Hyper-real religions

Abstract

Census data from 2006 identified 133,800 Australians as being of ‘inadequately described religion’. This aggregated category conceals the exponential growth of innovative late-modern religious faiths. For example, leaked 2001 Census data suggests that some 71,000 Australians identified Jediism, as appropriated from the Star Wars films, as their faith. For most respondents to the Census this was no doubt an ironic late-modern play with the Census process as a response to an internet-based meme. However, evidence does suggest that a significant minority of respondents take the religion seriously. Such innovative faiths have raised the ire of some traditional religious practitioners who have responded with expressions of fear and anxiety. From a sociological perspective, this article examines the growth in innovative faiths and the backlash against them, and reports the results of a survey of university staff and students on the topic.

Practicing belonging, vicarious spirituality, and gendered fetishism: The transformation of the non-religious/religious in contemporary Japanese youth culture

“… 12. Readers may wonder how the Japanese Buddhist establishment has reacted to the Buddha image boom, considering that Jediism and other hyper-real religions have faced antagonism from some traditional religious practitioners in Australia and other western contexts (Possamai and Lee, 2011). The majority of the Japanese Buddhist sector is not negative toward the blending of traditional Buddhism with popular culture, viewing it as a new way to engage young people who might otherwise have no interest in Buddhism.…”

The seven forms of lightsaber combat: hyper-reality and the invention of the martial arts

“…Star Warsinspired belief systems are also an important element of this spiritual category. Readers interested in investigating the question of hyper-real religion (including Jediism) may want to see Possamai [2012]. This concept is also indebted to the work of Umberto Eco who sees the roots of 'hyperreality' in a strong desire for the experience of reality that leads one to construct an artificial system of signs which is then consumed in the place of reality [Eco 1986: 7, 16, 41-48.].…”

“…The fact that we now have a literature on the existence of hyper-real religions strongly suggests that the answer is yes [Possamai 2012]. The underlying values that students can detect in a story and practice in their lives are more important for many people than their connection to an authentic ancient history [Morehead 2012].…”