Religion
Related: About this forumAre there any planets without religion?
Obviously, this is all hypothetical, but science-fiction gives us a glimpse of what might be.
I find it odd that in most cases, when we visit other planets, the whole population is part of one culture. Not having any social divisions would seem to require a different mental process than us humans.
Has anyone found a fictional alien religion that makes sense? God knows none of ours do.
dweller
(23,665 posts)Cartoonist
(7,323 posts)I started to read it, but lost interest early on. I may give it another chance.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,902 posts)and religion is rarely depicted in s-f.
But sometimes it is done very well. Read this: https://sites.uni.edu/morgans/astro/course/TheStar.pdf
Cartoonist
(7,323 posts)That story was written backwards. He had the ending first, then had to write the prelude. It was a disingenuous set-up.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,902 posts)a very long time ago, I thought it was a bit contrived. I'm only offering it as an example of a rare time that religion shows up in science fiction.
In reality, since I hang out in science fiction, attend several cons a year, and know certain writers in that community, for the most part they do not have a very strong religious orientation. Or at least not one that shows up in their writing.
Cartoonist
(7,323 posts)Early SF was rather staid. I think more writers are exploring religious themes today. David Brin, Iain M. Banks, and Neal Stephenson come to mind.
MineralMan
(146,333 posts)lifeforms. No lifeforms, no religion.
Are there any dogs or cats with religious beliefs? I doubt it. Some level of sentience would always raise curiosity about origins, purposes, end of life issues and the like. Religions try to supply answers to those questions. Typically, the answers are unsatisfying, really, if you think about them.