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What do football, iPhone and Harry Potter have in common? At first glance, nothing, but if you think about it - each has a colossal army of loyal fans who devote a lot of time to their favorite thing, know everything or almost everything about even the smallest details, and, most importantly, are ready to die on this hill for their beliefs.

In other words, the same characteristics that religion had for the vast majority of mankind just a couple of hundred years ago. Remember the Crusades, religious wars and other "charms" of the Middle Ages? Yes, now religious fanaticism has significantly decreased, but worship of new idols has definitely taken its place.

This was also noticed by the topic starter of one of the threads in the AskReddit community, who just a few days ago asked the question: "What is not a religion, but people treat it with the same attention?" And so, as of today, the thread already has over 34.8K upvotes and around 27.7K different and sometimes extremely pathetic comments.

Bored Panda made a list for you that includes the most interesting and popular elements of the original thread. Sports and brands, music legends and internet traditions - all that make people worship them so devotedly. So feel free to scroll to the very end (literally everything is interesting there!), mark what you definitely agree with and, of course, don't forget to write your point of view straight in the comments!

More info: Reddit

#1

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) elon musk. he’s annoying, he’s not saving the world so please shut up about what a selfless person he is. he exploits his workers. stop being annoying fanboys. don’t worship billionaires

p0rkch0ps , JD Lasica Report

#2

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) The way Americans talk about their constitution is very reminiscent of religion.

They worship it, but they haven't read it in a long time. Maybe never.

They insist that you should respect it, even if you're not a member of the cult.

They tend to assume that a justification for every opinion they have is in there somewhere.

They treat the men who wrote it as if they're prophets.

They can become sullen, withdrawn, or even hostile when you say it's wrong and requires serious alteration.

Bizarre_Protuberance , fdecomite Report

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#5

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Antivaxism

Few-Author-4971 , Presidencia de la República Mexicana Report

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Tammilee Truitt
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Problem in States is when ANYTHING is made mandatory people flip out and think somehow their freedoms are being threatened.

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#7

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Mommy groups. Started getting completely out of hand when my kids were teenagers. I'm a crunchy mom, I'm this kind of mom, or that kind of mom. Those people get rabid. How DARE YOU listen to advice given to you from a doctor about your individual child, MY group thinks "THIS". Heresy! Blasphemy! We will CRUCIFY you!

They used to helpful, now they are f*****g cults.

SubstantialPressure3 , English106 Report

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keighterz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I learned very quickly not to ask other moms for advice, especially on the internet. Go to the experts, folks.

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#8

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Scientology

CatJudgement , isghoul Report

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Jaguarundi
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Germany considers it to be a scam, I can only hope that the US can follow that lead soon.

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#10

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Workaholism / hustle culture.

trashpanda44224422 , Brent Ozar Report

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And i was like WTF!!
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I find this so... weird. I mean, it is cool that you work like 60 hours a week and so your boss can say bravo, but i want to work as much as i am payed, do my 8 hours a day and go and spend time with my wife, kids, friends or just by myself

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#13

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Gender ideology (aka the pseudoscience surrounding transgenderism). I say this as a trans person. If you do not follow a woke belief system to the very letter you are treated like an apostate. The left used to be very areligious but it is all spiritual gender woo woo stuff now.

Manaxium , Mack Male Report

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InvincibleRodent
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

See, the use of the word "woke" is what concerns me in this one. Their gender identity notwithstanding, cis or trans, anyone who refers to someone as "woke" in order to dismiss them, I can't trust to comment on the issue they're talking about.

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#14

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Disney. Especially when you go down to Florida.

Alpha_Solid , Michael Rehfeldt Report

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keighterz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Disney adults are weird and you cannot convince me otherwise. I have my fandoms, yes, but I'm not making a yearly trip to a special theme park like it's Mecca.

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#15

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Brands in general.

People praising Adidas, Apple, Hugo Boss, etc.

Spaceman_Beard , adifansnet Report

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#16

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Politics

CrunchM , Jack Report

#17

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Fraternities and Sororities. Down to the recruitment/shunning culture

abhiwan_kenobi , Mike Report

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The Idaho Potato
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They also can't even pronounce Greek the right way. "GGGGGAMMA", "BETA", "PHYYYYY", "DDDDELTA" (γβφδ). I may be exaggerating but still.

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#18

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Crypto

avellinoblvd , QuoteInspector.com Report

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censorshipsucks
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No dude, crypto is as scammy and religiony as the stockmarket. Sure, some people are obsessed with it, yep. But so are stockbrokers.

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#19

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) astrology zodiac signs

dohrn1i , morebyless Report

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censorshipsucks
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

let's see. Unscientific. Check. Magic. Check. Unfalsifiable. Check. Irrational beliefs, check. PS why are there jiggleballs there?

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#21

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) College football

ham_wallet998 , aaronisnotcool Report

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Bouche Clay
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think it's Alabama's state college that has an adorable pug for a mascot. I don't like football, but I love dogs.

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#22

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Homoeopathy

dangerus_dave , Dr Tricky Report

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Esme Weatherwax
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also a potentially dangerous religion when the believer relies on it instead of science based medicine

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#23

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Kpop

MixWeekly2771 , twicetagram Report

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Show thyself
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Korean Popmusic - while there is a great range of bands & styles, the most popular ones often are disturbing. More often than not the members (mostly women) are styled to look wa~y younger than they are (for example 12y/o than 20+y/o) and dressed up like fancy flittering, overs☆xualised dolls. And as far as I know the poor women often are worked down to burnouts really fast, while they need to look flirty and happy everytime they are seen. ||| pls don't read it as a generalisation, just as I said & like in any other direction of music, there is a wide range of styles. ||| pls correct me if/when I'm wrong

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Jae
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm convinced that the weebs, those who take wanting to be Korean when they are not Korean to a level that is cult-like, are the ones who make liking/loving Kpop cringy. Personally, I like Kpop, but I have seen "fans" pull members off stage, stalk them obsessively online, rip them apart in forums when a dance move wasn't to their liking, it's a lot. Getting to Kpop star status is hard, the levels of training they go through is insane, so watching fans treat them like a toy is horrible.

Bored human
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Weebs are people who love Japanese culture so much till they wish they are Japanese

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TheCat 3
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's such an abuse of people I feel bad for the artists and the ones in training, they are exploited so much

Andrew Keane
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

K-pop? Seriously ? That’s the worst thing people can be into?!

Btsquestrian
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I posted this in a reply downthread, but I want to make sure that it doesn't get lost in the replies: In our community spaces (ARMY, the name for the BTS fandom community), we frequently discuss that it is very much not okay to objectify and/or infantilize our artists. We talk a lot about how our artist are fully autonomous and highly competent adult men who have a right to privacy when they are not at work. We have frequent conversations about Knowing Your Place as a Fan. Our artist's role is to create art. Our role is to support their art and to support our other fandom members. We do our best to self-regulate inappropriate behavior. When we catch other fans violating the fan Code of Conduct (found on the label's Weverse app) by doing things like sharing photos of our artists when they are off work or at the airport, we report their screen names (and real name if known) to the label, where they are blacklisted from all future concerns and other official fan events.

Btsquestrian
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's okay to like things. A lot of the hate against the fandom communities of BTS and other musical acts from east Asia is rooted the fact that the members of the fandom communities tend to be predominately women. If I was a devotedly loyal member of the Red Kingdom (Kansas City Chiefs football team fandom) instead of a member of the BTS ARMY community no one would think anything of it.

Sergio Bicerra Descalzi
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have some of this to say: a friend of mine organizes k-pop concerts and dancing contests, and the number of people trying to sound korean, changing their names to be korean-like or laughting like an anime are... too much. He does it or the money so he don't mind, but it's insane. I live in latin america, so by no means is cultural exchange due to proximity.

Beepbopboop
Community Member
2 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

If these girls were a religion I'm the guy at the front of the congregation tripping on mushrooms with a 20 foot boa constrictor in my hands while I rhythmically dance around

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#25

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Football! Biggest sport in the world, stadiums are genuinely awe-inspiring and the atmosphere created during a game is crazy.

(Edit) Okay okay... guys, I do mean FOOTBALL as that's what the vast majority of the world calls it but to allow other cultures to understand... yes, "soccer" is the biggest sport in the world.

SurvivingWow , pbkwee Report

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Bouche Clay
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What I don't understand is why, when someone grabbed the ball and ran, the people who turned it into a new sport chose "FOOTball." Was it just that it came from football/soccer? Why didn't they call it handsball or something like that?

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#26

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Crossfit

LettuceGreedy9345 , Big Titan Report

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Victoria Pitt
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the only thing that came to mind. But I think it's ok if it's treated that way, you get a community and you stay fit. Win win.

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#27

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) iPhones, Tesla, Marvel

CleonII , Windell Oskay Report

#28

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) The idea of a nation.

CompetitiveSherbert7 , LEGOFIIR Report

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Luke Branwen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nationalism, aka. the idea that you're superior because you were randomly born inside a certain set of nonexistent lines on the map.

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#29

Hot take: owning dogs

EDIT: owning specific breeds of dogs

baby_yoda_is_thick Report

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Becky Samuel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The very concept of "pure-breed" dogs is a genetic disaster waiting to happen. As soon as you restrict the genetic diversity in this way, the extinction of the breed becomes inevitable. As much as people don't want to hear it, this is scientific fact. Don't even get me started on the ethics of deliberately breeding deformed animals that suffer throughout their lives in search of an aesthetic. And now we've moved on to doing the same thing to other species, like cats, rats, mice and guinea pigs. Even reptiles aren't immune to the greed and selfishness of the humans who breed them for "pretty colors".

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#31

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Some people treat atheism like a religion. They on here trying to get converts

Jp_gamesta , Steve Garry Report

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Tamra
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Meh, I'm atheist, but I have no desire to change anyone's mind about what they believe. As long as they extend the same courtesy to me.

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#32

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) Owning a jeep wrangler

Edit to add, I own a jeep wrangler and do 4x4 SAR for my state.

Thatonecrazywolf , Brett Levin Report

#34

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) In India, cricket

Hyperion_23 , David Surtees Report

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Pumpkin Spice
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I challenge every cricket worshipper (not fans, but fanatics) to try and hit a sixer alone, no help, nothing.

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#35

“What Is Not A Religion, But People Treat It With The Same Attention?” (30 Answers) "I trust the science"

WannaGetCrazy , Nenad Stojkovic Report

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Hex Gurls
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

damn it’s giving ‘i do my own facebook research and a crazy man in the woods told me the government is trying to track me with the vaccine and i trust him more than doctors’

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