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Church of Dude / DUDECHURCH
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Exploration
The Dudeist belief system is essentially a modernized form of Taoism stripped of all of its metaphysical/medical doctrines. Dudeism advocates and encourages the practice of “going with the flow”, “being cool headed”, and “taking it easy” in the face of life’s difficulties. Be a dude, not a douche
History
The Church of the Latter-Day Dude was created in the late 20th century on Earth. It follows the founding principles of the original “Dude.” Although Dudeism primarily makes use of iconography and narrative from the “Dude”, adherents believe that the Dudeist worldview has existed since the beginnings of civilization, primarily to correct societal tendencies towards aggression and excess. They list individuals such as Laozi, Epicurus, Heraclitus, Buddha, and the pre-ecclesiastical Jesus Christ as examples of “Great Dudes in History”.
Be a great dude.
Manifesto
THERE’S A RELIGION for its time and place…It fits right in there, helps us abide through all the strikes and gutters, the ups and downs of the whole damned human comedy. It really ties your life together.
And the religion for our time and place is Dudeism.
Of course, nihilists and reactionaries will probably dispute that—when they’re not throwing marmots into your bathtub or coffee cups at your forehead. That’s why you need to know how to respond when someone who is un-Dude asks you what the F*** you’re talking about when you tell them about Dudeism.
Now, it’s a basic tenet of the Dudeist ethos to just say “F(*K it,” or “Yeah, well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man,” when someone micturates upon our faith. But we’re talking about unchecked theological aggression here, drawing a line in the spiritual sand, Dude. Across this line you do not—also, Dude, “faith” is not the preferred nomenclature—“worldview,” please.
Lost my train of thought there. Anyway, in defending whether Dudeism is really a religion, worldview, or what-have-you, a Dudeist must first address a very basic question: What makes a religion? Is it being prepared to do the right thing, whatever the cost? Isn’t that what makes a religion? Or is it that along with a pair of testaments?
Well, Dude, we just don’t know. Religion is a very complicated thing. A lotta scriptural ins, a lotta ritual outs…a lot of ecclesiastical strands to keep in your head, man. There is a lot about religion that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to us. It can be quite stupefying, in fact. But there are some basic tools that can help put you in a unique position to confirm or disconfirm whether Dudeism is a religion.
First off, it’s good to define what in God’s holy name we’re blathering about when we say the word “religion”. A wiser fellah than myself once said that “religion” has its root in the Latin word “ligo,” or “to bind together.” That’s a good place to start, I guess, because the tenets of Dudeism do indeed bind its diverse adherents together in one big round robin.
The beauty of Dudeism is its simplicity. Once a religion gets too complex, everything can go wrong.
That’s why the “To What/From What/By What Means” method of identifying a religion is a great way to summarize the Dudeist ethos for your un-Dude friends.
For example, if you apply this method to Buddhism (a compeer of Dudeism), you can easily answer what the point of it is.
From what is Buddhism trying to liberate us? Suffering
To what state of being is Buddhism trying to bring us? Nirvana
By what means does Buddhism attempt do this? The Noble Eightfold Path.
Isn’t that interesting, man? Now let’s apply it to Dudeism:
From what is Dudeism trying to liberate us? Thinking that’s too uptight.
To what state of being is Dudeism trying to bring us: Just taking it easy, man.
By what means does Dudeism attempt do this? Abiding.
Now, that’s ingenious, if I understand it correctly.
Charter
Our esteemed leaders have summoned a conclave to put into writing the foundation of our Faith. Please come back soon to learn more about our community.