According to "Cold Front," religion, at least Buddhism and Roman Catholicism, apparently still exists in the middle of the twenty-second century. That opens the door to many potentially interesting, and controversial, episodes. It also makes me wonder if religion "lasted" even longer, or if the "later" incarnations of Star Trek are even the purely humanistic utopias they appear (and Gene probably intended them) to be.
[ November 29, 2001: Message edited by: Raw Cadet ]
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If I remember right, in TNG's "Data's Day," Data makes reference to the Hindu Festival of Lights. So, apparently, Hinduism has survived into the 24th Century. Given that Christianity has been around in some form for a couple millennia now (and considering its ability to adapt to changing times), I'd bet that it survives that long as well in some form. I don't know if all of the different denominations would survive, though. I'd also say that Islam and Judaism would survive for some time as well for much the same reasons as Christianity would likely survive.
How important would religion place in life that far in the future is a different matter. None of the humans seen in the principle roles has given much of an indication to religion matters. Indeed, it seems that religion plays a big part in the lives of every species but the humans. So, who knows?
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
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Not to mention that the Original Series already established that half the famous/infamous "humans" in history were actually aliens . . .
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quote:Originally posted by Veers: I'm hoping they don't go way over the top and say Jesus was an alien. Hoo boy, the mail they'd get.
That was essentially the plot of "The God Thing," Gene Roddenberry's original story that ultimately evolved into Star Trek: The Motion Picture. See here for more details. Note that the webpage refers to the off-and-on novelization of the abandoned script, but it has all the known information about the plot.
quote: "I handed them a script and they turned it down," Roddenberry stated. "It was too controversial. It talked about concepts like, 'Who is God?' [In it] the Enterprise meets God in space; God is a life form, and I wanted to suggest that there may have been, at one time in the human beginning, an alien entity that early man believed was God, and kept those legends. But I also wanted to suggest that it might have been as much the Devil as it was God. After all, what kind of god would throw humans out of Paradise for eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. One of the Vulcans on board, in a very logical way, says, 'If this is your God, he's not very impressive. He's got so many psychological problems; he's so insecure. He demands worship every seven days. He goes out and creates faulty humans and then blames them for his own mistakes. He's a pretty poor excuse for a supreme being.' Not surprisingly, that didn't sent [sic] the Paramount executives off crying with glee. But I think good science fiction, historically, has been used that way--to question everything."
Ironically, I happened to just start on a "Human Religion in Star Trek" essay for my site right before I watched "Cold Front." It's coming along nicely, and naturally I'll post the link in this thread when I'm finished. Some of my research will help me in this post, anyway.
As for the survival of religion, there is no evidence of any aside from Hinduism in the twenty-fourth century (though I'm sure they all still exist in varying proportions). So far, I have yet to find any mention of Islam or Judaism, nor anything other than Christianity. "Bread and Circuses" suggests that Uhura is probably a Christian, while Kirk and McCoy are ambiguous. On the other hand, Pike only vaguely remembered hell as part of a childhood fable in "The Cage," so perhaps while there are religious people, it's a more private affair. "Who Mourns for Adonais?" has Kirk saying that humans abandoned polytheism for "the one," but doesn't specify which one that is... and surely he can't speak for every human, since "Data's Day" shows that Hindus are still around.
(Aside: anyone with taped episodes of Star trek that deal with religious topics [not only specific religions], I'd love some quotes or even reminders of things I've forgotten for my essay. I'm thinking of "Tapestry," for one, but I'm sure there's others I missed...)
In any case, Roddenberry describes how he wanted Star Trek to reflect a humanistic ideal in which we had outgrown our needs for gods in issues of Free Inquiry and The Humanist from 1991, shortly before his death.
quote: "I condemn false prophets, I condemn the effort to take away the power of rational decision, to drain people of their free will--and a hell of a lot of money in the bargain. Religions vary in their degree of idiocy, but I reject them all. For most people, religion is nothing more than a substitute for a malfunctioning brain." --Gene Roddenberry
[ November 29, 2001: Message edited by: Ryan McReynolds ]
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Of course, when a show like "Stargate" suggests that Egyptian and Norse gods were aliens, or when "Star Trek" says the Greek gods were, no-one complains. But, if anyone dares suggest there's anything less than almighty about Yahweh, it's heresy.
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Well, on the plus side, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess showed the Greek and Norse gods to be real gods and not aliens. So it kinda balances out.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
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And in both shows, that was in between the fights and half naked women prancing around Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless...
-------------------- "It speaks to some basic human needs: that there is a tomorrow, it's not all going to be over with a big splash and a bomb, that the human race is improving, that we have things to be proud of as humans." -Gene Roddenberry about Star Trek
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The last time I checked, no one worshiped Egyptian, Greek, and/or Norse "gods;" that might explain why no one protests if they are depicted as aliens.
Now, I realize, TSN, that was not your point, but I take issue with your real point. I believe in one "God," and that belief excludes believing in other "gods." Thus, I do not shed tears when science-fiction portrays presently "debunked" gods (that is, no one believes in them or worships them) to be less than divine. Would I protest if, in the Star Trek universe, Jesus was actually just an alien chilling in Judea in the first century? Maybe. Would I protest if such a depiction was presented in the ham-fisted, heavy-handed manner evidenced in Gene's "The God Thing" concept or his quote above? Yes. An atheistic humanist who thinks all religions are empty, all religious ignorant, and himself to be the sole bearer of truth is no better than a conservative Christian idealogue; both are merely opposite sides of the same coin.
There are "reasonable" religious people. As I said, I believe in God, and I practice Roman Catholicism. I respect anyone else's right to believe, or not believe, as they choose. After all, free will is a God-given "right." Do I think one will go to hell if they do not believe what I do? No. Hell, I question if a merciful God even "condemns" people to hell. All I ask is for the same respect in return.
Maybe I should have posted this in the Flameboard.
quote:Originally posted by Raw Cadet: An atheistic humanist who thinks all religions are empty, all religious ignorant, and himself to be the sole bearer of truth is no better than a conservative Christian idealogue; both are merely opposite sides of the same coin.
No atheist I've ever met (and I am one, I might add) believes they are the bearer of truth. In fact, their belief that nobody--including any prophet, messiah, oracle, priest, pope, pastor, rabbi, or preacher--is the bearer of truth is usually why they are atheists to begin with.
In any case, I agree that we must all show respect to one another, especially on so touchy a topic as religion. However, I think it is always important to distinguish between repecting a person's right to believe and respecting the content of that belief. Someone has the right to believe that there is a giant pink unicorn on his shoulder, but neither you nor I has any obligation to consider that belief to be anything other than stupid.
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