The animated science fiction television program Futurama makes a number of satirical and humorous references to religion, including inventing several fictional religions which are explored in certain episodes of the series.
Fictional religions
Robotology
The episode "Hell Is Other Robots" centers around Bender's becoming addicted to high-voltage electricity, then discovering the religion of Robotology to help him break the habit. Sermons are conducted at the Temple of Robotology by the Reverend Preacherbot, a character whose mannerisms draw heavily on black church preacher stereotypes. Robotology is a play on the name Scientology, and series creator Matt Groening has said that he received a call from the Church of Scientology concerned about the use of a similar name.
Robotology has a holy text, The Good Book 3.0 which is stored on a 3.5" floppy disk. Two symbols of the religion are shown in the episode. The first is a zig-zag line with a circle at either end, based on the electronic symbol used for resistors on circuit diagrams.
Robots who accept Robotology are expected to abstain from behavior such as smoking, pornography, stealing, abusing electricity, and drinking alcohol. Consuming alcohol is usually necessary to power a robot's fuel cells, but this episode establishes that mineral oil is an acceptable substitute. Sinners are punished by condemnation to Robot Hell, located under an abandoned amusement park in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The punishments in Robot Hell are similar to the levels and rationale portrayed in Dante's Divine Comedy, specifically the Inferno.
Robot Hell is controlled by the Robot Devil. He is bound by the Fairness in Hell Act of 2275, allowing anyone to win their freedom by defeating him in a fiddle contest with a solid gold fiddle, a reference to the song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia". Should the individual lose the fiddle contest, they will only receive a smaller, silver fiddle and the Robot Devil may kill them at his discretion.
In "Ghost in the Machines", Bender's ghost is sent to an equivalent robot Heaven monitored by a Robot God whose streamlined design is reminiscent of EVE in the Pixar animated film WALL-E. This God appears to be distinct from the more ambiguous, universal 'God' character that appeared in "Godfellas" and "Bender's Big Score", who may or may not have been representative of the Gods of all religions, and/or a machine. Notably, the Robot God does not deny being God and treats Bender's ghost as his subject.
Robot Judaism
The episode "Future Stock" introduces Robot Judaism in a scene where Fry and Dr. Zoidberg, seeking free food, sneak into a "Bot Mitzvah" celebration (a spoof of the Bar and Bat Mitzvah). As a joke about Jewish dietary laws' proscriptions against shellfish, Zoidberg was not allowed in (despite having Jewish stereotype qualities) inasmuch as he was an anthropomorphic lobster. At the Bot Mitzvah, Fry asks a Jewish robot if they don't believe in Robot Jesus, to which the robot replies, "We believe he was built, and that he was a very well-programmed robot, but he wasn't our Messiah". A banner written in Hebrew reads "Today you are a robot" (with two misspellings), referencing the traditional Jewish belief that a boy becomes a man at age 13, which is celebrated on his Bar Mitzvah. In the episode "The Bots and the Bees" Bender's son, Ben, has a Bot Mitzvah celebration of his own where he becomes a man after being born only a few days prior. This scene reinforces the quick rate at which robots mature in the Futurama world as well as alludes to the practice of robot circumcision.
References to a holiday called 'Robanukah' appear in several episodes, as well, though it is heavily implied that Bender makes up this holiday to avoid work. In the Futurama Holiday Spectacular, the Robanukah story involves a pair of fembots who must wrestle in petroleum oil for six and a half weeks. When the oil, which was predicted to last only four and a half weeks, lasts for 500 million years, Bender declares it a Robanukah miracle.
The First Amalgamated Church
The First Amalgamated Church is a syncretic denomination of several mainstream religions extant in the 21st century, and is referenced in several episodes. The church and one of its priests, Father Changstein el-Gamal, are introduced in the episode "Godfellas". Father Changstein el-Gamal reappears in "The Sting" at Fry's funeral service, and in Bender's Big Score at Lars and Leela's wedding. The religion appears to be a mix of Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and even agnosticism.