Lit Padmé and religion--and perhaps others too, we'll see

I know that religion--and religiosity--in Star Wars is an oft-debated subject, but I still wanted to get back to it for a moment. Many people, it seems, are under the impression that most people from civilized worlds in the GFFA are not religious at all, either because they're adhering to the Positivist school of thought (aka "some day, science will explain everything") or because of the Force (and then again, I'm convinced that "Jediism," "Sithism" and other Force traditions are indeed religions).

However, I'd like to stress out that some movie characters have displayed, at least in the Expanded Universe, a form of mild religiosity. Let's take Amidala for example. Although it's never explictely stated, there are hints she was a devoteee of the moon goddess Shiraya, both as a queen and a senator. According to the visual dictionary for Episode I, she wore a "Shiraya fan headdress" with her White Coruscant Dress. More importantly, as a senator, Amidala kept a statue of Shiraya herself on display in her Coruscant apartment. Last but not least, there's that little piece of dialogue with Jar Jar that was cut from Episode I but still appears in the novelization:

Am I reading too much into this if I conclude that:
1) Amidala believes there are gods above ;
2) Those gods bring pain to the mortals to give them the will to fight against it?

If the latter statement is literally true, then it gives us an interesting insight into Padmé's actions throughout the prequels. What do you think?

Edit: Oh, btw, it's a movie fact that the Gungans do believe there are gods. And in spite of what the Trade Federation may think, they're not "primitive," so their religious beliefs coexist with science and technology.

 

I myself dislike the religious = primitive, superstitious natives thing I get from a lot of Star Wars works. Religion has a role that can't be replaced by science (the social cohesion from the practice of organized religion, for example).
To be honest, Padme's explanation is in line with some things I believe (it's all a big test of character). It's also like that line in Traitor about "pain cracks the whip".

 

Well you know true science supports religion. (Such as humans as we know it being only about 4,000 years old and light as we know it only being 6,000 years old with lightspeed declining.) Maybe those people in the GFFA have come to realize this already and its something that's never really been brought up that often.

 

I must admit, I've always been surprised we don't see more religion, even if only as a counterpoint to the Jedi and Sith.

We often get told Jedi are rare and how the average person has never seen one, how there are people who don't know what to believe or not believe, unsure if the Sith are evil or just imaginary boogeymen, so it would be interesting from time to time to see a character -- especially as high-profile a figure as, like you describe, Amidala -- getting into a discussion with a Jedi about what makes the world go round.

It's one of the things that's made me really enjoy the Nightsisters of TCW, as they just give such a different perspective of the same underlying metaphysics, but show how wildly different the mind can try to comprehend such abstract concepts. It's why I always used to like the original Sith in Tales of the Jedi, too, as Sith magic, etc, just felt more interesting to me than purely 'Jedi gone bad with red sabers' like we mostly get nowadays. There's a lovely line in the Book of Sith that I enjoyed about 'spells' where it talks about calling on the voices of all those sorcerers before you to summon Force powers -- sure, you can just treat that as focusing the mind and no different to how Jedi do it, but I enjoyed the way the Sith interpreted that act in their own minds.

 

Don't forget Han's "Then I'll see you in hell" - when a Hoth rebel tells him his tauntaun (and presumably him as well) will freeze before he gets very far.

 

Speaking of high-profile figures, according to Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire, Mon Mothma may have been a monotheist. At the very least, she may believe in a "Maker," unless she was only using a colloquial expression (" May the Maker help me if I'm wrong.") Since Mothma is definitely not a droid, my best guess would be that she was a member of the Sunesi religion—which is as close to Christinaity as can be.

 

I never put much in the odd expression like that to be honest. People do the same in real life without being religious, as it's just the sorta thing that's become ingrained in the language as an expression. I imagine the same is true in the GFFA to varying degrees depending on the homeworld.

 

It's not that he personally is- it's that it's enough a part of his culture for the expression to exist at all - the concept of an afterlife.

 

Somebody in the Imperials refers to Vader being the last of his old religion in the movies I remember.

 

It was Grand Moff Tarkin himself. The exact quote is:

In the movie novelization, that sentence is a bit different (emphasis mine):

 

Well, the epitome of religious devotion and a high level of technological advancement would have to be the Yuuzhan Vong. They are not primitive in terms of technological achievement, even if it is based on organic technology which one could argue is more impressive than inanimate technology. Even if parts of their religion was co-opted to produce a fervent warrior society, the belief in their pantheon of gods is central to their lives, and even Vergere had a semi-religious "vision" of Ganner's place within the pantheon following Traitor.

 

Another case of Padmé being religious: She and Anakin felt like they had to marry before a priest. The priest was from an old religion with only few supporters these days and Padmé and Anakin used wrong names. Still they felt it was important to have someone say the words. That could of course be more of a cultural thing, but if you marry in secret, just marry in secret. The priest asking if Rachel wants to marry Phil seems unneeded and dangerous (and they were caught immediately).

What about Anakin? Perhaps Shmi was religious (and hey, she had a virgin birth, that could make one religious) and the years in Jedi Temple hadn't rubbed it out of him.

 

In addition, there's Motti:

"Your sad devotion to that ancient religion hasn't helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes. Nor has it given you clairvoyance enough to find the Rebels' hidden fortr-erk!"

 

Yes, there's Motti too, but I feel Tarkin is more neutral vis-à-vis the old Jedi ways. Motti sees them as hokey superstitions, while I think Tarkin is much more savvy about them.

 

I'm recall that the Sun Guard thought of Plagueis as having "sorcerer's ways", in the Darth Plagueis book.

It's possible that the "ancient religion" Motti's thinking of is the Sith. People who know of them and their disappearance 1000 years before, could easily see modern Sith as "devotees of an ancient religion".

Since the Jedi, unlike the Sith, were in the public eye until 19 BBY.

 

The Jedi are over 25,000 years old so they are ancient regardless of when they were destroyed.

 

True.

 

Yes, and we also know that Han Solo attended sunday school when he was a kid--although, by his own admission, he often skipped it. It's stange, though. As a kid, Han was "raised" by a crook who managed a band of street urchins. I don't see Shrike sending his little thiefs to sunday school.

 

Religion is pretty important in the EU: heck, the first Star Wars comic besides an adaptation of the movies featured Han meeting a priest and dealing with some beliefs about souls.

Then we got the whole Pius Deas time period.

Though, personally, what I always wondered was that if there non-force sensitives who believed in force-based religions. Certainly the jedi always had allies and admirers who must have believed the force existed, but I wonder if they had similar beliefs and followed the same precepts.
Not necessarily the same restrictions mind you - its not like all Christians shared the same restrictions as Benedictine monks or Templars.

 

do the stories of the main characters, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Schmi, Anakin, Padme', Luke, and Leia, BECOME the religion in the Star Wars galaxy

edit: The original script that The Star Wars comic is based on starts with "In their time of greatest need there will come a savior, and he shall be known as The Son of the Sons" an idea later just changed to the chosen one of the prophecy, and the Son of Sons title used was given to the Talz Priest in TCW, so the whole Saga is sort of a religous story and the Journal of the Whills perhaps is the "Bible", the fact that the actual conception of the chosen one could (EU aside) have been either as Qui-Gon believes to be concieved from midichlorians, or as Sidious might suggest Plagiues could have created him, he still is basically the Son of the Force, not only Christ like, but also like every pagan hero who is the son of Zeus or some other god...so i think there is not only religion by the common people but that the Jedi are definitely part of it

 

Han attended school whenever Shrike settled down for a short period to run a scam.

It was during one of those short attendances, that he met Bel Iblis momentarily.

I could see during Shrike's "playing solid citizen" periods, him sending the kids to all kinds of schools.

 

I have always been interested in the role of religion in Star Wars universe as well. I would guess there probably is a good deal of diversity when comes to the religion in the Galaxy even though it doesn't come up too often.

Off the top of head as examples we have mentions of God and the Maker in dialogue, The Pius Dea Crusades, Corellian's belief in hell and I think I remember a description of their unique burial ceremonies in one of the more recent novels, as mentioned Padme being married by a Naboo priest, and I want to say, if my memory doesn't deceive me, there are more than a few lines regarding religion and belief in the afterlife with regards to the people of the Galaxy in one of the Legacy of the Force novels, either Bloodlines or Sacrifice I think. Nothing really specific, but it sounds like a good deal of the Galaxy believe in God or Gods, then some have force based traditions, and then others don't believe in anything. I will try and find the passage later.

I think it would be a cool thing to see religion come up in EU works more often, but I can see why they probably stay clear of the issue. I personally don't see why religion and a highly scientifically advanced society could not coexist, especially across so many settled worlds.

 

Gaerial's "Cosmic Balance" beliefs in The Truce at Bakura (that, by the existence of Force users, other people elsewhere in the galaxy are diminished) is interesting in some respects.

 

So what ever hell Han belives in is a cold one

Intresting idea