So You Want to Start a New Religion?: Kerista's Comprehensive Theory of Everything

The Kerista commune is perhaps most notorious for its practice of polyfidelity—a polyamorous construct designed to eliminate the jealousy and dependence created by the institution of the nuclear monogamous family. Or perhaps, you are familiar with Abacus, their multi-faceted, wildly successful framework of companies, including a multimillion dollar Apple computer resale business? What is less commonly known is that polyfidelity and Abacus represented just two aspects in founder Jud Presmont’s Comprehensive Theory of Everything, which communal scholar Timothy Miller refers to as “one of the most deliberately constructed religions ever.” This presentation will examine how the context of Kerista’s founding, and the democratically created doctrines, beliefs, and practices that came out of it allowed the community to provide a stable framework for their radically reorganized and reoriented society.