# Star Trek and Religion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2001, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-and-religion/90827 "2001-11-01T01:07:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-and-religion/90827/21 "2001-11-01T15:37:44Z")
In the Next Gen episode “Who Watched the Watchers” a group of “proto-Vulcans” under observation by a Federation research team start worshipping Jean-Luc Picard. The researchers suggest that he minimize the damage by imposing a “religion” on them including rules of conduct. Picard refuses, stating that the proto-Vulcans have overcome their belief in a supreme being and he, Picard, won’t be responsible for plunging them back into the “dark ages of superstition and ignorance and fear.” Pretty clear statement of hostility toward religion, except the hostility was softened with several lead characters (Sisko, Kira, B’elanna, Chakotay) either expressing strong religious beliefs or endorsing them. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-and-religion/90827/22 "2001-11-01T15:46:59Z")
I don’t expect “Star Trek” or its offshoots to promote Christianity, or any other religion, for that matter. I just wish it didn’t pretend that religion doesn’t exist. Indeed, one of the things I admired about “Babylon 5” was the fact that it was so religiously inclusive- there were rabbis, Benedictine monks, and Baptists preachers in space… as well as atheists and members of alien religions. I liked the way Joe Stracszinski (sorry if I spelled it wrong) treated very different religions respectfully- so respectfully that I honestly couldn’t tell from watching the show if he’s a flat-out atheist or a devout member of some sect. I liked B5’s sly references to “Pope Bernadette.” I liked seeing a rabbi wondering whether an alien fish species was kosher. One needn’t endorse a religion to find it interesting, and to make it the basis of good stories. I think Roddenberry and Berman have done themselves and viewers a disservice by ignoring it. Heck, what if Dr. Bashir on DS9 was a Moslem? Might he have had a computer to tell him which direction Mecca lay in, so he could say his prayers? Little things like that would have made for a nice touch. ---
**Author:** ![MJH2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@MJH2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJH2)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-and-religion/90827/23 "2001-11-01T16:22:21Z")
**partial hijack** **astorian** , you make some very good points regarding Star Trek vs. _Babylon 5_. **B5** did a nice job of not promoting one Earthly religion over another by deliberately emphasizing the diversity of different faiths in existence in the 2250s. And though I have no factual knowledge of Michael Straczynski’s religious orientation, it is clear that he is well-informed about Judaism, Christianity and several other Earthly religions. Beyond the obvious episodes which deal with Susan Ivanova’s Jewish faith and heritage, there are some remarkable parallels to stories in the New Testament. The most striking of these is “Comes The Inquisitor”, in which Delenn is tested by a Vorlon agent; the situation and even the language is quite similar to temptation of Jesus by Satan. \*_B5_ presents an interesting fusion of religious and scientific/science fiction ideas, clearly leading towards the idea that at root, all religions carry the same message. As G’Kar puts it in his Declaration of Principles for the Interstellar Alliance: “We must be kind to one another.” Perhaps Straczynski is a Unitarian Universalist? **end partial hijack** In any case, it is apparent that Gene Rodenberry steered clear of any kind of advancement for the Federation in which scientific, humanistic _and_ spiritual values were aligned. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-and-religion/90827/24 "2001-11-01T16:47:16Z")
On “Data’s Day,” Data is listing off the things that happened that day, and one of them is “a Hindu festival of lights.” And I’m not sure how “canon” it is, but my ex-roomate’s favourite Star Trek:TNG novel (can’t remember the title – something “…of the mind”) included a Christian monastic colony. He told me that all the religions were supposed to be there, in that time, just not a major part of most people’s lives. ---
**Author:** ![TheeGrumpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheeGrumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheeGrumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-and-religion/90827/25 "2001-11-01T23:26:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by saudade \* > \*\*I guess you only mean the TV version. _Star Trek V, The Final Frontier_ deals with a religious theme (the search for God). > And in _Star Trek IV The Voyage Home_, Spock refers to the " old earth myth" of the world being created in 7 days. \*\* It was McCoy in _Star Trek II_: “According to myth, the Earth was created in six days. Now watch out! Here comes Genesis! We’ll do it for you in six minutes!” And the important part of _Star Trek V_ wasn’t that they went in search of God, but Kirk’s concluding statement that God is found in the human heart (or Klingon or Vulcan heart, if you will). Lately, Star Trek has tried to have it both ways where religion is concerned: it has supernatural power, but there is also a natural explanation. “Rightful Heir” is one example, though I don’t recall if someone asks out loud if the genetic manipulation was the way in which the prophecy was meant to be fulfilled. Voyager had “Sacred Ground” in which Janeway performs a mumbo-jumbo ritual which magically heals Kes – except that there was some very real radiation at work, too. And Deep Space Nine was quite bizarre in that it treated the residents of the wormhole as aliens, while the Bajorans persisted in viewing them as supernatural Prophets. Come to think of it, that would be pretty amazing to work everyday with someone who enters into diplomatic relations with entities you regard as gods. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-and-religion/90827/26 "2001-11-02T00:31:24Z")
J. Michael Stracyzinski is an atheist. [Here](http://www.the11thhour.com/archives/102000/features/jms1.html) is an interview he did concerning a novel he wrote entitled _Tribulations_. On [page two](http://www.the11thhour.com/archives/102000/features/jms2.html), it says: > [@](#): > > \*\*The plot itself is steeped in Judeo-Christian beliefs, beliefs which Straczynski, himself an atheist, does not share. But he had no trouble putting them on paper. > > “I think it allows me to look at things objectively,” he offers. “I have no axe to grind. I’m not out to advance a theology. I can’t just jump in and say `Believe in nothing.’ How do you do that? I treat believers and their beliefs respectfully, and in that way I’m able to weigh the positive and negative with a degree of equanimity. And I think people respect that in return. In all the time that we were doing Babylon 5 and we touched on religion, I think we got maybe five angry letters.”\*\* ---
**Author:** ![MJH2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@MJH2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJH2)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-and-religion/90827/27 "2001-11-02T13:29:03Z")
**jab1** , thanks for the quotation. I had often wondered about Straczynski’s own beliefs, but never considered that he might be an atheist. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Frink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Mr.Frink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Frink)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-and-religion/90827/28 "2001-11-03T21:26:21Z")
I do remember reading that Gene Roddenbery’s vision of the future was one in which mankind had “outgrown” the need for superstitions and religion altogether. Some critics have said that Hitler would be very happy with the future laid out by Star Trek. It appears that in Roddenberry’s future Jews have apparently been wiped out… ---
**Author:** ![NghtCrwlr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NghtCrwlr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NghtCrwlr)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-and-religion/90827/29 "2001-11-13T08:06:59Z")
A great TNG episode that deals with faith is “Rightful Heir”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-and-religion/90827.md?page=1)