Author Topic: What makes a good BM religion?  (Read 32323 times)

BardicNerd

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Re: What makes a good BM religion?
« Topic Start: January 16, 2013, 08:49:45 PM »
Throughout RL history, I think it can be safely said that religion is the #1 source of violent death, war and conflict.
That is a rather simplistic and almost certainly incorrect statement.

But I think the reason why it sometimes looks that way does explain in large part why we lack much of the same conflict in BM -- historically, religion was much more closely tied to (secular) politics and money than it is in much of the world today and than it is in BM.  To some extent it is in SA, though not as much, I think, as it historically was in BM's time period.

This is partially due to our modern conceptions of religion -- we think religion should be about well, religion, when historically it often was not, and partially, I think, because most religions in BM are fairly small and don't have the sort of dynamic that Christianity and Islam did with secular rulers in the middle ages.  When SA does something, people care, so it's worth it for secular rulers to try to influence it and be seen as supporters of it.  Most other religions in BM just don't have that kind of island-wide influence, and so there isn't much reason for a ruler of a realm to give them much support.

Without secular politics getting involved in religion, there just isn't that much to drive conflicts -- a few purely religious conflicts started by the odd true believer here and there, but those were historically rare.  And those that do happen will probably be small, and quite possibly limited because no secular authority supports it, and so actual war is possible.

Which of course means that it is somewhat a chicken and egg problem, but there you have it.

Though yes, if there was more mechanics-wise to be gained from religion, rulers might see more benefit in getting involved, and then want to spread the religion so they gained more benefits, or to gain favor with the religious head, who might then cut them in for a larger share of the benefits. . . .