Whether you believe in some form of faith, religion, or otherwise, it pervades our society today. There’s any number of belief sets to choose from, and within each religious organization, the walks of life are as unique as the people who choose to follow them. There’s Christianity (which is my faith–nondenominational, in case you’re curious), Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, the Occult…and each one brings its own perspective and beliefs about the nature of reality, the world, people, our purpose in life, and so on.
Religion is a big thing. Maybe that’s why it tends to have such a big affect on the stories we tell. For instance, look at Anne Rice’s return to Catholicism and her subsequent venture to write a book having a 7-year-old Jesus as the narrator and main character. Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
“I promised,” she says, “that from now on I would write only for the Lord.”
I was curious about how large of a presence religion has in speculative fiction, so I did a looksie the other day and found an interesting set of links. The first is Famous Science Fiction/Fantasy Authors and their Religious Affiliations. (Do any of these author’s affiliations surprise you? Or could you have made an educated guess from the works of theirs that you’ve read?) Here’s another look at some of the same info, but this time according to the book titles: Religious Science Fiction Books. (See any you recognize? See any that you think shouldn’t be on the list or know any you would add to it?)
After taking a peek at that, here’s a question for you: How do your beliefs and values affect your writing? Does it affect, say, how you portray a religious organization within a fantasy world you’ve built? Do you lift it up as the center and savior of a post-apocalyptic world? Is it something that brings hope or oppression? Does it bring enlightenment or suppress reason? Do your mages and priests get their power from a divine source? If so, what kind of god(s) have you shaped in your world? (And let’s face it…as writers, I think we all have some little god complex anyways)
My approach is this. Everyone in my stories is human (except of course, for inhuman beasties, aliens, etc. but let’s not get fouled in semantics). Therefore, any character is going to be a collection of virtues, beliefs, good/bad motivations, flaws, addictions, piety, blasphemy, and so on. I personally have no qualm about creating a religious order that is separate and unique from anything I believe in. It would get real tiresome real quick if every religious structure I put into a story became some twisted mirror of the Christian church just so I could use the book to preach to the readers. That isn’t why I write. I try to make any religious institutes and the people involved to be outgrowths of the culture and worlds they are a part of. I need to be faithful to the story. I believe the values and perspective on life that are born from my faith will come through without me having to browbeat anyone with them. It makes for a properly fleshed-out world, and, in my opinion, a better story—which is the point, right?
I see that smile.