It's been a bad few months for Scientology. First, Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master depicted a religion so illogical and insane that even a tweaked-out Joaquin Phoenix caught weird vibes. Then, Pulitzer-winner Lawrence Wright dropped the devastating truth bomb Going Clear, a 450-page laundry list of the various scams, psychoses and assaults associated with Scientology.
And now, Rockstar is here to rub it in. Epsilonism is the Grand Theft Auto universe's version of Scientology. The beliefs of the satirical religion include that the Earth is 157 years old, that sperm is a lie invented by biology teachers, and that we all come from the same tree.
Rockstar has used Epsilonism as a way to tease facets of their games in the past; the "Epsilon Program" promotional video released by Rockstar today showed off the water and weather effects from Grand Theft Auto V.
Is Scientology a soft target? Yeah, a little. But this is the kind of broad satire we've come to love—and expect—from Rockstar.