Religion and Science Fiction

[DarkProphet]

What are some sci-fi shows and episodes that deal with religion (i.e. explores religious issues in a sci-fi setting)?

Believers from Babylon 5 is a medicine v.s. religious beliefs episode. It deals with an alien couple who has a boy that needs surgery in order to survive but the religious beliefs of the couple forbid surgery. They believe that surgery will ruin their souls or something similar to that. Anyway Dr. Franklin goes against the religious parents and tries to save the boy (through surgery) claiming that life is more important than "superstitious" religious beliefs.

New Ground from Stargate SG-1 deals with scientific evidence contradicting religious scripture. The inhabitants of a distant planet believe that all life began on their planet and that is a central tenat to their belief system. But the truth is that the first humans were actually brought or transferred to that distant planet through the stargate. Even when confronted with the stargate, the inhabitants cling to their belief system (and scriptures) ignoring any scientific evidence that contradicts it.

 

[Neroon]

I can think of at least three more from Babylon 5 that would fit your criteria:

"Soul Hunter" - covers in one sense the concept of sentient beings having a "soul". Okay, that may not be as religious in concept....

"Parliament of Dreams" - where Sinclair must give a presentation on Earth's dominant belief system.

"Passing Through Gethsemane" - a monk working on B5 finds that he was a killer who had his mind wiped. This episode deals very heavily with the concept of forgiveness and Catholic rites figure into the storytelling.

 

[DarkProphet]

Parliament of Dreams was pretty good in depicting the religious beliefs of the various alien races. I like the end of the episode where they bring in representatives from all the major religions of earth.

 

[DWF]

There's also SG1's Red Sky where SG1 caused a sun to begin to overheat a bit and the locals kept waiting for the Asgard to save them even after O'Neill tried to tell them the truth about the Asgard. The people on the planet kept their faith in the Asgard to save them even though the Asgard had already turned down O'Neill's request for help. What I really liked was that in the end we don't quite know for sure the Asgard did help out or not.

 

[Magisterfrodo]

Deep Space 9 did this quite a bit throughout its run.

 

[Crooked Halo]

I'd say most sci-fi shows touch on the topic, albeit indirectly. I mean, just look at Star Trek V as one of the more blatant examples.

 

[Auriq]

The first episode in B5's "The Lost Tales" dealt pretty heavily with religion and spirituality

 

[Star Wolf]

Firefly dealt with a man's loss of faith being on the losing side in war along with the Shepperd who was possibly a former "operative" of the hated enemy.

 

[DarkProphet]

Deep Space 9 did this quite a bit throughout its run.

DS9's Rapture is a good example of religious ecstacy where Sisko receives lot of visions from the Prophets.

 

[Neroon]

Deep Space 9 did this quite a bit throughout its run.

One difference is that in DS9's case they dealt with a religion made up for the series itself. It contained some elements of existing religions, but overall it was fictional. In the case of B5 at least, many of those dealings with religion focused on established religions such as Christianity.

Both approaches proved effective, though, at least in most instances.

 

[Pingfah]

I like the way the religion in DS9 was portrayed very much as a matter of interpretation.

To the viewer they were always just aliens, but it was never presented in a "ha ha,you believe in god that are just aliens!" kind of way.

 

[nx1701g]

A great majority of the episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles deal with religion in some form. They are:

Season One
The Demon Hand
What He Beheld

Season Two
Samson & Delilah
Mr. Ferguson is Ill Today
Alpine Fields
Earthlings Welcome Here

 

[Anwar]

Parliament of Dreams was pretty good in depicting the religious beliefs of the various alien races. I like the end of the episode where they bring in representatives from all the major religions of earth.

To be honest that sort of felt like a blatant example of the "Monolithic Alien Culture" thing prevalent in sci-fi. We're shown all the various religions of Earth but all the Aliens each only have one or two faiths.

 

[Harvey]

Alien Nation developed the various religions of the Newcomers with some complexity, especially since it only lasted a season and had many other places to develop background, character, and story. It avoids the "monolithic alien syndrome" quite well, I think.

Whether you care for his treatment of the subject or not, the shows Ronald D. Moore has had a significant presence on (Deep Space Nine, Carnivále, Battlestar Galactica) deal with religion on a regular basis.

 

[blaXXer]

cue the Universal church of Truth.

 

[Auriq]

Or the Church of the Tin Vagabond.

 

[Ben Sisko3]

Whether you care for his treatment of the subject or not, the shows Ronald D. Moore has had a significant presence on (Deep Space Nine, Carnivále, Battlestar Galactica) deal with religion on a regular basis.

So sayeth my senior thesis!

Also, a lot of Vonnegut's work does the same thing, most notably The Sirens of Titan and its Church of God the Utterly Indifferent. There are also many episodes of The X-Files, MillenniuM, The 4400 and The Dead Zone that take religion and spirituality on full-force.

 

[Shawnster]

Are we limiting to just television/movies? Can sci-fi books also count?

 

[Forbin]

Futurama once visited a church of Star Trek, the show having evolved into a religion in the future.

All power to the engines.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Quite a lot of science fiction ultimately deals with religion in some way - I guess more specifically it addresses spirituality itself and the nature of deities. Sci-fi and religion tend to go hand in hand very well, and inevitably it's only human nature that the subject of religion will crop up, whether it's the latest biological horror or cybernetic organism created by Man and seeking its own way (Man becomes God in this sense), or the changing nature of humanity in the face of rapidly advancing technology that threatens to alter our perception of ourselves and our place in the Universe. In terms of episodic sci-fi on TV, it's more common (and pleasing to the audience) to satirise organised religion in general, certain ethical dilemmas, and political interference too.