The Church of Euthanasia

    I was told to write an essay about a religion or culture for my Anthropology class over the summer. I personally like the way it came out, even though it ended up reading more like an English paper or a community newspaper article than an Anthropology paper (you were right, professor, I should have included more theory.) I have taken the liberty of removing my name, class, and professor name, but I have not altered the essay since I originally submitted it. I welcome any members of the church to correct any inaccuracies.

The Church of Euthanasia: Antihumanism as Religion

    Carcassonne in France was once home to a religious group known as the Cathars. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Cathars were the subject of a massacre, carried out under the orders of the Roman Catholic Church (Aran 58). Some of the heretical practices they believed in, which made them a target of the crusades, included the use of contraception, and the right to euthanasia and suicide (Aran 61). Catharism is one religion, among many, that embrace population control as a tenet of their faith. The Church of Euthanasia (CoE) embraced population control—and ultimately, population reduction—as its end goal, rather than a minor portion of a greater purpose (“Church of Euthanasia FAQ”). The Church of Euthanasia was established in 1992 and fell into relative obscurity by the late 90s (Davis). While the church’s chronology page doesn’t list any events beyond 2002 (The Church of Euthanasia Chronology), the church’s website contains press links posted as recently as May of this year (“Church Press”). The church also released issue #5 of Snuff It in 2019, a journal which has not had a new issue published in more than 20 years (Snuff It).

    The Church of Euthanasia utilizes all the key elements that make a religion influential. A church built from the ideas of a shamanistic dream (“A Brief History”), the CoE appeals to people on the fringes of society. A shaman, in this context, is one who commands respect as one who engages in “personal communication with the supernatural during shamanic trances or altered states of consciousness” (Stein and Stein 120). Shamans often receive their call to action “during a particularly difficult time of their lives, including periods of stress, illness, accident, possession, or near-death experiences (Stein and Stein 120). The founding of the CoE may be directly related to the founder’s lack of acceptance within society.

    The church was founded in early 1992 after its founder dreamed of an alien entity known as “The Being.” The Being warned of the imminent failure of the Earth’s ecosystem, claiming to speaks for the inhabitants of Earth in other dimensions (“A Brief History”). Chris Korda, the church’s founder, began publicly presenting as transgender in 1991 (Stephinson). Examining writings throughout the 90s paints a clear picture of discrimination against transgender people within mainstream society, but also within the queer community (Gallagher). The queer community was regarded by many societies “to be immoral, decadent, and a threat to public order” (Ungar). Even the “depraved” members of society regarded transgender people as others. The stress associated with being transgender, when even the outcasts were unaccepting, fits with the idea that shamans are “people that are pushed out of the normal […] structure of society” (Melidonis 11:08 – 11:11). Korda continued to skirt around societal acceptance throughout the church’s prime years. In 1996, Korda’s involvement with the Church of Euthanasia inspired her father, Michael Korda, to enlist the services of an attorney to convince Chris Korda to use an alternate surname and stop giving interviews (Keil and Mitchell; “Breaking the Umbilical Korda”).

    Likewise, Korda’s disciples do not conform to the accepted social order. The Four Pillars of the church are suicide, abortion, cannibalism, and sodomy (Lofthouse). The church utilized public demonstrations that became their form of ritual. A ritual can be described as “[consisting] of actors (shamans and priests, for example), words (perhaps a prayer, a spell, or a sermon), sets (such as an altar), and props (such as candles, religious books, or masks) and may contain music and dance as well” (Stein and Stein 77). The CoE’s rituals were often public demonstrations, similar to protests. At the start of the church’s notoriety, they emblazoned a billboard off the Massachusetts Turnpike with their most famous slogan, “Save the Planet—Kill Yourself” (Davis). The banners became their props. While the church did have a chapel for a short time, only one “religious service” was ever held within its walls (Bromley and Spiers). The Church of Euthanasia preferred public spectacles to closed-door services. Unlike some religions, the Church of Euthanasia was not interested in convincing its followers of their superiority to other religions. Instead, the church needed their rituals to occur in public spaces to implement their shock and awe campaign against procreation.

    Procreation restriction is at the center of the CoE’s beliefs. Prospective members have only one requirement for initiation into the church; they must take a vow of non-procreation (“Church of Euthanasia FAQ”). Any member that falls pregnant must have the fetus aborted or suffer excommunication. The church stresses the importance of adhering to the fourth pillar, sodomy, to ensure compliance in the non-procreation vow (“Church of Euthanasia FAQ”). There are no other hard and fast rules of the church, though the CoE does encourage its members to “proselytize shamelessly. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Get on the radio or TV. Be a nuisance. Cause trouble. Piss people off, especially your breeding friends. Carpe diem” (“Church of Euthanasia FAQ”). While the only rule that disciples must follow unfailingly is the vow of non-procreation, the church does have a set of documents to help guide its congregation.

    Snuff It is the congregation’s periodical covering all aspects of CoE. Issues of Snuff It include ways members can support the movement, member art pieces, news articles, and “advertisements” promoting drunk driving (Korda “Remember!” 6) and supporting the Unabomber for President of the United States (Korda “Just Do It” 28). In addition to Snuff It, the CoE website has 22 electronically published sermons and various reading materials that explain the tenants of the church in greater detail (“The E-sermons Directory”).  These directories make up the religious texts of the Church of Euthanasia. The church provides many resources to support disciples who choose to follow the writings in the sacred texts. Resources include access to contraception, tutorials on how to commit suicide, and worldwide population information (“On-Line Resource Guide”).

    Additionally, the Church of Euthanasia maintains a list of hymns and a record of public performances. While they are hymns, by definition, “a metrical composition adapted for singing in a religious service” (“Hymn”), a majority of the songs fall into the musical genre known as Trance. The most well-known hymns are titled “Save the Planet – Kill Yourself” and “Fleshdance” (Stephinson). Both songs were written by Korda, and contain lyrics encouraging cannibalism and suicide. A study analyzing the connection between music and religious ritual suggests “that the link between music and spiritual experience is, for some people, not only profound, but transcendent—and enduring” (Hagedorn 489). Music, for the Church of Euthanasia, serves a dual purpose; to inform an ignorant public and to connect its members. A ritual’s “primary purpose is not to entertain—although in some societies rituals are an important form of entertainment—and the audience is an active participant” (Stein and Stein 77). The CoE uses music as a recruitment tool and also as a way to engage the uninitiated. The songs are often provocative, inspiring heated reactions, and they use a Trance beat to create a lasting buzzing within the listener’s head.

    In addition to provocative music, the Church of Euthanasia used footage from 9/11 to inspire a reaction from the general population. The video also acts as a celebration and prayer of thanks for furthering their goal of depopulating the planet. The church’s website describes the intent of the video by writing, “the video simply attempts to capture the author’s personal experience of watching the attacks on TV, including childish glee, vindictiveness, perverse fascination, and sexual arousal” (“Church Video”).

    While the church has not been present in the news since 2003, it has seen new activity since the introduction of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The Church of Euthanasia posted an e-sermon titled “Antihumanism,” which serves to define the term, explain the need for it, and pose solutions to the problem of population control. A snippet of the page says, “Short of nuclear holocaust, what other intervention strategies could act quickly enough to be decisive? Perhaps a pandemic […] but this is far-fetched. In reality it would be very difficult to engineer a pathogen suitably virulent and distribute it widely enough” (“Antihumanism”). COVID-19 fits comfortably into the values of the church, making a spike in church activity unsurprising.

    Despite the church’s recent signs of life, it has been pushed out of the memories of the general public, hitting its heyday more than 20 years ago. Antinatalism, however, has been finding a new audience in Millenial and Gen Z young adults, who view birth as inherently immoral (Rothman; Tuhus-Dubrow). Antinatalism is milder than the Church of Euthanasia in its sensational recruitment tactics, but it primarily asks the same thing of its followers; don’t procreate. Antinatalism may not have a dedicated church, but online forums dedicated to the belief can highlight the scope of its appeal. The website Reddit, a popular discussion board among young adults, contains a subreddit thread dedicated to Antinatalism. In the ten years since its creation, it has amassed over 71 thousand members (r/antinatalism). It is challenging to compare Antinatalist numbers to the CoE, because there appears to be no official member list associated with the Church of Euthanasia. However, the number of Antinatalism followers shows that the idea of population control is not just a passing phase.

Works Cited

“Antihumanism.” Church of Euthanasia, www.churchofeuthanasia.org/e-sermons/antihumanism.html.

Aran, Susan. “The Route of the Cathars: DIVINE INSPIRATION.” France Today, vol. 33, no. 1, Dec. 2017, pp. 58–62. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=127977113&site=ehost-live.

“Breaking the Umbilical Korda.” Church of Euthanasia, www.churchofeuthanasia.org/press/newyork.html.

“A Brief History of The Church of Euthanasia.” The Church of Euthanasia, www.churchofeuthanasia.org/history.html.

Bromley, David G., and Izaak Spiers. “Church of Euthanasia.” World Religions and Spirituality, World Religions and Spirituality Project, 14 Sept. 2018, wrldrels.org/2018/09/15/14893/.

“The Church of Euthanasia Chronology.” Church of Euthanasia, www.churchofeuthanasia.org/coedates.html.

“Church of Euthanasia FAQ.” Church of Euthanasia, www.churchofeuthanasia.org/coefaq.html.

“Church Press.” Church of Euthanasia, www.churchofeuthanasia.org/press/coepress.html.

“Church Video.” Church of Euthanasia, www.churchofeuthanasia.org/catalog/video.html.

Davis, Simon. “'Save the Planet, Kill Yourself': The Contentious History of the Church of Euthanasia.” Vice, Vice Media Group, 22 Oct. 2015, www.vice.com/en_us/article/bnppam/save-the-planet-kill-yourself-the-contentious-history-of-the-church-of-euthanasia-1022.

“The E-Sermons Directory.” Church of Euthanasia, www.churchofeuthanasia.org/e-sermons/e-sermons.html.

Gallagher, John. “The Transgender Revolution.” Advocate, no. 722, Dec. 1996, pp. 49–51. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9612130204&site=ehost-live.

Hagedorn, Katherine. “‘From This One Song Alone, I Consider Him to Be a Holy Man’: Ecstatic Religion, Musical Affect, and the Global Consumer.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, vol. 45, no. 4, 2006, pp. 489–496., doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2006.00323.x.

“Hymn.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hymn.

Keil, Beth Landman, and Deborah Mitchell. “Breaking the Umbilical Korda.” New York, vol. 29, no. 19, May 1996, p. 12. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9605097905&site=ehost-live.

Korda, Chris. “Just Do It.” Snuff It, 19 Dec. 1995, p. 28.

Korda, Chris. “Remember!” Snuff It, 1 June 1994, p. 6.

Lofthouse, Katherine. “Suicide, Abortion, Cannibalism and Sodomy: The Four Pillars of the Church of Euthanasia.” Church of Euthanasia, 9 Dec. 2013, www.churchofeuthanasia.org/press/planet_ivy.html.

“MWRChapter06ReligiousSpecialists.” Performance by Arion Melidonis, YouTube, 9 July 2020, youtu.be/PQxkCXu0gUs.

“On-Line Resource Guide.” Church of Euthanasia, www.churchofeuthanasia.org/resources/resources.html.

“r/Antinatalism.” Reddit, www.reddit.com/r/antinatalism/.

Rothman, Joshua. “The Case for Not Being Born.” The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2017, www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/the-case-for-not-being-born.

“Snuff It.” Https://Www.churchofeuthanasia.org/Snuffit.html, www.churchofeuthanasia.org/snuffit.html.

Stein, Rebecca L., and Philip L. Stein. The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft. Third ed., Routledge, 2016.

Stephinson, Ruiz. “Chris Korda 'The Church Of Euthanasia Archives' at Goswell Road, Paris.” Mousse Magazine, 15 Apr. 2019, moussemagazine.it/chris-korda-church-euthanasia-archives-goswell-road-paris-2019/.

Tuhus-Dubrow, Rebecca. “I Wish I'd Never Been Born: The Rise of the Anti-Natalists.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 14 Nov. 2019, www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/14/anti-natalists-childfree-population-climate-change.

Ungar, Mark. “State Violence and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (Lgbt) Rights.” New Political Science, vol. 22, no. 1, 2000, pp. 61–75., doi:10.1080/073931400113521.