We had Apollo in TOS, a being claiming to be "God" in TFF, most beings in ST that claim godlike powers are simply more advanced species. To borrow a quote from Arthur C Clarke Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Agreed, but I guess it's more.... blatant with Bajorans? Maybe because we hear so much about their beliefs. I feel it's a missed opportunity because there must be many different ways the Bajorans could have interpreted those orbs and their purpose. And even if one religion rules the government, it's still a planet, there's no way they can stamp out every other belief system.
I'm not sure it's any better or worse for the Bajorans. Across seven hundred episodes, very little cultural diversity was shown among the Vulcans (three major and one recurring character) or Klingons (two major and five recurring characters). ENT touched upon differences of opinion on the meaning of their system of thought, but largely sticking to Vulcans as living lives based on logic (Sybok being an outsiders rather than a variant of Vulcan life). If Bajorans look particularly monocultural, it might be because two recurring characters were clergy: Winn and Bareil. The studio's prohibition against deep delves into Bajoran politics probably worked against creating more diversity than they may have wanted.
Well, there is a DS9 episode where Worf offhandedly mentions that Grilka is "from the (something-or-other) continent; it's a custom among her people...." I wish there was more of that sprinkled around the various species of Star Trek, to make these planets seem more like *planets.*
I love the spiritual yet egalitarian aspects of the bajoran faith....there were elements of xenophobic fanaticism as expressed in the Circle however they seemed more related to nationalism than the faith.
But the Bajorans don't even call the wormhole aliens "gods"--they call them "the prophets." Prophets aren't gods--they are the messengers of gods. Angels. And they had good angels and bad angels (the pah'wraiths). Star Trek has always shown ambivalence toward religion. They depict it as just another roadside attraction, another long con being played on the worshippers. The Bajoran prophets are at least more benign than most. And the time the Sisko convinced them to keep the Jem'hadar from coming through the wormhole, they actually did some good (at least from our limited perspective).
In human religions, a prophet would be understood as giving some message or prediction that comes from deity(ies). But Bajoran religion isn't necessarily exactly equivalent. There was never any indication that the wormhole prophets were supposed to be subordinate to some other entity(ies). Kor
"Prophets" seems more descriptive of what role they play in Bajoran lives, disseminating information about the future. It seems clear that Bajorans consider them supernatural beings, and at least a large subset think that they owe the Prophets obedience.
To be honest, I couldn't be arsed with the Bajorans, I could take them or leave them The only Bajoran I liked unconditionally was Kira Maybe that was more to do with her feistiness and catsuit Apologies for saying catsuit
They still refer to them as gods too though, Kira does so in Resurrection and Homefront. There are also mentioned as gods by Opaka, by way of Winn quoting her.
I didn't see that at all; the Bajoran religion felt centered only with the Bajoran world and civilization within their space, it was the thing I appreciated about DS9 because this element was something new to Trek and it was different. From the designs and the symbols and the invention of the wormhole aliens were interesting and their faith represented how strong the Bajorans, as portrayed by Ro and later Kira, Wynn, & Bareil, were. I thought the spiritual uniqueness fell into the river when the limited imaginations of the writers when they made Sisko as a Christ figure, and later adding the ridiculous Par Wraith idea to make it more in line with Earth mythicism with God and the Devil. YAWn!
Yeah, it's pretty blatant. They don't even have any militant atheists trying to tear down the pseudo theocracy. Every Bajoran ranged from True Believer to casually disengaged but still reverent. About the only more blatant monoculture are the Klingons. No matter how big that empire was, they all f*cking loved Kahless like he pays their rent or something.
The spirituality was great and I NEVER got the impression that they were suggesting the Bajoran religion was the one “true” faith. To everyone else the prophets were just the wormhole aliens. Klingon spirituality gets a lot of play too.
I rather liked that DS9 tackled religion head on and did so in a way that allowed for discussion and resisted judging others because of their faith or lack thereof. I also like what the novels do by introducing the Ohalavaru, who believe that the Prophets exist but that they are aliens, not gods. I even liked the relationship between the Founders and the Vorta, the latter of whom worshipped the former as gods.
Several times over the decades, Star Trek has borrowed from geopolitical matters to set up an allegory-type story that is socially relevant. In my opinion, what we see the Federation is walking into after the long suffering of the Bajoran people is akin to the suffering of the Jews after the Holocaust, and all of the dynamics that followed - politically, spiritually, culturally, etc. Like Judaism, there are a great many brands of Bajoran belief that do have certain things in common with one another, but differences as well. The Cardassians stand in the role of the Nazis or Soviet Union. Like Jerusalem, Bajor is a seemingly insignificant player on the big stage, but has major sway on global/quadrant affairs when the going gets rough. Its defense takes on a new dimension beyond its proximity to the wormhole. I applaud ST for engaging faith in a way that's not pure ridicule or total fanaticism.
Over the past year or so, I have gone back, and I have rewatched the entire series, numerous times. I truly respect and admire what both Donlago and NewHeavensNewEarth have had to contribute. I have reconsidered my stance on the issue. Along with what Nutshell and a few others have brought to my attention, I feel that I have made a very ignorant and premature statement, and for this apologize, for not having realized it sooner. There is nothing to suggest that the Prophets had any influence what so ever, anywhere outside the wormhole. Also, the Klingons do employ a lot of religious undertones in their society. I went back just this evening and I rewatched the episode "Hands of the Prophets" the final episode in the first season, and watching that episode for what must have been the 12th time, and taking many of your comments and views into consideration, I see the whole situation in a much different light. Sincerely, I thank you for enlightening me.
I liked the way they handled it, with respect. Typically, Trek regards religion as primitive and backwards. Something a society is supposed to "grow out of" as it matures, just like with money or the warrior spirit.
Me neither. The first two seasons were heavy with boring Bajoran storylines so thank god The Dominion came along to save the series.