I am in the midst of creating a hypothetical system tentatively called Fictive Religion.
Without any experience in putting a worldview in clear words, I will try to explain some of the characteristics of Fictive Religion.
1) It is fictive in that it is actively, purposefully created and adapted continuously by the practioner. It is openly “unreal” and a spirit of unattachment is nurtured so that one’s fiction never becomes a egoist trap.
2) it is religious in the sense that it involves others in a meaningful, vulnerable way concerning the most important concerns of our lives. A sharing community of story is created where true equality can meet to address concerns both existential and utterly practical.
Some markers of a healthy Fictive Religion would be:
1) Its attraction and meaningfulness to those whose stories are under represented, those who are exploited or in any way kept from their fullest potential.
2) Its ability to inspire the incarnation of the story. Star Wars, Harry Potter, and
Lord Of The Rings have shown to be mighty good at this. So has Catholicism when its members are arrested for peacefully protesting injustice, or Quakerism when its members peacefully combat violence. In short, does it inspire towards action?
3) It will inspire and fulfill the storyteller while increasing their perspective, deepening their sense of community responsibility, and opening them to embracing a life adventure that can be fearful.
Of course there will be completely novel inventions of ‘new myths’ and ‘personal spiritual narratives’ that have no connection to previous expressions, but this is not necessarily so.
Fictive Religion would exist for Christians and Muslims and anyone who was drawn to the motifs and characters of one system but felt more comfortable recognising it as a Fictive creation.
Fictive Religion is occurring all the time, and has always, and some will say that it is all that has ever occurred (despite what others say).
I encourage feedback to help me wrangle this idea.
Ryan McGivern
