Religion in Star Trek's future

[The Wormhole]

By contrast, I was recently watching ST2:TWOK with my wife, who incidentally is an ordained Christian minister. She actually burst out laughing at Spock's funeral when Scotty started playing "Amazing Grace", a specifically Christian hymn. Spock is an alien, she notes, and probably wouldn't be a believer in any specific human religion. (Yes, he's half human but he mostly rejects the human side of his heritage.)

Spock does seem to have an interest in Christianity, in TUC he has a painting in his quarters depicting Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden. And back in TOS he used the Bible quote about the lilies in the field in comparison to the Tribbles. And in The Way to Eden he comments on the irony of someone named Adam eating forbidden fruit.

 

[Timo]

...On the other hand, funerals today take their cues from popular imagery, and "Amazing Grace" is simply a pretty melody. Similarly, many a funeral I've played or sung in has included pieces like "Ombra mai fu", with very tenuous factual connections to religion (and the wrong one at that!) but with such a strong popular association with religious messages that some in turn dismiss the music as "too denominational".

Scotty playing "Amazing Grace" at Spock's funeral may simply mean it's the only piece of bagpipe music he can play. Or at least the only one recognizable as music.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Starborn Dragon]

Star Trek is a religion.

Just like Jedis are a religion.

Just like Scientology.

I don't believe religion will end anytime soon. And probably not at all.

While I would love to see ti end, it really wouldn't change anything int he way humanity behaves. there will just be another reason to lash out, hurt, yell and scream at those whoa re different than them.

Because of course that's all religion offers.

Religion never does any good period.

It only hurts people.

 

[Albertese]

Religion never does any good period.

It only hurts people.

This is the wrong answer. I've personally known a lot of people who derive great comfort, encouragement and genuine happiness from their religious beliefs. There are plenty of people who were brutal violent killers who later in life embraced religion and calmed the hell down and became good productive, contributing members of society. "Religion never does any good period," is a statement of ignorant foolishness.

Now, I admit it's not all sunshine and happiness all the time. The Crusades, Jihads, and people who inspired the movie Red State are out there, but it's the other side of it.

Religion absolutely does have good to offer the world. And it will continue to do so in future centuries.

--Alex

 

[Lowkey]

Human religion in Star Trek seems to be largely agnostic in the case of those who haven't studied religion very much. Or in the case of people who still have interests in theology/philosophy it seems like a lot of it based in the same kind of enlightenment era Deism of the likes of Thomas Jefferson.

There is a creator, but he has abandoned his creation, or at least left it to self determine. The creator's nature is best discovered by observation, and study of his creation. Is the short version of the philosophy.

 

[Starborn Dragon]

Religion never does any good period.

It only hurts people.

This is the wrong answer. I've personally known a lot of people who derive great comfort, encouragement and genuine happiness from their religious beliefs. There are plenty of people who were brutal violent killers who later in life embraced religion and calmed the hell down and became good productive, contributing members of society. "Religion never does any good period," is a statement of ignorant foolishness.

Now, I admit it's not all sunshine and happiness all the time. The Crusades, Jihads, and people who inspired the movie Red State are out there, but it's the other side of it.

Religion absolutely does have good to offer the world. And it will continue to do so in future centuries.

--Alex

Religion does absolutely no good. It only destroys and hurts people.

They may have found great comfort in their religion, but those people still used religion to control and put other people down.

For example, ask them about atheists and see all the vitriol they have for them. Ask them if they support homosexual marriage and watch them foam at the mouth.

No, religion does absolutely no good in this world, and those that claim it does are the ones who are making an ignorant statement.

 

[martok2112]

My personal take on religion/spirituality in Trek's future is pretty much how I view spirituality now.

What's between God and me is between God and me.

I've never liked "religion". Religion, to me, denotes social control. ... something I am not at all about. I view "spirituality" as ones independent ideas and notions about relating to a higher power, whomever one holds that power to be.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

For example, ask them about atheists and see all the vitriol they have for them. Ask them if they support homosexual marriage and watch them foam at the mouth.

I'll ask my Hindu, Buddhist, Wiccan, Jewish, and Baha'i friends. I'm sure there will be little foaming.

 

[Starborn Dragon]

For example, ask them about atheists and see all the vitriol they have for them. Ask them if they support homosexual marriage and watch them foam at the mouth.

I'll ask my Hindu, Buddhist, Wiccan, Jewish, and Baha'i friends. I'm sure there will be little foaming.

Three out of four of those have blood on their hands. given time, so will the fourth.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I'll ask my Hindu, Buddhist, Wiccan, Jewish, and Baha'i friends. I'm sure there will be little foaming.

Three out of four of those have blood on their hands. given time, so will the fourth.

There are people of all stripes, persuasions and non-persuasions with blood on their hands. That proves nothing about the problems of their beliefs and philosophies. It says more about the problem of humanity.

 

[Mudd]

Why would the concept of blasphemy go away even if everybody stopped believing in it? The concept of phlogiston hasn't mystically disappeared from the universe even though we know and generally agree it doesn't exist.

Phlogiston?!?!? This is a ridiculous example to use to make your point.

Exactly so. The "concept of phlogiston" has, for most intents and purposes, disappeared from the universe.

 

[Timo]

For example, ask them about atheists and see all the vitriol they have for them. Ask them if they support homosexual marriage and watch them foam at the mouth.

Ye-es, I see a lot of foaming right there. How did religion hurt you personally?

It's pretty difficult to name a human organization or practice that hasn't at some point or other promoted what at some other point would be counted as atrocities. Hospitals, schools, boy scouts and gardening departments have for their part made this planet a worse place to live on. It all boils down to statistical significance: has X really made bad things that much worse? Has it made any good contributions? Do those outweigh the bad?

Religion has one thing going against it: it's old. It's pretty damned difficult to outweigh tens of thousands of years of misery and mayhem, when e.g. the hospital system has been killing, torturing, berating and misleading people for only a couple of hundred years so far.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Timo]

The "concept of phlogiston" has, for most intents and purposes, disappeared from the universe.

Actually, it is invariably brought up in elementary/high school physics lessons about the nature of heat and energy transfer around here...

One might say it lives in infamy.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Misfit Toy]

Note to all:

Keep the discussion Trek-centered, please.

Many of you have seen how this topic has turned toxic in the past - and I'd like to avoid that this time.

 

[Mudd]

The "concept of phlogiston" has, for most intents and purposes, disappeared from the universe.

Actually, it is invariably brought up in elementary/high school physics lessons about the nature of heat and energy transfer around here...

Along with Creationism, one must assume. Where would that be?

 

[Timo]

Umm, what? Obviously creationism is brought up in schools, along with mentioning Nazi Germany, the black plague and negative numbers. What good would teaching be if it only introduced happy concepts and uncomplicated truths?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mudd]

Remarkably, neither creationism nor phlogiston are likely to come up in science classes here since neither has anything to do with teaching science. I suppose the latter might in some kind of history class.

 

[dswynne1]

Religion never does any good period.

It only hurts people.

This is the wrong answer. I've personally known a lot of people who derive great comfort, encouragement and genuine happiness from their religious beliefs. There are plenty of people who were brutal violent killers who later in life embraced religion and calmed the hell down and became good productive, contributing members of society. "Religion never does any good period," is a statement of ignorant foolishness.

Now, I admit it's not all sunshine and happiness all the time. The Crusades, Jihads, and people who inspired the movie Red State are out there, but it's the other side of it.

Religion absolutely does have good to offer the world. And it will continue to do so in future centuries.

--Alex

Religion does absolutely no good. It only destroys and hurts people.

They may have found great comfort in their religion, but those people still used religion to control and put other people down.

For example, ask them about atheists and see all the vitriol they have for them. Ask them if they support homosexual marriage and watch them foam at the mouth.

No, religion does absolutely no good in this world, and those that claim it does are the ones who are making an ignorant statement.

^ This is an example of a bigoted statement. Shame that something like this goes against the idea of IDIC...

 

[Nightdiamond]

^ I think that people would still have metaphysical questions, and wonder "Is there nothing more?" as Spock said in TMP.
Especially when faced with their own mortality.

Kor

Definitely, these are timeless questions. But then the question is-- ok seems that future humans:

A.Believe or accept evolution
B. Live in a post scarcity society where abundance is provided by technology.
C. Enjoy good health for decades courtesy of science and technology.
D. Solved many social and cultural problems after first contact.

Trek implies all of this occurred without the help of religion.

So are humans literally praying to these Gods? Do they expect anything from them?

 

[T'Girl]

Do they expect anything from them?

Personal salvation.