Created in the late 50s, Discordianism is a religion, or a philosophy, or a joke, or a joke disguised as a religion, or a religion disguised as a joke, or all the above, depending on who you talk to. Centred around the (presumably) symbolic worship of the Greco-Roman Goddess Eris/Discordia, the primary text Principia Discordia explores the dichotomy of Order/Disorder, confirmation bias, the nature of life and death, nonsense as salvation and competing views of reality, offering a complexity and sincerity uncharacteristic of other ‘parody religions’ such as the Church of the Invisible Pink Unicorn or Pastafarianism.

Despite lurking in the shadows of the mainstream, Discordia had had its influence on popular culture. Author Robert Anton Wilson wrote a number of books featuring Discordians. Steve Jobs is anecdotally reported to have performed a Discordian Turkey Curse on an unsuccessful job applicant. The Church of the Subgenius, a parody religion closely related to Discordia, has the visage of ‘Bob Dobbs’ appearing in multiple places, including Devo video clips and the Melbourne ‘Polyester’ chain. Stephen Colbert was seduced into joining the nefarious Discordian enemy association The Bavarian Illuminati on his show, and long before Creative Commons, Discordia was exploring Kopyleft as an alternative to traditional copyright models.

The Principia was written around forty years ago. The Apocrypha Discordia, the first major work since the Principia, was released in 2001. Since then there’ve been numerous creative pieces released, with more major Discordian works released in the last ten years than the first forty combined. There’ve been Discordian music projects, artworks, magazines, T-shirts, badges. The religion is alive and kicking; but why?

What is it about a 50 year old joke religion that remains so pervasive and inspiring to its followers? What has attracted Discordians to Discordia? What does an ambiguously sincere religion offer to the irreligious, or sometimes aggressively atheistic? How does a philosophy overtly disregarding rules or structure capture the rigid attention of so many? How has Discordianism influenced one’s life choices, political or philosophical beliefs or lifestyle? What came before Discordia, and what did the road look like after?

I intend to visit Discordians to develop an understanding of the role Discordianism plays in one’s life through a series of interviews. I also intend to take an active role in viewing Discordians in ‘their natural habitat’, seeing how Discordia plays a role in everyday life, whether that’s taking some downtime to relax or roaming the streets in a fake moustache putting up silly posters as part of Operation Mindfuck, ultimately developing an engaging and intimate piece of gonzo anthropology.

I intend to come up with a piece of work that explores and develops an overview of Discordia, that ultimately represents a celebration of religion, humour, philosophy and life.