# religion?



## writeshiek33 (Nov 15, 2011)

one amazing things i find in fantasy especially sword and sorcery type is the various religion can be portrayed from a pantheon to single deity in many forms. one  of my many ideas uses justice like a religion don't want to go itoo much as it still very early fragmented state. my question  how you folks decide on the religion for your worlds


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## Seth son of Tom (Nov 15, 2011)

i plan to have a religion that's fairly mainstream in the civilized countries that will be something of a portrayal of christianity. i'm lds so i might throw in some portrayals of lds-specific doctrines/practices as well.


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## Devor (Nov 15, 2011)

Painfully.

Well, in one of the stories I'm writing it's kind of a given, as it's a mythological piece and the gods are real in abundance.  But in the classic high fantasy setting I'm working on?  Bleh, I've been putting it off dreadfully.

I'm tired and blown out on religions that look like they're pulled from a D&D pantheon, and stories about cultists who turn against government.  In my opinion, our modern classifications of "the ancient god of fertility" is dumb and oversimplifying.  I think the ancient peoples of the world would consider the gods to have personalities, not "Domains," which they meant to appeal to.  I could go on and on.

But that doesn't help me in my world.  I want the gods to be real but have no place in my story.  So.... I don't know.


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## SLTE (Nov 15, 2011)

Whenever I approach religion, I tend to create the society in which that religion exists first. That way, I know how the religion in general is going to work, what kind of god(s) will fit into it, and how it will fit into the story - for example, a culture that's heavily steeped in magic might have a pantheon of gods dedicated to the various forms of magic. I've yet to write something where religion is a heavy contributor, so creating a religion first and then shaping a society from its practices is an as-yet untouched idea.


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## Lamar (Nov 15, 2011)

I think that you need to consider the social function of religion within the society you're creating. The primary purpose religion has served in the real world is to create social cohesion. Along with language and other factors, religion is one way a society creates the distinction between "us" and "them." This helps to create a sense of order within the society, even if that order is completely illusory. Religions create a sense of "morality" within a society, which is really just a set of ethics that is enforced through social pressure. In what ways does your religion do these sorts of things within your society?

Another factor to consider is your society's general attitudes toward your religion. In ancient Rome, for example, no one really had much of a spiritual connection with the official state gods. Rituals for these gods were seen in a rather mechanistic way; if you didn't get the result you wanted, it meant that you didn't perform the ritual correctly. Within the home, the focus of spirituality was essentially household gods, which were more or less a form of ancestor worship. Within society as a whole, Rome was generally quite cosmopolitan in that it didn't much care what gods individuals worshiped, so there was a great assortment of cults and such that existed side by side.

Then there are the societies that took their religions very seriously, and actively excluded and even persecuted religious rivals; this is more or less how the cultures in the near east operated in the ancient world. This goes back to the idea of religion being used to define "us" as opposed to "them." 

Ultimately, I think the nature of the religion within your society depends on the characteristics you want your society to have.


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## Terra Arkay (Nov 15, 2011)

My guys don't care whether the people worship them or not, they still exist. Religion in my world is much like deism... Of course there's those who still worship...


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## Lamar (Nov 15, 2011)

Terra Arkay said:


> My guys don't care whether the people worship them or not, they still exist. Religion in my world is much like deism... Of course there's those who still worship...



In the case of a world in which gods were real and take an active role in the affairs of mere mortals, I don't know that there would be a need for religion as we understand it. There is the idea that has been used fairly frequently that the gods get their power from their worshipers and so require that sort of ritual. Depends on how things are set up, I guess.


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## Terra Arkay (Nov 17, 2011)

Lamar said:


> In the case of a world in which gods were real and take an active role in the affairs of mere mortals, I don't know that there would be a need for religion as we understand it. There is the idea that has been used fairly frequently that the gods get their power from their worshipers and so require that sort of ritual. Depends on how things are set up, I guess.



That's a brilliant idea! But my guys existed before they made the Universe and they're kinda omnipotent at the moment but things can change since I'm still developing my world and stuff.


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## Lamar (Nov 17, 2011)

Terra Arkay said:


> That's a brilliant idea! But my guys existed before they made the Universe and they're kinda omnipotent at the moment but things can change since I'm still developing my world and stuff.



So your gods exist outside of existence and are fairly indifferent to the sufferings and entreaties of mere mortals. That sounds fairly Lovecraftian to me. Now that's an idea. I don't know that I've seen the creeping horrors of the Cthulhu mythos set in a Tolkienesque fantasy continuum before.


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## Devor (Nov 17, 2011)

Lamar said:


> So your gods exist outside of existence and are fairly indifferent to the sufferings and entreaties of mere mortals. That sounds fairly Lovecraftian to me. Now that's an idea. I don't know that I've seen the creeping horrors of the Cthulhu mythos set in a Tolkienesque fantasy continuum before.



Warcraft does it explicitly.  They even use the same or similar names to pay homage.


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## sashamerideth (Nov 17, 2011)

My gods are of the "not really gods, humans with technology" variety. They each have come up with their own "religion" just to watch my people make fools of themselves guessing what it is that their gods want.


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## Ghost (Nov 17, 2011)

writeshiek33 said:


> how you folks decide on the religion for your worlds



For me, religion is either a part of the plot or it's just something I hint at. The religions are usually based on mainstream religions because they're set on alternate versions of Earth, or else they're very vague. AG is the only world where I spend time developing my own religions. I mainly do it to provide a foundation for each culture's belief systems and traditions in a way that isn't intrusive for the stories.


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## Solomon Tan (Nov 18, 2011)

The 'religion' in my world is somehow created by a organization that seeks to domain people. Well, it's something like the mainstream religion in this world. Christianity but during the crusade times..

So, in my world, magic is somehow controlled and learning of it is the same. Those who dabble into magic that are not accept by the 'mainstream' will be considered evil and thus should be imprisoned or killed. So this religion is created to govern magic.. but of course, there is some twists to it.. haha.. Or else it's pretty common for this..


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## Merc (Nov 20, 2011)

I like to base my religions around whatever my main conflict is.  So what I'm currently working on is a world that put's a lot into honor.  Old T.H. White sort of thing, and I'm trying to customize the religion so it's more of a, that's what they where taught to believe more over that's what they actually do.  Cause let's be honest, how many of us were drug to a church by our parents, and walked out thinking, "oh, that's some bullshit....But I still should do what they say probably?".


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## writeshiek33 (Nov 20, 2011)

thanks this has been real educational as an creative mind i have different scenes and stories with different god types and way their worshiped


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## mirrorrorrim (Nov 20, 2011)

Merc said:


> I like to base my religions around whatever my main conflict is.  So what I'm currently working on is a world that put's a lot into honor.  Old T.H. White sort of thing, and I'm trying to customize the religion so it's more of a, that's what they where taught to believe more over that's what they actually do.  Cause let's be honest, how many of us were drug to a church by our parents, and walked out thinking, "oh, that's some bullshit....But I still should do what they say probably?".



I think that's an important part of any religion—what is taught versus what is actually followed. And, to be realistic in your world-building, I think you need to have a range within each religion itself. Using a real-world analogy, look at the Catholic Church. There are many Catholics who go to Mass every Saturday or Sunday, participate in confession, make regular contributions, say their prayers, have their children be alter boys and girls, etc., etc. There are plenty of others, however, who only attend on Easter and Christmas, can't recite the Lord's Prayer, and disagree with half of what the Pope says.

Both groups are Catholics, but they definitely aren't the same as each other.

I think this goes for clergy, too—some are very devout, honest individuals. Others simply do what they do for money, lust, or power. Often, both types serve right alongside one another.

In a fantasy setting, I feel like this can be particularly interesting, because the gods often play such an obviously visible role in the worlds they've created. What if, for example, one of your gods gives her faithful priests Dungeons & Dragons-style healing powers, but a powerful bishop doesn't really believe in her? Will he still be able to heal? If he can't, what ends might he go to to cover his handicap up?

Such a concept plays a small role in the story I'm currently working on, so that's the example that immediately comes to mind. But I'm sure there are millions of other ways distinctions within a religion can come into play.


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## writeshiek33 (Nov 21, 2011)

i don't have clergy but judges fits in with theme god/religion


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## Merc (Nov 21, 2011)

@mirrorrorrim ... Uber thanks, and have definitely thought about the possibilities involved.  On the note in particular of how they refer to the disciplines of the similar but different practices they follow.  Plot point: the more stupid it seems, the more blood will be shed. Lol.


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## demented-tiger (Nov 21, 2011)

Religion plays an important part in my story. My religion is polytheistic, with many gods and goddesses. I have organized it along similar lines to the Catholic Church, especially certain rituals, worship practices, and the use of scriptures. There are churches, priestesses, a book of holy scriptures that is available to the general public, prayers, and even sacraments. The Goddess of the Sun is thier primary diety, followed by the Goddess of Fire. The Goddess of Darkness is reviled much like the Christian Satan; and the lesser gods and goddesses are called upon for various needs and favors. There are gods and goddesses of every aspect of the physical world and cultural world: the God of the Moon, the Goddess of the Stars, the Goddess of Wisdom, the God of Justice, the Goddess of War, ect... not to mention the countless spirits, sprites, and nymphs that inhabit the mountains, streams, glaciers, deserts, and forests.

I would like to have Orthodox and Protestant versions of my religion (which might be easy, since real-world Orthodox Christianity is simply a more formal version of Catholicism, said in Greek; while Protestantism can easily be adapted from existing stereotypes) as well as justifying sending missionaries overseas. This latter one would be hard because in my world, the gods are very real, and sometimes actively walk amongst the people. Two of my main characters are actually related to the gods, one to the Goddess of the Sun and the other to the Goddess of Darkness. The gods are all powerful, and have a certain degree of omniscience: you can still outwit them, but they seem to know you better than you know yourself. Some of the gods even have real material presences in the world alongside thier true forms - the Goddess of the Sun is literally the sun (though her true form is a woman), the God of the Moon is literally the moon (though his true form is a man), ect. At least 2 gods have material forms that aren't related to thier functions: the Goddess of the Stars is a gas super-giant (her true form is a woman), and the Goddess of Darkness is an as-of-yet undiscovered celestial object, commonly known as a black hole (her true form is a woman).

My gods' powers - and for that matter, thier existence - are not contingent on whether people worship them or not. They cannot be killed or destroyed. The gods do not live, but simply exist. Thier powers are there simply because they perform a function (protection of warriors, creating fire) and/or have a physical presence (are a mountain or a river) in the material plane. Because this is a world based on the early 20th century, there is atheism and agnosticism. As science progresses, people find it harder accept the traditional teachings on the gods, or else simply deny thier existence. In my story, atheism and agnosticism is actually created by the Goddess of Wisdom to overturn the current organization of the pantheon. To explain why would spoil the story, as this is one of the central plot points.


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## SeverinR (Nov 23, 2011)

For my world,
Humans worship traditional mythic gods.

For elves, I have six different gods, The most common is the beautiful Tiata, the neutril god of music and love(If I remember correctly.)
The six gods run the spectrum of pure good- to pure evil.  (The one problem I had with D&D's god, one god for all elves?)

When I first started I used the traditional elven god in D&D but that diety is not pubic domain, and its easier to create a following and rules then to try to find what someone else has set in place.


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## Reaver (Nov 23, 2011)

My world is very similar to ours...most people believe in one God, who created all things,  but depending on the race or culture, has no gender, but like most cultures in our world, is addressed as Him and is known by many names. For the most part, I use the names of the Christian/Jewish God..Adonai, Ramathel, Shaddai. There are polytheistic cultures in my world as well as those who worship demons. I've also created an antithesis or polar opposite for this one God, I call "The Adversary of Creation" or simply "Adversary".


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## ThinkerX (Nov 23, 2011)

Bit of a mish mash here.

On the surface...

Folks of the main empire on the main world are 'quasi christian' - christianity stemming gnosticism.  Very large church, very powerful, rules entire provinces, has inquistirs, even an army.  Before the ascent of this church, empire was pagan.  These days, pagans in the empire who are too open about their faith run a good possibility of having an inquisitor come calling.  A few pagan deities, though, have been brought into the church as Saints.

Other nations are pagan, though the cult of the 'True God' is making headway.

Dig a bit deeper...well, behind the scenes are Lovecraftian Gods (literally) - Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, ect.  

The 'True God' of the Empire and some of the other pagan Gods are actually Lovecrafts 'Mild Gods of Earth' - nowhere near as powerful as the Lovecraftian deities, but occasionally capable of defeating them all the same.


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