AH Challenge: Surviving 'Cult' of Bastet

Before I start note the term 'cult' is used to mean religion since 'Surviving Bastet Religion' did'nt sound good.


The challenge is to have a surviving religion that worships the Goddess Bastet, and subsequently considers cats holy,
with atleast 3 million followers worldwide.

Extra points for changing the world as little as possible.
 

Susano

Banned
Bah, Bastet. Thats already the domesticated form. :p She was a war goddess initially, you know? Though one could still sell it to the New Agers, not like theyd know...
 
A con artist in the 80s reads about her and decides it would be a good way to scam new agers.

Bah, Bastet. Thats already the domesticated form. :p She was a war goddess initially, you know? Though one could still sell it to the New Agers, not like theyd know...

By surviving I meant it never dies out, but contiues on from ancient Egypt to the Modern day.
 
I suspect it's pretty tough. The oriental cults of Magna Mater, Osiris, Christianity and Mithras had emotional appeal, and partly succeeded in the Hellenic world (including the Roman Empire) by changing a lot. Bastet would have to change similarly, I don't know how. Moreover, what emotional appeal is there?

I think it's pretty tough.
 
My cat doesn't need anything to boost her ego, thanks.

But for some reason, this is what came to mind when I read this.

ahlolcat.png
 
I suspect it's pretty tough. The oriental cults of Magna Mater, Osiris, Christianity and Mithras had emotional appeal, and partly succeeded in the Hellenic world (including the Roman Empire) by changing a lot. Bastet would have to change similarly, I don't know how. Moreover, what emotional appeal is there?

I think it's pretty tough.

The same emotional appeal most religions have?

I'm not saying it has to be a major religion, just that it has to survive and by the modern day have atleast a few million followers.
 
The same emotional appeal most religions have?

I'm not saying it has to be a major religion, just that it has to survive and by the modern day have at least a few million followers.
But part of the problem is that the Cult of Bastet (or the Cult of Athena or the Cult of Thor) ISN'T a religion, it is PART of a religion.

Judaism says 'Worship G-d because he is the CREATOR, and loves you'.

Christianity says 'Jesus died for your sins'

Buddhism says 'Follow the teachings of Buddha, and ascend to the next level, ultimately reaching Nirvana'

Bastet has none of those things. Unless you TOTALLY rip the cult apart and put it back together, you can't make her Creator of the Universe. She didn't die for our sins. Going to a heaven that is e.g. run by cats is not something I'd want, or most of us. So what appeal is she going to have.

You may think religions are random, but they most certainly are not.


Hmmm... How about if instead of trying to push Bastet, we have Bastet and Sekhmet being viewed as avatars of each other, and the worship of Sekhmet as a warrior goddess or warrior's goddess (like Ares, say, or Mithras), with Bastet being the 'fluffier' version for women to worship. So the PRIMARY appeal is to soldiers and the army. (One of Mithraism's problems being that it almost exclusively appealed to men. If we can get an equivalent that appeals to BOTH men and women, we stand a better chance.)

Would that do you?
 

I was sort of hoping for a modern religion that treats cats as holy, hence why I chose Bastet.

It could be a completely new religion so long as Bastet is still the deity and cats are treated as near-divine and afforded a great deal of respect,
just as Cows are today in India.
 

Susano

Banned
Well, Dathi is only partly right: Polytheist pantheons could swap gods, after all, so Bast doesnt necessairly need the Egyptian Pantheon. She does need a, any pantheon, though. She only makes sense as part of a pantheon/religion. And the main "export" of the Egyptian Pantheon was by far Isis and Osiris - and also, it was a net importer, so to say :p

How about if instead of trying to push Bastet, we have Bastet and Sekhmet being viewed as avatars of each other, and the worship of Sekhmet as a warrior goddess or warrior's goddess (like Ares, say, or Mithras), with Bastet being the 'fluffier' version for women to worship.
Ah, poor, poor Bast, nobody remembers you as war godess anymore!
 
If whe had a - Saint of the Cats - [how she would be viewed under Christianity] they wouldn't be associated with Witches.
They wouldn't have been killed in Europe during the plagues, so the plagues would be less deadly.
 
If whe had a - Saint of the Cats - [how she would be viewed under Christianity] they wouldn't be associated with Witches.
They wouldn't have been killed in Europe during the plagues, so the plagues would be less deadly.
Ummm... No.
The OP is asking for Bast(et) to be an actual religion, not to be subsumed into somebody else's religion. This pretty much requires Christianity (or maybe any of the exclusive Abrahamic religions) to be butterflied away (at least as a majority, let alone state religion).

It is certainly possible that holy cats would help with plagues. Hmm... A city with a prominent Bast cult gets much less of a hit from one of the plagues, and it is viewed as evidence of Bast's power?
 
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