The category of ‘invented religion’: A new opportunity for studying discourses on ‘religion’

Abstract

The category of ‘invented religion’ – along with related categories, such as ‘fiction-based religion’ – has gained scholarly attention in recent years. At the same time, we have witnessed changes in the public discourse on religion: as ‘religion’ has become a resource for claiming rights, privileges and legitimacy, more attention is paid to negotiations of what counts as religion and what is meant by religion. This article examines the category of ‘invented religion’ and provides a framework for analysing its typical examples from the point of view of the discursive study of ‘religion’. The first section evaluates the analytical category of ‘invented religion’. It concludes that the use of the category has been related to an interest in typologies and that studies have focused on the question of whether the examples count as ‘real’ religions. The second section introduces an alternative framework for studying the so-called ‘invented religions’. This shifts the focus from arguing about the analytical use of the category to studying the practical interests and potential consequences of all instances where groups and activities are classified as ‘religious’. The third section illustrates this framework by analysing one controversial case concerning Jediism in Britain. From a discursive point of view, the question on whether ‘invented religions’ count as ‘real’ religions is irrelevant. They can be simply understood as additional cases for studying discourses on ‘religion’.

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