Burning Man Religion ?

For many people, Burning Man has become a default religion of sorts. For those needing a cult figure, it has that, though for those who think that's ridiculous, bowing before Larry is not required.

Many people plan their seasons around Burning Man activities.

The best thing about Burning Man, though, is that it only dictates some basic core rules that will insure its survival. You don't have to "believe" in Burning Man, you can just participate, and they hope you will follow their basic rules. Breaking some rules will get you thrown out (but mostly only after stern warning). Breaking other rules is common (Leave No Trace), but there is enough social stigma to have some force, even among transient strangers.

Though some religions are extremely strict and require banishment for lack of following the rules, most religions are pretty lax about these things. In this respect, Burning Man LLC could just as well be Burning Man, a religion, however, the founders felt that forming an LLC was the best way to promote their cause and livelihood. Calling something "a religion" automatically turns many people off, for fear they will have to sacrifice their babies and turn over all their finances. The other notion is that if it's "a religion" the rules are automatically "top-down." What about a democratic, grass-roots, or bottom-up religion ? It could be possible. Burning Man is close to this paradigm.