No, not the coffee shops--the Battlestar Galactica character. I would like to use this column to expand on something I mentioned briefly in my previous column, the way BSG (in particular the character Starbuck) does religion well. This show, more then any other I can think of, addresses several weaknesses in normal pop culture versions of religious belief, especially in gaming religions. Starbuck is one of the most realistic religious characters I have ever seen, and I think she can serve as a model for religious PCs or NPCs. This column will contain spoilers about BSG up to the end of season three, so be forewarned.
Going to Church is Like a Personality, Right?
For many religious characters, their faith is their entire personality. They pray, worship, and quote various scriptures a lot, but their personality really has no other parts. They don’t seem to express any other interests or traits beyond praying and moralizing. On the flip side, characters that are not overtly religious are not religious at all.
Starbuck believes in the gods, prays, and does believe in the moral code of her religion. But it is not her entire self. She is also a pilot, an artist, and a crazy person. It is not like every conversation or interaction she has with others features her religion. In fact, the majority of episodes do not feature any sign of her being especially religious at all, but it is there. Her faith is not a sidebar, but a core part of her identity, which comes out in interesting ways. While married, she was having an affair with a man she loved, but refused his suggestion to divorce her husband and marry him. Divorce was against the will of the gods, and so she would not do it.
The primary lesson for gamers is that just because you are an emotionally unstable warrior does not mean you don’t pray. Creating a character with some element of religious faith can add a new layer to their personality that gives them a certain unpredictability (see Starbuck and divorce.) Also, it gives that character a new way of relating to other people. They would have an instant connection to those of the same religion, and potential conflicts in their interactions with people of other religions. A totally unreligious rogue is not going to have the same conversations as a rogue that wears a holy symbol under his light armor and prays in times of danger. I am not saying that religion should be the dominant part of every character’s personality, but having some faith adds nuance. It gives the player or the GM a new character element to explore.
Finally, it makes your game more realistic. I think the average pop culture description of a world of legions of completely unreligious people and the occasional fanatic is unfortunately imitated in game worlds. The majority of people in the history of the world have believed in some kind of higher power, and that belief affected the way they lived their lives. However, that belief is not the only thing that affected their choices. Most people (even serious believers) act out of a complex interaction of faith, relationships, loyalties and traditions that makes up their identity. Religions are not even necessarily the most important part of that interaction.
Some Commandments are More Equal then Others
To return to the example of Starbuck and her unique take on marital fidelity, everyone has blind spots. We have those teachings of our faith that we live out daily, and those we ignore. For Starbuck, divorce is wrong. Adultery ... well, that’s more of a gray area.
Every religious person I am aware of has a code of personal behavior that is in some way shaped by the teachings of their faith. However, people of the same faith can have totally different moral codes. People very rarely just imitate their religion’s teachings, but absorb them and interpret them through their own lens. Their code of ethics can be less influenced by their religion’s teachings than by social customs and moral conventions.
A good example of this is the traditional western sexual double standard. While traditional Judeo-Christian morality has always taught an equal level of chastity both genders, this has rarely gotten cultural reinforcement. This may have been just patriarchal treatment of women; it may have been because men could not get pregnant; it may have been a number of things. Biology, culture, and religion mixed together to set the moral code of the average person. Remember this when designing religious characters or societies. They probably won’t just parrot back the alignment rules, but have their own social interpretation of those rules.
It is not just cultural factors that will color religious morality, but personality, upbringing, and temperament. For example, most people find the immoral actions they do much more tolerable then the ones they do not do, not matter what their faith teaches. If you are playing a character with a really bad temper, they might ignore teachings on anger or hate while believing in a strict enforcement of sexual ethics. Or it could be the opposite. Sometimes the things we are most guilty of are the things we are most sensitive to. A similar bad-tempered man might be genial and forgiving about most moral violations and harshly punishing of violence or rage. Religious belief is not a cookie cutter for a character’s moral code. Two people with the exact same faith can live their lives in completely different ways, as a quick glance at the world can confirm. Making a religious character is not something that will limit their personality or morality.
It’s More of a Christmas and Easter Thing
It is not just religious morality that is unfairly uniform in pop culture, but also religious worship. Every religion calls its believers to spend time in worship and prayer. The majority of believers in those religions then try to do the minimum socially acceptable level of that worship and prayer. This is not always because those people have less faith, but because religious practice is just a different priority. As mentioned previously, religion is just one part of a believer’s identity, and not necessarily the primary part (which is something every cleric in the world would argue against.)
For example, let’s suppose you have an NPC farmer named Malthi. Malthi was raised to worship Pelor and believes with all his heart in Pelor’s goodness and protection. He goes to the temple at the major feasts, prays in times of trouble or crisis, and would be totally horrified if anyone suggested he was not a believer. Religion is just not a major part of his day-to-day life. Malthi can recite the basic prayers and stories of the church of Pelor, but his morality is really just the morality of his parents and his villiage. He doesn’t know any of the complex theology of the church’s ethical teaching. Malthi figures that as long as he works hard and doesn’t hurt anyone, Pelor’s happy.
I don’t think we see enough of this in any form of fiction, let alone gaming. The majority of people are religious, but in a way influenced by their culture and personal experience. Once again, a simple look at the world can confirm that. This is the way religion really works in people’s lives, and so a game world will feel more real if players and GMs try to keep that in mind.
Religious Realism
Faith expresses itself in many different levels of devotion, morality, and internal struggle. To return to the original subject of the column, we can see this depicted very well in Battlestar Galactica. Pretty much the entire crew of the titular Battlestar believes in the exact same religion, but they have completely different religious lives. It is distressing to me how one-note religious characters usually are. You can look to BSG for a much more complex and thoughtful depiction of faith in a setting, and also see how that added complexity makes the characters more interesting, not less. Questions? Comments?
