179:, belief in the supernatural is not necessarily a feature of pseudoreligion, whereas it is for a "full religion." Bruce Francis Biever defines a pseudoreligion as "a set of beliefs and practices which take on many of the aspects of religion, but which do not necessarily have all, or even the majority, of the characteristics". Another definition of pseudoreligion which as been used is the "appropriation of religious symbolism and discourse for predominantly political purposes, and to justify permanent war and violence" such as the
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152:, which nonetheless have been identified as having a religious quality or "fascination" to them. According to Zinser however, terms such as pseudoreligion "should be avoided by religious studies, since ... it is generally impossible to decide what is a religion and what is not", and therefore they "belong to the realm of religious
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Sometimes, what I call quasi-religions are called pseudo-religions, but this is as imprecise as it is unfair. 'Pseudo' indicates an intended but deceptive similarity; 'quasi' indicates a genuine similarity, not intended, but based on points of identity, and this, certainly, is the situation in cases
217:
introduced a distinction between pseudo-religions and quasi-religions. He described pseudo-religions as movements which intentionally deceive adherents through their similarities with mainstream religions, while quasi-religions are non-religious movements which have unintended similarities to
199:
has proposed a "substitution hypothesis," in which those who leave religion can become involved with alternative belief systems or communities including spiritual groups, political ideologies, or conspiracy theories as a replacement or substitute for their previous religion. Atheist scholar
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There is no legal definition for "religion" which makes it difficult to legally define a "pseudoreligion" as well, and has led to inconsistencies in laws around the world, and which has sometimes led to courts making rulings over "acceptable" and "unacceptable" religions. In the
123:, all beliefs are be protected equally, but the law must protect citizens from harm. Illegal conduct cannot be excused by religious beliefs, and the law must be upheld even in morally complex situations. In other countries, such as
204:
argues that these alternatives to religion qualify as "pseudo-religions" or "pseudo-ideologies" and only through proper education in "philosophy, logic, and critical reasoning" can people leaving religion avoid this effect.
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on the other hand, while acknowledging a tendency within certain groups to see a charismatic ruler as "superhuman", believes that "we should not quibble on theological matters like 'true religion' and 'pseudoreligion.'"
175:. It involves the whole person in relation to the whole of life— indeed, in relation to the whole of existence," and if it does not include these things then it should be considered pseudoreligion. According to
106:, or faith-based beliefs. It is also used for movements or ideologies which are not ostensibly religious but have qualities identified as "religious" qualities such as extreme devotion among adherents. The term
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281:, actively sought to replace God with Hitler and replace Christianity with a Nazi pseudoreligion; and their efforts coincided with rapid declines in traditional Christian churches.
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who argues that it is important to differentiate between a religion and a pseudo-religion. According to
Richard E. Creel, "Authentic religion... should be thought of as
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have been viewed as pseudoreligions. The term has even been used to attack schools of thought which claim to be scientific, such as
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Religion, culture, and values: a cross-cultural analysis of motivational factors in native Irish and
American Irish Catholicism
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MacDonald, Jeffery L. (December 1995). "Inventing
Traditions for the New Age: A Case Study of the Earth Energy Tradition".
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127:, different groups are treated differently, and labels such as religion or pseudoreligion can be lead to persecution.
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notes that the phrase is often applied both to movements which claim a religious quality, such as
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has also been used, sometimes synonymously and sometimes distinctly from the term pseudoreligion.
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Basu, Sanjay (9 August 2023). "From Faith to Reason: Exploring the
Substitution Hypothesis".
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are other political ideologies which have been described as a pseudoreligious; as have been
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this article does not cite a wide enough variety of sources to be properly informative.
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Making the
American Religious Fringe: Exotics, Subversives, and Journalists, 1955-1993
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like
Fascism and Communism, the most extreme examples of quasi-religions today.
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movements have also sometimes been studied as pseudoreligions, as has
969:"Russia vs. Scientology: Kremlin Cracks Down on Controversial Church"
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632:(1963). "Christianity and the Encounter of the World Religions". In
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Nothing sacred: women respond to religious fundamentalism and terror
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Non-mainstream philosophical movements which function like religions
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Nevertheless, some scholars have used the term, such as historian
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Religion in China: survival and revival under communist rule
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Diagoras: International
Academic Journal on Olympic Studies
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Making God: Joseph Goebbels and the Veneration of Hitler
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Religion Among People: Essays on Religions and Politics
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The term pseudoreligion derives from the Greek word
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1016:Religious Fundamentalisms and Global Conflict
1162:Zinser, Hartmut (2009). "Pseudo-Religions".
1128:. Institute for the Study of Human Issues.
303:have been called pseudoreligions, such the
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773:. Concordia Pub. House. p. 7.
744:(Thesis). East Carolina University.
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1192:"Bad Religions and Good Religions"
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498:. Prentice-Hall. pp. 36–37.
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395:Gunn, T. Jeremy (2003).
114:Difference with religion
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1086:. Cascade Books.
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195:Sociologist
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1052:: 196–218.
659:26 December
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410:: 189–215.
382:References
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72:pejorative
1058:2565-196X
954:MoneyWeek
882:0950-2386
617:Basu 2023
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866:: 1–32.
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1069:Sources
636:(ed.).
432:12 June
329:Comtean
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1397:Jesus
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845:Salon
642:[
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