With Harold Camping and Friends’ PR stunt coming to a close in fewer than 24 hours, the project has generated the buzz we can only assume he hoped for. The internet is on fire with conversation, Facebook might as well be the Official Doomsday Discussion Forum, CNN has it on the front page, many of the top websites found by searching “May 21” are inaccessible as a result of increased traffic. I had dinner tonight with my parents — I haven’t seen them for months — and the absurdity and irresponsibility of those involved with this stunt was the big topic of conversation. We, the non-believers, are getting a good laugh, a well-deserved sense of superiority, mocking or maybe feeling some sort of pity for those who destroyed their lives because someone told them that nothing would matter past this Saturday. We are shocked, confused, maybe even a little nervous about the fact that these people went to such lengths to support something so completely ridiculous. Thankfully, they will soon go away and we can get back to life as normal. Right? No.

Harold Camping and his cult are fascinating but this level of blind faith can be found within millions of Americans. The only difference between the people who are excited for the Rapture tomorrow and those who know without a doubt that the world was created in seven 24-hour days is that Camping’s people have picked a specific date while everyone else is just kind of waiting around. When this doomsday cult fades away, the more sinister cult, the one with better funding, better organization, better PR media, and influence over school boards and every level of government will still be there, plotting and working towards their goals. These people have a freaking theme park, for crying out loud — a brainwashing machine aimed at children, slick and polished, all to reinforce the idea that the Bible is the word of God, evolution is wrong, the world is only a few thousand years old, and secular society is sick and evil. Given the opportunity, they would have us submit, despite the fact that irrefutable science is against them. I am not saying that everyone who interprets the Bible literally is a political activist bent on subverting our secular world; I am, however, saying that there is a huge movement of those who are.

I hope this media circus reminds everyone of just how crazy religion makes some people. As this fades away, try to remember that the same blind faith that fueled this doomsday cult fuels another doomsday cult, one that can’t predict the end so it’s content with simply taking over. Be aware, talk about what it means to you, get organized, and actively reject Christian extremism wherever it is found.