Hey guys, I was doing a lot of thinking about Uplift religious beliefs. I came to conclusion that most are atheists (for obvious reasons), but I did some research and I stumbled upon something interesting, and I think at least some uplifts would feel the same need for religion that people do, so I worked up this:
Church of the He’e
Members of the Cult of He’e are octopus uplifts who follow the traditions of Hawai’i and other pacific islanders. The church teaches that this is not the first iteration of existence. Once, there was only coral and sea plants, then the world re-created itself, becoming more complex with algae, seaweeds and rushes. The Octopus is the sole survivor of one of these worlds, slipping between the cracks of the universe. He swims above this cycle of death and rebirth, spectating and watching.
Although all members of the church believe the basic tenants of this creation to be true. However, the ultimate lesson of this belief is hotly disputed among it’s congregation. Some believe that Humans are the Apex of this cycle, and they, in their wisdom, brought the Watchers with them to sentience so that they can both work together to survive the end of this ‘world’ and continue to the next. Many of these followers are supporters of Firewall, particularly the preservationist cells.
However, there is a dark side to the church. The Cult of Kanola believes it is the Octopus sacred duty to destroy this world, so that only the octopus remains
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Uplift Religion
Thu, 2015-11-05 11:56
#1
Evilnerf
Uplift Religion
Thu, 2015-11-05 13:32
#2
Lord Koniu
I see absolutely no reason
I see absolutely no reason why Uplifts are bound to be mostly atheists. Granted, most denominations of the Abrahamic religions would not accept them into their ranks because of the dogma that no animal has an immortal soul, but shamanism? Wicca? Buddhism or any species-centered cult like you've describet above? Sure, why not?
Thu, 2015-11-05 13:45
#3
Evilnerf
Well, it is stated in the
Well, it is stated in the book that the majority of Transhumans are atheists, and I assumed the number of uplifts would be even higher due to their rejection by most major religions. But as I said, I am sure many have felt the religious urge and I think my example is a good example of uplifts founding a religion of their own.
On a side note, I wonder how Hinduism sees uplifts.
Thu, 2015-11-05 18:14
#4
Huntertalon
In Transhuman Space, all
In Transhuman Space, all uplifted octopuses claim to worship Cthulhu. It's not known if this an elaborate joke or not, and they're not telling.
Fri, 2015-11-06 05:51
#5
Kojak
If you haven't already seen
If you haven't already seen it, about a year back somebody did a great write-up of an uplift splinter of the Catholic church: http://eclipsephase.com/apetipope-francis-iii
—
"I wonder if in some weird Freudian way, Kojak was sucking on his own head."
- Steve Webster on Kojak's lollipop
Sat, 2015-11-07 12:47
#6
SquireNed
Lord Koniu wrote:I see
I also think that it's likely that more technoprogressive sects would accept that uplifts count as humans. The "no animal has an immortal soul" dogma is probably better stated as "only humans have an immortal soul", and if you associate sapience with immortal souls (as some sects would likely do, given the close wording), then it is possible that uplifts are "made in the image of God" as it were, especially if, like me, you associate that phrase with sapience as a concept.
Sat, 2015-11-07 16:44
#7
Lord Koniu
SquireNed wrote:
But that'd require an assumption that you can somehow "grow" a soul, because all Uplifts stem from a generation that wasn't sapient all of its life. We'd have to say that this generation has gained a soul with sentience or that two soulless beings gave birth to a being with an immortal soul. I only study theology as a hobby, but IMO it'd take a *really* liberal sect to do that.
As far as I know most shamanistic or "nature-oriented" religions don't have this problem, because they just assume that every living being shares the same life energy - spirit, mana, you name it. This nullifies the question of Uplift "equality". Thre are still AGIs and infomorphs, though...
Sat, 2015-11-07 19:00
#8
Evilnerf
Look, I'm not saying there
Look, I'm not saying there aren't any jewish/christian/muslim sects that accept uplifts and I'm sure there are some uplifts who are jewish/christian/muslim anyway just like there are gay christians even though most sects disagree with homesexuality. I'm just saying it would likely result in fewer uplifts who were religious in a society that is already less religious then our own.
Sat, 2015-11-07 19:43
#9
Lord Koniu
Of course there are Abrahamic
Of course there are Abrahamic Uplifts, I've never said there wouldn't be any, although the analogy with homosexuality isn't exactly perfect - most Abrahamic denominations don't oppose homosexuality itself, but rather the act of same-sex intercourse. It means, that gay people wishing to join a church can "simply" stop having gay sex. Uplifts, however, can only stop breathing.
On a side note, I am not entirely convinced that the massive secularization of society is inevitable in a setting like the EP. It is one of the possible outcomes, but not more probable than something completely opposite - people joining new and old faiths because the world around them is just so damn scary and messed up.