Video Game ‘Overwatch’ Sparks New Religion

By Derek Welch --
03 Nov 2017 --

It’s bein used As A Form Of Protest in Brazil

What constitutes a religion? Mateus Mognon, a Brazilian video game player is exploring that with the creation of a religion called “The National Church of Hanzo.”

Video Game ‘Overwatch’ Sparks New Religion[/tweetthis]

The religion is based around the character Hanzo from the game Overwatch. The game is one of the most popular games of 2017. It has over 35 million players who have logged in 119 million hours. The game is known for fans that are friendly and devoted to the game.

The game has a rich backstory for each of the characters. Hanzo is considered to be a favorite for beginner players and has a tragic backstory that has both redemption and is one of the few characters to have an animated short created for it.

But the purpose of the National Church of Hanzo is not for religious celebration. It is a test of the Brazilian religious tolerance laws. The laws state that as long as there is proof of a particular form of worship an organization can claim tax-exempt status from their cars, incomes, and good and services. The law has been criticized has been easily exploited. Since the law has been enacted there has been 68,000 religious entities that have been created.

This is not the only time religion has been connected to Overwatch. One of the newly added characters, Doomfist, has uniforms that are connected to the Yoruba religion, which ties to the character’s backstory.

The religion has been approved by the Brazilian government. It is unclear how many followers they have.