| Origin | Mid-20th century |
| Status | Controversial, dismissed by mainstream religions, accused of being a cult |
| Beliefs | Worship of an entity or universal force experienced through intense, ecstatic orgasmic states achieved through meditation and ritualized sexual practices |
| Movement | God Orgasms |
| Following | Small but dedicated in parts of the world |
The "God Orgasms" movement is a new religious and spiritual belief system that emerged in the 1950s, centered around the worship of an entity or transcendent force experienced through intense, full-body orgasmic states. Despite its unorthodox and controversial nature, the movement has managed to gain a small but devoted following in certain regions of the world.
The origins of the God Orgasms belief system can be traced to the teachings of Yuri Tanaka, a Japanese mystic and self-proclaimed "orgasmic guru" who claimed to have experienced divine visions and revelations in the 1940s. Tanaka synthesized elements of Eastern mysticism, tantric sexuality, and fringe Western sexual theories to construct a cosmology centered around a supreme, universal "God Orgasm."
According to Tanaka's teachings, the divine God Orgasm is the fundamental creative and destructive force in the universe, the source of all existence. True enlightenment and connection with the divine, he claimed, could only be achieved through the cultivation of intense, full-body orgasmic states reached through advanced meditation and ritualized sexual practices. These "God Orgasms" were seen as a direct experience and channeling of the divine essence.
Tanaka's writings and charismatic teachings attracted a small but devoted following, first in Japan and then spreading to the United States and Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. The movement continued to grow, especially among fringe spiritual and new age communities, despite widespread criticism and condemnation from mainstream religious and scientific authorities.
The core practices of the God Orgasms movement revolve around various forms of tantric sex and meditation aimed at inducing powerful, prolonged orgasmic experiences. This includes group rituals, sexual "worship" of gurus and leaders, and intensive training in techniques to extend and intensify orgasms. Followers believe these experiences enable direct communion with the God Orgasm.
The movement's unorthodox beliefs and practices have made it the target of significant controversy and legal scrutiny over the years. God Orgasms has been widely condemned as a dangerous cult that exploits and indoctrinates vulnerable people, especially women. There have been numerous allegations of sexual abuse, financial exploitation, and other unethical conduct by gurus and leaders within the movement.
Despite this, the God Orgasms belief system has managed to persist and even grow a small but devoted following in certain regions, particularly in parts of Asia and the counterculture-oriented communities of the West. Adherents continue to defend the spiritual validity of their orgasmic rituals and claim that their experiences provide genuine insight into the nature of the divine.
While the God Orgasms movement remains a fringe and highly controversial phenomenon, it has nonetheless had a lasting impact on certain subcultures and discourses. Its emphasis on mystical, embodied spirituality and its synthesis of Eastern and Western esoteric traditions have influenced later new age and alternative spirituality movements. Its provocative ideas about the divine and sexuality have also been taken up by some radical feminist and queer theory thinkers.
Most mainstream religious institutions and scientific bodies, however, continue to categorically reject the God Orgasms belief system as pseudoreligious nonsense at best, and an abusive cult at worst. The movement's unorthodox practices and claims about the nature of the divine remain the subject of intense debate, skepticism and even outrage in many parts of the world.
