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73-570: The episode " Hell Is Other Robots " centers around Bender 's becoming addicted to high-voltage electricity, then discovering the religion of Robotology to help him break the habit. Sermons are conducted at the Temple of Robotology by the Reverend Preacherbot , a character whose mannerisms draw heavily on black church preacher stereotypes. Robotology is a play on the name Scientology , and series creator Matt Groening has said that he received

146-527: A Beastie Boys concert, Bender attends a party with his old friend, Fender , a giant guitar amp . At the party, Bender and the other robots abuse electricity by "jacking on," and Bender develops an addiction. After receiving a near-lethal dose from an electrical storm , Bender realizes he has a problem and searches for help. He joins the Temple of Robotology, accepting the doctrine of eternal damnation in Robot Hell should he sin . After baptizing him in oil,

219-532: A TIE fighter (a reference to Star Wars ; Star Wars actor Mark Hamill supplies Chanukah Zombie's voice) adorned with Stars of David and a menorah . Catholicism is shown to still exist in some form in the 31st century, as the show makes several references to the "Space Pope": in the opening titles of " Hell is Other Robots " (stating that the show has been "Condemned by the Space Pope"); in " A Bicyclops Built for Two ", with Bender's rhetorical question "Is

292-689: A Bot Planet " as "crazy episodes" of the series. Brian Cortis of The Age gave the episode a rating of three stars out of four. Writing in The Observer after Futurama 's debut in the United States but before it aired in the United Kingdom, Andrew Collins wrote favorably of the series and highlighted "Hell Is Other Robots" and " Love's Labors Lost in Space ". He noted that the jokes "come thick and fast". John G. Nettles of PopMatters wrote: " 'Hell

365-418: A betrayal of their pure truth. By this reasoning, adding an incompatible belief corrupts the original religion, rendering it no longer true. Indeed, critics of a syncretistic trend may use the word or its variants as a disparaging epithet, as a charge implying that those who seek to incorporate a new view, belief, or practice into a religious system pervert the original faith. Non-exclusivist systems of belief, on

438-590: A call from the Church of Scientology concerned about the use of a similar name. Robotology has a holy text , The Good Book 3.0 which is stored on a 3.5" floppy disk . Two symbols of the religion are shown in the episode. The first is a zig-zag line with a circle at either end, based on the electronic symbol used for resistors on circuit diagrams . Robots who accept Robotology are expected to abstain from behavior such as smoking , pornography , stealing , abusing electricity, and drinking alcohol . Consuming alcohol

511-558: A culture is conquered, and the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but do not succeed in entirely eradicating the old beliefs or (especially) practices. Religions may have syncretic elements to their beliefs or history, but adherents of so-labeled systems often frown on applying the label, especially adherents who belong to "revealed" religious systems, such as the Abrahamic religions , or any system that exhibits an exclusivist approach. Such adherents sometimes see syncretism as

584-603: A cut scene shows Farnsworth muttering in his sleep about the Zombie Jesus returning at tea-time, when Farnsworth has no food to supply it. Another undead figure, Chanukah Zombie, first mentioned in the episode " A Tale of Two Santas ", makes an appearance in Bender's Big Score . He teams up with Robot Santa and Kwanzaa Bot to fight alien scam artists who have seized possession of planet Earth. His weapons are themed around Jewish symbols and artifacts, including explosive dreidels and

657-445: A divine afterlife attainable only after death. However, another possibility is that Miss Heaven is simply from a conventional planet that has been named "Heaven". Also, Hermes Conrad , who is Jamaican , claims to be Rastafari . The episode " Godfellas " explores several religious themes in a more earnest and thought-provoking way than any other episode, and without explicitly referencing or parodying any particular religion. Bender

730-442: A factor that has recommended it to rulers of multiethnic realms . Conversely, the rejection of syncretism, usually in the name of " piety " and " orthodoxy ", may help to generate, bolster or authenticate a sense of uncompromised cultural unity in a well-defined minority or majority. All major religious conversions of populations have had elements from prior religious traditions incorporated into legends or doctrine that endure with

803-417: A large amount on the character of Bender. Johnson concluded his review by rating the episode a "B". The episode led to a Dark Horse Comics book, Futurama Pop-Out People: Hell Is Other Robots . Bibliography Syncretism Syncretism ( / ˈ s ɪ ŋ k r ə t ɪ z əm , ˈ s ɪ n -/ ) is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought . Syncretism involves

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876-546: A machine. Notably, the Robot God does not deny being God and treats Bender's ghost as his subject. The episode " Future Stock " introduces Robot Judaism in a scene where Fry and Dr. Zoidberg , seeking free food, sneak into a "Bot Mitzvah" celebration (a spoof of the Bar and Bat Mitzvah ). As a joke about Jewish dietary laws ' proscriptions against shellfish, Zoidberg was not allowed in (despite having Jewish stereotype qualities), as he

949-513: A migration of ideas is generally successful only when there is a resonance between both traditions. While, as Bentley has argued, there are numerous cases where expansive traditions have won popular support in foreign lands, this is not always so. In the 16th century, the Mughal emperor Akbar proposed a new religion called the Din-i Ilahi ("Divine Faith"). Sources disagree with respect to whether it

1022-441: A miniature nuclear war . After Bender's unsuccessful attempt at godhood , he encounters a god-like entity in space. Bender first wonders if the entity is God, because of its awesome power or a computer because it thinks in binary. The entity responds "Possible, I do feel compassion towards all living things" and "Possible, I am user-friendly" respectively, adding "My good chum" to the end both times. Bender eventually theorizes that

1095-494: A monk named Ab-bot; the abbot takes him in and converts him into his religion called "Order of the Binary Singularity" believing in the promise "Creatrix" or Mom will give them free-will units. Aside from inventing religions, the writers of Futurama also make references to established faiths. In the episode " When Aliens Attack ", Earth is invaded by Omicronians demanding to see the season finale of Single Female Lawyer ,

1168-458: A parody and contradiction of the Book of Revelation statement that one should not be lukewarm in his faith. This episode contains a large amount of religious parody, with references to many religiously themed works of fiction. The episode's title is itself a parody of the famous line "Hell is other people" from Jean-Paul Sartre 's one act play No Exit , though the episode has no other resemblance to

1241-453: A poke at the Church of Scientology?" When TV Squad asked actor Billy West about this, he jokingly sidestepped the issue. "Hell Is Other Robots" is one of four episodes featured in the DVD boxed set Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection , Groening's favorite episodes from the first four seasons. The DVD includes audio commentary from Groening and DiMaggio, as well as a full-length animatic of

1314-481: A selective adoption of elements from different traditions without necessarily blending them into a new, cohesive belief system. Syncretism also manifests in politics , known as syncretic politics . The English word is first attested in the early 17th century It is from Modern Latin syncretismus , drawing on the [[[:wikt:συγκρητισμός|συγκρητισμός]]] Error: {{Langx}}: invalid parameter: |labels= ( help ) , supposedly meaning "Cretan federation"; however, this

1387-600: A series of events that are similar in many ways to the experiences of real world religious converts. Mark Pinsky states that the episode has a "double-edged portrayal of religion" as it portrays both an improvement in Bender's character but also some of the "less pleasant characteristics of the newly pious". The Robot Devil is introduced after Bender's fallback into sin. Pinsky writes in The Gospel According to The Simpsons , that while explaining to Bender his claim on his soul,

1460-533: A single Greco-Roman pantheon , and then identifying members of that pantheon with the local deities of various Roman provinces. Some religious movements have embraced overt syncretism, such as the case of melding Shintō beliefs into Buddhism or the amalgamation of Germanic and Celtic pagan views into Christianity during its spread into Gaul, Ireland, Britain, Germany and Scandinavia. In later times, Christian missionaries in North America identified Manitou ,

1533-455: A television show which was accidentally knocked off the air 1,000 years earlier by Fry . Professor Farnsworth explains that the show no longer exists because most video tapes from that era were destroyed during the Second Coming of Jesus in the year 2443. Ken Keeler , the writer of the episode, considered this joke one of the most blasphemous lines in the show, because it suggested that

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1606-419: Is Other Robots' is a terrific introduction to Bender and Futurama' s irreverent humor, sly social satire, and damn catchy musical numbers." TV Squad wrote that the series' funnier material appears in " Robot Hell  – after Bender is 'born again' in the Temple of Robotology." David Johnson of DVD Verdict described "Hell Is Other Robots" as "not one of my favorites", criticizing the episode for focusing

1679-461: Is a perfect example of something they could do with a robot character which they could not get away with had it been a human character. One person at the studio refused to work on this episode because they did not agree with the portrayal of some of the religious content. Cohen also noted that the writing team had begun to loosen up during this episode, which gave it a feel similar to the series' later episodes. Kaplan claimed that before editing, there

1752-454: Is a spoof of the Church of Scientology , and according to series creator Groening he received a call from the Church of Scientology concerned about the use of a similar name. Groening's The Simpsons had previously parodied elements of Scientology in the season nine episode " The Joy of Sect ". In a review of the episode, TV Squad later posed the question: "Is the Temple of Robotology

1825-679: Is a spurious etymology from the naive idea in Plutarch 's 1st-century AD essay on "Fraternal Love (Peri Philadelphias)" in his collection Moralia . He cites the example of the Cretans , who compromised and reconciled their differences and came together in alliance when faced with external dangers. "And that is their so-called Syncretism [Union of Cretans]". More likely as an etymology is sun- ("with") plus kerannumi ("mix") and its related noun, "krasis", "mixture". Overt syncretism in folk belief may show cultural acceptance of an alien or previous tradition, but

1898-495: Is accidentally cast adrift in space and unwittingly becomes a god figure to a race of tiny people (Shrimpkins) living on an asteroid that impacts his body. Bender attempts to answer their prayers, but ends up harming the Shrimpkins. Meanwhile, the Shrimpkins who have migrated to Bender's backside, out of his sight, grow frustrated that their prayers go entirely unanswered. Eventually the two factions of Shrimpkins wipe one another out in

1971-580: Is also accepted that the policy of sulh-i-kul , which formed the essence of the Dīn-i Ilāhī, was adopted by Akbar as a part of general imperial administrative policy. Sulh-i-kul means "universal peace". The syncretic deism of Matthew Tindal undermined Christianity's claim to uniqueness. The modern, rational, non-pejorative connotations of syncretism arguably date from Denis Diderot 's Encyclopédie articles Eclecticisme and Syncrétistes, Hénotiques, ou Conciliateurs . Diderot portrayed syncretism as

2044-528: Is celebrated on his Bar Mitzvah. In the episode " The Bots and the Bees " Bender's son, Ben, has a Bot Mitzvah celebration of his own where he becomes a man after being born only a few days prior. This scene reinforces the quick rate at which robots mature in the Futurama world as well as alludes to the practice of robot circumcision. References to a holiday called 'Robanukah' appear in several episodes, as well, though it

2117-619: Is controlled by the Robot Devil . He is bound by the Fairness in Hell Act of 2275, allowing anyone to win their freedom by defeating him in a fiddle contest with a solid gold fiddle, a reference to the song " The Devil Went Down to Georgia ". Should the individual lose the fiddle contest, they will only receive a smaller, silver fiddle and the Robot Devil may kill them at his discretion. In " Ghost in

2190-577: Is heavily implied that Bender makes up this holiday to avoid work. In the Futurama Holiday Spectacular , the Robanukah story involves a pair of fembots who must wrestle in petroleum oil for six and a half weeks. When the oil, which was predicted to last only four and a half weeks, lasts for 500 million years, Bender declares it a Robanukah miracle. The First Amalgamated Church is a syncretic denomination of several mainstream religions extant in

2263-476: Is implied that some form of Neopaganism may still exist in the future, based on references to a lesbian coven across the street from Planet Express in " Future Stock ". In " The Lesser of Two Evils ," one of the Miss Universe pageant contestants is an energy being identified, with little fanfare, as "Miss Heaven ", suggesting that by the 31st century, Heaven is an accessible part of the universe rather than

Religion in Futurama - Misplaced Pages Continue

2336-486: Is indicated that the Planet Express crew, along with most beings in the year 3000, are "remarkably unreligious". It introduces two of the religious figures of Futurama , The Robot Devil and Reverend Lionel Preacherbot , both of whom make appearances in later episodes. Preacherbot, who speaks in a manner typical of inner-city African-American pastor stereotypes, converts Bender to the religion Robotology. This leads to

2409-518: Is interrupted by a knock at his room door. He opens the door and is knocked unconscious. He awakens to see the Robot Devil and finds himself in Robot Hell. The Robot Devil reminds Bender that he agreed to be punished for sinning when he joined Robotology. After discovering Bender is missing, Fry and Leela track him down using Nibbler 's sense of smell. They eventually find the entrance to Robot Hell in an abandoned amusement park. A musical number starts as

2482-441: Is often used to describe the product of the large-scale imposition of one alien culture, religion, or body of practices over another that is already present." Others such as Jerry H. Bentley , however, have argued that syncretism has also helped to create cultural compromise. It provides an opportunity to bring beliefs, values, and customs from one cultural tradition into contact with, and to engage different cultural traditions. Such

2555-563: Is usually necessary to power a robot's fuel cells, but this episode establishes that mineral oil is an acceptable substitute. Sinners are punished by condemnation to Robot Hell , located under an abandoned amusement park in Atlantic City, New Jersey . The punishments in Robot Hell are similar to the levels and rationale portrayed in Dante's Divine Comedy , specifically the Inferno . Robot Hell

2628-460: The Beastie Boys as themselves and Dan Castellaneta voicing the Robot Devil. The episode is one of the first to focus heavily on Bender . In the episode, he develops an addiction to electricity. When this addiction becomes problematic, Bender joins the Temple of Robotology , but after Fry and Leela tempt Bender with alcohol and prostitutes, he quits the Temple of Robotology and is visited by

2701-602: The Pope ?" to which Amy replies, "Yeah, and if you were the Pope they'd be all, 'Straighten your Pope hat,' and 'Put on your good vestments!'" In the sixth season episode, " The Duh-Vinci Code ", the cast travels to Rome (announced as Future-Roma), where the Space Pope directs the ship's landing at the Vatican . A few episodes later, in " The Silence of the Clamps ," the Space Pope is shown conducting

2774-756: The Twenty-fifth Dynasty in Manetho's Aegyptiaca , developed a syncretic worship identifying their own god Dedun with the Egyptian Osiris . They maintained that worship even after they had been driven out of Egypt. A temple dedicated to this syncretic god, built by the Kushite ruler Atlanersa , was unearthed at Jebel Barkal . Syncretism was common during the Hellenistic period, with rulers regularly identifying local deities in various parts of their domains with

2847-418: The "Church of Trek", where devotees of Star Trek worship the characters and attend services dressed as officers and aliens from the show (in 23rd or 24th century). In the second Futurama direct-to-video film, The Beast with a Billion Backs , Fry becomes the pope of a new religion which worships the interdimensional planet-sized tentacle monster named Yivo (pronouns: shkle/shkler/shklim), who brainwashed

2920-459: The "Monks of Dschubba" to use the radio telescope of a sect of monks who are attempting to find God in the universe. This subplot takes religion much more lightly, referring to the monks as a "crazy sect" and suggesting that prayer is usually unreliable. The episode also makes reference to The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke . The book Toons That Teach , a text used by youth groups to teach teenagers about spirituality, recommends

2993-463: The "other" cult may survive or infiltrate without authorized syncresis . For example, some conversos developed a sort of cult for martyr-victims of the Spanish Inquisition , thus incorporating elements of Catholicism while resisting it. The Kushite kings who ruled Upper Egypt for approximately a century and the whole of Egypt for approximately 57 years, from 721 to 664 BCE, constituting

Religion in Futurama - Misplaced Pages Continue

3066-502: The 21st century, and is referenced in several episodes. The church and one of its priests, Father Changstein el-Gamal , are introduced in the episode " Godfellas ". Father Changstein el-Gamal reappears in " The Sting " at Fry's funeral service, and in Bender's Big Score at Lars and Leela's wedding. The religion appears to be a mix of Buddhism , Christianity , Judaism , Hinduism , Islam and even agnosticism . Other religions are depicted or mentioned in passing in other episodes. In

3139-549: The Machines ", Bender's ghost is sent to an equivalent robot Heaven monitored by a Robot God whose streamlined design is reminiscent of EVE in the Pixar animated film WALL-E . This God appears to be distinct from the more ambiguous, universal 'God' character that appeared in " Godfellas " and " Bender's Big Score ", who may or may not have been representative of the Gods of all religions, and/or

3212-627: The Reverend Lionel Preacherbot welds the symbol of Robotology to Bender's case. As Bender begins to annoy his co-workers with his new religion, Fry and Leela decide they want the "old Bender" back. They fake a delivery to Atlantic City , New Jersey and tempt Bender with alcohol, prostitutes and easy targets for theft. He eventually succumbs, rips off the Robotology symbol and throws it away, causing it to beep ominously. While seducing three female robots in his room at Trump Trapezoid, Bender

3285-448: The Robot Devil begins detailing Bender's punishment. As the song ends, Fry and Leela arrive and try to reason with the Robot Devil on Bender's behalf. The Robot Devil tells them that the only way to win back Bender's soul is to beat him in a fiddle-playing contest , as required under the "Fairness in Hell Act of 2275". The Robot Devil goes first, playing Antonio Bazzini 's "La Ronde des Lutins". Leela responds, having experience in playing

3358-463: The Robot Devil for sinning, and Bender is sent to Robot Hell. Finally Fry and Leela come to rescue him, and the three escape. The episode introduces the Robot Devil , Reverend Lionel Preacherbot and the religion of the Temple of Robotology, a spoof on the Church of Scientology . The episode received positive reviews, and was one of four featured on the DVD boxed set of Matt Groening 's favorite episodes, Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection . After

3431-439: The Robot Devil uses logic similar to that used by many Southern Baptists : "Bender tried to plead his case, without success. 'You agreed to this when you joined our religion,' the devil replies, in logic any Southern Baptist would recognize. 'You sin, you go to robot hell – for all eternity. ' " By the end of the episode, Bender has returned to his old ways and states that he will no longer try to be either too good or too bad,

3504-492: The Second Coming had come and gone but life for the unsaved on Earth had carried on much as before. Jesus is referenced several times throughout the show, the most notable being on " A Tale of Two Santas ", where all of the crew dress up as Santa and Zoidberg dresses up as "his friend Jesus" to attempt to stay Bender's execution. When the real Robot Santa appears and attacks the crew and the people attempting to execute Bender,

3577-538: The Space Pope reptilian ?"; and in " I Dated a Robot ", in an endorsement at the end of an educational film ("Brought to you by the Space Pope"). In the last of these, a graphic displays a picture of the Space Pope as a reptilian alien in Papal vestments , encircled by the words Crocodylus pontifex . Additionally, in the episode " Put Your Head on My Shoulders ", Fry and Amy Wong have a lighthearted conversation about their parents' expectations of them; Fry remarks, "What am I,

3650-759: The added benefit or aim of reducing inter-religious discord. Such chapters often have a side-effect of arousing jealousy and suspicion among authorities and ardent adherents of the pre-existing religion. Such religions tend to inherently appeal to an inclusive, diverse audience. Sometimes the state itself sponsored such new movements, such as the Living Church founded in Soviet Russia and the German Evangelical Church in Nazi Germany , chiefly to stem all outside influences. According to some authors, "Syncretism

3723-832: The concordance of eclectic sources. Scientific or legalistic approaches of subjecting all claims to critical thinking prompted at this time much literature in Europe and the Americas studying non-European religions such as Edward Moor's The Hindu Pantheon of 1810, much of which was almost evangelistically appreciative by embracing spirituality and creating the space and tolerance in particular disestablishment of religion (or its stronger form, official secularisation as in France) whereby believers of spiritualism , agnosticism , atheists and in many cases more innovative or pre-Abrahimic based religions could promote and spread their belief system, whether in

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3796-447: The drums, but after a few screeching notes, Leela says it's time for the drum solo and smacks the Robot Devil with the fiddle. As Fry, Leela, and Bender flee, Bender steals the wings off a flying torture robot, attaches them to his back, and airlifts Fry and Leela to safety. Leela drops the heavy golden fiddle onto the Robot Devil's head, making them light enough to escape. Bender promises to never be too good or too evil, but to remain as he

3869-504: The end of the conversation, Bender's questions still have not been fully answered, and he is left wanting more from the voice than it has given him. The character/entity returned, albeit briefly, in the first of the direct-to-DVD installments, Bender's Big Score . The episode also sees Fry turning to religion to help locate Bender. Seeking guidance, he visits the First Amalgamated Church. When this fails to help him, Fry visits

3942-414: The entity may have, in fact, been the remains of a satellite that collided with God, to which the entity replies "Probable". The conversation between them touches on the ideas of predestination , prayer, and the nature of salvation, in what Mark Pinsky referred to as a theological turn to the episode which may cause the viewer to need "to be reminded that this is a cartoon and not a divinity school class". By

4015-464: The episode " Hell Is Other Robots ", Professor Farnsworth complains about Bender's devotion to Robotology, saying, "If only he had joined a mainstream religion, like Oprahism or Voodoo ". In the season 2 episode " I Second That Emotion ", Fry, Leela, and Bender are shown around the sewer mutants' village. Fry notices a large gold-plated ICBM on the altar of the cathedral and exclaims "Wow! You guys worship an unexploded nuclear bomb?" to which one of

4088-537: The episode "Godfellas" in a lesson teaching about "Faith, God's Will, [and] Image of God". Hell Is Other Robots " Hell Is Other Robots " is the ninth episode in the first season of the American animated television series Futurama . It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 18, 1999. The episode was written by Eric Kaplan and directed by Rich Moore . Guest stars in this episode include

4161-455: The episode, with Horovitz also voicing Yauch. The Beastie Boys perform three songs in the episode: their 1998 hit single " Intergalactic ", " Super Disco Breakin ", and a brief a cappella version of " Sabotage ". It was initially requested that they perform " Fight for Your Right " but they declined. The episode also contains Futurama 's first original musical number. The lyrics to "Welcome to Robot Hell" were written by Kaplan and Keeler and

4234-481: The episode. In an article on the DVD release, Winston-Salem Journal described "Hell Is Other Robots" as one of Futurama 's best episodes. Dan Castellaneta's performance as the Robot Devil in this episode and " The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings " was described as a "bravura appearance". In a review of Futurama 's first-season DVD release, the South Wales Echo highlighted the episode along with " Fear of

4307-482: The executioner exclaims "Get him, Jesus!" before diving behind an object, and in reference to Benjamin Franklin's famous remark, Zoidberg replies, "I help those who help themselves." On several occasions, Professor Farnsworth uses the phrase "Sweet Zombie Jesus!" as an expression of shock or dismay. These exclamations are usually cut for syndication in the United States. In the DVD of Futurama episode " The Deep South ,"

4380-427: The inhabitants of Earth by attaching shkler tentacles to their brains, before taking them onto shklim, which resembled heaven . In the third film Bender's Game , Professor Farnsworth invokes the name of "the all-powerful Atheismo". In the season 7 episode " Free Will Hunting ", when Bender walks throughout Chapek 9 looking to discover his never-programmed free-will unit, he happens upon a religious monastery led by

4453-457: The merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions , especially in the theology and mythology of religion , thus asserting an underlying unity and allowing for an inclusive approach to other faiths. While syncretism in art and culture is sometimes likened to eclecticism , in the realm of religion, it specifically denotes a more integrated merging of beliefs into a unified system, distinct from eclecticism, which implies

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4526-410: The music was written by Keeler and Christopher Tyng . When praised for his performance in the audio commentary, John DiMaggio , the voice of Bender, noted that the most difficult part of the performance was singing in a lower octave rather than keeping up with the song's fast pace. This episode is one of very few that focuses on the religious aspects of the Futurama universe. In most episodes, it

4599-504: The mutants responds "Yeah, but nobody is that observant. It's mostly a Christmas and Easter thing." The altar and the bomb are a reference to the film Beneath the Planet of the Apes , in which the subterranean mutants worship a nuclear bomb. The season 4 episode " Where No Fan Has Gone Before ", presents the situation of a television show becoming elevated to the status of a religion in the form of

4672-403: The newly converted laity . Religious syncretism is the blending of two or more religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation into a religious tradition of beliefs from unrelated traditions. This can occur for many reasons, and the latter scenario happens quite commonly in areas where multiple religious traditions exist in proximity and function actively in a culture, or when

4745-545: The other hand, may feel quite free to incorporate other traditions into their own. Keith Ferdinando notes that the term "syncretism" is an elusive one, and can refer to substitution or modification of the central elements of a religion by beliefs or practices introduced from elsewhere. The consequence under such a definition, according to Ferdinando, can lead to a fatal "compromise" of the original religion's "integrity". In modern secular society, religious innovators sometimes construct new faiths or key tenets syncretically, with

4818-513: The play. The punishments in Robot Hell are similar to the levels and rationale which are portrayed in Dante 's The Divine Comedy , specifically the Inferno . The "Fairness in Hell Act", where the damned may engage in a fiddle battle to save his soul and win a solid gold fiddle, is taken directly from The Charlie Daniels Band song " The Devil Went Down to Georgia ". Jokes poking fun at New Jersey are included because writer Cohen and actor DiMaggio both grew up there. The Temple of Robotology

4891-570: The relevant god or goddess of the Greek Pantheon as a means of increasing the cohesion of their kingdom. This practice was accepted in most locations but vehemently rejected by the Jews , who considered the identification of Yahweh with the Greek Zeus as the worst of blasphemy. The Roman Empire continued the practice, first by the identification of traditional Roman deities with Greek ones, producing

4964-869: The spiritual and fundamental life force in the traditional beliefs of the Algonquian groups , with the God of Christianity . Similar identifications were made by missionaries at other locations in the Americas and Africa who encountered a local belief in a Supreme God or Supreme Spirit of some kind. Indian influences are seen in the practice of Shi'i Islam in Trinidad . Others have strongly rejected it as devaluing and compromising precious and genuine distinctions; examples include post- Exile Second Temple Judaism , Islam , and most of Protestant Christianity. Syncretism tends to facilitate coexistence and unity between otherwise different cultures and world views ( intercultural competence ),

5037-500: The wedding of the Donbot's older daughter. Conversely, Satanism is also shown to still exist in some form in the 31st century. In the episode " A Taste of Freedom ," Zoidberg's lawyer, Old Man Waterfall, requests a Satanic funeral rite before dying, and Professor Farnsworth, in " The Farnsworth Parabox ", when he is presumably creating the box containing the parallel universe, appeals to Satan for help, mentioning that Satan owes him. It

5110-567: Was an anthropomorphic lobster. At the Bot Mitzvah, Fry asks a Jewish robot if they don't believe in Robot Jesus, to which the robot replies, "We believe he was built, and that he was a very well-programmed robot, but he wasn't our Messiah". A banner written in Hebrew reads "Today you are a robot" (with two misspellings), referencing the traditional Jewish belief that a boy becomes a man at age 13, which

5183-534: Was before joining the Temple of Robotology. Over the closing credits, a remix of the show's theme song plays instead of the original version. "Hell Is Other Robots" lampoons drug addiction and religious conversion . In the DVD commentary for the episode, David X. Cohen , Matt Groening and Eric Kaplan all agreed that they felt comfortable enough with each of the Futurama characters to begin to take them in new and strange directions. Cohen noted that Bender's addiction

5256-600: Was enough material to make a three-part episode. Cohen and Ken Keeler traveled to New York to work with the Beastie Boys for their role. They waited three days for the Beastie Boys to call and say they were willing to record but eventually gave up and returned to the studios in Los Angeles. The audio tracks were recorded later. Adam "MCA" Yauch was unavailable at the time of the recording so only Adam "King Adrock" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond voice themselves in

5329-400: Was one of many Sufi orders or merged some of the elements of the various religions of his empire. Din-i Ilahi drew elements primarily from Islam and Hinduism but also from Christianity , Jainism , and Zoroastrianism . More resembling a personality cult than a religion, it had no sacred scriptures, no priestly hierarchy, and fewer than 20 disciples, all hand-picked by Akbar himself. It

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