Quirky and unusual beliefs

Ever meet someone and think, “Boy, is he weird or what?” If you have, brace yourself for the top 10 things that some people believe in.

The Church of of the Flying Spaghetti Monster:

Yes, you read that right. According to this light hearted movement, an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti monster created the world after a night of heavy drinking. Followers of this rather odd belief also believe that all evidence for evolution was planted by the noodly deity in order to tests its followers faith. Did I mention, this oddball belief view pirates as the original pastafarians?

Church of Euthanasia:

While issues such as climate change and over population need to be addressed, this rather creepy church has a rather extreme way of solving the problems. This church promotes suicide, abortions and urges it followers not to procreate in order to save the world. Cannibalism is another solution for minimising the world’s population, but this is limited only to the deceased.

Jediism:

This belief system is out of this world and ideal for avid Star Wars fans. A combination of Buddhist and Tao beliefs with some medieval war practices, Jediism followers call themselves monks or knights who can control and use the force for the well-being of humanity. Believe it or not, Jediism was the most selected alternative religion in England and Wales with as many as 176,632 followers in 2012.

Church of All Worlds:

If you missed your letter to Hogwarts, this is the belief system to join. Founded in 1962, this church is based on the fictional religion of that Robert A. Heinlein created in his Sci-Fi novel, Stranger in a Strange land In addition to worshipping pagan and ancient Greek deities, followers also believe in fairies and the church has recently founded The Grey School of Wizardry, heavily based on JK Rowling’s fictional school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Chewing gum at night:

Another somewhat unusual belief can be found in Turkey. A number of people in Turkey apparently believe that if you chew gum at night, you are actually chewing the flesh of the dead. It is somewhat unclear where this superstition stems from.

Spitting in the baby’s eye:

An old Bulgarian belief took child care to an entirely new level. Legend stated that if adults fawned over children, the devil would get jealous and then attempt to harm or steal the infant. As a way to stop this from happening, adults would try to make the child undesirable for the devil and would spit in the baby’s eye.

Carrying wives over hot coals:

According to certain Chinese customs, a man should carry his wife over a pan of hot coals when entering their house for the first time. But why? Well, belief has it that this practice will ensure the bride has an easy and successful labour. The bright side is, women can’t say their hubbies don’t know anything about pregnancy pains.

Baby Tossing:

In Maharashtra, India, it is apparently a common practice to toss newborn babies off the side of a 15 meter temple. Why would anyone do this? Well, according to tradition, this gives the children good luck into their adult years and strengthens intelligence.

Urine Therapy:

While this form of therapy does sound rather vile, people who practice it believe that urine can cure anything from flu to cancer. This is by no means a new belief started by a new age movement, but can be found in ancient Roman beliefs and certain main stream religions.

Black cats crossing your path equals bad luck:

Almost everyone has heard that a black cat crossing your path means bad luck. While the cat is most likely merely heading towards its favourite place to snooze, there are some people who actually believe this superstition. This old superstition apparently originated from Europe during the Middle Ages, where the felines were believed to have been associated with witches. Cats are generally lazy creatures, so the odds that they are planning your demise is unlikely.