The Dude is a fictional character and the church states this on its own front page, alongside a disclaimer that it has no affiliation with the film, its makers or its producers. Dudeists make a point of the admission: the veneration of a figure known to be invented is common in religion and the unusual thing here is only that it is said out loud. What is held up is a pattern rather than a person — the response to provocation, the refusal to escalate, the tolerance of people who are plainly using him. Jeff Bridges, who played him, has written a book with the film's Buddhist consultant on much the same material, which Dudeists cite and the church does not claim as scripture.