Does Reality Alter Religion?

Our reality of course is that there is technology but also nature, that faith is still a thing, and some people swear by it after having a miraculous recovery from disease, but no dragons or magic or whatever. But since I am actively trying to write a book, it got me thinking about how a different reality changes circumstances of belief.

Cephiro - (shameless borrowed the name and concept from Magic Knight Rayearth) Belief or "will" determines everything. People live in weird metallic houses but there is mostly no technology to speak of. Instead, much of what people use are forms of magic. One person, known as the Pillar, supports the entire world, and if that person were to falter in their prayers, the world slowly falls apart. For example, if they fall in love and ignore their prayers, monsters begin to appear as is the case if the Pillar is gone for an extended period, or if people are collectively suffering from fear or anger.

Mechanus - Nothing grows, not flowers or grass or trees. There's no sun or moon so all heat comes from an artificial barrier around the world. Food is cloned in labs by robots for humans. There is space travel and all kinds of futuristic conveniences, but arguably there is a case for religion (as people are sorely lacking in hope).

Psychedelia - Basically, the world is like a good trip. Buildings are a sort of mish-mash architecture, when people aren't living atop mushrooms and talking to fairies or something. Faith and magic are decentralized (unlike Cephiro above), but at freakish levels where a stray thought can blow stuff up.

Archaeologos - It's like ancient Egypt. But with dinosaurs and mammoths. The Egyptian faith works, but other faiths haven't been invented or whatever yet, so in a Ten Plagues situation, Egypt always wins. Other strong faiths are Greek and Roman paganism, while people distrust most monotheism.

So tell me what your religion is, and how it would be different given different reality. That is, if you'd still believe, and if you'd not be considered crazy or something. Also, I haven't decided yet, so I'll hold off on voting or explaining.

IMO, technology or knowledge of technology alters religion in that it get people to begin to question it. I suspect without advancements in technology, I'd have little reason to question religion.

People like to have a explanation for how the world works and will accept an explanation given if it seems plausible enough.

Alter, IDK. Religion is constantly altering with the reality we do have. I don't think religion depends much on reality. It depends more on creativity. The creativity of the individual in their explanation and their ability to get others to accept it. The ability to deal with whatever part of reality which might discredit their explanation.

Christianity I suspect is partly result of having to deal with the death absence of Jesus. So reality intrudes on religion only where there is a contradiction which religion has to create an explanation for.

@Nakosis I've heard that theory, actually, but I am not sure that I agree with that.

Japan is a very modern society, but they still manage to revere nature. And until very recently (I was born in the 1980s, and it seemed like most ppl had the same religion), the United States had pretty high tech and remained religious.

I feel like technology on its own can lead ppl to decide "We've outgrown religion" for sure, but I think that's only half the story. I think religion is kinda a "things are hopeless" mechanism, and while it seems like all problems would be solved if we just trusted technology, I've seen enough scary robot films that I can honestly say there's some potential for hopelessness.

The first one seems like it would be a codependent situation where the bulk of ppl expect one person to answer all their prayers, so probably being able to write letters would be far more of a thing than faith. I think that's why I liked the 2nd season ending.

As for the third one where faith is hair-trigger, I feel like that one would be a disincentive to pray too much. If "I wish that guy would just DIE" actually made it happen, everyone would be too terrified to pray at all. So I'd say a fairy world would be less inclined toward faith than one of high technology.

As for the last, probably people would react how they always do as part of a minority religion. I mean, I'd probably stay monotheistic because polytheism doesn't really work for me philosophically, but I'd take a more deist approach, and probably try to solve things myself more.

I also think maybe you're looking at this backwards (how religion changes reality vs how it's changed by it). Like, imagine Jesus talking about salt and light, and the world has no natural sun and the only salt comes from some sort of tuber. Wouldn't this read differently?

Truth is reality.

Samantha Rinne said:

@Nakosis I've heard that theory, actually, but I am not sure that I agree with that.

Japan is a very modern society, but they still manage to revere nature. And until very recently (I was born in the 1980s, and it seemed like most ppl had the same religion), the United States had pretty high tech and remained religious.

I feel like technology on its own can lead ppl to decide "We've outgrown religion" for sure, but I think that's only half the story. I think religion is kinda a "things are hopeless" mechanism, and while it seems like all problems would be solved if we just trusted technology, I've seen enough scary robot films that I can honestly say there's some potential for hopelessness.

The first one seems like it would be a codependent situation where the bulk of ppl expect one person to answer all their prayers, so probably being able to write letters would be far more of a thing than faith. I think that's why I liked the 2nd season ending.

As for the third one where faith is hair-trigger, I feel like that one would be a disincentive to pray too much. If "I wish that guy would just DIE" actually made it happen, everyone would be too terrified to pray at all. So I'd say a fairy world would be less inclined toward faith than one of high technology.

As for the last, probably people would react how they always do as part of a minority religion. I mean, I'd probably stay monotheistic because polytheism doesn't really work for me philosophically, but I'd take a more deist approach, and probably try to solve things myself more.

I also think maybe you're looking at this backwards (how religion changes reality vs how it's changed by it). Like, imagine Jesus talking about salt and light, and the world has no natural sun and the only salt comes from some sort of tuber. Wouldn't this read differently?

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Technology is the technology of whatever the reality happens to be. Magic or will or prayer. If a reality existed where prayer worked then the principles of prayer would be the science of that reality.

Robotics is scary because of a lack of knowledge about the technology of our reality continues to exist. I see technology as the knowledge to make something happen, however reality happens to work. If the religion we have could be shown to work, then religion would be are technology. We wouldn't have physics, chemistry etc... Science would be about the correct ritual to perform, not quantum mechanics.

Religion IMO is more for the lay person who wants to understand how reality works but doesn't have actual working knowledge. So a religion involving robots is entirely possible. How they came to be, how they became evil, if we decide they are evil.

However it is your story so write it how you want. I see people how they are and extrapolate from that. Different realities could have people with different ways of thinking/behaviors too.

Samantha Rinne said:

Our reality of course is that there is technology but also nature, that faith is still a thing, and some people swear by it after having a miraculous recovery from disease, but no dragons or magic or whatever. But since I am actively trying to write a book, it got me thinking about how a different reality changes circumstances of belief.

Cephiro - (shameless borrowed the name and concept from Magic Knight Rayearth) Belief or "will" determines everything. People live in weird metallic houses but there is mostly no technology to speak of. Instead, much of what people use are forms of magic. One person, known as the Pillar, supports the entire world, and if that person were to falter in their prayers, the world slowly falls apart. For example, if they fall in love and ignore their prayers, monsters begin to appear as is the case if the Pillar is gone for an extended period, or if people are collectively suffering from fear or anger.

Mechanus - Nothing grows, not flowers or grass or trees. There's no sun or moon so all heat comes from an artificial barrier around the world. Food is cloned in labs by robots for humans. There is space travel and all kinds of futuristic conveniences, but arguably there is a case for religion (as people are sorely lacking in hope).

Psychedelia - Basically, the world is like a good trip. Buildings are a sort of mish-mash architecture, when people aren't living atop mushrooms and talking to fairies or something. Faith and magic are decentralized (unlike Cephiro above), but at freakish levels where a stray thought can blow stuff up.

Archaeologos - It's like ancient Egypt. But with dinosaurs and mammoths. The Egyptian faith works, but other faiths haven't been invented or whatever yet, so in a Ten Plagues situation, Egypt always wins. Other strong faiths are Greek and Roman paganism, while people distrust most monotheism.

So tell me what your religion is, and how it would be different given different reality. That is, if you'd still believe, and if you'd not be considered crazy or something. Also, I haven't decided yet, so I'll hold off on voting or explaining.

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Let’s start with being Catholic...

I was raised in a ‘Very’ strong Catholic family...It was through ‘There’ my ‘Mother’ opened the world to me.

Catholic was different to most other religions mostly because I was taught for the ‘RESPECT of WOMAN’...whereas majority of religions does not. If it weren’t for my Mother, teaching ME this lesson, then I wouldn’t have known of ‘My Father’.

Anyway, Long story short...Once upon a Time, i lived for no God...even though I was raised in a religious family, I had my own reason for not believing God. I became the skeptic person that I am, I drew all my attention to numbers, time and space, etc..in my earlier teen.

So many years had past..and I grew stronger for who I was(skeptic/knowledge), and by my maturity in it, God became less than what I knew and what realities me for, to know...and to the point where I finally decide, to test This God.

At the night of my birthday...7 years from now...was my 30th year, and something in that night happened to me which I do not wish to speak of it, but I can tell you...in that night, I met The Devil. It was through the devil whom I realised that God ‘exists’, I swore in God that night, and soled my soul to it(devil). The Promise I made that night..changed my reality.

3 to 5 months later, everything I had knew or known to..was to be ‘let go’..for I knew those ‘THINGS’ were The THINGS that led me to the devil. I had sold my Soul, and renew another empty void(nothingness)...than started searching The Missing Pieces to the Puzzle..OF GOD..or Gods..that I knew in.

And for every piece(puzzle) I found..made trigger in somethin(k) of the mind, and the mind made reconnection to The Body(consciousness)..and for each time this happened, I was enlightened of many times where it became in its organism...and as this went on..it was THEN, Something NEW Became of me, but this was something different...my whole reality changed..I was no longer on this world anymore..there are no words that can express nor explain what this was or is...but I tell you this; that I(spirit) myself had fallen inside my own soul..and there it was to be, was where I HAVE experienced ‘The Kingdom of God’(Heaven)....and for this reason...I BELIEVE in GOD...no matter what thou say!..I have found My Father. My Father Gives me ‘The Word’...then gave me The Name..And contracted, in the Devil, for my return, And here I Am...

Let NOW be it, The King and Maker, for the time is yours yet to come...And therefore all for be done...accordingly.
And I shall dwell with you...all alone, Just me and my Father together as one. For That is all that I need.


God bless you Samantha...

MonkeyFire said:

Truth is reality.

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Bigness is large.

this may be helpful

Howard Is said:

Bigness is large.

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Yes..indeed, and narrowness are ALL so..little.

Samantha Rinne said:

So tell me what your religion is, and how it would be different given different reality. That is, if you'd still believe, and if you'd not be considered crazy or something. Also, I haven't decided yet, so I'll hold off on voting or explaining.

Click to expand...

If reality were different, it's quite probable that at the very least the names I give to the gods would change. It's possible that I would still see the gods in nature (although Mechanum could well change that) but I tend to associate them with the gods of European polytheism. So rather than seeing Erebus as the god of darkness it would be whatever name was analogous in that reality.

In Archaologos, which is naturally the most closely related to my own views, I'd probably still closely associate with the Greek gods.


One thing I wanted to bring up as it may interest you and provide food for thought about how machinery and religion could mix:

Mechanus - Nothing grows, not flowers or grass or trees. There's no sun or moon so all heat comes from an artificial barrier around the world. Food is cloned in labs by robots for humans. There is space travel and all kinds of futuristic conveniences, but arguably there is a case for religion (as people are sorely lacking in hope).

Click to expand...

I've always been something of a Warhammer geek and my first thought here was the Adeptus Mechanicus in Warhammer 40,000. Without going into extravagant detail, they live on planets wholly devoted to industry, augment themselves with bionic parts to the point that they're only debatably human and worship a machine god. In fact, their industry and routine maintenance of the machines involved are treated as religious duties and carried out with the same kind of ceremony.

A couple of Adeptus Mechanicus quotes for you:

Toll the Great Bell Once!

Pull the Lever forward to engage the

Piston and Pump...

Toll the Great Bell Twice!

With push of Button fire the Engine

And spark Turbine into life...

Toll the Great Bell Thrice!

Sing Praise to the God of All Machines

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When uttering the incantation, mark well that the rod is upon and not within the intake. The second incantation should not be uttered until all the fumes have come forth, then the way shall be clear for the sacred words to penetrate unto the heart of the engine. If the mounting be hot say the third rune, if it be cold the fourth rune is more appropriate. For then the wrath of the engine will be aroused...

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The writers clearly meant these to be tongue in cheek, as is the case with most Warhammer lore, but the concept itself is pretty solid in my opinion.

No matter what reality is, the universe would still have a Creator, and we would still need to behave ethically. Thus ethical monotheism.

Whether Judaism existed or not would depend on whether this new reality contained the same Jewish history.

I believe I have to laugh. My religion is the reality. Some claim to another reality is false.

Nakosis said:

IMO, technology or knowledge of technology alters religion in that it get people to begin to question it. I suspect without advancements in technology, I'd have little reason to question religion.

People like to have a explanation for how the world works and will accept an explanation given if it seems plausible enough.

Alter, IDK. Religion is constantly altering with the reality we do have. I don't think religion depends much on reality. It depends more on creativity. The creativity of the individual in their explanation and their ability to get others to accept it. The ability to deal with whatever part of reality which might discredit their explanation.

Christianity I suspect is partly result of having to deal with the death absence of Jesus. So reality intrudes on religion only where there is a contradiction which religion has to create an explanation for.

Click to expand...

I believe technology can sometimes shed light on how scripture is interpreted. Some interpretations are more fantasy than reality.

MonkeyFire said:

Truth is reality.

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I believe Jesus is the Truth.

Muffled said:

I believe technology can sometimes shed light on how scripture is interpreted. Some interpretations are more fantasy than reality.

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Ok, but I don't know how one can really confirm the correct interpretation. No one can avoid bias in interpreting scripture. Lots of folks may honestly feel they are guided by the Holy Spirit, but feeling that doesn't really confirm it.