Religion in Fantasy: Part 2, Impact

Whether fictional, historical or a little bit of both, every well-built fantasy world and detailed fictional society is in some way affected by religion.

I discussed in an earlier post the rampant presence of Norse mythology in fantasy - something about that cold north, man - but plenty of fantasy encompasses ideas from other cultures and even "modern" religion, some of my favorites being Haitian Vodou, Egyptian mythology and Hinduism.

While it might be my go-to for all posts, I think A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the best examples of fictional religion. George R.R. Martin put extreme effort into creating his religions, some of the most notable being the "Old Ways," in which gods take the form of twisted, white Weirwood trees; the Faith of the Seven, in which one god takes on seven faces that offer followers different blessings; and that of the red priests of R'hllor, where one true god, the lord of light, commands all followers. All of them have bases in real, historical religions, and just my descriptions should allude to those connections.

While creating religion to use as a story driver is common to all fantasy, some writers take it a step farther and make it the center of their world.

One of my favorite fantasy series of all time, perhaps the whole reason I enjoy reading and writing fantasy, is the Shadowmarch quartet by Tad Williams. It starts like other epic fantasy, with royalty and castles and mythical beings that threaten them. However, as the quartet progresses, the mythology of the world becomes the driving force behind the story. It eventually culminates in one thought: Are the gods powerful because they are gods, or are they gods because they are powerful?

In Shadowmarch, like many other high fantasy series, an organized society subscribes to a polytheistic system of beliefs. Multiple gods represent various things: the sun, the moon, life, death. It's the most common form of fantastical religion, because it's so interesting to assign a name, a face and a history to a concept as wide as life or death.

It's also a fascinating part of history. Greek and Roman myths are probably the most famous of this representative system. For instance, Athena is not just a goddess, but the goddess of wisdom. While Aphrodite is also a goddess, she is the goddess of love, so their roles in Greek society are incredibly different.

No society can exist without some type of belief system, even if that belief is athiesm, and it plays a crucial but varying role in each. No matter if that society is real or fictional, religion is part of the foundation that any society's tower would topple without.

I highly recommend Tad Williams' books to anyone who is interested. He really knows how to create a good story and relatable characters. Also, his series Memory, Sorrow and Thorn inspired George R.R. Martin to write A Song of Ice and Fire in the first place. No big deal.