Bajoran Religion

[Paradise City]

I didn't mind the Bajoran religion generally. I suppose the ability for the prophets to transcend time does give them 'godlike' powers. I thought it was good that Sisko had to balance between being a religious-celebrity and commander. I was fairly indifferent to the way they concluded it though with Sisko a 'half prophet' and rejoining the prophets after a slapstick shoving match.

 

[Shada Dukal]

I like that DS9 took the pains of presenting a religious society because one can’t expect that such societies do not exist. I really enjoyed the episodes on their culture and traditions. It makes perfect sense, besides, I like the local-color approach, it gives dimensions. It was interesting to observe the clash between cosmopolitan secular views, and an anachronistic society that was shunning modernity and wanted to remain encapsulated in their private conversations with the Prophets.

In fact, most of the Bajoran mishaps originated from dealing with secular societies. They were either viewed as primitive or as not socially emancipated. Both Kira and Sisko had to go out of their ways in order to understand each other.

Vulcans have a great problem with their emotional component, they simply don’t not know how to place it, I don’t think suppression is the best way, it only leads to neurosis. Bajorans have too much passion but somehow fail to channel it into something bigger than individual concerns.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

^I loved DS9 for its approach to faith and it even reminded me of a few things.

 

[STEPhon IT]

What was the point of the Pah' Wraiths???
Deep Space Nine in the 1st 3 seasons managed to develop a sub-culture of a pseudo-Tibetan Buddhist Monks in outer space. Layers, and layers of an interesting society who can garner and dictate a lot of social politics within Bajor, the Federation, and within DS9.
The Pah'Wraiths were a complete slap in the face of everything which was done successfully; it was a cartoonish, cliched form of catholism, if there's a God, then there gotta be a boring Satan
that never fit with the narrative of the Bajorans. Also having these stupid cliched elements stripped the complexities of 2 of the great 3 dimensional, Star Trek characters ever made Gul Dukat, and Vedek Winn, and made them into 1 dimensional evil villains.

In the 1st 3 seasons, it was their words and presence was all these characters needed to manipulate, and create discourse in the stories; steering people who wouldn't hurt a fly will now do some terrible things. Based on the complex ethics these people hold and believe.
4th thru the 7th seasons, those characters are now uncharacteristically, lowering themselves by visually getting their hands dirty, even when they have the upperhand. Those characters became so predictable, irrelevant, and laughable the writers ended up doing the only thing what was left to sh*t on them completely was to have them f^ck themselves.
I wish those writers would have left the religion, the Bajorans, and the Cardassians alone, and continue their boring war arc with the Klingons, those wannabe T-1000, liquid aliens, and their Predator like soldiers.