Ross Woods, 2022
Jason Kerfupps was a staunch believer in the Tooth Fairy. His mother had always given him a dollar every time he lost a baby tooth and said the dollar came from the Tooth Fairy. She never told little Jason the identity of the secret donor, perhaps because Jason was so enthusiastic and once stayed up all night next to his tooth to try to meet the mysterious fairy. Perhaps he fell asleep, because somehow he still got a dollar. He was convinced.
As Jason grew up, he read all sorts of books about fairies, especially sightings, and enjoyed realistic-looking paintings that inspired his imagination.
One day, while in his early forties, he overheard some skeptic friends arguing about superstitions and religion. He was so upset that he pondered their discussion for weeks. In the end, he decided to start the Tooth Fairy Religion. He decided against calling it a church, but decided to call himself a priest.
To some people, it seemed a fun thing to do and before long, he had a small group of tax-exempt followers, who enjoyed their celebratory feasts and the beautiful merchandise.
Dr. Otto Grumpel, a researcher at the University of Western Antarctica, started to take interest in the group and wrote a series of journal articles on the Tooth Fairy Religion:
Arnold Flatbottom, a doctoral student, wrote his dissertation on the Tooth Fairy Religion. His fascinating topic was the relationship between the Tooth Fairy Religion and the Fairies at the Bottom of the Garden Religion. The relationship had at times been acrimonious, especially as members often moved from one to the other, but the the Fairies at the Bottom of the Garden Religion was quite unresearched and appeared to be less credible as a set of beliefs.
Several chapters of Arnold’s dissertation were published soon after in prestigious academic journals on religious studies.
The moral of the story. It is possible to legitimately study a religion that has no legitimate claim to truth. That is, the study of a religion is separate from its truthfulness.