As with politics, religion is — for many people — a constant influence in their lives. They might not ponder the nature of the universe, nor wonder if what they’re doing is right with their particular deity, but most people’s behavior is governed by moral structures derived from religious tradition (yes, even most of you Western atheists get most of your concepts of right/wrong and behavior from the Abrahamic tradition.) However, religion is a subject that gets short shrift in most games I’ve played in — regardless of whether the game design or setting accounted for it.
There’s a few obvious reasons for this: GM and players are uncomfortable with religious elements in their games because it can smack of proselytizing, even if that’s not the intent, and because many people have strong opinions regard their faith (or lack of it.) Another reason is that many GMs simply don’t have a strong grounding in religious studies, and stick to subjects they know something about.
However, the addition of religious themes to plot lines can enhance the flavor of the stories being told, and it definitely aids in defining a character for the player. Let’s start with the latter. As mentioned above, religion provides — for many — the basis of their belief structure, which governs their actions. It helps give the players, as well as the GM, a hook for the actions their characters would take under circumstances.
Some examples of how religious themes and motivations can drive a character are quickly found in other media. In Babylon 5, many of the characters are religious — although their religion does not always effect their actions. Delenn and the other members of the religious caste are drawn to the Rangers, and are motivated by the belief that they are the heirs to Valen’s fight against the Shadows, creatures of evil. they are raised to see the Vorlons as the “good guys” and this clouds their relationship with that race. Internecine politics drives them, as well, but no so much as their faith in their religious doctrines. Command Sinclair’s Jesuit upbringing makes him more open to other ideas and traditions, and makes him more likely to try and talk his way out of a situation than shoot.
Recently, Battlestar Galactica made religion a central issue of the plot — the Colonial remnants appear to be playing out a cosmic cycle, and their “mission”, to find Earth and the lost Thirteenth Tribe parallels Jewish and Mormon tales. As the show goes on, the evidence that there are supernatural forces directing their actions, and watching over them, becomes more and more evident. Starbuck is an angel, for Gods’ sake! The tug and pull of monotheists vs. the polytheists creates drama and danger for Baltar, and if you include Caprica in your game canon, this is an old debate in the Colonies.
Religious influence can be subtle. Shepard Book in Firefly is a priest, yes, but he wasn’t always. He has a constant internal struggle between his religious beliefs and his past. His religiosity brings him into conflict with Mal Reynolds, who was once a man of faith and is now tweaked by the very mention of faith. He respects Book, and deep down sees him as a father figure, but his disappointment at God’s having abandoned them as surely as the Independent command has put the almighty on the outs with him.
You don’t have to hit people over the head with religion to make it fill out your game world. Understanding the motivations of your bad guys — beyond “they’re goblins, man, they’re evil!” — will make the adventures much more interesting for the players. Are these particular goblins motivated by a local pagan god which may or may not be a power-mad wizard (the best kind, really)? Is your Roman centurion an adherent of Minerva or Ares, and does that choice of God dictate his style of tactics and strategy (smart and clever over brutal and laudatory)? Is your Victorian-period steampunk character religious? Being a Jew in the period could make for interesting problems in some parts of the world, where just being a member of that faith could create distrust, abuse, or be a real threat to your life. A missionary is going to have certain ideas about why he’s tromping around the African highlands, and it’s probably not to find King Solomon’s Mines. Maybe the character is an atheist, driven by a hatred of the Church to cause trouble, or at the very least write screeds against the establishment, which could bring the wrong attention to him.
Science fiction settings traditionally give religion a glossing over. Babylon 5 took it serious, never talked down to people of faith (unlike Star Trek: The Next Generation Picard, who once railed that the Federation had grown past the superstitions of religion), and never came down on one side or the other on the true nature of the universe. Sometimes, the unknown is only interesting when it remains unknown. (A valid argument against the finale of Battlestar Galactica.) Even when you can “prove” that the local gods are simply more advanced creatures and not supreme beings (the Prophets of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, for example) doesn’t mean that people aren’t still going to believe what they want.
I have been infusing my current BSG campaign with the same monotheism v. polytheism elements from the show. There’s visions, and “head” characters (angels), and there is a plan for the Colonials and Cylons that is separate, but related, to the main story. But I try not to knock them over the head all the time; it’s usually a deus ex machina to keep the story on track. Like it was in the show.
In a Star Trek campaign I posited that not all Vulcans were adherents of Surak. There were Vulcans that thought logic was necessary, but that purging emotions was a serious mistake and dangerous to free will. There was another sect that was connected to the Romulan ideas of embracing destiny and glory. While not religious, per se, it acted much the same way — Vulcans were not homogenous, and many of the lesser sects were discriminated against. Even my android race that was coming to the forefront toward the end had religious (they’d call them scientific) views on the nature of the universe, seeing it as a massive information substrate. They found the concept of death — of losing an irreplaceable set of data — horrific, and something to be opposed through uploading of personalities.
The trick, I’ve found, is to gauge your audience: some players will be more receptive than others to having a religious theme to the campaign in general. It’s best to get a feel for what makes your players uncomfortable. Some groups, however, will see the use of religion as a boon for their characters and for the flavor of the campaigns.
It’s worth a go, at least.
The Black Campbell 