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Religion

2020-01-08T18:04:05Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:31FF:4E99:86B9:9EDE:

{{topquote|Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals.|Martin Luther King, Jr}}

:'''Dracula''': ''I was called here by, huuuuumans, who wish to pay me tribute!''
:'''Richter Belmont''': ''Tribute?! You steal men's souls! And make them your slaves!''
:'''Dracula''': ''Perhaps the same could be said of all religions.''
::--An excerpt from the infamous exchange that also gave us "What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets" in [[Castlevania#Castlevania:_Symphony_Of_The_Night_.28Castlevania_9.29|Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.]]

Because it's important to several settings and RPG systems, we have a religion article. Let's try and keep it focused on the directly-related-to-/tg/ stuff and not descend into the pure [[skub]] that can arise in discussions of real-life religions, okay?

==Definition of Religion==
Almost since the inception of the term, scholars have failed to agree on a definition of religion. While there are some belief systems that always count as religions, some have applied the term to various things such as political ideologies, or groups when they reach a certain point. There are however two general definition systems: the sociological/functional and the phenomenological/philosophical.

The two most widely accepted are:
* "a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say things set apart and forbidden - beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a church, all those who adhere to them."
* "a comprehensive worldview or 'metaphysical moral vision' that is accepted as binding because it is held to be in itself basically true and just even if all dimensions of it cannot be either fully confirmed or refuted".

As stated before, one common element that every religion which fits the criteria has is humanity's relation to supernatural forces, as all of them have at least one [[God|god]] and/or an afterlife even where there are exceptions; Buddhism doesn't have any gods but has afterlives, and Taoism doesn't have an afterlife but does have a pantheistic concept of a god as a supernatural force.

Like other terms for heavily [[SJW|debated]] [[communism|subjects]], religion and religious have also been used as insults or Snarl Words in social and political discussions (especially from the 20th century and onwards) to ridicule groups openly promoting something the user disagrees with. This snarl creates a caricature of the group to smear them by association with the worst excesses of real-world religious people or the most common criticisms/negative stereotypes of organized religion (like being too preachy, judgmental, irrational, hypocritical, or pressuring everyone to convert).

==Religion vs. Mythology==
While [[Mythology|mythologies]] aren't religions in and of themselves, every religion has a mythology. These involve several criteria such as how life should be lived, what happens to a person after death and relation to the supernatural. [[Skub|Whatever the source]], the mythology almost always predates the religion. As a result, especially since the Fantasy genre deals in supernatural beings and forces, most if not all fantasy settings have religions. Science fiction does to a lesser degree, mostly because during the Golden Age of sci-fi empiricists and secular humanists were attracted to the genre and their views often seeped into their stories. Despite this, given that most real-life societies have had religions playing a role in or since their founding, religions are still found in sci-fi.

Religions involves belief systems and practices, where an adherent can call upon the power/being the religion is focused on to give them aid in [[cleric|various]] [[Paladin|ways]], depending at the very least on the religion and the task in question. Given that religions are about people's place in the world, how it was made, ideas on how life should be lived and what happens after death, they have major implications for societies. Given that people can become [[Exarch|dangerously single-minded]] about a cause, people can be become extremists about their religion, regardless of the fact that [[Heironeous|some]] are more benevolent than [[Asmodeus|others]] and in numerous cases even [[Heresy|if it involves going against the religion's teachings]]; in conjunction with the above this means religious conflicts can become widespread, long-lasting, cause carnage and also involve other elements such as politics.

==Role in Society==
A person's belief (for or against) any or all religions is a major factor in their worldview, and as such often serves as the undercurrent for all others. This is because this belief shapes people's views on the big things such as the purpose of life, how life should be lived in relation to oneself and others and what happens to people after they die. On the upside, this often leads to teachings with the goal of unity, peace and co-operation as per the teachings of most religions, some of which are adapted by or also found among non-religious systems. On the downside, this can lead to clashes over how the people involved do the will of whichever beings or forces they follow or whether or not people should follow a god or religion at all. This can involve arguments and factionalizing, or in some cases worse things like pogroms and wars. Since they are an overarching and fairly common element in cultures, they often appear or are referenced in fiction.

The most common religious belief systems are the Abrahamic family of religions (primarily Judaism, Christianity and Islam) which are Monotheistic (belief in a singular God) and share many common elements and root, with - at the time this was written - Christianity being the most followed religion globally.

Within the last few centuries, particularly due to events such as the French Revolution, there has also been a significant amount of anti-religious sentiment, with those who hold this view considering religion at best redundant and at worst destructive (reasons for this view, and whether or not those arguments have any merit, shall not be discussed here). Interestingly, numerous tyrannical regimes have tried to restrict or stamp out religions, as most religions teach at least some benevolence, and tyrants don't like being answerable to anyone. Some nations have just tried to block specific religions. Several nations have tried to get rid of religion altogether, albeit with horrifying [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Militant_Atheists results] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge_rule_of_Cambodia#Religious_communities each] time.

==How this impacts /tg/==
A few major ways:

* A lot of Fantasy settings are ordinary politheistic, usually close to some admixture of Norse and Greek mythologies. Some of them also have a Top God - one more powerful than all the others and maybe the in-universe creator of everything - who is mostly hands-off in cosmic affairs. The gods of these religions tend to focus on specific areas (gods of [[Paladin|Justice]] and [[Druid|Nature]] are common, for subtly obvious reasons) and frequently want their followers to propagate or promote these things.
* There are quite a few writers of Science Fiction and Fantasy that are of the opinion "Religion Is Bad", albeit this is more common in Sci-Fi than fantasy. As a result those writers model their fictional religions on the - occasionally exaggerated - worst excesses of real world religious people and lift imagery from those religions; popular targets are Christianity, Islam or the Aztec and in recent history Scientology. This also comes in flavors of either "The Gods Don't Exist", "The Gods are Incompetent" (more on that below) or "The Gods are all Evil".
* There are also quite a few sincerely religious Science Fiction and Fantasy writers (usually Christian, but not always). These authors usually put more thought into their fictional religion plus its central figure (although they have a tendency to go all "Crystal Dragon Jesus"), and try and have it be at least a somewhat good influence, although religious institutions and leaders are usually hit-and-miss affairs.
** If a work has multiple writers, (as frequently happens with RPG and Wargame settings, and quite a few popular SciFi/Fantasy ones as well) there's a tendency for the writer to try and pull the setting into one of the other two depending on their views. This leads to the theme changing from one side to the other as the story progresses (such as [[World of Warcraft|Warcraft's Light vs Void conflict]]), or swinging back and forth between them.
** Doing the "The Gods are Incompetent" thing (the similar but different "The Gods are Insane" route also falls under this umbrella) can go into any of the three; in a sincere monotheist's (such as Christian) work, it can be a "Take That" to polytheistic religions; in a "Religion is Bad" athiest's, it can be one to religion in general; in a Buddhist-influenced work, it can be a part of the whole "even the Gods are tied up in the Wheel of Karma" concept; and, even if the author is not pushing any religious message in any way, there's a neutral, plot-structural reason to go "Incompetent Gods": it can make the adventurers the Most Competent People Available.
* [[Urban Fantasy]] writers are a special case, since almost all Urban Fantasy is set in something that might be called "the real world with a twist", with all the usual political trouble that implies. Usually, they take one of two routes. The first is "there are many possible explanations" and vague things up as much as possible (Faith being the power that repels [[Vampire]]s rather than than a cross having any actual connection to a deity is a popular one). The second is atheistic and/or [[Imperial Truth|"Religion is Bad" propaganda]] (which is uncommon outside Cosmic Horror, but not unheard of). Some Urban Fantasy works with a clear correct religion exist thanks to the above mentioned sincerely religious authors exist. Typically these are [[Chick Tracts|barely veiled proselytizing]] or [[Twilight|just straight up terrible]], though [[Monster Hunter International|there are some good ones]].

Further, note the "Religion is Bad" and "Religion is Good" brigades will be involved in arguments over the relative morality or "goodness" of various factions and the accuracy of any messages a writer presents.

==Examples of /tg/ connected fictional religions==
* The [[Imperial Truth]]/[[Imperial Cult|Cult]] in [[Warhammer 40,000]] manages to mix features of atheism, Catholicism, and generic fanaticism and xenophobia. Religiosity is mostly explored with humans and no real religions are used (since the Emperor [[The Last Church|violently purged them and those who followed them]] - except for maybe [[Ollanius Pius|one Catholic Perpetual]], and that's before [[Chaos]] entered the picture...). As for the other major factions;
** All Greenskins worship Gork and Mork (jury's out on whether the [[Gretchin Revolutionary Committee]] do), but are too disorganized to have anything like a formal religion, though they do make effigies of Gork and Mork and call on them.
** The T'au creed "The Greater Good" is a philosophy that allows religiosity as long as it doesn't clash with the Greater Good, but if there's a clash The Greater Good is always given priority over a religion.
** The Eldar Pantheon's religious practices aren't fleshed out save for those of Cegorach and Khaine, via the Harlequins and Aspect Warriors. Apart form these two, with most of their gods out of commission, most Eldar religious worship is of a deistic bent. The new faith around Ynnead, the Ynnari, have yet to establish teachings or rituals. As for the rest of the Eldar race, the Corsairs are all over the place, the Dark Eldar are selfishly irreligious for the most part (the popular exception are the [[Incubi]] who hold [[Khaine]] in high regard) and there's rumors of Chaos Eldar.
** While the Necrontyr had religions before certain [[C'tan|star entities]] [[Necrons|roboticizied them]], those aren't fleshed out or detailed. Its also heavily implied the C'tan co-opted the Necrontyr religion beforehand, with the change to Necrons taking the higher though processes of most of them. Any Necrons with any comprehension of faith and religiosity either worship the C'tan or have become irreligious.
** Tyranids have some concept of religiosity, as seen with propagating [[Genestealer]] cults and the Deathleaper understanding the concept of martyrdom, but otherwise display no interest or regard for anything other than their all-consuming extra-galactic hunger.
* Among Dungeons and Dragons settings, [[Planescape]], [[Eberron]], and [[Pathfinder]] are notable for having some coherent things that could be called "Religions", rather then the usual generic Pantheism.
** Most of Planescape's Factions effectively count as religions, to the point they can produce [[Cleric]]s ([[Planescape: Torment#Fall-From-Grace|Atheist ones at that]]). Yes, even the Athar. (Perhaps ''especially'' the Athar.)
** Half of Eberron's religions aren't worship of deities. The [[Blood of Vol]] seeks to unlock the divinity within one's self and rejects the gods (if they even exist) and the [[Path of Inspiration]] seeks to improve their next reincarnation. The Undying Court worships not gods but their undead ancestors that make up their government. The [[Path of Light]], [[Warforged_Mysteries#The_Becoming_God|Becoming God]] and [[Warforged_Mysteries#The_Reforged|Reforged]] all seek to ''create'' a deity. Even some interpretations of the [[Sovereign Host]], like the one most common among dragons, don't worship them as deities. Due to the way divine casting works in Eberron, all of these can produce divine casters.
** There's a handful of religions on [[Golarion]] that aren't merely worship of pantheons. The most prominent (read: Actually has mechanical support) is the [[Prophecies of Kalistrade]], which is basically fantasy [[Star Trek|Ferengi]].
* [[D20 Modern]]'s [[Urban Arcana]], unusually for urban fantasy, has D&D deities bleed into reality alongside the monsters. You are still able to play a <s>cleric</s> "acolyte" of any real world deity despite this.
* [[Star Wars]] is inconsistent on if the [[The Force]] is a religion. The Jedi and the Sith ''could'' both be considered religions as they are considered monastic, but mix in several other traits such as being meritocratic (Jedi) and kraterocratic (Sith) and Lucas himself has axed at least one prototyped book for portraying them too much as a religion. It's also notable that the Sith were former Jedi who left the Jedi path for several reasons including [[Heresy|disagreements over the teachings of that creed]]. Aside from that, religion is nearly always a non-human tradition, something noted in a culture's historical background and never seen implying its extinction, or a scam. The religiously linked "damn" and "hell" are the two real world swear words that exist in-universe, purely because Han Solo used them in the films, and some concept of an "angel" exists because a young Anakin told Padme about them in the prequel trilogy films.
** There are rare exceptions where a religion is fleshed out and explored, and the writing goes various directions for better or worse. A notable example is the aggressive polytheistic religion of the antagonistic Yuuzhan Vong from the EU (which the story gradually revealed was long ago perverted from benevolent roots).
* Very large books could be written about religion and [[World of Darkness]]/Chronicles of Darkness. We'll just cover a few highlights:
** From [[Vampire: The Requiem]], there's the the Lancea et Sanctum, which might be best described as "Christianity for Vampires", and the Circle of the Crone, which is "Pagan Vampires". Both have Vampire miracles on tap (pun intended).
** [[Hunter: The Vigil]] has various religious organizations among the Compacts and Conspiracies.
** [[Mage: The Ascension]] has various religious Traditions, portrayed in that highly-stereotypical and highly-depending-on-the-author way typical of old WoD.

==See also==
* [[Mythology]]

[[Category:Not related]]
[[Category:History]]

God

2020-01-08T17:38:40Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:31FF:4E99:86B9:9EDE:

A '''god''' is what the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]] [[What|aspires to be in authority and perpetuality, while at the same time alternately despising it and fighting or denying its existence therof]].

For an "actual" more generalized definition, gods are beings or spirits worshiped as having power over nature and/or human affairs (also known as a '''deity'''), and are considered far above humanity. They are usually the central focus of a religion (a system of beliefs and teachings revolving around the belief in and worship of a supernatural power). In some accounts they are also the creator (or creators) of the world, the universe and everything in it - in-universe, in the case of some fictional universes. When it comes to the power level of different types of beings, gods are at the top (often with various power levels if there are multiple gods, both in fiction and real-life religions).

In real-life there are various religions, and the majority of the world's population are religious, and even some non-religious people believe in the existence of a god or gods (theism and deism). Evidence of theism goes back well into human prehistory. More on that can be found [[Mythology|here]] and [[Religion|here]].

God or gods are also the origin of the term "miracle"; originally the term for an extraordinary and welcome event that defies, or is inexplicable, by natural or scientific laws and is either proven to be, or attributed to, a divine agency. As a result, divine power fairly often trumps any other power in a fictional story ([[Skub|and real-life, depending on what one believes]]), and is the only thing in fantasy that trumps magic.

There are cases, including in some belief systems, of people or things being mistaken for gods that aren't, or masquerading as gods. Given the inherent authority in godhood, some people use the claim for personal gain, out of extreme arrogance or both.

==Gods in Fantasy and Science Fiction==
Eru Ilúvatar- Supreme creator of the Lord of the Rings universe, though much of creation was actually done by his lesser creations, the Ainur.

Crom- Chief god of the Cimmerian pantheon, Conan invokes his name often. Doesn't really listen to prayers as he despises weakness.

The Elder God- An entity in the Legacy of Kain videogame series, manages the wheel of fate where all souls go to be reincarnated.

Aslan- Basically Lion Jesus in the Narnia series. His dad is the real Big G.

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==Gods in Warhammer==
The 4 Chaos Gods, duh

Sigmar- The man turned god, patron of the Empire.

The old world pantheon of Humans- Various deities worshiped by Humans, most notable probably being Ulric whose cult gets to vote on who becomes Emperor, and was also worshiped by Sigmar.

Gork (or is it Mork?)-Brutal but kunnin'.

Mork (or is it Gork?)-Kunnin' but brutal.

The Spider God- Worshiped by Forest Goblins. Likes spiders.

The Dwarf Ancestor Gods- The first dwarfs, ancestors to the whole race.

Hashut- Likes bulls and bronze.

The Elf pantheon- The various deities of the Elves, notable ones include Asuryan, King of the Gods, Isha, the goddess of healing, fertility, and the harvest, and Khaine, the god of war and murder.

The Horned Rat- The big fucking rat god of the Skaven.

The Great Maw- Giant mouth worshiped by Ogres.

The Lizardmen worshipped the Old Ones as gods, only some of which are known.

==Gods in D&D==
Pretty much every setting has some sort of fantasy pantheon, since gods are usually required for clerics and paladins to get their God-given powers. Still, some manage to put a twist on the typical formula.

The Forgotten Realms have a truly ridiculous amount of gods, with each race (except humans) having their own pantheon. The only one of real interest, however, is the Faerunian pantheon. That's where you have Mystra, Helm, Deneir and all the other cool guys. The only time the gods really did anything unusual was that one time they came down to solve their petty squabbles in Faerun.

Athas of the Dark Sun setting is an interesting variation in that it's one of the very few settings where gods very definitely don't exist. Depending on the setting you prefer, they either noped straight outta there when they saw how fucked up the world was or were all killed by the primordials. In their absence, clerics get their power from the elemental planes.

On [[Masque of the Red Death|Gothic Earth]] there is no character class linked to deities, unless one decides to count the antagonistic Red Death as a deity, which would make all spellcasters so to a degree. The sole divine caster class, Mystic, draws their power from understanding the spirit world. Gothic Earth is still Earth however, so all religions around in the late 1800s do exist there, just without mechanical power. By contrast, D&D's ''other'' Urban Fantasy setting, [[Urban Arcana]], allows any deity from Earthly religion to grant spells to faithful, but also allows the same of deities of Shadowkind that have fallen to Earth. [[Dark Matter]], which D&D briefly adopted as a campaign setting, features "functional religion" as a provable enough fact and has magic from both dark cults and a Christian secret society explicitly exist (with other sources presumable). Unlike arcane magic, divine magic is not fully documented and replicateable on demand, at least not by the Hoffman Institute that serves as the default viewpoint/PC employer.

Eberron leaves it mainly ambiguous, as the gods don't really act directly. Ever, so they might not exist. Clerics and paladins do get magical powers, but it stems from belief, not actual God-given poets. This works so that even followers of religions known out of character to be scams, like the [[Blood of Vol]] and [[Path of Inspiration]], can get spells, as can [[Heretic]]s.

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==See Also==
*[[Mythology]]

[[Category:Gods]]