 Religious scholar David Chidester of the University of Cape Town views the Church as a "Discordian offshoot", and Kirby sees it as "a child of the Discordians".Both groups were heavily influenced by the writings of Robert Anton Wilson, whom SubGenius members call "Pope Bob".Kirby states that the two groups have elements of bricolage and absurdity in common, but the Church of the SubGenius more explicitly remixes pop culture.