Firlefanz
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Religion in SF
How do you feel about using any kind of religion (or even a certain religion) in Science Fiction stories?
Good? Bad? Useless?
--- - Firlefanz
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10/7/2007, 1:49 pm
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Reythia
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Re: Religion in SF
I find it interesting, generally.
I also find that (as in other hyphothetical worlds) a lot of the time writers choose to use scifi as a medium to present their opinions on REAL religions to the world. And, as I generally find such discussions worth a listen to, then I often like such books (as long as the rest of the plot and characters are interesting, of course!).
Mind you, the best books keep their relgious or social "discussions" subtle, rather than bashing you over the head with it (hear that, Ayn Rand?!?).
---  -- YAR! |
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10/7/2007, 9:13 pm
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QS2
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Re: Religion in SF
As long as they don't distort reason and logic to severely. Some of them are kind of obnoxious in their pro religion stances above and beyond everything else. 
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10/8/2007, 9:03 pm
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Reythia
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Re: Religion in SF
Agreed. Of course, others are equally obnoxious in their hatred for the labeled religion -- to the point where their refusal to contemplate alternatives BECOMES a religion of sorts!!
--- -- YAR! |
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10/8/2007, 9:18 pm
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Loud G
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Re: Religion in SF
I think religions are interesting things to explore, especially in a scifi universe.
Asimov and Silverberg had one in "Nightfall" It was one of the rabid annoying types of religions but which in the end turned out to be humanity's only chance for survival much to everyone's chagrin.
But it was painted as bad throughout the story and even at the end it seemed the scientists were making a deal with the devil when they approached the religious leaders.
I don't mind having crazy religions (some of them out there ARE crazy) but I dislike when it is heavy handed anti-God stance throughout.
--- Reading: Mistborn
Writing: Eriadhin
"Life is like a book, except it takes longer to get to the climax."
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10/9/2007, 1:48 pm
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Tom Ligon
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Re: Religion in SF
There's a whole website on the topic, http://sfgospel.typepad.com/
I've used religion in science fiction in several of my stories, and the website above has reviewed two of them. I've got several other which are the topic of a Wikipedia article on the Baha'i Faith in fiction. I usually try to portray religion in a positive light, although I'm not religious myself.
Religion is a common SF theme ... the SFGospel website routinely visits BattleStar and other story lines with pseudoreligions.
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6/19/2009, 3:03 am
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QS2
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Re: Religion in SF
The Baha'i Faith is rather interesting really, they seem to be the 4th incarnation of the Judaic monotheism in way. And their views on things are really quite interesting, I've sadly never met anyone of the Baha'i Faith though, so I wouldn't know how they quite are in reality.
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6/19/2009, 8:08 am
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Tom Ligon
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Re: Religion in SF
I'm corresponding with two on the novel project. They seem to be consistently gentle spirits, and true adherents seem inclined to shun politics. Their estimated number in the US is around 200,000, so they are a small fraction of the population here, no suprise you would not encounter them. They are taught that religion should not contradict science, so the religion is a good fit for SF.
A number of celeberities have been Baha'is, including Dizzy Gillespie and actress Carole Lombard.
A few of the passages they like to quote are quite science-fictiony. This one was provided to me by one of my helpers.
"O servant of Bahá! Be self-sacrificing in the path of God, and wing thy flight unto the heavens of the love of the Abhá Beauty, for any movement animated by love moveth from the periphery to the centre, from space to the Day-Star of the universe. Perchance thou deemest this to be difficult, but I tell thee that such cannot be the case, for when the motivating and guiding power is the divine force of magnetism it is possible, by its aid, to traverse time and space easily and swiftly. Glory be upon the people of Bahá. "
Last edited by Tom Ligon, 6/22/2009, 3:10 am
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6/19/2009, 1:07 pm
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QS2
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Re: Religion in SF
If I remember correctly Baha'i Faith assumes that each new prophet is supposed to adapt the faith to best fit in with the circumstances of the time and age, as well as how advanced peoples understanding is... Or something like that..., I'm not entirely sure any more.
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6/19/2009, 8:31 pm
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Tom Ligon
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Re: Religion in SF
I think technically the prophets are not supposed to have a choice in the matter. Whoever is whispering in their ear is supposed to provide the proper message for the times.
I don't belong to any religion, and am not promoting any, but the Baha'is were a very good fit for a novelette I was working on, which resulted in a sequel and a prequel, both novellas. I'm in the process of rolling them all up into a novel.
Tension between religions is real enough, and can be the inspiration for stories. Delving into the actual beliefs and dispelling common myths about them is my usual approach. The prequel mentioned above, "For a Little Price", is a first-person account by a terrorist who attempted to destroy Earth. The guy is probably the most dispicable character ever to tell a SF story first person, and it took over two decades to find a market for it. It was finally published last year, and has gotten a few very good reviews. I started the story by giving away the ending: the attempt fails and the character has finally realized the attempt was totally against the religion he had thought he was fighting for.
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6/22/2009, 12:48 am
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Pastor Rick
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Re: Religion in SF
Personally I much prefer the authors invented religion for the story being told or a borrowed and expanded myth based religion. I do not like to see my own faith in a fantasy or science fiction setting even in obvious classics such as "Pilgrims Progress." In such a setting I find myself comparing the fiction with what I know is reality which distracts from my enjoyment of the story being told.
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6/23/2009, 2:56 pm
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Reythia
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Re: Religion in SF
quote:
Pastor Rick wrote:
In such a setting I find myself comparing the fiction with what I know is reality which distracts from my enjoyment of the story being told.
Haha! I feel the same way watching science/engineering get mangled by scifi, so I can understand that!
Also, needless to say, I'm back now! 
--- -- YAR! |
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6/26/2009, 4:18 pm
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mavikfelna
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Re: Religion in SF
I'm something of the opposite of Pastor Rick. I enjoy seeing my religion show up in stories from time to time. When it's negatively portrayed it gets me thinking about why it is viewed that way and if there's any merit to that view and when it's positively portrayed I'm happy to see it in a good light.
I also like to see how different authors build up their own created religions. I've created many for different sci-fi and fantasy settings and it's fun to figure out why someone would believe that way and what it would be like to have a set of beliefs like that.
I should probably also mention that my religion has a very active science fiction writing community. The most well known is probably Orson Scott Card.
--Mav
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7/25/2009, 4:37 pm
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Reythia
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Re: Religion in SF
Greetings, Mav! Welcome to the site.
And certainly, you have a point about how even misconceptions and negative comments about a religion typically have a basis in something real -- which might need thinking on or correcting. Good point.
--- -- YAR! |
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7/27/2009, 4:27 pm
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Loud G
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Re: Religion in SF
uh oh, not another mormon!
Get a rope! 
(Yes, I am the other mormon)
--- Reading: Mistborn
Writing: Eriadhin
"Life is like a book, except it takes longer to get to the climax."
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7/31/2009, 8:39 pm
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