Trek & Religion

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Okay, so I was up late and was watching Carnivale on HBO (btw have any of you been seeing that? because its mindblowing) and I started thinking about whether Star Trek had ever tried to take on religion as a subject and then BAM it hit me (and boy did I feel like an idiot) of course it has. Heck even if we pretend the 5th movie didn't exist we have so many many instances where religion entered into trek. However the strange thing is they all seem to co-exist. The klingon legends of Kahless and the Bajorans with their prophets. I don't really have a clear question as such but I wondered what any of you guys thought about it.

[Tachyon 0]

The writers wanted each species to symbolize various religions (not specifically, but as a whole) so that the coexistence of these species could show how various religions could coexist and still maintain their beliefs. Bajorans with their religion, Klingons with theirs, coexisting together. :D

[Dumbass 0]

What would have been interesting is if Worf has an Orb experience or something like that.

[Images 0]

I think Kai Winn's naivete over power in the secular world lead to her destruction. Religious leaders should stay out of politics if they know what's good for them. They often become unwitting pawns and/or despotic tyrants.

Yes that one is certainly true, the division of church and state was a topic for a bunch of episodes.

[Grom 0]

I think Kai Winn's naivete over power in the secular world lead to her destruction. Religious leaders should stay out of politics if they know what's good for them. They often become unwitting pawns and/or despotic tyrants.

I think this point of view comes from the strange misconception that people of faith are mindless drones that have limited reasoning capabilities.

 

I believe that every person should take an interest in the affairs of his/her nation, religious or secular. I happen to work for an organization that is both politically active and religiously based. Why do these places exist? People of faith have just as much at stake in their government. Religious liberty isn't just the only topic of interest either. Religiously based organizations also keep an eye on such issues, for example, pertaining to the family, education, health and lifestyle.

 

:D

[Nicolas Lepage 0]

I think this point of view comes from the strange misconception that people of faith are mindless drones that have limited reasoning capabilities.

 

I think that most people of faith, as you put it, are everything but mindless drones. I just see one danger when you do not make the division between chruch and state. Religion can be a wonderful thing but it can also be abused to justify basically anything. Look at the Bible. There is so much room for interpretation that one person could prove you one thing and another person could prove the opposite quoting the same verses.

Anyway religions add a very big and important part to our social life and they've played major roles in history. I'd just like to see a kind of peaceful coexistence... the way they show it in Star Trek.

[Nemesis 0]

Scary part is, a lot of people use the Bible to say things that are no wheres in the bible at all.

[Atragon9 0]

Okay folks, let's be very careful here. Discussions of religion, politics, death penalty, right to life/choice, etc. are Extremely touchy and can spark strong opinions all around. Please speak gently or we will have to close the topic. Thanks.

 

[LoAmi 0]

We see that the Klingons, the Bajorans, etc. have unified religions, we find that the Greek gods were real, and were powerful aliens (TOS "Who Mourns for Adonis?"). Even the Vulcans have a "religion" of sorts. What surprises me is that human expression of religion is so rare that it barely shows up in Star Trek. Are humans an atheist monoculture, or do they just hide their religious experiences so well that they have are not expressed at all while on-duty?

[WesleyMustDie 0]

What would have been interesting is if Worf has an Orb experience or something like that.

That could have been interesting...but a little scary. Klingon plus Orb experience? Oh boy...

[LoAmi 0]

Chakotay discussed his spirituality on many occassions. He even invited Janeway to find her spirit guide.

True enough. I'd actually totally forgotten about him (excuse the attempt to forget lots of bad Voyager episodes). I guess that makes the question even stronger. If Starfleet didn't do the separation of church and state such that everyone keeps his religion out of public view, where was everyone else's religion? And, what ever happened to today's major religions?

[Darrik 0]

True enough. I'd actually totally forgotten about him (excuse the attempt to forget lots of bad Voyager episodes). I guess that makes the question even stronger. If Starfleet didn't do the separation of church and state such that everyone keeps his religion out of public view, where was everyone else's religion? And, what ever happened to today's major religions?

I belive that on some of the shows, characters have said something to the effect of "Oh my god," but it could have been the actors improving.

[Ron_Lunn 0]

In the original Trek episode with the Romulans, the one where they encounter the Bird of Prey, the woman who's fiancee dies goes to pray in the ship's chapel. So we can assume there is religion amongst Terrans.

 

I seem to recall a TNG episode where Data gets involved in the Hindu Festival of Lights too.

 

Plus there is the TNG episode where they go to the Native planet in Cardassian space to move the settlers.

[Kestra 0]

I seem to recall a TNG episode where Data gets involved in the Hindu Festival of Lights too.

It's called Diwali, and you're right Ron.

 

LoAmi, here's a link for you to check out. It doesn't list a whole lot of references, but I think that's almost an answer to your question in itself.

Ex Astris Scientia

Edited July 7, 2005 by Kestra

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It's called Diwali, and you're right Ron.

 

LoAmi, here's a link for you to check out. It doesn't list a whole lot of references, but I think that's almost an answer to your question in itself.

Ex Astris Scientia

Brilliant link!!!

[DaryusZaphodDracal 0]

There's also an episode of TOS called Bread and Circuses where the Enterprise goes to the planet that was like the Roman empire. At the end of the episode, Uhura was talking about the sun worshipers on the planet. She said they didn't worship the sun, but the Son of God. There was a bit of religion in Star Trek throughout the years.

 

Zaphod,

"Meow, I say meow boy."

Edited July 7, 2005 by DaryusZaphodDracal

[LoAmi 0]

Uhura was talking about the sun worshipers on the planet. She said they didn't worship the sun, but the Son of God. There was a bit of religion in Star Trek throughout the years.

I was almost thinking of mentioning that one as an exception in my post (I actually thought that the reference in that episode was rather amusing, for other reasons :-) ). But, either way, it's not an example of Starfleet officers acting religiously -- it's the people on the planet. Something similar can be said for the TNG Native American planet. I always thought the "Balance of Terror" wedding chapel was *modeled after* a religious chapel (the interrupted ceremony looked like it may have been modeled after a contemporary American Christian ceremony), but I don't *think* I saw religious paraphenalia or heard religious references (admittedly, I didn't look that closely).

 

The EAS link is great, by the way. It does include a number of references that help answer the question I posed. Thanks, Kestra. Of the 7 references (only 7 passing references!) to human religion, 4 may be relevant.

[LoAmi 0]

Of course, Chakotay was Maquis, not Federation.

Not sure what the canon source is, but the ST.com bio says he was a Starfleet officer before he joined the Maquis. So, it is a counterexample.

[Dumbass 0]

That is true. In fact, he was an instructor at Starfleet Academy and one of Ro Laren's professors. Not sure if this was stated in any of the episodes however.

[Captain Huff 0]

Don't forget Roddenberry's main tactic with Star Trek was to bring hot issues to screen by disguising them. Prejudice, religion, right to life, right to die... and all the things A9 listed above, could all be discussed without igniting anger by making them alien or futuristic - just anything other than today's current issues.

 

In this same vein, I feel this is how Star Trek dealt with religion. We could discuss any kind of alien religion - Klingon, Vulcan, weird alien... Just not the most prevelant ones of the time. (As you pointed out, Earth religion is not ignored entirely, just not focused upon, (except, as you also mentioned, the lesser main-stream ones)).

 

I'm not saying I agree or disagree, just that hot topics are touchy, and this was Roddenberry's (and subsequent Trek writers) unique way of dealing with them.

[LoAmi 0]

Don't forget Roddenberry's main tactic with Star Trek was to bring hot issues to screen by disguising them. Prejudice, religion, right to life, right to die... and all the things A9 listed above, could all be discussed without igniting anger by making them alien or futuristic - just anything other than today's current issues.

I think you're right about this. But, the absence of expressions of human religion (even one of those extras in a Starfleet uniform wearing a yarmulke or a turban) may have ended up making a statement of its own.

[Travis Kroells 0]

::Grabs two pennies::

 

Well, being an Atheist man myself, I always felt rather impressed with Trek in the matters of Religion. True, everyone has their beliefs, but they were never stressed as a facit of the series. The only time I felt crushed by the religious parts were at the end of DS9, but that whole thing just turned into kind of a holy war anyway...

 

I always felt like Trek portrayed what I always try to tell people. Everyone has their own belief, and none of them are specifically wrong, nor are those people wrong for believing it. I think, as human beings, it is our greatest ability, to believe whatever we feel like believing...