Non-Religious Religions

I am writing this as a sort of PS to the Building Better Religions series. In that series I suggested some tips for designing and customizing different aspects of in-game religions. In this column I want to offer some final ideas on using those suggestions in a non-religious way. People have an inherent tendency to organize and understand their lives in a religious style, even if no specific religion is involved.

As I mentioned in Sacred Stories, I define a religion as a set of stories and symbols that are used to give believers meaning and identity. All of the physical aspects of religion- worship, temples, and holidays- are all ways of making those stories present for the believers. We tend to think of these systems of myths in the context of belief in some sort of higher power or supernatural being. But the human impulse to worship can be applied to belief in something completely natural. Some things of this world can inspire purpose and devotion as strongly as can any god.

Worship of the State

For the average American, a national shrine like the Lincoln memorial has a palatable sense of awe, an atmosphere that can only be described as sacred. In the American civil religion, the Lincoln memorial plays the same psychological role as a religious holy place. Every nation that I am aware of has this sort of pseudo-religious element in their patriotism. For patriots, their nation serves the same mental function as a religion does; it provides them with an identity. Nationalism tells them who they are and how they are supposed to live. The symbols of that nation act like generators of meaning, recharging and strengthening their sense of self. Contact with something like a flag, a battlefield, or the tomb of a great leader tells them "This is what it means to be a patriot, and you are a patriot."

The very idea of patriotism is in a way an act of faith. It is the belief that you have some connection with the unseen other members of your country. In order for a country to survive, the citizens must believe that their national identity is more meaningful then simply the place they live. Rather, they must see their country as being a part of their basic identity. If a nation can inspire this sensibility, the citizens will be willing to sacrifice and suffer for the greater good of that nation. And one way to cultivate that sensibility is through the previously mentioned quasi-religious patriotism.

Now, all religious practice is in some way a form of interacting with symbols and stories. In the previous columns in the building better religions series I offered some tips for designing that interaction. Sacred places, holy days, worship, and mythology are different aspects of symbolic interaction. They reinforce identity. So, to design nationalism, you can use the same ideas I offered in previous columns for designing religions. Because nationalism uses the same parts of the mind and heart as religious worship, so the same principals of design and effectiveness apply.

I said that this sort or religious-like life is necessary for national life. However, nationalism, like any ideology, can be terrible when taken to the extreme. Loyalty to the nation can lead to monstrous actions, especially when that loyalty is the only loyalty society permits. Often in this form of nationalism loyalty to the nation is defined against any other sort of association. To be a patriot requires denial of any other sort of social affiliation. A good examination of this is 1984. The state actively destroys any other possible loyalty- family, friendship, romantic love, etc. The state is the sole provider of identity, and being a good citizen means active rejection of those other relationships. The twentieth century is rich with terrible and bloody examples of the extremes of worship of the state. And, in my experience it is natural for GM's to look to the evil regimes of the recent past to create evil regimes for their own world. So, if you're going to do that, be aware that this is what is going on inside the characters' heads. Don't just put elf-ears on Nazis, but be aware of the psychological and emotional process of national extremism.

Worship of a Group

There is another form of quasi-religion connected with community life, and that is being part of a group that is a subset of the community, or an association. It is usually not enough for people to be just a member of the national community, and so they create or seek out smaller, more specifically focused groups. Now, these sub-groups do not necessarily see themselves as opposing or supplanting national identity, but as playing a specific role in society. A good example of this would be medieval trade guilds. We might see a guild as an entirely economic group, but they played a greater social role then that. Guild membership involved rituals, symbols, and holy days totally immersed in Catholicism. A guild would run the annual festival of their patron saint, highlighting their role in the community. For a guild member, devotion to the saint was a part of what it meant to be a member of the guild, which was a part of their identity. For a polytheistic example, Some Roman trade associations would perform private and community worship of their patron god.

In most pre-technological societies a person's job, religion, and community are all mixed together in a world of symbols and worship. The examples I have already described are directly involved in religious worship, but this is not necessary. The Freemasons or even the Boy Scouts would be an example of a group that provides symbolic identity without being part of a specific religion. Even membership in a noble or long-established family can function like a religion. The family will have rituals, symbols, and stories of their founding and the heroes of their line. These will teach the family members where they come from, their role in society, and how they are supposed to live their lives.

All of these associations can blend together. Members of a family can be connected with a traditional occupation, as well as being in a guild, political association, and social club. Belonging to a specific regiment of the army might encourage political affiliation and worship of a specific god. All of these sub-groups will have their own symbols and stories, and together they will give an individual a detailed and complex identity with a specific function in society. They come together to show the believer "this is who I am."

Worship of Rebellion

However, some associations do see themselves as opposed to or greater then the state. Groups such as illegal political ideologies or secret societies for personal advancement define themselves as demanding a greater loyalty then the national community, and possibly working directly against that community. This sort of society will probably have their opposition to the state as part of their mythology, with stories and rituals of how and why they oppose the greater nation. Members of these types of groups will have exclusion from and conflict with the state as part of their basic self-image.

Every good setting or world has secret societies. They provide intrigue, political manipulation, and cool cloak-and-dagger stuff. If you are going to involve one within your game, be aware that they have a quasi-religious function. Secret signs, codes and rituals aren't just about concealment and security. They offer believers symbols to interact with that give them meaning.

Worship of a Code

A final phenomenon that I believe fits into the category of quasi-religious is that of a code of honor or chivalry. From samurai to knights to honorable swashbucklers, it seems to me to be something you run into a lot in gaming, in both PC's and NPC's. Now, I am not suggesting that this applies to every moral code. A fighter's simple "no killing women or kids" isn't necessarily anything like a religion. However, a full on Warrior Code that has been handed down through generations that has stories of legendary warriors, battlefield shrines, and ritualized training; well, that sure seems a lot like a religion. And it is possible for such a code to function as a religion for the "believers." It provides a series of stories that answer the most fundamental questions of existence. The code provides identity for the believers and gives them symbols that strengthen that identity. For a samurai, his code defines his very being, and his world is full of things that confirm that identity. He has a legacy of generations of heroism and honor, and his family sword as a constant, physical reminder of this legacy that is his innermost self. That's the root of all the "death before dishonor" stuff. If he went against his code, he would be denying the identity that he had been immersed in his entire life. He would die for his beliefs because those beliefs tell him who he is. And no gods are necessary.

Religiosity as a Mental Process

You don't really need this column to point out the fact that a lot of the social groups that people belong to look a lot like religion. Patriotic organizations, secret societies, chivalric orders of knights; you can see the deep reverence that believers have for the stories and symbols of their group. That reverence is expressed in special rituals, places, and times. I wrote this to point out that this resemblance is not just superficial. A group with a completely deity-free set of beliefs can serve the same internal function as a religion. They provide identity and answers to the basic existential questions, as well as physical ways of accessing that identity. If you understand that, you can get inside the heads of a large variety of social groups in a more realistic, meaningful way. On a more "plugging myself" note, previous columns in this series aren't just useful for religions, but for designing everything from secret society initiations to the tombs of great kings.

Questions? Comments?