland Collective.

X-Day

In early SubGenius literature, July 5, 1998, was introduced as a significant date, later becoming known as " X-Day". The Church held that Dobbs identified the date's significance in the 1950s, claiming that the world was to experience a massive change on that date when Xists, beings from Planet X, would arrive on Earth. SubGenius leaders said their paying members would be transported onto spaceships for union with goddesses as the world was destroyed, though a few posited that they would be sent to a joyful hell. In anticipation of the event, X-Day "drills" were held in 1996 and 1997. In July 1998, the Church held a large devival at a "clothing-optional" campground in Sherman, New York, attended by about 400 members. The event was ostensibly to celebrate the coming of aliens. When their appearance was not detected using the technology available at the time, Stang speculated that they might arrive in 8661, an inversion of 1998; this has been interpreted as a satire of the way that religious groups have revised prophecies after their failures. Some critics have dismissed the event as a prank or "performance art". Another theory is that The Conspiracy has lied about what year the present year actually is (just as they have lied about everything else), so that the liberation date would seem to pass without fulfillment and cause followers to lose faith. As a precaution, SubGenius members continue to gather for X-Day every July 5. At these events, the non-appearance of the aliens is celebrated. Cusack calls the productions carnivalesque or an echo of ancient Greek

satyr play The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is str ...

Publishing

Online

The Church of the SubGenius established a website in May 1993, and its members were very active on

Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it wa ...

in the 1990s.

Print

Although it has gained a significant online presence, it was successful before the advent of Internet communities. The Church was a pioneer in the religious use of

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

s; Cusack notes that its use of the medium can be seen as a rejection of the alienation of labor practices. The SubGenius Foundation has published several official teachings, as well as non-doctrinal works by Stang. The ''Book of the SubGenius'', which discusses Slack at length, was published by Simon & Schuster and sold 30,000 copies in its first five years in print. Kirby calls it a "call to arms for the forces of absurdity". Its juxtaposition, visual style, and content mirror the group as a whole. It draws themes from fiction as well as established and new religions, parodying a number of topics, including the Church of the SubGenius itself. A number of SubGenius members have written stories to build their mythology, which have been compiled and published. Their core texts are disordered, presented in the style of a collage. Kirby notes that the group's texts are a bricolage of cultural artifacts remixed into a new creation. In this process, Kirby argues, they interweave and juxtapose a variety of concepts, which she calls a "web of references".

Video

The group has also been promoted by a video Stang produced in 1992.

Radio

The Church of the SubGenius hosts several radio shows throughout the world, including broadcasters in Atlanta, Ohio, Maryland, and California. Several radio stations in the United States and two in Canada broadcast '' The Hour of Slack'', the Church's most popular audio production.

Podcast

'' The Hour of Slack'' can also be heard in podcast form.

Analysis and commentary

Comparative religion

The Church's teachings are often perceived as satirizing Christianity and Scientology, earning them a reputation as a

. Church leaders have said that Dobbs met L. Ron Hubbard, and SubGenius narratives echo extraterrestrial themes found in Scientology. Cusack notes Jehovah 1 bears noticeable similarities to Xenu, a powerful alien found in some Scientologist writings. The Church's rhetoric has also been seen as a satirical imitation of the

televangelism Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning " ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-pr ...

of the 1980s. Cusack sees the Church's faux commercialism as

targeting

prosperity theology Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are a ...

, calling it "a strikingly original innovation in contemporary religion". Religious scholar Thomas Alberts of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

views the Church as attempting to "subvert the idea of authenticity in religion" by mirroring other religions to create a sense of both similarity and

alterity Alterity is a philosophical and anthropological term meaning "otherness", that is, the "other of two" (Latin ''alter''). It is also increasingly being used in media to express something other than "sameness", or something outside of tradition or co ...

. Cusack compares the Church of the SubGenius to the Ranters, a radical 17th-century pantheist movement in England that made statements that shocked many hearers, attacking traditional notions of religious orthodoxy and political authority. In her view, this demonstrates that the Church of the SubGenius has "legitimate pedigree in the history of Western religion". The American journalist Michael Muhammad Knight likens the Church to the

Moorish Orthodox Church of America The Moorish Orthodox Church of America is a syncretic, non-exclusive, and religious anarchist movement originally founded in New York City in 1965 and part of the burgeoning psychedelic church movement of the mid to late 1960’s in the Unite ...

, a 20th-century American

syncretic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

religious movement, citing their shared emphasis on freedom. There are a number of similarities between the Church of the SubGenius and Discordianism. Eris, the goddess of chaos worshiped by adherents of the latter, is believed by members of the Church of the SubGenius to be Jehovah 1's wife and an ally to humans. Like Discordianism, the Church of the SubGenius rejects absolute truth and embraces contradictions and paradoxes. Religious scholar David Chidester of the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

views the Church as a "Discordian offshoot", and Kirby sees it as "a child of the Discordians". Both groups were heavily influenced by the writings of Robert Anton Wilson, whom SubGenius members call "Pope Bob". Kirby states that the two groups have elements of bricolage and absurdity in common, but the Church of the SubGenius more explicitly remixes pop culture.

Categorization

Scholars often have difficulty defining the Church. Most commentators have placed the Church in the category of "joke religions", which is usually seen as pejorative. Kirby sees this categorization as partially accurate because irony is an essential aspect of the faith. Other terms used to describe the Church include "faux cult", " ostmoderncult", "satirical pseudoreligion", "sophisticated joke religion", "anti-religion religion", and "high parody of cultdom". Members of the Church, however, have consistently maintained that they practice a religion. Stang has described the group as both "satire and a real stupid religion", and contends that it is more honest about its nature than are other religions. Cusack states that the Church "must be accorded the status of a functional equivalent of religion, at the very least, if not 'authentic' religion". She sees it as "arguably a legitimate path to liberation", citing its culture jamming and activism against commercialism. Kirby posits that the Church is a religion masquerading as a joke, rather than the reverse: in her view, it is a spiritual manifestation of a cultural shift toward irony. Alberts believes there is broad agreement that the Church is fundamentally a different type of group than religions that date to antiquity; he prefers to use the term "fake religion" to describe it. He sees it, along with Discordianism, as part of a group of "popular movements that look and feel like religion, but whose apparent excess, irreverence and arbitrariness seem to mock religion". Knight characterizes the Church as "at once a postmodern spoof of religion and a viable system in its own right".

Appraisal

Kirby argues that the Church forms a counterpart to Jean Baudrillard's concept of

hyperreality Described by Jean Baudrillard, the concept of hyperreality captures the inability to distinguish "The Real" (a term borrowed from Jacques Lacan) from the signifier of it. This is more prominent in technologically advanced societies. Hyperreality ...

, arguing, "they create, rather than consume, popular culture in the practice of their spirituality". She calls their remixing of popular culture sources an "explicitly creative process", maintaining that it prompts the reader to adopt some of the group's views by forcing "the individual to reconsider normative methods of approaching the content". She states that the group attempts to "strip references of their original meaning without necessarily losing their status as icons". Kirby also sees the Church's goal as deconstructing "normative modes of thought and behavior" in American culture; she believes that it attempts to fight culturally ingrained thought patterns by shocking people. She argues that traditional approaches to religion cast seriousness as a measure of devotion, an approach she believes has failed in contemporary society. She feels that irony is a common value that most religions have ignored. By embracing the quality, she maintains, the Church of the SubGenius offers a more accessible worldview than many groups. Literature scholar Paul Mann of

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

is critical of the Church of the SubGenius. He notes that the Church purports to present the truth through absurdity and faults it for insufficiently examining the concept of truth itself. In addition, he believes that the group undermines its attempts to take a radical perspective with its "hysterical, literal, fantastic embrace" of criticism. Anarchist writer Bob Black, a former member, has criticized the Church, alleging that it has become conformist and submissive to authority. He believes that although it initially served to satirize cults, it later took on some of their aspects. In 1992, allegations of cultlike behavior also appeared in the newspaper '' Bedfordshire on Sunday'' after a spate of SubGenius-themed vandalism struck the English town of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Notable members or associates

* David Byrne * Gerald Casale * Alex Cox *

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

* Jonathan Demme *

Penn Jillette Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured ...

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

* Marshall Ledbetter * Richard Linklater * Paul Mavrides *

* Mojo Nixon * Nick Offerman *

* Kerry Wendell Thornley *

Patrick Volkerding Patrick Volkerding (born October 20, 1966) is the founder and maintainer of the Slackware Linux distribution. Volkerding is Slackware's "Benevolent Dictator for Life" (BDFL), and is also known informally as "The Man". Personal life Volkerding e ...

Wavy Gravy Hugh Nanton Romney Jr. (born May 15, 1936), known as Wavy Gravy, is an American entertainer and peace activist best known for his role at Woodstock, as well as for his hippie persona and countercultural beliefs. He has reported that his moniker ...

* Robert Anton Wilson * Frank Zappa

References

Publications

Books * * * * * * Videos *

External links

*
Burning 'Bob': Cacophony, Burning Man, and the Church of the SubGenius
2013 interview with Church founders Drummond and Stang, archived fro
the original
May 22, 2014.
Carleton, Lee (2014), Doctoral Dissertation "Rhetorical Ripples: The Church of the SubGenius, Kenneth Burke & Comic, Symbolic Tinkering"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of The SubGenius Culture jamming Religious parodies and satires