I promised myself I’d never use the term “Haruhiism” or “Haruhiist.” And truth be told, I’m not calling myself one. But the question is, am I being like those people who call Pokemon “evil,” or simply keeping my conscience clear?
To be sure, I am a Christian, and thus I obviously don’t believe in Haruhi as God. For that matter, I’m pretty sure most devout Haruhiists don’t either. But when it comes to using the term “Haruhiism,” I feel a bit guilty. Naturally I don’t believe in Haruhi, but I love her series, and I love her as a character. So would it be wrong to consider myself a Haruhiist?
I’m the one who goes around conventions looking for Haruhi stuff and loving lots of stuff I find. I sleep on a Haruhi pillow with a Haruhi plushie near my sleeping place, while I call my fantasy football team the “SOS Brigade.” I even try to convince non-Haruhiists that they’re missing something special in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. So naturally it would be easy to call myself a Haruhiist.
But therein lies the guilt problem, which some of you know I struggle with so much. I don’t want to make it out that I am so obsessed with an anime character that I would follow her. So I stay away from the term “Haruhiism” as much as possible, even though I think it is kind of cute.
So, what’s your opinion? Am I being like those people who think Pokemon comes from the devil? Or am I simply avoiding any confusion?
LiveJournal 
Yeah, I don’t think ‘Haruhiist’ has any real religious meaning to most people who use the word to describe themselves. Just like ‘Narutard,’ ‘Lostie,’ or ‘Anifan,’ the terms are just used to cleverly describe fans of the series. ^^
But then again, I also understand that some non-fans may not get the cleverness, and actually think that Haruhiism is an honest attempt at a religion. So not calling yourself one would indeed avoid said confusion.
Oh great, I just supported both sides of the argument…Well, regardless, I don’t think you’re being like the ones calling Pokemon evil. They don’t understand the series, and therefore bash it in the name of religion. Contrarily, you understand what Haruhiism is, but you don’t identify yourself as one because you understand what misconceptions it may cause. That’s a big difference there, if you ask me. ^_^
You have a good perspective on it, thanks.
And I’ve watched the first two episodes of the new season… nothing too suspicious yet.
This is a lot like Discordianism: there are those who think it’s a joke mocking religion, and those who think it really is a religion that happens to not take itself seriously.