Have you ever been frustrated by the monopoly of the religio-industrial complex?  Ever wanted to be the supreme and undisputed leader of your very own cult?  Or (hopefully more likely) perhaps you are interested in how religion can be a rich and fundamental part of any civilization and world building.  Then this may be the random religion generator for you! 

First: a couple of definitions that are fundamental to understanding the philosophy behind this content generator.  Religion is defined here based on its word root:  ligiō or ligāre, which means "to tie" or "to bind" and is the same root word used in our English word ligament (that stuff that holds your bones together).  Stick the prefix re- in front of that and religion basically means "to bind together again".  Learning that helped me to understand that religion beyond the simplistic post-Enlightenment era definitions we've all come to take for granted.  Thus I've come to see that whenever a group of people are bound by common elements of experience, belief, and mythos, it can be seen as a religion.  Football, yoga class, an online game, union meetings, gun clubs, cat memes shared over social media—even political, economic, and social activities can all be seen as religions with their own codes, values, organizational structures, and stories we tell about them to help its believers believe that the system is true.  And so if just about everything is a religion, then that religion must have a god.

Thus, the other important definition is god (which is meant to neutrally include goddess, too).  Here, a god is anything that is attributed the power of life, living, and death.  Anything that you point to and say, "that's vital" is a god—whether it is God, a gun, human rights, food, ideals like Freedom and Democracy, physics—anything that is given power, whether benevolent or malevolent, is the "Big Thing(s)" all religions worship.  So the next time someone insists that they worship "the Lord God Almighty" and waves an automatic rifle in your face to prove it, it's more likely their gun is their true idol, not their deity. 

Type & Subtype

From this model and definition, this generator chooses between four religion types—monotheism, pantheism, animism, and atheism (yes, even atheism is considered as a belief system whose "god" is just not a traditional deity).  These four types focus not only on number of gods, but also where these gods are located.  The first two tend to put their gods ultimately in transcendent positions (e.g. "heaven") and the latter being in more imminent positions (e.g. in/on Earth, within people or in human ideas).  The generator is weighted towards the first two more out of historical reasons.  Of course, if you really want an atheist, spiritist or animist religion, just keep hitting that Convert button.  

Each type has, in turn, subtypes.  These could be considered as intra-god dynamics, even in monotheism.  Since most of us aren't as familiar with these subtypes, a very brief gloss of what is meant is provided.  

Other Parameters

Hierarchy deals with the gender-expression of the religion.  How people view the gender of their gods, and how intensely, reflects in the societies that embrace those religions.  This generator introduces two additional dimensions: androgynous (which takes a more inclusive broadening view of gender identity) and genderless (which takes more of a non-binary, suppressive approach).  This type and intensity is reflected in structure of the clergy, and in some cultural dimensions like coming of age and marriage.  The intensity also influences clerical structure and the gender identities ascribed to lesser gods (if any).  Stricter views of the hierarchy greatly influence clerical structure (the stricter the hierarchy, the more exclusive and pyramidal the clerical structure. 

The remainder of the parameters are fairly straightforward and self-explanatory.  A Javascript data file contains the majority of the random options available.  Suggestions for expanded options are welcome. 

A Final Note

All of this being said, it must also be noted that religion, like every other social phenomenon of human civilization, is more complex and nuanced than what this generator provides.  It is my hope that by using this random generator, the use stimulates thought and generates questions rather than as a canned package—especially when the results seem contradictory or strange. 

Also note that while this generator examines a number of dimenstions for consideration, there are a lot of details left out.  Again, the hope is that the user will be inspired to flesh out these details and engage more deeply in the world building process. 

Liability

None of the results of this random generator are intentionally meant to comment or portray any real religion.  This is especially true of the name of the religion.  Any resemblance to any real belief system is coincidental. 

And just in case anyone thinks so, I am not anti-religion.  I'd like it if we were all just more aware and honest about what religion is and what god we all really worship. 

Thank you for coming here. 
— Shaudawn