United States: The Church of the SubGenius has issued a press release declaring they are the loopiest of all the cults:
Tom Cruise is pitching for Scientology; Madonna sings the praises of Kabbalah. Strange religious groups (or cults) are in vogue in today's Hollywood. But when it comes to bizarre rituals and crackpot beliefs, even Scientology can't hold a candle to the Church of the SubGenius, a new religious movement set to take Hollywood by storm.
The Church of the SubGenius is a popular organization often seen as aparodyof religious cults, including Scientology, the Raelians, the Unification Church, and racist hate groups such as Christian Identity. The organization is widely seen as a satire that mocks organized religion, or as the church describes itself,a cynisacreligion.It was founded in 1953 by a mysterious figure named J.R.BobDobbs, whose smiling, pipe-smoking image has been seen worldwide in chip art, graffiti, tattoos, and rock albums from performers ranging from Devo and George Clinton to Sublime.
A number of celebrities are SubGenius ministers, including former Talking Heads singer David Byrne, Penn Jillette, Robert Anton Wilson, and Pee-Wee Herman. A number of comic book artists praise the group's teachings, including legendary "underground" artists Robert Crumb and Paul Mavrides, along with Bob Burden (whose works were recently adapted into the motion pictureMystery Men). Mavrides was art director of the 1999 documentaryGrass,whichy featured Woody Harrelson and many other celebrities.
They're more honest than the other groups though:
In an interview with CNN, Church business manager Reverend Ivan Stang said,We're probably the only cult that admits we're ripping them off every day, and teaching them to enjoy it.
SubGenius UFO Cult Challenges Scientology For Hollywood Weirdness—First Online Church of Bob press release, 27th August 2006.
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