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Okay so I want to preface this with I love the shit out of the Expanse. I tried and failed to get through S1 twice--I couldn't stand Holden or Miller--but once I slogged through it and got to S2, I was in love.
Buuuuut let's talk about the show's treatment of religion.
Buuuuut let's talk about the show's treatment of religion.
So, this article is a pretty good take on it.
http://theagonist.org/essays/2019/12/31/essays-martin.html
But in case it's TL;DR, I want to focus on its description of SFF's four approaches to religion.
http://theagonist.org/essays/2019/12/31/essays-martin.html
But in case it's TL;DR, I want to focus on its description of SFF's four approaches to religion.
Those views are:
1. Religion is a purely destructive force to humanity, the opiate of the masses, primitive and superstitious, and will be left behind by more enlightened future civilizations. (E.g. Dr. Who, Star Trek sometimes)
1. Religion is a purely destructive force to humanity, the opiate of the masses, primitive and superstitious, and will be left behind by more enlightened future civilizations. (E.g. Dr. Who, Star Trek sometimes)
2. Religion is not necessarily bad--it's an understandable human response to the unknown--but it is a primitive response that humanity will outgrow. (Also Star Trek, arguably BSG.)
3. Religion is a response to contact with aliens (so basically #2). (Babylon 5, BSG)
3. Religion is a response to contact with aliens (so basically #2). (Babylon 5, BSG)
4. Religion is a natural response to mystery and expression of wonder and has positive social value. It reveals truths about *humans*, if not necessarily about the universe. (BSG, Babylon 5)
Ironically, the "religion is only negative and something humanity will outgrow" approach often combines with "gender is something humanity will outgrow" and yet the fic with that approach is often deeply sexist, so make of that what you will.
Now, with the exception of Approach #1, none of these approaches usually occur in isolation. Almost all SF acknowledges that religion can be a destructive force. A lot of it wavers on whether religion is something with social value in itself.
A lot of SF doesn't do the work, in deciding to depict a unified human culture that's outgrown (or largely outgrown) religion, in divesting itself from Christian norms (much like white people are always MASSIVELY overrepresented in Earth organizations/crews/etc.).
Star Trek's a great example--basically a Christian society. General human culture is usually presumed, whatever gestures it makes in the direction of diversity, to be basically white American/European culturally Christian society.
And the darker side of Advanced Human Civilizations in SF being supposedly nonreligious but basically Christian is the tacit elimination of non-Christian cultures. Their utopian future is a future without Jews, without indigenous cultures and their spirituality, etc.
Babylon 5 is, as far as I can tell, still a standout in representing diverse human spirituality as continuing to exist into the space age, and recognizing both harm and positive social value in that. (Points for keeping around existing religions AND creating new ones.)
Another approach is, of course, to acknowledging positive social value AND harm from religion in space without making any controversial calls about which religions will survive and what they'll look like is to simply have Space Religion.
While I'd argue that you can't separate BSG's *narrative* voice from its use of Mormon mythology, the religion depicted in BSG does a good job of NOT just being Christianity with the serial numbers filed off, and having both positive and negative effects on characters.
Genuinely *different*, thoughtful Space Religion is actually one of my favorite things in SF because I like imagining different ways humans respond to mystery in different environments.
In addition to the absence of SF religion being basically white Christianity & the implied extermination of all other cultures, there's also a dark side in attempting to provide commentary on the evils of religion without putting a name to that religion: https://twitter.com/Delafina777/status/1283858094120828928
But let's get back to the Expanse.
At first it looks like we're going for a "humanity has largely outgrown religion" approach (along with "humanity has outgrown gender roles" which nevertheless coexists with noir misogyny).
At first it looks like we're going for a "humanity has largely outgrown religion" approach (along with "humanity has outgrown gender roles" which nevertheless coexists with noir misogyny).
And then we get Mormonism, although Mormons in the future are largely hapless patsies. There's a certain level of contempt for them, but they're not really depicted as evil.
Still pretty firmly in the "religion is primitive and will be mostly outgrown" camp at that point.
Still pretty firmly in the "religion is primitive and will be mostly outgrown" camp at that point.
But then we get Anna, one of the few seemingly unequivocally good characters on the show. She's a Methodist pastor. (And a lesbian mom in an interracial relationship!)
Okay, once is chance, twice is coincidence.
Okay, once is chance, twice is coincidence.
And then we get a council of religious leaders from Earth sent to investigate a Space Mystery.
The only one we get any detail on is Father Hector Cortez, who appears to be Catholic, married, and the leader of a megachurch.
The only one we get any detail on is Father Hector Cortez, who appears to be Catholic, married, and the leader of a megachurch.
So, the Mormons surviving might have been an anomaly, but the recognizable Methodist Church continuing into the future, as well as Catholicism, is making a statement that Christianity and a lot of its major brands are going to stick around.
Ok. That's a take.
And it would be a perfectly fine and non-problematic take if there appeared to be ANY NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS in this future. Hell, I'd even have less of a problem if only *one* form of Christianity had survived and no other religions.
And it would be a perfectly fine and non-problematic take if there appeared to be ANY NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS in this future. Hell, I'd even have less of a problem if only *one* form of Christianity had survived and no other religions.
But when we get the religious council, the only two religious organizations that are identified verbally are Catholicism (maybe: at least something closely related to it with a clerical collar and the title "Father") and Methodism.
And there aren't any visual identifiers of any other faith.
Chrisjen is from an Indian background, clearly, but as far as I can tell there aren't any indications that she's Hindu.
Chrisjen is from an Indian background, clearly, but as far as I can tell there aren't any indications that she's Hindu.
So it's a pretty weird--and ugly--implication that *multiple different forms of Christianity*, from Mormonism to Methodism to Catholicism, survive into the future but no non-Christian religions do.
As an especially nasty dig, Anna, voice of ethics & compassion, notes to the corrupt, greedy politicians she's trying to reason with as they talk about vengeance, that "we've had a whole other testament since then."
Y'know, one of the oldest antisemitic canards there is.
Y'know, one of the oldest antisemitic canards there is.
And actually, let's talk about Anna as the show's voice of reason and compassion.
Just once. Just ONCE. I want a scifi show to have a positively portrayed religious advisor (Space Religion doesn't count) who's some OTHER RELIGION THAN CHRISTIAN.
Just once. Just ONCE. I want a scifi show to have a positively portrayed religious advisor (Space Religion doesn't count) who's some OTHER RELIGION THAN CHRISTIAN.
Like SF, when it does decide to A) portray religion positively, and B) portray recognizable religions, leans SO HARD into Christian supremacy/exceptionalism that it's kind of scary.
(Again, B5 is a standout in having representatives of multiple religions provide good advice to its captains/commanders. They were always Christian, Jewish, or alien--it would have been nice to give airtime to a Muslim or Hindu, for example--but hey, it's something.)
(I'm out of my league in analyzing portrayals of indigenous spirituality--the only example I can think of is Star Trek Voyager, which is pretty awful.)
So, in conclusion, I'm happy that the Expanse has a more nuanced approach to religion than a lot of scifi.
I just wish it wasn't a Christian supremacist one.
I just wish it wasn't a Christian supremacist one.
