Do you find the characters on shows with science fiction elements dwell on religion more often than shows with a more realistic genres?

I thought in Star Trek TNG, religion was oddly absent. They would mention ancient mythologies of different cultures, but religion seemed to have no part in the lives of any of the characters. Only in Deep Space Nine did it play much of a role.

In Star Wars original movies, the Force was kind of a religion, but then they just made it a scientific thing in the newer movies.

I don’t watch much TV, but I was kind of surprised that Dexter was so open about his feelings on religion in that show. Growing up, religion was never discussed in TV that I remember.

I have seen multiple clips from Star Trek that discussed a lot of deeper subjects. I believe there was a conversation between Data and Riker ( I think that’s his name) that was pretty controversial because Riker essentially eluded that a “terrorist” may or may not be wrong depending on his/her beliefs.

I have never noticed religion or spirituality to be a major topic in a sci fi movie any more than in a western. The only time it came up in Star Trek (the real ST, with Shatner and Nimoy) was when Spock had to go back to Vulcan to get laid and it was some kind of priest involved to allow him to be emotional.

Mainstream productions fear offending potential viewers which they hope would be everybody. Throwing god stuff in there is not playing it safe.

@zenvelo “What does god need with a starship?

@woodcutter What does a starship need with a god?

@Imadethisupwithnoforethought It’s a good question. I guess you’d have to add up all the shows that involve mysticism and all the ones that don’t, and compare. I notice it when I see it (I guess Battlestar Galactica and DS9 are the most glaring examples, though there are many others), but does that mean it happens more often than not, or that I notice it more because I don’t expect to see it in sci-fi?

I hated, hated, hated the ending of BSG. It felt like a dumb cop-out, like an easy solution to a script problem. But I think that the way that DS9 folded religion into the Star Trek universe was actually quite masterful. They did a good job of balancing faith- and science-based perspectives of the same stories, and by making Kira (who the audience can’t help but greatly respect) deeply religious, we had to take it seriously. And then to end off on an abusive cult storyline which didn’t subtract from any of that – man, that was beautifully done.

All of which is to say, I don’t mind mixing religion and sci-fi if it is intelligently handled. But religion can be such a crutch to storywriting, much in the way that it can be in real life, that it takes talented writers to do it well.

I think it’s because it’s a real crapshoot to try and predict what the future will be , in terms of technology, architecture, clothing, etc.

But it’s safe to assume that human nature – particularly the ideas of religion and powerful invisible beings – will not change. And that includes religion and belief structures.

(Think Heinlein – Stranger in a Strange Land. ... talk about some interesting value systems.)

Faith is a mystery and uses you imagination much like scifi even big bang theorys sheldon mentions it often.

right beore he says, Bazinga!!

Sci-fi has always been able to use fantasy and future settings to slip in
once controversial and even taboo themes.

For example, in the turbulent 60s, the Outer Limits, Twlight Zone and the original Star Trek series managed to get away with stories about religion, race, politics and social issues that must have made the Front Office and Sponsors very nervous.

I remember one ST story in particular called Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, which featured two aliens, one half black, the other half white. who were trying to kill each other but eventually learned to co-exist (with Captain Kirk’s help, of course). Nowadays, nothing is taboo, but in those days, that kind of story was heavy, man, not to mention a bit heavy-handed.

@Pachyderm_In_The_Room The black/white aliens actually end up trying to destroy each other, after they learn that their two races have already wiped each other out on their home planet. It was no happy ending.

I think the question is not about “controversial subjects” so much as it is about the cognitive dissonance between religious plotlines and premises inspired by science. Possibly, one answer is that this inherent conflict leads to drama. Though I’m not sure that it is an inherent conflict in all cases. That’s what interests me about the question.

@glacial, thanks for your comment—obviously, I misremembered that ST episode. Contrary to belief, not all elephants have long memories. However, I maintain my simple observation that the sci-fi format allows writers to explore subjects that in other genres might scare away producers.

I’ve noticed this in sci-fi books. It seems to me that the sci-fi genre is often used to comment on current social paradigms, thinly disguised as future social paradigms. Very often, the stories contain elements that closely mirror the issues of our day, including political and religious issues. Religion in particular seems to come up a lot when the author is a religious person, and I think it’s deliberate. A way of showing that science and religion can coexist – perhaps in hopes of convincing the present-day reader.