Since the beginning of civilization, religion has served as the backbone of society. It is the essence of people's spiritual existence, significantly influencing everyday life. Religion also impacts politics and science, therefore being one of the most essential factors globally. However, there are some unusual, weird, and downright bizarre religious movements that still gather a lot of followers. Therefore, we present the top ten most unbelievable religions worldwide.

10. Nuwaubianism 

The originators of Nuwaubianism are Black Muslim citizens of New York in the 70s. Since then, this religion has gone through many changes. In 1993, they established the headquarters in Putnam County, Georgia, but eventually abandoned it. The founder of Nuwaubianism is now in prison, convicted on money laundering and child molestation charges. 

One of the Nuwaubians says that white people were initially created as a slave army to blacks, but that plan went wrong. Additionally, the followers of this religion believe that women existed by themselves for centuries and that they created men by genetic engineering. Although we are not sure how many women are prominent in their organization.

9. Prince Philip Movement (PPM) 

People of the Yaohnanen area of the Tanna state of Vanuatu started this unusual religion. The central person of the Prince Philip Movement is now the late prince-regent and spouse of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The local legend says that the son of an Earth Spirit traveled across the sea and married a powerful woman. 

When Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Vanuatu, the locals recognized him as the Earth spirit's son. Thus began the religion that worships Prince Philip in the most deity way. Prince Philip Movement followers celebrate his birthday on June 10th as a full-blown national holiday. 

8. Raelism 

A French journalist Claude Vorilhons is the founder of Raelism. This religion is named after the honorific name the aliens gave to Vorilhons when they abducted him and unveiled the true nature of the universe to him. Sounds crazy? But wait, there's more. Vorilhons, or Rael, was taken by aliens to a distant planet called Elohim. There, he met various prominent philosophers and religious thinkers. 

Among the people he met were Jesus, Confucius, Buddha, and Joseph Smith (the founder of Mormonism). The aliens revealed that life on Earth began 25,000 years ago when humans were created from alien DNA. Additionally, they told Rael they would arrive in Jerusalem in the year 2025. 

7. Aghori 

This Indian cult came into existence after splitting off from the Kapalika order in the 14th century. However, many Indians despise Aghori because of their repulsive rituals, including cannibalism. Aghori followers usually carry an artifact called kapala, made from a human skull. Yet, the most extreme aspect of Aghori is that they would eat anything, from rotting food to animal excrement. 

The Aghori followers would do some horrendous things to reach the highest level of enlightenment. Thus, the final level of the rituals is obtained from eating the decaying human flesh. The central religious figure of Aghori is an ascetic priest called Kinaram. He is responsible for present-day rituals, and Aghori believes he is a reincarnation of the God Shiva.

6. Panawave 

Panawave was formed in Japan in the 90s. The main trait of this religion is that they are scared of the presence of electromagnetic waves. Panawave followers blame electromagnetic waves for climate change, environmental destruction, and other bad things. 

Since its founding in 1994, Panawave followers have done multiple publicity stunts. The most famous was an attempted kidnapping of a baby seal that emerged in the Tokyo river. Panawaves believed that electromagnetic waves were to blame for this animal's appearance in the river. They even tried to return the seal to the Arctic to prevent a global catastrophe.

5. The Church of Maradona 

Iglesia Maradoniana, or the Church of Maradona, is a religious belief founded by fans of Diego Armando Maradona. The members of Maradona church believe he was the best player of all time. The Church of Maradona was established on October 30th, 1998, which was Maradona's 38th birthday. Depending on your definition of religion, the church of Maradona might be considered syncretism. 

Supporters of this church from all parts of the world have their own calendar based on Maradona's birth. The calendar started in 1960 when Maradona was born, and it is currently in the year 62 AD. AD is, of course, After Diego. The goal of Maradona's church is to keep the passion and the magic alive and help people remember the miracles Maradona performed on the football field.

4. Jediism 

Star Wars has a huge fan base worldwide, and some of them took things too far by creating a religion based on the fictional Jedi order. The followers of Jediism adopted the basic tenets of the Jedi orders from the movies, and they are trying to actually follow those beliefs in real life. Jediism doesn't have a central-based organization, and there's no official leader. 

However, the "Temple of the Jedi Order" in Texas issued a code for believers called "The 16 Teachings of the Jedi". This codification is quite absurd because it tries to unite the teachings from a science fiction movie with some real-life religions such as Buddhism and Taoism.

3. Creativity Movement 

This is a white separatist organization that propagates "creativity." The term "Creator" doesn't refer to any god but to the followers instead. Also, there's no mention of gods and churches because the movement is atheistic. The Creativity Movement was founded by Ben Klassen in 1973.

After the founder's death, the Creativity Movement was all but gone. However, three years later, the New Church of the Creator was established. Matthew F. Hale became its Pontifex Maximus (high priest) until 2003 when he was incarcerated. Allegedly, he was plotting the murder of a federal judge with the movement's head of security. Hale wasn't aware his security chief was an undercover FBI agent.

2. Aetherius Society 

This weird religion is a mishmash of various religious dogmas. You could recognize a few Christian teachings, along with Hindu, Buddhist, and Jewish beliefs. On top of that, they added a hefty dose of ufology. Around 650 Aetherians believe they fight to prevent the complete destruction of the Earth. 

According to them, they have already stopped multiple disasters by using prayer and 'Spiritual Energy Batteries.' Those batteries are spiritual energy containers holding healing energy generated by psychic abilities. Aetherians still wait for their new leader, who is some sort of Mega Jesus Superman, descending from the heavens in the flying saucer.

1. Church Of Euthanasia 

Church of Euthanasia is more approaches movement than a true religion. They use religion-like sermons to spread the message of the movement. Namely, they claim that overpopulation requires that people actively take measures to reduce their own number. Bluntly speaking, we should all delete ourselves and save our planet. 

Although the group doesn't promote murder, their only command is "Thou shalt not procreate." Therefore, the church encourages believers and others to engage in non-procreative activities. Those activities are suicide, abortions, contraception, and other acts preventing the spreading of your genes. The most famous Church of Euthanasia quote is "Save the Planet, Kill Yourself."

Founding a religious organization is an excellent way to distribute your ideas to a wide circle of people. The connection with higher beings is supposed to give your ideas legitimacy. However, some religions are based on very unusual ideas, and yet they are surprisingly popular, as our top ten list shows.

What's your favorite bizarre religion? Which religion would you add to the list?

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