Abbreviation CoE Official website churchofeuthanasia.org | ||
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Origin 1992Registered in the state of Delaware | ||
The Church of Euthanasia (also known as CoE) is a religious organization founded by Reverend Chris Korda and Pastor Kim (Robert Kimberk) in the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States of America in 1992.
As stated in the Church's website, it is "a non-profit educational foundation devoted to restoring balance between Humans and the remaining species on Earth". Members of this organization affirm this can only turn into a reality by a massive voluntary population reduction, which will depend on a leap in Human consciousness to species-awareness. According to Rev. Chris Korda it is likely that this Church is the world's only anti-human religion.
Its most popular slogan is "Save the Planet, Kill Yourself" and its founding ideology is set in one commandment "Thou Shalt not Procreate", and four main pillars: suicide, abortion, cannibalism (of the already dead) and sodomy ("any sexual act not intended for procreation"). The Church stresses population reduction by voluntary means only, therefore, murder and involuntary sterilization are strictly forbidden by church doctrine.
The Church promotes its environmental views mainly via their website and the web. They also utilize sermons, art performances, public demonstrations, culture jamming, music, publicity stunts and direct action to highlight Earth's unsustainable population. They consider their methodology similar to those of the Dadaist movement, finding the modern world so absurd that the means needed to reach their message to the public must be absurd themselves.
The Church of Euthanasia is also notorious for its conflicts with pro-life Christian activists.
Slogans employed by the group include "Save the Planet, Kill Yourself", "Six Billion Humans Can't Be Wrong", and "Eat a Queer Fetus for Jesus".
History
The Church gained early attention in 1995 because of its affiliation with paranoia.com which hosted many sites that were controversial or skirted illegality. Members later appeared on an episode of The Jerry Springer Show titled "I Want to Join a Suicide Cult".
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Church posted to its website a four-minute music video titled I Like to Watch, combining hardcore pornographic video with footage of the World Trade Center collapse. The montage featured an electronic soundtrack recorded by Korda and the lyrics, "People dive into the street/ While I play with my meat." Korda described the project as reflecting her "contempt for and frustration with the profound ugliness of the modern industrial world."
The Church's website previously had instructions on "how to kill yourself" by asphyxiation using helium. These pages were removed in 2003 after a 52-year-old woman used them to commit suicide in St. Louis County, Missouri, resulting in legal threats against the church.