Right now, no one has asked, but these are a few questions I foresee being asked. I will update as necessary.
Q1. Is this a serious religion?
A1. Yes, depending on the view of the person practicing it. Duneism is based on Frank Herbert’s Sci-Fi classic “Dune” and its subsequent sequels and prequels. It sees the character of Paul Atreides and his son, Leto II, as messianic figures. As to how literal to take this is up to the individual believer. A Duneist Christian may see Paul as an archetype of Jesus. Someone else may take the works literally if they choose and say Frank Herbert was a prophet and forsaw the coming messianic figure. Another may say that the series is Sci-Fi presenting an allegorical/metaphorical/cautionary tale. The themes of Dune pass the religious and deal with many other things such as what it means to be human, the dangers of over dependence on technology, conservation of planetary resources, etc. allowing a more broad interpretation of the material.
Q2. Can you be Duneist and belong to another religion?
A1. Absolutely! The universe of Dune is filled with syncretic religions- Buddislam and its many subsects, Mahayana Christianity, Navachristianity, etc.- and it would seem disingenuous to suggest one could not amalgamate Duneism with their own individual beliefs. There is great allowance for individual beliefs in Duneism, giving room for the acceptance or rejection of any of its tenets based on the comfort level of the individual practitioner. To disallow this would violate the idea of not diluting the human spirit suggested by the second tenet of Duneism.
Q3. What are your scriptures?
A3-a. All the books of the Dune franchise are considered to be scripture for the religion. This includes all current prequels and sequels and any future works officially licensed by the copyright holders. The movies do not count. Though they are in themselves enjoyable, the time and visual constraints of a movie detract from the vast and rich nature of the books.
A3-b. All the in-universe writings listed in the official Dune books. For example, the Orange Catholic Bible, The Collected Sayings of Maud’Dib, etc. As much of the religion of Duneism comes from these religions within the books as from the tales presented in the books themselves.
Q4. Do you worship Paul and/or Leto II as actual messiahs?
A4. That would be up to the individual believer. However, the journey of Paul, and then his son Leto, is a familiar tale similar to the messiahs of other religions. It should be noted, however, that the word Messiah simply means “anointed one”. Many religions have “anointed ones”. Adam Kadmon, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, King David. These anointed are not all saviors. Our more modern idea of the term is influenced by the nature of the Christian Messiah as a redeemer, savior, ruler, and so on. In the sense of Paul and Leto II, they have qualities of physical redeemers, saving the planet of Arrakis, furthering humanity’s physical existence, and so on, but lack the soul-redemptive qualities of Jesus in a spiritual sense. But Muhammad, King David, Abraham, etc. were not spiritual redeemers in that they had no power outside themselves to save the souls of humans either. The question of whether to look upon Paul and Leto as messianic figures depends on the individual interpretation of what a Messiah actually is. It is up to the individual if they choose to put stock in these characters. That said, the stories of Dune show a very human (and frequently sad) portrayal of its messianic figures.
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