A Review and Commentary on Religion and How it is Utilized in the Sci-fi/Fantasy Genre By: Chris Hennelly

Science Fiction and Fantasy is a large and diverse genre. The setting can be anything from a world identical to ours with the exception of one mysterious event to an entirely fictitious world filled with names and words designed to tie your tongue in knots. This genre roots itself in belief, of course crazy sentient robots are not real (yet) and neither do people disappear into thin air, but when we visit these worlds we suspend those notions and experience what the author intended, the good ones are the ones that can sound so crazy on paper and yet through characters, details, events relate to us on a deep level. There is not a single society or culture that has not developed a system of shared beliefs, no matter how ramshackle, everyone has grappled with the questions of “why are we here?,” “how did we get here?,” This leads to an interesting facet of storytelling and world building in sci-fi/fantasy, religion.

Any fictitious world created, the good ones at least, have a core of truth to them. Using religion an author is able to create a new layer that bleeds into everything from the cultures, characters, and motivations. Through the semester we have read books as well as found television shows that utilize religion especially to commentate on our own religious institutions and how they affect our society, solidify the fictitious worlds and peoples created, and finally there are works that address faith and belief head on and experiment with scenarios where that is put to the test.

Regarding usage of religion that challenges our institutions today, at the beginning of the semester we read Ursula K. Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness. This novel puts us into the backseat of Genly Ai, an explorer sent from a futuristic society based on scientific knowledge and trade advancement. He is sent to a world that has yet to recieve outside influence. Here we are introduced to a society crafted by Le Guin for the purposes of her message and story. From being genderless, to the harsh conditions that the people are accustomed too we immediately identify the different circumstances these people are under, however we also discover their religion. The two competing religions that belong to the leading country’s are the Yomeshta and the Handarrata which have a loose correlation with western and eastern ideologies. The Yomeshta seek fulfillment in light and the one path over the other lesser one, much how western religions focus more on good vs. evil. The Handarrata on the other hand take after more eastern sense of balance between two forces, both light and dark.

When put into the context of the two countries that hold these religions we see that Ogoryen (Yomeshta) seemingly strive to be good and yet as Genly Ai discovers people still languish hidden in the dark. We first see it when the town Genly is staying in is attacked and the government steps in to evacuate. Those refugees without papers are immediately stuffed into a dark room and left there. In the seemingly more advanced and transcendent Orgoryen, we discover that for all the talk of the light, they are no different from anyone else and are capable of evil, and in this case the willful ignoring of this other half has caused a society where atrocious things happen being the scenes throughout the book. On themes that have ties to religion in the book there is the idea of the one (light) and the other (dark). While the Handarrata embrace both and welcome Genly, conversely the Orgoryen pose the greatest threat to him as they fear what the other has to offer. I felt that this tied in nicely with ideas presented by the relgious similarites with our world. Many religions today that preach of a more righteous path and of love above evil find themselves susceptible to sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and other version of hate for the other.

There were also novels that dealt with religious ideologies getting out of control and creating a dystopic scenarios. The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood is a good example of this. In an alternate timeline to ours now, America had been struck with some sort of virus that rendered us infertile. The resulting chaos was only tempered by a rising radical religious group who took power. The result was a world centered around the commoditization of women’s bodies, traditional values taken to extremes as doctors are hung and infertile women are put into labor camps. Atwood intended her story to be told as speculative fiction, coming up with a premise being wild and yet all it took was an extrapolation of behaviors and ideas that currently reside in our religious make up. This books message was to show a glimpse of a world where a religion had taken over completely like they did in the past and still do in some places today, as well as show how fast radicalized beliefs can warp a society.

Another dystopic scenario would be in Game of Thrones. The Seven of the Sept a religion very similar to that of Christianity, was given rights to militarize during a civil war that was tearing apart the land. While this seemed an innocuous decision at the time the resulting movement meant to keep peace turned wild as masses of poor and unsettled flocked to the religion. The displacement of peoples coupled with the unhappiness with the ruling family led to the militarize church taking over and began to ‘cleanse’ the capitol of sin, by first beating it out of its denizens. While their intent was to help save the people the radicalized nature of their efforts led to a frightening result, as the people were forced into submission.

In terms of world building the religions are often used to give us insight on the groups of peoples we come across in the story. Many times the people motivations, origins, and demeanor have correlation with the types of religious practice we are shown. A perfect example of this would be the set of religions crafted for Game of Thrones. They are some of the most detailed and well thought out, as George RR Martin tackles and entire world not just a single country or two competing religions. In the series there are dozens of religions alluded too, and quite a handful of them are heavily relevant to the story and deeply rooted in the universes mythos.

The first one the reader comes across is that of the Old Gods. This religion takes on influence from druidic cults and is very much about communion with nature and greater forces. The main continent we find the story taking place on, Westeros, has the northern half largely un-swayed from this old belief system as the series takes place much after its prime after it was largely eradicated in the southern part of the continent. This religion does not rely on a particular deity or group of them, rather it is based on things such as the woods, animals, and ancestors. It also is heavily based in ritual sacrifice and mysticism and it speaks to their steadfast sense of tradition as well as their primal nature. The parallel to this is the Seven of the Sept a much more Christian influenced religion that was forced upon the people of the south thousands of years ago, not unlike activity shown by the Roman Catholics during the crusades. These two cultures end up in civil war with one another, while there are many reasons in between that have caused this the difference in their ideologies certainly had a hand in it. In fact understanding these religions explains much of events in season 1. As Ned Stark Lord of the North and poster boy for the Old God practices, who would embrace treason, a necessary evil, in order to do what was right and save his friend from the treachery of the Lannisters. While Cersei and Jaime under the guise of faithful southerners plotted the kings murder behind his back while both practicing adultery and incest in the dark.

There is also an idea of religion clueing us in on the environment that shaped these societies. Here as well as Left Hand  share tropes of a more rugged colder environment producing people who place more stock in ancestors as well as a willingness to accept the darker parts of human nature. One could guess that due to the terrible conditions faced the peoples view of their world and one created by an god to be more gray and crueler than others believe, and a need to rely on those who came before to learn to survive. Both novels also include a counter to this in the form of a more moderate-climated culture. While they look to contain more progressive people each case shows them to be just as flawed. I feel that this lesson is important as in both cases it shows that something as simple as the weather was able to pit people against one another and create a divide that would not have been present otherwise.

Also within the Game of Thrones universe are a few minor societies who’s religions are closely tied to ways of life and how the cultures came to be established. While our character interaction with them is smaller their religion is able to flesh out their cultures and this influences our perception of the world as living and breathing. The first being the Dothraki, a nomadic people who reside in great plains. Their belief system is strictly tied to their use of horse as a means of survival, including travel and hunting. The connection between a man and his horse is seen as sacred, and influences funeral practices as they are burned on a pyre together.

It is one of the only religions that discusses an afterlife seeing it as a eternal ride through the stars with no mention of an worse fate to be had from immoral action. I found this interesting as this seems to lead to a largely amoral culture outside of loyalty to your leader (Khal) and to your own horse. The Dothraki prove themselves the most savage culture in Essos as they takes slaves, rape, and pillage all over the east. The slave culture being especially prevalent as any man without a horse is seen as less of one, and easily dissociated to the level of property.

Another note worthy of mention is that the very thing that makes them so dangerous is also the one holding them back from coming to conflict with our protagonists. The narrow sea that separates the two people is easy enough to cross by boat, however the religions reliance on horses has strongly forbidden any contact with water not drinkable by the animal (salt water), and any travel where a horse is unable.

The second minor religion to discuss would be that of the Many Faced God. This religion centers around only one idea, death. They recognize each and every god worshipped by other cultures around the world and all they see when looking at the different, grand, sometimes garish statues or altars is death in its many forms. The main followers of this religion are later found out to be centered on an guild of assassins. The guild as well as the religion grew hand in hand as a service offered to slaves who were ready to lay down and depart. Those who prayed to death would receive his gift and so on. The following eventually grew big enough to topple smaller slave colonies and the escaped slaves founded a new home in Bravos, where the guild operates out of still. Another parallel with Left Hand would be to the Hanndarata and their belief of death being the one true certainty in life, which matches nicely with “Valar Morghulis” (all men must die), a similar ideal and yet due to circumstance set upon the slaves they took an active role and their beliefs delivering the dead themselves.

Fiction allow us to examine things not possible to our world. Often the story is used to explore the unknown or unexplainable especially in Science fiction and fantasy novels. While it may be magic or mysticism like in Game of Thrones or Left Hand of Darkness, it could also simply be an occurrence that is left a mystery like in The Leftovers or Children of Men. With so many strides in science we have begun to answer many questions that we once looked to the church for guidance on. Science fiction allows for a return to a time when mysteries and miracles still surrounded us, as well as speculating what would happen if we had to confront such a mystery with all we know now.

In the Left Hand of Darkness we are on a journey with Genly Ai, a member of a very advanced community one who’s religion is more understated or in some cases eclipsed by the wealth of knowledge gathered from the galaxy. However we come to this one planet with a society far less advanced from a scientific viewpoint and yet we discover a mystery (miracle) in the form of foretelling. The very notion of actually casting out into the future for answers is seen as ludicrous to Genly Ai, however we are both swayed when witnessing the ritual firsthand. One of the messages that this scene gives us that for all our advancements we make in science there still is more unexplained to us out in the universe.

Game of Thrones also has a commentary on mysticism and belief. While currently in the timeline magic and sorcery are regarded as dead and gone at best, or in some cases complete mythical fantasy, by the people of Westeros. While each of the religious factions have rituals based in magical practice even the believers have accepted that the time for magic is passed. However as the story begins to unfold the readers realize that the people are on a brink of a resurgence. Dragons are hatching, people are being resurrected, and zombies are marching. This lull in magic sets up the public in Westeros to parallel us well in terms of being just as surprised and rocked as we would be seeing such impossibilities occur in front of them.

Finally there are other works that deal with altering the world we live in today with something unexplainable and letting things unfold. The first being The Leftovers, where in an event very similar to that of the biblical rapture occurs, and with it takes 2 million people away into thin air. The world we are presented with after isn’t terribly altered, at least not directly due to the disappearance of the people. Plagues, natural disasters, war have all taken from the population, 2 million spread our amongst the world sound almost like it could be overlooked in the grand scheme. In the show life has gone on, but everyone now has had their beliefs shaken. I found this particularly interesting because even though the Bible specifically mentions the rapture, many are drawn away from Christian, instead many find cults or simply stop believing altogether. It’s possible that truly committing to the belief could be scary to us now considering it more real than ever, and especially when subscribing to the rapture theory means banking on things only getting worse (ie the apocalypse). There also is the aspect of guilt. If God has taken who wants from the bunch what does that mean for the people who are left. It would make sense that many would abandon a church that preaches about making it into heaven even though doors were already opened and closed. This idea is represented in the show by the Preacher Matt, who tries desperately to prove that those who departed were no better than anyone else and in some cases were terrible sinners. However this still pales in comparison to the real mystery of the disappearances themselves.

The novel Children of Men by P.D. James also drops the reader into a world that has been blown of course by some event. In this situations the entire human population has lost the ability to procreate all at once. The book picks up a generation after this occurrence in leaving us in a world without children. This forces us to examine to motivations behind our religious practices. We read in the novel that many people have abandoned faith completely, many resort to suicide, and others simply are waiting out for the end. The idea of children and their involvement in religious motivation interested me. The idea of passing on something of our society to each generation as a way of living, acting, and believing but if that chain were to be broken would we continue practicing till the end. The novel also uses tons of religious imagery especially surrounding the one remaining pregnant girl who serves as hope between man and religion going forward. We see as our protagonist Faron goes from reminiscent but lacking faith to full believer after his travels with Julian, sending a message about how hope can be rekindled and religion found again.

There is an interesting parallel with Children of Men and Handmaids Tale. Both deal with a sudden infertility event and both utilize religious elements. However, I feel that their messages towards religious are counter to one another, Atwood using this speculative world to warn us of the dangers of religious belief and its ability to repress and control if allowed to run rampant. While Children of Men shows us a society that has lost all faith and hope, and takes us on a journey of regaining these virtues for the better.

In conclusion, religion is a cornerstone of our culture and life. In all of the works religion is utilized to deepen the world created and presented to the reader (or watcher). While some may integrate it with the intention of sending a message or if it simply makes for good storytelling to include that kind of depth, it is an important part of science fiction and fantasy works.

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