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Definition:
Founded in California by Charles Dederich, the Synanon Church started in the 1960s but
closed down in the 1990s. It was originally just a therapeutic group where alcoholics and
drug addicts could meet and find support in their efforts to become clean and sober. In
1980, however, it incorporated itself as the Synanon Church. The belief system was
syncretic in nature, combining elements from Buddhism, Taoism, and even Ralph Waldo
Emerson.
A central aspect of the Synanon Church's religious practices was something known as the "Syanon Game." All it involved was a group meeting where memebers exchanged confessions about things they had done in an effort to seek repentance and absolution. Unfortunately, the group achieved public notoriety through a number of legal cases, and one person suing the group had a rattlesnake placed in his mailbox.
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What is the Philosophy of Religion?
Sometimes confused with theology, the Philosophy of Religion is the philosophical study of religious beliefs, religious doctrines, religious arguments and religious history. The line between theology and the philosophy of religion isn't always sharp, but the primary difference is that theology tends to be apologetical in nature, committed to the defense of particular religious positions, whereas Philosophy of Religion is committed to the investigation of religion itself, rather than the truth of any particular religion.
