Do Advanced Aliens Have Deities? (Not A Real World Issue)

[Leliel]

I know what you're thinking. "Oh, great, now I'm going to get involved in a troll thread." This may turn into a flamewar if someone brings real-life human religon into it, but hopefully, this will remain firmly in the realm of speculative philoshophy. Although there certainly will be arguments, that is within the nature of philophical debate, and I hope it remains esosteric.

I was playing Mass Effect when my Sheppard, (a "Jack O'Neil" renegade, beacuse I like snarky) was confronted by Ashley, who basically asked me, "In this world of truly alien species, is it possible to belive in God?" Although I responded with "I really don't care", she brought up a good point. I would suspect that all sentient creatures initally belive that they were the only beings in the universe, and thus perfect. Then they make contact with another alien race, and all their beliefs about "superiority" are shattered. In most science fiction, the result seems to be "atheism, or at least really firm agnostism", but that seems unrealistic to me. Assuming that faith in somthing greater in themselves is a major part of them...

Do you belive that an advanced extraterrestrial race would still have a formal form of religon after they contacted another spacefaring society? If so, what changes would happen to it as they take their place in the stars?

One rule: This is entirely about aliens, and does not invovle us lowly humans what-so-ever, and thus, an entirely spectculatory thread about philosophy. Unless SETI finally makes contact. Then it will be entirely about us lowly humans.

And yes, I know about the Hanar. It just so happens that the events of Mass Effect prove them as delusional. Plus, they get on my nerves.

[Exeson]

I think they would, merely because meeting another race could reinforce their ideas of superiority - heck, look at the Covenant from Halo, I really like the concept they used and it seems pretty plausable (sp?).

[Premsyl]

I don't see why the contact with alien societies would hurt a species' religion. I expect the more powerful race would seek to purge the universe of the less potent species in the name of their alien god, and failing that, appoint themselves as the chosen children of their deity.

[TorJin]

Well, this is a difficult thread, since we're inevitably going to apply human belief systems and human trains of thought to an alien society, but that society may function on a totally different level than us.

However, for the sake of speculation, I would say that any society would have some religious belief or another, mainly because I feel that all societies have a basic need to think that there is Something or Someone in control. Chaos is naturally unattractive; humans generally like to think that there is a plan. Now, again, that is how humans work, but it stands to reason that any evolved alien society would function in roughly the same manner, with the entire anti-Chaos mindset.


So basically, yes, an Alien society would have a deity or deities.

[Rolaran]

I think it's still possible for a religion to persist after such a "first contact", in one of two ways: either the aliens continue to believe themselves to be "the chosen children of Garthnank" or whatever, and treat these new aliens as inferior heathens, or they adopt the "all life comes from Garthnank" approach, and regard the other beings as simply radically different creations of their god.

I would elaborate my points, but this is difficult to do without bringing up aspects of real-world religion (something I do not wish to bring into the debate, even if you had not specifically reminded people not to). Unfortunately, this issue is really difficult to discuss without treading the line of the forum rules, so while I feel it is an interesting and worthy philosophical topic, the debate you get here may be oddly stilted.

[heretic]

I think they would have abandoned religion far before they contacted another extra-terrestrial race.

If they hadn't, then contact with another race would definitely weaken their religion, because their gospel would likely not have foreseen another species out there in the stars.

[MrEdwardNigma]

I don't know if alien species would ever have a religion. Perhaps the concept is just alien to them? I mean, you can't expect a completely different lifeform to think exactly (or even remotely) like us.