this complements the "no christianity" thread.  what may be the social implications (SolSec and other setting elements notwithstanding) of the one the one traveller fact that's bugged me:  how would terran society have developed with the discovery of humans on other worlds?  would this reinforce the current monotheism?  or would the current (arguably) trend towards a lack of religion make the point irrelevant?  

anytime i think of this (and following up on it) i end up defaulting to some kind of dune thing. . . .

The Church of Stellar Divinity is probably the most widely written about and utilized religious reference in the OTU. Like you might for a faith spread across 10000 stars, the specifics of various sects vary widely.

As to the absence of Christianity and the whole "Dune" thing, a friend and I rolled up a Dune-style "combined Christian faith" as a major element in our Traveller universe.

I always thought the Apostles of Clark Law (from the DGP Solomani book) were a pretty interesting fictional faith.

Quote from: Caesar SlaadI always thought the Apostles of Clark Law (from the DGP Solomani book) were a pretty interesting fictional faith.

shit!  i always skimmed the solomani stuff.  i'll have to dig my copy out & see what's there!

i think there was a white dwarf or dragon issue way back when that had 'clergyman' or the like as a career. . . .

One of the NPCs in my campign is part of a religion and Church that is the 57th century great-great "grandchild" of what we think of as Christianity.

Her church is nicknamed the "Church of the Still Waiting".

- Ed C.

The discovery of intelligent alien life in other places in the universe would have significant effects causing some very serious changes to many religions.

In general, the monotheist religions, especially christianity, would be FAR more affected than non-monotheist religions (with very few exceptions, like the Hare Krishna branch of Hinduism, but they're basically Hindu Monotheists anyways).
Basically, any religion that put a very strong emphasis on Scriptural Literalism would be in some trouble, as well as any religion that suggested that humanity is the central life form in the universe as far as a relationship to god is concerned.  Christianity has both of those (more in some sects of the religion than in others), so it would suffer a double-whammy.  

Some religions, most varieties of Buddhism for example, wouldn't be affected in the least. Of the monotheist religions, Judaism would probably be least affected (they're all just Goyim anyways, right?), and most branches of Islam would ultimately be able to handle things better than most branches of Christianity.  
Within Christianity, Catholicism would ultimately wriggle its way through like it always does.  The mainstream protestant sects would suffer but probably survive.  The more fundamentalist and evangelical sects would be in the most difficulty.

Obviously, most of the UFO cults (raelians, etc) would die out, unless it just happened that the aliens found managed to confirm enough of their beiefs.

Of course, any religion that the aliens might have would very quickly be adopted, and probably in wildly misinterpreted ways, by humans.

Likewise, a whole bunch of NEW UFO cults would spring up.

That's about all I can think of at this time of the night.

RPGPundit

Agree, but I think you need to give the Fundamentalists more credit. I suspect they would thrive on that sort of stuff. There's plenty of things in the book of Revelation that happens "above the clouds" which is presumably where the aliens will be. Likewise all the strange Revelation critters (locusts with human heads etc...) could easily be re-interpreted in light of newly discovered xenobiology etc...

101 Religions from BITS was an excellent Traveller supplement on this subject, and I liked the diversity it offered. IMTU, at least, pretty much every world - including Earth - retains its various religions (perhaps heavily reformed), without exception, following First Contact with the Imperium: the Imperium's never shown much inclination to conduct the sort of brutal repression you'd need to actually destroy a religion, and while people are willing to give up all kinds of sovereignty in order to join the intergalactic community, they're not going to give up their faiths.

I just remembered that in RIM OF FIRE there was a mention that a group of Mormons had colonized a big chunk of a planet ...then made nice with the local Aslans.
Several centuries later you have whole Aslan families who are Church of Latter Day Saints.

 I'll see if I can find the excact reference after getting some sleep.


- Ed C.

Quote from: beeberi think there was a white dwarf or dragon issue way back when that had 'clergyman' or the like as a career. . . .

Well, I don't think I ever had that, but the same friend that I collaborated with to make the psuedo-Dune UCF (United Christian Faiths) that I mention above also helped me smith together a CT/MT advanced generation sequence for clergymen.

I don't think I still have it in electronic format, but I know where my hardcopy is. If someone is interested and wants to ring me up after GenCon, I might be willing to type it back in.

The biggest problem with the fundamentalists is not that the aliens won't be in the bible (like Malleus said, you can find a verse in teh bible to explain away just about anything).

The problem is that the Fundamentalist Christian viewpoint is one of such an utterly absolutely HUMANOCENTRIC universe. Some of these guys still want to believe that the sun revolves around the earth, for fuck's sake; certainly figuratively if not literally.

The fundamentalist mindset is that the universe exists in order to create this drama-story between man and god, of salvation or damnation.  There's little room in there for the 12 Million Civilizations of the Western Spiral Arm, or the Kansine Grig Warfleet of the Edge of the Silver Devastation.

In other words, as soon as we find just one intelligent alien race out there (much less the millions that are likely to exist), human stop being so special; it would mean God didn't create the entire universe just so that he could fuck with people's heads, and make them worship him or send them to hell.

That's what the crucial challenge would be to the fundamentalists. They would respond to this in one of three ways: some of these sects would utterly collapse; some would suggest that alien life forms are all demonic influences and become utterly xenophobic, and some would eventually adapt and decide that the aliens have to also be shown the love of Jeeeezus (whether they want it or not, of course).

RPGPundit

For what it worth and even tho it is fantasy. GURPS Banestorm addresses this issue of Christianity and other sentient races.

One point about Christianity, Judaism, and Islam is that they are religion founded because of specific moments of history. Sure it would cause problems and the various theologies of the different sects will either be modified or discounted. The discovery of aliens doesn't change the fact what happened in past with the Exodus, the life of Jesus, and the life of Mohammad.

Like with the rise of science, the enlightenment, and other events of the modern era the various monotheistic faith will reexamine what makes up their current faith but ultimately continue.

Pundit,

Christianity will not be affected at ALL.
Why?
Because it´s just like it used to be. There is no structural difference between Aliens and Papuan Chieftains regarding salvation in Christendom.

The Apostles didn´t get everywhere, so there have always been people on Earth wo couldn´t get salvation, even though it wasn´t their fault.

Same with Aliens.

The moment we meet the Flying Space Mantises, expect a bunch of Korean Missionaries booking a space flight to Klendathu VI.

Sure, Christianity would run smoothly if all of extraterrestrial life was built to earth specifications, but a universe teaming with truely "alien" aliens might not fit so conveniently into the great comission.

Quote from: SettembriniPundit,

Christianity will not be affected at ALL.
Why?
Because it´s just like it used to be. There is no structural difference between Aliens and Papuan Chieftains regarding salvation in Christendom.

The Apostles didn´t get everywhere, so there have always been people on Earth wo couldn´t get salvation, even though it wasn´t their fault.

Same with Aliens.

The moment we meet the Flying Space Mantises, expect a bunch of Korean Missionaries booking a space flight to Klendathu VI.

This depends: the two issues are conversion and metaphysics.  

You see, for the Catholics (and many mainline protestant denominations), the "aliens exist" thing wouldn't be that bad of a problem theologically speaking, because their only real concern would be the question of conversion.  So they'd have to debate whether the aliens have souls or not, can be saved, etc. There'd be a kerfuffle, but it would be manageable.

For any sect (usually the fundamentalist/evangelicals) that insisted on inerrant Biblical Literal Truth, the existence of aliens would pose a HUGE metaphysical conflict.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditFor any sect (usually the fundamentalist/evangelicals) that insisted on inerrant Biblical Literal Truth, the existence of aliens would pose a HUGE metaphysical conflict.

Literalists going into space? Say it ain't so? Who will build their "ark"?