Church of the SubGenius
From SkepticWiki
The Church of the SubGenius is a satirical pseudo-religious organization founded in 1980, currently based in Cleveland Ohio. It is known for deliberately mocking many aspects of New Age culture, including religious cults, fringe theories and pseudo-sciences, and conspiracy theories (and their authors).
The icon of the Church of the SubGenius is a clip-art image known as J.R. "Bob" Dobbs. His pipe-smoking face has become an icon of many skeptical Internet sites, ranking alongside the Invisible Pink Unicorn and the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
The Church's sarcastic attitude towards all subjects (especially religion) has appealed to the skeptical crowd, and a number of notable skeptics have become SubGenius ministers. Skeptics who proclaim their membership in the group include Jim Lippard (one of the editors of Skeptic magazine) and Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller. Church founder Reverend Ivan Stang is the author of High Weirdness by Mail (published in 1988), a mail-order directory of many fringe organizations that became known for its skeptical view towards the groups it portrayed.
[edit] External Links
- Home page of the Church of the SubGenius
- Wikipedia entry on the Church
- The High Weirdness Project: SubGenius wiki based upon the book High Weirdness by Mail
