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Creating a religion: doctrine and dogma
Aug. 23rd, 2019 07:46 pmWhat do members of your religion believe? Despite this being central to how most of us conceive of religion in real life, fictional representations of religion often omit this crucial element. The worst-case offender is Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which tells us next to nothing about what the Bajorans believe about the prophets or what the prophets ask of them.
Doctrine and dogma addresses a large number of areas. What are your religion's scriptures? What moral principles are important? What defines the clergy and laity (if such a distinction exists)? What happens when people die? What is the role of prayer? How was the world created?
In general, these aren't issues that come up much in daily conversation among the faithful, but they underscore the conversations that do happen as well as the practices considered normative, acceptable, and unacceptable.
It's common for people to claim that all religions teach basically the same thing: love for others, respect, and not being a dick. This is simply not true. While these concepts do feature in most religions, what they mean varies wildly. Buddhists, for example, would say that compassion for others is far more important than loving them, and to an evangelical Christian, not being a dick means doing everything in your power to keep people from suffering eternal torment in Hell.
Doctrine and dogma addresses a large number of areas. What are your religion's scriptures? What moral principles are important? What defines the clergy and laity (if such a distinction exists)? What happens when people die? What is the role of prayer? How was the world created?
In general, these aren't issues that come up much in daily conversation among the faithful, but they underscore the conversations that do happen as well as the practices considered normative, acceptable, and unacceptable.
It's common for people to claim that all religions teach basically the same thing: love for others, respect, and not being a dick. This is simply not true. While these concepts do feature in most religions, what they mean varies wildly. Buddhists, for example, would say that compassion for others is far more important than loving them, and to an evangelical Christian, not being a dick means doing everything in your power to keep people from suffering eternal torment in Hell.
