Open source religion
Encyclopedia
Open-source religions attempt to employ open-source
methodologies in the creation of religious belief systems. They develop their systems of beliefs through a continuous process of refinement and dialogue among the believers themselves. In comparison to traditional religions - which are considered authoritarian, hierarchical, and change-resistant - they emphasize participation, self-determination, decentralization, and evolution. Followers see themselves as part of a more generalized open source movement
, which does not limit itself to software, but applies the same principles to other organized, group efforts to create human artifacts.
Among the first examples of this movement, Yoans (followers of a religion called Yoism, founded 1994) claim that their version of open source religion does not have allegiance to any spiritual guide, rather the sense of authority emerges from the group via consensus. Yoism combines rational inquiry, empiricism, and science with Spinozan or Einsteinian pantheism
using a model inspired by open source software, specifically Linux
.
Another example is OpenSourceReligion.net; an online social network which describes Open Source Religion as "...the mixing of beliefs in an individual regardless of the source of the belief. Thus belief in Salvation and Karma can coexist within one entity". OpenSourceReligion.net has a project called "The Source Code" which "aims to catalog all beliefs as a resource for those wishing to build and discover their own Open Source Religion."
Another early example, in 2001, Douglas Rushkoff
organized the first Reboot summit that took place in 2002. "The object of the game, for me, was to recontextualize Judaism as an entirely Open Source proposition." The publication of Rushkoff's book, Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism, in 2003 spawned the creation of the Open Source Judaism
movement. Open Source Judaism, in turn, has spawned other open source projects, such as the Open Source Haggadah.
By 2005, a number of other attempts to form open source religions began to take form, for example, The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn
and Ecclesia Gnostica Universalis. Dr Leo Ruickbie
released Open Source Wicca in 2007, seeing parallels between the way Wicca was founded and the concept of open source computing.
In spring 2007, Assignment Zero
reported that "for six weeks, 40 brave volunteers from across the U.S. met in a special online forum on 'Open Source Religion' to talk about their deepest beliefs" (and the text of the article is itself open-source).
A similar concept has been developed and proposed in Poland
under the name of "open spirituality".
In 2009 an open source religious publication: Free Press Bible was introduced. Touted as an authentically non-denominational approach to open source religion and religion in general, it allows owner/users to articulate and organize their religious texts utilizing both digital media and printed or written pages within a "religious binder".
Later that year, other implementations began to employ the collaborative strengths provided by Web 2.0
and in particular wiki
online collaboration platforms.
Openom is an open religion that has started in 2011 which is open to change. The religion's philosophy is to keep evolving with science, the way of living, the way people want to change it.
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
methodologies in the creation of religious belief systems. They develop their systems of beliefs through a continuous process of refinement and dialogue among the believers themselves. In comparison to traditional religions - which are considered authoritarian, hierarchical, and change-resistant - they emphasize participation, self-determination, decentralization, and evolution. Followers see themselves as part of a more generalized open source movement
Free software movement
The free software movement is a social and political movement with the goal of ensuring software users' four basic freedoms: the freedom to run their software, to study and change their software, and to redistribute copies with or without changes. The alternative terms "software libre", "open...
, which does not limit itself to software, but applies the same principles to other organized, group efforts to create human artifacts.
Among the first examples of this movement, Yoans (followers of a religion called Yoism, founded 1994) claim that their version of open source religion does not have allegiance to any spiritual guide, rather the sense of authority emerges from the group via consensus. Yoism combines rational inquiry, empiricism, and science with Spinozan or Einsteinian pantheism
Pantheism
Pantheism is the view that the Universe and God are identical. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic or creator god. The word derives from the Greek meaning "all" and the Greek meaning "God". As such, Pantheism denotes the idea that "God" is best seen as a process of...
using a model inspired by open source software, specifically Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
.
Another example is OpenSourceReligion.net; an online social network which describes Open Source Religion as "...the mixing of beliefs in an individual regardless of the source of the belief. Thus belief in Salvation and Karma can coexist within one entity". OpenSourceReligion.net has a project called "The Source Code" which "aims to catalog all beliefs as a resource for those wishing to build and discover their own Open Source Religion."
Another early example, in 2001, Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture, and his advocacy of open source solutions to social problems.Rushkoff is most frequently regarded as a media...
organized the first Reboot summit that took place in 2002. "The object of the game, for me, was to recontextualize Judaism as an entirely Open Source proposition." The publication of Rushkoff's book, Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism, in 2003 spawned the creation of the Open Source Judaism
Open Source Judaism
Open Source Judaism is a small movement within the Jewish community that uses open collaboration to create works about or for Judaism. One of the groups completed works include an open source Haggadah ....
movement. Open Source Judaism, in turn, has spawned other open source projects, such as the Open Source Haggadah.
By 2005, a number of other attempts to form open source religions began to take form, for example, The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn
The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn
The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn is an esoteric community of magical practitioners, many of whom come from pagan backgrounds...
and Ecclesia Gnostica Universalis. Dr Leo Ruickbie
Leo Ruickbie
Leo Ruickbie is an historian and sociologist of magic, witchcraft and Wicca. He is the author of several books, beginning with Witchcraft Out of the Shadows, a 2004 publication outlining the history of witchcraft from ancient Greece until the modern day. Ruickbie was born in Scotland and took a...
released Open Source Wicca in 2007, seeing parallels between the way Wicca was founded and the concept of open source computing.
In spring 2007, Assignment Zero
Assignment Zero
Assignment Zero was an experiment in crowd-sourced journalism, allowing collaboration between amateur and professional journalists to collectively produce a piece of work that describes correlations between crowd-sourced techniques and a popular movement....
reported that "for six weeks, 40 brave volunteers from across the U.S. met in a special online forum on 'Open Source Religion' to talk about their deepest beliefs" (and the text of the article is itself open-source).
A similar concept has been developed and proposed in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
under the name of "open spirituality".
In 2009 an open source religious publication: Free Press Bible was introduced. Touted as an authentically non-denominational approach to open source religion and religion in general, it allows owner/users to articulate and organize their religious texts utilizing both digital media and printed or written pages within a "religious binder".
Later that year, other implementations began to employ the collaborative strengths provided by Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
and in particular wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
online collaboration platforms.
Openom is an open religion that has started in 2011 which is open to change. The religion's philosophy is to keep evolving with science, the way of living, the way people want to change it.