You’re also wondering about the relationship between goths and religion? Does being a Goth necessarily mean being religious or adhering to a particular belief?

Don’t worry, our online store is the reference in France in this field. In particular, we’ve been helping goths live their passion to the full since 2012!

Gothics have no fixed religion. Gothic practice is totally dissociated from religion. However, spirituality occupies a central place within this counter-culture. Notions of death and spirit are very present in the movement.


In this article, you will discover, among other things:

  • The links between gothic and religions
  • Why spirituality is at the heart of the Gothic movement
  • The Gothic relationship with life and death

After reading the following lines, you’ll have a better understanding of gothics’ relationship with religions and why death is one of this subculture’s favorite subjects. Let’s get started right away! 🤓

Gothic Movement and Religions

There’s no fixed belief system for Gothics. A person’s religion and Gothic commitment have little or no impact on each other. There are Christians, atheists, Jews, agnostics, Satanists, pagans, etc., among Goths. 🧛‍♀️
Although there is a wide variety of religious beliefs and viewpoints, most Goths do not follow any form of organized religion. Their personal spiritual beliefs are of a private nature. The Gothic movement is fundamentally opposed to organized religion (whether Christianity or other world religions); religion should be a personal matter.

The Gothic Relationship To Religions

Gothics have no Religion

Gothic is a very open-minded culture when it comes to exploring anything outside the norm. Religion is no exception. Many goths are inclined to explore alternative religions and forms of spirituality rather than follow a dominant organized religion. For many, being a Goth is itself a form of religion!
The Gothic movement is open to religions that are not approved by mainstream culture, and that turn to occult and magical rituals centered on darkness and evil. The Gothic movement experiments with religion, sometimes mixing ideologies from different faiths, including occultism, esotericism, neo-paganism, black magic and so on. Some find Paganism and Wicca particularly appealing. 👀

Spirituality at the Heart of the Gothic Movement

Most Goths believe in the existence of a dark transcendental power. They focus on this power and seek to make contact with it through occult magic and ritual. 🔮
Everyone lives their quest for spirituality in their own way. The notion of life after death is also very present in Gothic culture. According to many Goths, the life we lead on earth is just the beginning of a spiritual journey far longer and deeper than our mere earthly passage. 🌍

The Gothic Relationship To Religions

Some of these rebels aspire to experience and communicate with this higher reality through their gothic lifestyle. They often invoke this supernatural reality through the practice of shamanism, which focuses on mediating between humans and spirits. ✨

One of the aims of this counterculture is to reconcile with supernatural evil. By worshipping supernatural spirits through magic and a ritual lifestyle, we can identify with evil. By doing so, we no longer have to fear the supernatural evil that threatens reality, because we ourselves become part of that evil. 👹

The Gothic Relationship To Religions

Gothic = Satanic?

Goths are often labeled as Satanists because of their dark appearance. Some Satanists are also Goths, but Satanists can be found in any group of people…
Satanism and the occult are extremely complex belief systems, with as many different beliefs as Christianity. Some people think that being gothic necessarily means worshipping Satan… However, Satanists represent a small minority of Goths, and Goths represent a tiny minority of Satanists. 👿

Music is the main means of expression in the gothic subculture. For goths, music serves to tell stories, create and live out myths. The gothic movement almost always seeks to communicate with the supernatural or create a supernatural atmosphere through music and lyrics. 🎶

At Gothic concerts and festivals, the audience participates in creating this atmosphere and communicating with the supernatural. Goths unanimously regard listening to gothic music as a spiritually purifying, liberating and cleansing experience. These experiences are powerful at gothic parties, and their intensity is amplified by dancing. 💃

The Gothic Relationship To Religions

Religion of Rebellion

Rebellion is at the heart of this counterculture. Like youth, it goes against the established order. The gothic movement rebels against society and established norms. To be gothic is to be rebellious and not to care about the way others look at you. This is one of the reasons why this subculture is so popular with young people, often teenagers.
The Gothic movement sometimes expresses blasphemy and the questioning of the Christian faith. It doesn’t believe in God or other religious organizations. 🚫

Relationship with Life and Death

The Gothic movement focuses on the dark aspects of the human psyche. It aims to release the dark human subconscious that is normally repressed and allow it to express itself in everyday life. This is why the relationship with death is so important. ☠️
The Gothic Relationship To Religions

Death is the greatest taboo of modern Western life, which is why the Gothic movement has made it its main theme. Several interviews revealed that death and the desire to die are very important to many Goths. Some of them wish to experience death while still alive, to become “living undead”.

Cemeteries, ruins, churches: Goths seek out places where they can experience a dark, supernatural presence. Cemeteries, ruins, abandoned churches and certain so-called “forbidden” places are ideal. A dark, malevolent transcendence is already present without the need to call it out first.

Some also make pilgrimages to famous Gothic sites, what they call “the journey of legend”. These are usually special cemeteries where famous people are buried. This often goes hand in hand with initiation rituals rooted in occultism or black magic. 🌒

The Gothic Relationship To Religions

Most people tend to reminisce about the “good old days” when things go wrong. 🔙 Longing and nostalgia for home, combined with an inability to identify with modern society, can drive a person to look to the past for a new home. Religious motifs also play a part in this longing for the past, and the Gothic movement sometimes adopts this ideology.

Join the Movement, Young Goth

We’ve just looked at the connection between Gothics and religions. You now know, among other things, that there is no specific religion peculiar to the Gothic counterculture, but that the Gothic has its own religion. If you’re a goth yourself, you’ll now know how to answer questions about goths’ relationship to life and death. 👊


Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *