Turns out religions are complex. But I’ve finally landed on a structured approach for worldbuilding religion.
For those of you who‘ve been around for a while, you may remember I talked about worldbuilding religion some time ago. Since then, I’ve created some templates to help organize my thoughts, so I’m updating the chat to match. Here are some questions I consider when worldbuilding religion.
Creating Institutional Structures of a Sci-Fi Religion
An interesting thing about developing a sci-fi religion is that religion itself is an institution. On an individual level, it’s about spiritual belief, but in a social context, religion’s also a system, with an organized structure of roles and customs, like government or education. Fictionally speaking, this means that I can manufacture conflict or political intrigue by worldbuilding religions with flawed structures or systems that further goals that don’t align with the religion’s spiritual teachings.
Imagine a religious institution that appears more interested in control–or money or power–than it is in the spiritual wellbeing of its believers. This misalignment can lead to a religion at odds with local cultures or governments. When worldbuilding religions that I can easily steer into this direction, I look at some of the more secular traits of my sci-fi religion. Does the religious institution have notable power, influence, or wealth? How well do these commonly secular pursuits align with religious values?
For my Drifting Amalgams universe, I’ve been working on a sci-fi religion that began amongst the tadaribrae peoples. I’ve written tadaribrae societies to commonly have a strong interest in math and science. So, typically, leaders are focused on practical pursuits rather than spiritual ones. But what could it look like to introduce a theistic mindset into some of their cultures?
I decided to align the religious system I’m building with their governance systems. While secular roost leaders outline pursuits that the roost will focus on each season, roosts with a religious contingent have a religious leader who “translates” the leader’s vision into spiritual guidance. Consider, for instance, concepts like manifest destiny.
This intermingling of the religious and secular gives me avenues for conflict like disagreements over governance or disgruntled religious believers.
Worldbuilding Religion: Defining a Spiritual Element
Whether attempting to understand one’s own existence or define that which cannot be measured, on a personal level, religion often has a spiritual element. Sometimes that element is centered on a deity. Other times, religious belief may be more generalized around a spiritual feeling or connection.
Because of the tadaribrae’s background in science and engineering, I wanted sci-fi religions associated with them to be compatible with cultural goals to advance technology and science. When worldbuilding religions for them, I adopt pantheistic values since pantheism promotes the idea that the supreme power and the universe are one.
So if God and the universe are one, how do believers of this sci-fi religion communicate with their supreme power? Can believers commune directly with the spiritual source or must communication be facilitated? In what manner does one communicate spiritually (e.g. prayer, meditation)?
For starters, tadaribrae are based on Mexican free-tailed bats, who need daily torpor to survive. Torpor is a type of rest that lies somewhere between sleeping and hibernating.
Since I have given tadaribrae this same need for torpor, I figured I’d take it a step further to expand upon religious practice. Thus, daily torpor is often conducted as a religious ceremony for those who wish to participate. Individual meditation is also thought to bring one closer to understanding the universe.
Worldbuilding a Religion with a Notable Look and Feel
The look and feel of a religion is sometimes overlooked when worldbuilding religion for fictional narratives. But the vibe of a sci-fi religion is important because a character’s routine experiences help me shape their mental state and explain why they interact with other characters in a certain way. Vibe is about perception, so it also helps me think through what other characters may think of an individual who practices a particular sci-fi religion.
Vibe can be physical, mental, and emotional. But I’ll focus on the emotional here: Is the sci-fi religion known for a particular set of emotional reactions? Is there an expectation that true believers will experience these emotions? Does the religion rely upon specific experiences to further belief or institutional goals?
Think about emotions like guilt, awe, and bliss. Emotions such as these have a vibe, but so do emotion-free states like stoicism.
Within the sci-fi religion I’m building, emotional expression is not particularly common. However, the meditative appearance of torpor is perceived as being pretty chill. And since, even the most devout were educated on the importance of scientific evidence, believers are perceived to have a calm and thoughtful approach to spirituality.
Once I got going, it was easier than I thought to worldbuild a sci-fi religion. The next sci-fi religion I’ll be tackling is for my sturnovula, who are Stone Age birds… Wish me luck!
Until next time, stay inspired.