History Main / ChurchOfHappyology

** Inarguably the most famous example of taking on Scientology head-on was the season 9 episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS9E12TrappedInTheCloset Trapped in the Closet]]", best remembered for its long depiction of a key event in Scientology belief, with the caption "[[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE.]]" Parodies of Scientologist celebrities like Creator/TomCruise and Creator/JohnTravolta are mocked (though more for the hordy old jokes that they're both deeply closeted). So (in)famous was that episode that a ''Magazine/RollingStone'' magazine article on Parker and Stone featured a picture of them painting graffiti on a Scientology center sign (sadly it was Photoshopped). It also spawned a meme on Website/FourChan, in which all manner of bizarre photos are captioned with "THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE."

* Selfosophy from the ''Series/Millennium1996'' episode "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense". Chung (Creator/CharlesNelsonReilly) had actually been a friend of the founder.

[[quoteright:275:[[VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_church_of_happyology.png]]]]

** Inarguably the most famous example of taking on Scientology head-on was the season 9 episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS9E12TrappedInTheCloset Trapped in the Closet]]", best remembered for it's long depiction of a key event in Scientology belief, with the caption "[[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE.]]" Parodies of Scientologist celebrities like Creator/TomCruise and Creator/JohnTravolta are mocked (though more for the hordy old jokes that they're both deeply closeted). So (in)famous was that episode that a ''Magazine/RollingStone'' magazine article on Parker and Stone featured a picture of them painting graffiti on a Scientology center sign (sadly it was Photoshopped). It also spawned a meme on Website/FourChan, in which all manner of bizarre photos are captioned with "THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE."
** A few episodes after "Trapped In The Closet" was "[[Recap/SouthParkS10E1TheReturnOfChef The Return of Chef]]", made in response to Music/IsaacHayes, voice of Chef (and known Scientologist), ostensibly leaving the show in response to the episode.[[note]]According to Isaac Hayes III, the Church made that decision on this behalf, arguing that after he suffered a debilitating stroke he was not fit to make this decision.[[/note]]. This episode plays the trope a little straighter, with Chef (appearing via [[StylisticSuck low-quality]] [[ManipulativeEditing sentence-mixes]]) getting brainwashed by "The Super Adventure Club" - a child-molesting group who travel the world to do so. It also features [[CallBack a montage depicting a key event in the club's belief, with the caption "THIS IS WHAT THE SUPER ADVENTURE CLUB BELIEVES."]] It ends with Chef [[ActorLeavesCharacterDies getting killed off]] and Stan calling out "that fruity little club" for what they did to him.

* Prismatologist Hugh Bliss from the episodic adventure game ''[[VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Sam and Max]]: Season 1'' peddles a book called "[[JustForPun Emetics]]", pictured above. Then it turns out [[spoiler:Bliss is actually a sentient bacteria colony that feeds on endorphins, and is plotting to turn everyone on Earth into blissed-out drones so he'll have an unlimited food supply]]. Therefore, [[spoiler:in order to "save" the world, Max has to personally ''punch everyone in the face'']].

* The particularly crass MMORPG ''VideoGame/ForumWarz'' gives us a two-for-one deal with the Church of [[Franchise/DragonBall Saiyantology]] - and that's just the sixth or seventh of all the bizarre subcultures they've declared AcceptableTargets.

* ''Children of the Revolution'' from the short story collection ''Literature/ZombiesVsUnicorns'' features a cult/religion founded by a science fiction author that requires a lot of money to progress and is quite popular among rich famous people... but [[RecycledInSpace with]] [[OurZombiesAreDifferent zombies]].

[[caption-width-right:275:You'll be so happy, you'll puke ''{{rainbow|Puke}}s''!]]

You can tell a Happyology-style parody religion from another ParodyReligion by the presence of celebrity characters [[Creator/TomCruise trampolining on couches]], an evil alien overlord, and devices that are sort of like lie detectors being used for counseling sessions. You might also see some of the hyper-specific Orwellian terminology like 'suppressive persons', if a creator [[{{Anvilicious}} thinks subtlety is overrated]].

[[caption-width-right:275:You'll be so happy, you'll puke ''rainbows''!]]

* The somewhat infamous [[http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/scientolulz ScientLOLojyuuichi]], a Scientology-themed version of a very popular WebAnimation/{{Animutation}} called ''Hyakugojyuuichi''.

** According to the background information you can collect throughout the game (including a log you get by beating it), Unitology is the ''only'' major religion to survive the expansion of humanity beyond Earth. This is partly the result of [[spoiler:the Church's massive movement to undermine and infiltrate the Earth Government after their leader was assassinated. They now have enough pull to have anti-Unitology books officially banned on Earth and her colonies]]. Furthermore, it turns out the cult was ''right'' in a lot of their tenets, though it's kind of hard to have your tenets be "wrong" when they're basically painting a shiny coat on the [[spoiler:instruction manual for the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s]] that your founder played a key part in discovering and translating. Of course, a lot of people would consider an "afterlife" of becoming a [[BodyHorror mutilated corpse]] controlled by alien/genetically-engineered parasites that are connected to a HiveMind that exists only to kill and absorb all other living creatures to be ''[[FateWorseThanDeath worse]]'' than mere nonexistence.

* The Church of Unitology in ''Franchise/DeadSpace''. According to the [[WordOfGod developers]], Unitology is [[DeniedParody not specifically based on Scientology]], but rather religious cults in general, but there are still plenty of things that should sound familiar: it enlists wealthy and high-ranking members of society, and one's standing in the Church is directly proportional to how much money and power they give to the Church. They're extremely secretive about their methods and are often described as cultish. Prequel comics feature the Church (several times referred to as a "cult") as a major plot point. They are directly responsible for unleashing the alien threat featured in the game by transporting a mysterious "marker" they believe is directly related to their beliefs to a human colony, then the mining ship where the game takes place, and are hinted to have been aware of its effects all along.\\\
According to the background information you can collect throughout the game (including a log you get by beating it), Unitology is the ''only'' major religion to survive the expansion of humanity beyond Earth. This is partly the result of [[spoiler:the Church's massive movement to undermine and infiltrate the Earth Government after their leader was assassinated. They now have enough pull to have anti-Unitology books officially banned on Earth and her colonies]]. Furthermore, it turns out the cult was ''right'' in a lot of their tenets, though it's kind of hard to have your tenets be "wrong" when they're basically painting a shiny coat on the [[spoiler:instruction manual for the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s]] that your founder played a key part in discovering and translating. Of course, a lot of people would consider an "afterlife" of becoming a [[BodyHorror mutilated corpse]] controlled by alien/genetically-engineered parasites that are connected to a HiveMind that exists only to kill and absorb all other living creatures to be ''[[FateWorseThanDeath worse]]'' than mere nonexistence.

---> A gorgeous religion, old and true, started in 1982.

* Season 2 of ''Series/TheBoys'' introduces the Church of the Collective, which seems to have traits in common, including a ''Literature/{{Dianetics}}''-esque holy book, a [[TherapyIsForTheWeak hatred of therapists]], charity work that is [[UnwantedAssistance more interested in evangelism than helping people]], a use of {{Frivolous Lawsuit}}s against the IRS to secure their tax-exempt status, and processes designed to gain {{blackmail}} information from new recruits. The Deep ends up joining early on in the season, as a consequence of his HumiliationConga in the previous season. [[spoiler:The Church turns out to have close ties to [[MegaCorp Vought International]], specifically helping them rehabilitate the images of wayward superheroes while collecting blackmail info on them to keep them in line.]]

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation has the [[http://www.scpwiki.com/fifthist-hub Fifth Church]], who once [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1425 almost destroyed reality with a self-help book]].

** Inarguably the most famous example of taking on Scientology head-on was the season 9 episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS9E12TrappedInTheCloset Trapped in the Closet]]", best remembered for it's long depiction of a key event in Scientology belief, with the caption "[[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE.]]" Parodies of Scientologist celebrities like Creator/TomCruise and Creator/JohnTravolta are mocked (though more for the hordy old jokes that they're both deeply closeted). So (in)famous was that episode that a ''Magazine/RollingStone'' magazine article on Parker and Stone featured a picture of them painting graffiti on a Scientology center sign (sadly it was {{Photoshopped}}). It also spawned a meme on Website/FourChan, in which all manner of bizarre photos are captioned with "THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE."

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** A few episodes after "Trapped In The Closet" was "[[Recap/SouthParkS10E1TheReturnOfChef The Return of Chef]]", made in response to Music/IsaacHayes, voice of Chef (and known Scientologist), ostensibly leaving the show in response to the episode.[[note]]According to Isaac Hayes III, the Church made that decision on this behalf, arguing that after he suffered a debilitating stroke he was not fit to make this decision.[[/note]]. This episode plays the trope a little straighter, with Chef (appearing via [[StylisticSuck low-quality]] [[ManipulativeEditing sentence-mixes]]) getting brainwashed by "The Super Adventure Club" - a child-molesting group who travel the world to do so. It also features [[CallBack a montage depicting a key event in the club's belief, with the caption "THIS IS WHAT THE SUPER ADVENTURE CLUB BELIEVES."]] It ends with Chef [[McLeaned getting killed off]] and Stan calling out "that fruity little club" for what they did to him.

* The "Hubologists" from ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}''. This series actually went so far as to having the Hubologist "celebrity spokespeople" [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed "Juan Cruz" and "Vikki Goldman"]] tell you that their religion was not, in fact, connected or based in any way, shape, or form upon any group [[BreakingTheFourthWall in the real world]].

Lampooning this religion directly, or even uttering its name and a word against it, may expose unwary parodists to severe civil penalties. Parodies therefore frequently use a "Church of Happyology", a stand-in religion that is well enough veiled to stave off lawsuits, but still transparent enough to allow clued-in people to identify the actual target.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': In Season 5, Jake signs himself up to [=NutriBoom=], a clear Pyramid Scheme[[note]]Well, [[InsistentTerminology a conical-tiered, multi-flow-through medical marketing entity]][[/note]], only in order to get a [=NutriBoomer=] to help him out. When he tries to cancel it, it turns out that not only it is impossible to leave without paying $10,000, the inner circle of the company is a cult-of-personality slavishly devoted to their CEO. The CEO's wife has been missing for a while and members are required to sign a statement asserting that she is definitely alive and happy, which [[BlatantLies in no way resembles]] questions about the welfare and current whereabouts of Shelly Miscavige. [[spoiler: In the show, the CEO's wife really is alive and happy - she's the one actually running the whole con from behind the scenes, at least until Jake and Charles stumble on the truth.]]

The Church of Scientology has a reputation for being very protective of its public image, and of being extraordinarily sensitive to what it considers defamation. This has been demonstrated by the church breaking out the lawyers to suppress any potential source of mockery by lawsuit, along with hiring private investigators to dig up dirt on critics (and in a few cases, even ''framing'' critics for various crimes).

* Selfosophy from the ''Series/{{Millennium}}'' episode "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense". Chung (Creator/CharlesNelsonReilly) had actually been a friend of the founder.

* The ApocalypseCult Team Flare in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''. They have to pay large sums of money to join the group, describe themselves as scientists despite bearing no resemblance to the scientist class, are heard trying to memorize mantras like "There are no real absolutes", and seem completely convinced that the group is the only future and everyone else is doomed. The members are described as being cult-like early on - one NPC even says that a friend of a friend turned joined the group and went out for lunch with him and wouldn't stop talking about it being the future (which is something that happens often in real life). They also speak in very childish manners, often whining about their losses or blaming the loss on bad luck. Their main aspirations are invading all the big companies and historic buildings, and blackmailing people into selling them to them. Also, the battle sprites for them have them looking like they are hypnotized and brainwashed.

* ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatiansTheSeries'': In the third part of "Dalmatian Vacation", Anita meets [[OverlyLongName "The Society for Achieving Utopian Consciousness via Extra-Terrestrial Rebirth and Desert Operational Lacrosse Team"]] (or Saucer Dolts) in the desert. They are waiting for the mother ship to take them to another planet [[NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering but can't agree which one.]]