OMEGA CHURCH, NEW RELIGION OR CULT?
Tamara Ogden, Pallad City Post
[Archived Article: Published 3 Months Ago]

Two years ago, the Church of the Omega had little more than a handful of followers, numbering fewer than a dozen members, who passionately preached about the “evils” of technology. Their presence, initially relegated to college campuses, political rallies, and protests in front of tech corporations, had been viewed by many as absurd, rather than alarming.

Over the past two years the group has expanded their citywide demonstrations while adopting increasingly extremist rhetoric. What were once civil protests, warning of technology’s “corrupting influence,” shifted into a declaration of war against “a world defiled by the machine,” as their pamphlets claim.

Today, it is believed that the group has followers numbering in the hundreds. Calling themselves the Church of the Omega, the Children of the Omega, or simply the Omega Church, the movement’s technophobic leanings have done little to endear them to the general public. Many on the Net commonly refer to the group as the Omega Cult and, with the Church’s near-fanatical philosophy, not much is being done to dispel that sentiment.

During their anti-technology protests, many Church members wear masks adorned with the omega symbol—while others have allegedly branded the symbol directly onto their forehead. Followers will pass out pamphlets—each handwritten—that contain the Church’s manifesto.

The pamphlets are filled with apocalyptic warnings of how humanity is on the verge of collapse and that the only solution is complete destruction of all technology. They assert that technological advancement has progressed too far, too fast, and that humanity has been subjugated to “worship the machine.” There are repeated references to “the machine” as if it, in itself, is a sentient or malevolent entity.

A large amount of the pamphlet also discusses BID chip implants and how the first step to achieving global salvation is to purge—literally remove—the chip from one’s body. An unlikely prospect for most, as it’s estimated that around 95% of the population has a BID chip implant, serving as a universal identity token.

While the Omega Church’s beliefs do not extend to complete anarcho-primitivism, their manifesto is not particularly clear on what a modern civilization deprived of technology would look like, or how it would effectively function. Yet, the Church claims that it is the only option to ensure a sustainable future.

The White Wraith. Story by Midnight. Art by Leonel Walbr.