Wondering what if anything is the predominant religion in the Galactic empire. What sort of priest might officiate at typical imperial weddings and funerals for example? Or is the Empire officially atheistic/materialistic? One gets the impression in the first Star Wars that most imperials (aside from ones being force-choked by Vader) aren't believers in the Force, and scoff at the beliefs of the Jedi as out-dated ancient superstition. Most are presumably unaware that the Emperor is a Sith, in that case. (If that is the case it calls into question the Imperial Remnant being portrayed as inerested in harnessing Force powers in the Mandalorian. Even if they did know Palpatine was a powerful Sith they would probably be done with Siths and the like after the disaster Palpatine's decisions brought about. They would probably put their trust in technological terrors, if need be. It's notable that nothing supernatural was needed to wipe out most of the Jedi in the first place, so there's also that.)
I would guess there is no Imperial religion, and people would need to hide their beliefs. But I'm just guessing. (oh and welcome)
Some may view Force powers as a purely scientific phenomenon. Midichlorians influencing those with certain genetic traits, allowing them to perform supernormal acts of mind and body, including the apparent ability to sense certain fields of energy. And if some people want to chalk this up to some paranormal "Force", so what? As long as they don't break the law, let them cling to outmoded superstitions. Of course, they don't realize that the Emperor takes such "superstitions" very seriously. As for hiding belief in the Force, I'm not sure it would go that far. The vast majority of people, who only know of the Jedi and the Sith through old legends and rumors, probably treat such beliefs as old customs of little real value. Believers might be looked down upon, but I don't think they'd be persecuted. Most likely the Empire's position would be purely secular, with minor allowances for local customs. I doubt the Emperor would establish some kind of Palpatine-worshipping cult; it might cause problems. Better to just set up a society where Imperial loyalty is prized and rewarded, to such a degree that rebellion is both swiftly punished and viewed as too much trouble. Besides, Palpatine already knows he's running the show, and he gets a kick out of how everyone is following his plans without even realizing it. Well, that's my view, anyway. Interesting subject.
Probably this. Looking at the real world. Authoritarian regimes usually suppress religion if they aren’t using it as part of their messaging. So since the Emperor wasn’t public about being a Sith I would think any religion would be suppressed
I see the Empire as a totalitarian regime, much like today's CCP or North Korea. Such a regime would not allow religions other than worship and absolute obedience to its leaders. Although the Emperor in OT times probably doesn't appear in public much, unlike Kim Jong-un, Palpatine would want to be worshiped just the same, even if he's invisible to most of the public. Can you imagine such a person would allow the open practice of religions?
I feel like the empire’s tolerance on religion would vary on a case by case basis. I could see things like a world’s position in the Galaxy, it’s economic/industrial importance, the empire’s use of the world, the type of religion and numerous other factors coming into play when deciding what to do about a world’s religion. In some cases it could be more useful to humor/embrace a world’s religion than attempt to snuff it out. Or maybe allowing a particularly non threatening religion allows them to better maintain control of the world. Maybe it’s just some backwater dustball and TPTB simply don’t care one way or the other. Hell, I could see it even varying from Moff to Moff or whoever’s in charge of certain sectors.
I would not be surprised if some went fully Warhammer 40k and there ended up being planets with Palpatine was worshipped as a God.
I don't tend to think of the Empire having an official religion (nor do I think the Republic in the PT had one). Palpatine and Vader were Sith Lords, but I don't get the impression that they make everyone in the Empire adhere to Dark Side dogma even in an official religion lip service type capacity, because the high level Imperial officers meeting with Vader on the Death Star are quite derisive and skeptical of the Force in general, which I don't think they'd risk doing if they were expected to adhere to a state Dark Side type of religion. I imagine that being atheist or agnostic would be fairly common in the Empire as it is in many modernized countries in the world today, which is why the high-ranking Imperial officers feel comfortable making snide remarks about the Jedi religion being outdated and whatnot. I could easily see that attitude being extended to all religions by the Imperial officers. I'd also say that I think the galaxy would likely have hundreds or even thousands of different types of religions (look at how many different religions our one planet has produced), and so I honestly find it unlikely that one single religion could come to be regarded as the official one for the entire Empire or Republic. To me, it's much easier to imagine individual planets producing their own religions and adherents of those religions sort of varying in how devout they are (some people might be the type to attend religious services every week or day; others might only attend on certain high holy days, etc.). Many modern and diverse states in our own world don't have official religions precisely because of how many different religions are found within their borders and because of how much religious observance can vary even within people of the same faith. The Empire might have been discriminatory against non-human sentient species and probably were especially likely to regard those religions associated with non-human sentient species in a negative or derogatory light (they would probably be very rude about the Gungan religion we see in TPM, for example), but I don't think they would have a single official state religion. Likely they would just persecute the ones they saw as a particular threat or challenge to their rule on a case by case basis. Ultimately, I imagine the Empire as being officially secular with no single state religion. I'd imagine that being atheist or agnostic wouldn't be uncommon much as it isn't uncommon in modern societies today, and likewise that even among those who might identify as religious, the religion identified with would depend on planetary/species culture and history as well as personal levels of devotion to the religion in question. I'd assume that there would be hundreds to thousands of religions practiced by different species on planets across the Empire, though more of those religions might unfortunately face persecution than in the days of the Republic. I also think there might be different sort of political/philosophical camps or wings within the Empire or Imperial remnmant and some of those might believe in the Force or be interested in investigating its powers after the Empire fell.
After the death of Vader and the Emperor in the old EU, I remember an attempt for maintaining cohesive narratives within the falling Empire that had Sate Pestage, under Blackhole´ advice, creating the Church of the Dark Side. In the end, it was just a way for them to easily manipulate high ranking officials that were losing hope in the Empire chances, like Peccati Syn and Foga Brill, but it seemed to be somewhat spread within certain circles nonetheless. The closest beings to religion practitioners in both this storyline and the Empire in general seemed to be the Prophets of the Dark Side, even if the ones in the Church didn't appear to be the real ones, thanks to a rather strange retcon. I remember distinctly in games like Tie Fighter that you were induced into the Secret Order of the Emperor (another name for the Prophets, I think), and it did work as a sect like organization. Granted, these were very obscure organizations indeed, but its as close as we got to a religion tied to the Empire in both Canon and Legends, from what I can remember...
@devilinthedetails - yeah, good post there. I get no sense of religion in Star Wars at all despite some references to the Jedi or the force being "religious". There is no deity that either force side worships. The Jedi have a code, yes, but it isnt coming from a Bible or religious text that I know of. The Sith are very passionate about their beliefs but their arent driven by what I'd call religion either. So, Star Wars remains religion-free and really God-free too. Thats fine. Different galaxy, long time ago. One thing - Vader did tell Lando in TESB ".....pray I dont alter it further" as they discussed the deal getting worse for Lando. Thats the only time I remember the word pray used and we have no idea who Vader meant that Lando would pray to.
In RotS, didn't Padme tell Anakin she had been praying for him? I haven't seen it in a long time, might be misremembering...
That's just making use of common terms on earth, to make it understandable for the audience.There are also references to crusades and hell made by Obi Wan and Han Solo. You can't always avoid such terms when trying to portray a certain picture.
Oh I’m sure you’re right. Just wanted to mention that was one of the very few times you even hear religious words used in the saga. Oh and when Han tells Luke on the Falcon "hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid". I get your point though. Remember in TPM when Tanaka says "we’ll be sitting ducks"? It’s like…..I never saw a duck in Star Wars ever but they used that phrase so we’d connect with it.
It seems highly unlike that the universe doesn't have active religions or God-worship - it's a fixture of our human experience, despite advances in science. The Force isn't completely scientific either, and I don't think GL intended it to be seen as such. There's an element of faith to it, and always has been since the first film.
Thats reasonable. It just never came up much in the films or really felt like there were religious factions or divisions amongst the people. Of course, we dont see many other people since the story concentrates on our heroes and heroines. Yes, despite midichlorians(which Im fine with BTW) there is an element of faith. I think Yoda tries to teach that to Luke in TESB and a little in ROTJ. Its a combination of the two. Im not big into the expanded universe - are there more references to religions or Gods in any "canon" novels or whatever else?
Yeah, there are various references to faiths, etc, in the EU (both new and old). I think that GL's intention with the Force has been made pretty clear by him. He doesn't believe in pure physicalism (that is reality is all that there is - that we are simply scientific phenomena, which we can discover), and that there is a divine reality which we can not see (and that it takes 'faith' to commune with).
I always thought it was a planet by planet basis in that so long as the planets remained wholly loyal to the Empire, they could do whatever they wanted, religion-wise. Sorta of like how Catholicism was still around in Italy under the reign of Il Duce.
Also at the end of AOTC, the character at Padme and Anakin's wedding is referred to as a 'Naboo holy man'. Could be there was some sort of planetary religion there.
That reminds me of a line in the ANH novelization. Ben, talking about how one must learn the ways of the Force, tells Luke, "Even a duck must be taught how to swim." Luke's reply: "What's a duck?" And considering that the novelization also says there are dogs in the GFFA, the situation gets more interesting.
