Rhetoric Race and Religion
Its website declares Yeezianity “THE BEST CHURCH OF ALL TIME!!!!!” Like any good religion, it has several pillars of the faith (“Money is unnecessary except as a means of exchange”) and rules about “Our Savior,” which include never speaking his real name and calling him only Yeezus. But it would appear Kanye West is the greatest savior our world never had.
In a recent interview with VICE, the (anonymous) founder of this religion that worships Kanye West said that Yeezianity was not for real:
“I believe in what it is, and that’s real. But is there a real organized religion behind it? There is not.”
The founder goes on to say that Yeezianity is “just a rehashing Christianity,” with Kanye West taking the place of Jesus. He extols Kanye’s virtues as a creative genius, calling him “the most honest person in our culture.” Okay, perhaps. I’m inclined to disagree, but that’s a fair opinion to have. But the strange thing about this (okay, one of the strange things) is that Yeezianity, as The Week’s Peter Weber points out, is just another strain of humanism.
Humanism is the idea that human agency is to be prized and protected above tradition and rationalism above faith. It is often totally secular, but in the case of Yeezianity, integrates religion — the founder believes there is a god and that god and science are not opposed. Yeezus is the ultimate embodiment of humanist values: self-made, bold, influential.
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