Religion in fan fiction -- essential or sacrilege?
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| Title: | Religion in fan fiction -- essential or sacrilege? |
| Creator: | Cairnsy |
| Date(s): | March 8, 2001 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom: | |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | Religion in fan fiction -- essential or sacrilege? |
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Religion in fan fiction -- essential or sacrilege? is an essay posted to "Cairnsys Courner" by Cairnsy on March 8, 2001.
"Cairnsy's Courner" was the name of the author's regular column at Fanfiction.net.
Introduction: "So you want to include religion in one of your stories? That's great - or is it? While religion can add depth to a character, what are your motivations behind the inclusion, how in character is it really? And are you ready for the flames you are likely to receive for dealing with such a delicate subject?"
Some Topics
- Religion and Fandom
- religion as a touchy subject
- religion as portrayed in science fiction/the future
- separating ones religious belief from your characters
- religion in stories can be as much a turn off for some fans as self insertion and Mary Sues
Excerpts
As fanfic writers, it is often our goal to add depth to characters that otherwise may be rather 2D. We give them hobbies, place them in interesting situations, have them fall in love - all in an attempt to flesh out their character.
We also give the characters human attributes, to make them seem more real. We give them families, faults, interests.
And we give them beliefs.
Often, in the television genre especially, characters are rarely given beliefs that may stir up controversy or alienate potential viewers. While it may be a better representation of society for one of the cast of 'Friends' to be anti-homosexual, the producers are unlikely to do so. It would also be a surprise if a character from a sitcom such as 'Friends' made someone openly religious and in a non-parody sense, because nothing has the ability to make people change the channel faster.
Or hit the back button of a browser quicker. Perhaps with the exception of the words 'Mary Sue' and 'Self Insert'.
The reason why religion especially has an effect on viewers, and more importantly to us, fanfic readers, is for several reasons.
Why does religion in fanfic make people hit the 'back' button?
More often than not, the religion in question is Christianity or Catholicism. In a generation where fewer people are associating religion with importance in their lives, reading what they believe will be a 'bible pushing' story is not high on their list of things to do. They do not desire to have a belief forced upon them or to be told they are going to hell.
On the flip side, some people do not want to read about fanfic's that involve religion because they find it offensive, almost sacrilegious. This is especially true when a writer's interpretation of a religion clashes with the reader's - issues such as homosexuality, gender equality and so forth can all cause much friction and as a result flaming.
Then there are those who believe that unless a character's religion is specifically stated in the fandom, it shouldn't be explored. These people believe that it isn't in character to give a character a religion.
So is it? Out of character?
If you are a good enough writer, you can make anything believable. Superman turning bad - can do. Harry Potter bi-sexual? Easy. Turning Tom Paris into a catholic ... well, that's a bit harder.
The problem with taking an established character and making them religious is the fact that most likely there is no evidence to back your claim. While lack of proof usually means nothing in a fan fictional sense, religion is more tricky. It's easy enough to suspend your belief far enough to believe that a character is afraid of heights, or likes to go fishing. It's harder to believe that someone who doesn't go to church, doesn't pray and has *never* said anything concerning their religious beliefs before is an ardent Christian.
In this case, the lack of proof works *against* you, as opposed to simply being a platform to work from.
Unless dealt with utmost care, you run the risk of not only being out of character, but committing character assassination as well.
So some advice for staying in character?
Introduce the religion subtly. Do not have your character suddenly say 'That's wrong, it goes against Christianity!" Not only are the supporting cast going to look at her with disbelief, so will the reader. While the use of shock in a device I normally recommend, baseless shock is not.
The easiest way to make the character religious is to give them a reason for being so. If you are thinking along the lines of a near death experience or finding the bible during a period of crisis and converting, then NO!
Introducing religion into the Star Trek universe for instance is not easy, especially when they appear to be at a stage in advancement where many religions are easily disproved. While having characters with different cultural backgrounds following certain religious beliefs is fairly simple, it's harder to make characters such as Janaway or Paris do so in a convincing light. It is not because their characters are not open to the idea, more the fact that many of the religions people assign to them - Christianity is a popular choice, seem to have little place or basis in the Trek Universe.
Which brings us lastly to choice of religion. Of the people who write religion into fanfic, for the vast majority it is a reflection of their own beliefs. While this has some advantages, namely knowledge of the religion, there are many disadvantages as well.
By doing so, the author often does not actually *think* about whether a religion suits the character or not. Sometimes, Buddhism or Taoism might be a better reflection of the character's opinions and beliefs, or even perhaps scientology. There are many different religions to select from, shop around before you assign one to a character.
When shouldn't I include religion?
There are times when religion should be left alone, either because it is incredibly implausible, or for the benefit of both yourself and the reader.
If you cannot separate your devotion to your religion from the fact that fan fiction is fictional and that people *will* have differing opinions, don't read or write it. People will reply negatively, and chances are you will find that offensive. There is such a thing as being *too* involved in a story.
If you are using a story to simply push your religion, and are using the character as nothing more than a vehicle for that, think again before posting. By doing so you are going wildly out of character, and it would be best to save such a story line for either an original piece or The Bible section.
If the religion of the character and fandom is very much set in stone, work with it instead of introducing a new religion. Making Odysseus from 'The Illiad' or 'The Odyssey' a Christian or Buddhist when he is on first name basis with half the Ancient Greek Gods is just a touch out of character.
If it simply doesn't work. Don't force a religion onto a character, while it can add an extra dimension, it's certainly not a necessity.
If you are not prepared to be questioned or flamed over your choice of religion, character and interpretation. It *will* happen.