Religion in Fantasy

[lea_hazel]

Supposing you picked up a book (secondary world fantasy, FWIW) and from beginning to end, it didn't have a single mention of religion in it. What would you think? I mean, none of the characters, major or minor, are religious, no places of worship, no names of gods, no forces beyond mortal ken, no epithets or swears or the like. How hard would you roll your eyes?


When I look at all the things I want to add to my story's worldbuilding, religion isn't one of them. Right now the world is very frail and basic, I have to add a lot regarding language, currency, economy, border politics and documentation, even technology. I also want to expand a few things I did address, like food and clothing, arts, and class differences.

Ostensibly religion is too big and too important a part of people's lives, even (sometimes especially) if they are not adherents themselves. Certainly I doubt I'd ever write a contemporary or historical story without addressing religion at least a little. However, building a whole set of religions suitable to four POV characters of four different species frankly sounds like more trouble than it's worth.

I don't really like religion, and don't find it fascinating enough. Then again, I don't find economics very interesting either, but I look at my story and see that it's necessary to address things like trade and craft, currency exchange and the value of certain goods, in order to accomplish the story I'm setting out to tell.


Can I accomplish my story in a world with no religion, or is that just too implausible?

Comments

[lea_hazel]

Oh, art is a subject I hadn't thought of. That's very interesting. Certainly a large portion of historical art leaned on religious texts, so that will bear some thinking out. Thank you, I would never have thought of that if you hadn't mentioned it.

[ingo]

Anthropologically speaking, religions are formed for many other reasons than someone's desire to believe in something nice and cuddly after death. Making sense of the unknown and explaining the natural world is a part of it, of course--but only part.

You would also need to consider what rationale is in place behind any cultural taboos your characters have about food, geographic locations, or sex etc. Also, how differently will your societies celebrate marriages? births and deaths? Will they celebrate them at all? How did these rites of passage develop in a secular society? What alternatives would you have for religious festivals, pilgrimages and other methods of social cohesion and community-building? Will your societies have a sense of the sacred at all (not necessarily in a traditional religious sense)?

To be honest, if you're going for a secular society you probably don't need to worry too much about religious references or the above. If you're planning on indepth worldbuilding for societies who have never experienced anything like religion, you may wish to take it into consideration though.