Vasiliyness

For the last in our weeklong series on holy humor: Don’t get incensed, but we’re venturing under . . .

The Onion Dome

This is an Eastern Orthodox takeoff on The Onion, a secular fake online newspaper. That makes it a lampoon of a lampoon, which is kind of like making fun of the way someone makes fun of something else.

There’s alleged coverage of a beard-growing contest, a mild snicker on the Orthodox taste for facial hair. There’s a short story about one “Philothea” who is frustrated when people call her “Philthe.”

Another tells story of a new pet food that’s repellent to humans, to curb temptation during the faith’s four annual fasting periods. At an online store, you can buy a coffee mug with “Is Outrage!”, an epigram by the fictional mascot Father Vasiliy.

All this is probably funnier if you’re Orthodox, especially Russian. It’s gentle and mannerly, but do manners get laughs?

OK, that’s my list of religious humor sites. Do you have any favorites? Let me know.

I'd also like to know your views on religious humor itself. Some people think it's all a joke. Others think "religious humor" is an oxymoron -- that people hold their faith so closely, the risk of offending them is too high.

Your thoughts?