Would You Be An Atheist in Westeros?

[ckal]

It would be the Old Gods for me.

I'm not religious by any means, but I love the idea of the Godswood. Just seems so peaceful, tranquil, losing yourself amongst the trees.

[Distorted Humor]

I am Mormon, and if I was picking from Westeros faith, It would be the Drowned God (My Nordic Viking blood still runs in my veins) or the Old Gods.

[Nefa]

Old gods pwn the new ones

[larick]

I am pagan. In Westeros I would work with both the Old Gods and The Seven, which both seem pagan to me.

The Seven can help you in the books. It's just subtle. For instance, someone might pray for Mother's mercy and later something good happens, that sort of thing. The best example I can recall is from beginning of ASOS though.

R'hllor seems more like Judaism/Christianity/Isam due to it's monotheism and rhetoric of "lord of light" and it's design for political dominance.

The Seven seem like a Greco-Roman pantheon, though the clergy Septons and their wardrobe have a Roman Catholic feel, and the Mother's Mercy. Greco-Roman religion had a huge influence on early Roman Catholicism. So this makes sense either way, the Father and Mother, the others like saints.

The Old Gods seem most like Celtic European religion.

The Drowned God seems like Vikings, though I suppose he is monotheistic to.

It's strange how the particular flavor of patriarchy in Westeros seems like that of medieval Europe, when most of their religions are not patriarchical at all. I don't know what to make of that.

[turdle]

i think this is an interesting question, but i guess i'm a little confused by it. are you essentially asking "which religion do you think is real (in this fictional universe)" or "which religion do you best relate to?"

given the information that we get from the multiple perspectives, i'd have to say that those who worship r'hllor have the best chance at actually worshiping something that is real. i don't think the drowned god exists, i don't think the seven exist, and the old gods...

adwd spoiler:

Spoiler

given what we learn about the weirwoods i'd have to say that belief in them as gods is merely a misinterpretation of what's actually happening, as it seems to be some sort of tapping into the trees via human wargs. no actual gods, at least as far as i've gotten, have not yet finished adwd.

so anyway, rhllor and the great other seem like candidates for actually existing, the other gods, i don't think so.

[Distorted Humor]

R'hllor seems more like Judaism/Christianity/Isam due to it's monotheism and rhetoric of "lord of light" and it's design for political dominance..

R'Hllor with its fire symbolism, Fire Temples, texts, and dualism seem to be much more of a Mazdaism/Zoroastrianism then Abrahamic.

[Fearsome Fred]

R'hllor seems more like Judaism/Christianity/Isam due to it's monotheism and rhetoric of "lord of light" and it's design for political dominance.

No. Rh'llor is clearly a dualistic religion. The closest parallel to Christianity is the "faith of the seven" with its "seven persons in one God" concept of God.

[TheSwordOfTheEvening]

Old Gods seem so peaceful and personal, since you can go to the godswood, reflect, and pray to the spirits of nature

Rh'llor, compared to other religions, appears to actually work. Melisandre's "baby", the prophetic visions in the fire

Drowned God is pretty cool too, talkin bout a religion that encourages piracy and rape. "what is dead may never die"

[BladeOfTheWest]

Haven't read all the books, not sure where the Red Priests really get their powers but... Resurrection? Birthing deadly shadows? I'd fill myself with the light of R'Hllor.

[nachoknight]

I agree. Knowing what Melisandre and Thoros are capable of doing I don't think I could go any other way.

[TheCube]

Like most if the others in this thread, I'm an atheist. Whether I followed a religion in Westeros would depend almost entirely on where I was from. I identify with the North (as I'm from the North of England) so that would mean the Old Gods. No clergy and very little in the way of dogma. I can live with that.

Whether I actually believed or not... who knows.

Westeros is not earth. The religons hav unique supernatural powers

Not quite. We know magic exists and we know a lot of these powers are ascribed to various supernatural deities. Whether or not these deities actually exist is far from clear.

[Menos Grande]

It depends.. If I lived at KL or nearby probably I would be an Atheist as the seven gods seems to me like a fabrication with no real impact in you life... I was at Dragon Stone and have seen everything that Melisandre did, I would probably end up following Rhallor.

[Distorted Humor]

I guess with the whole "religion works" I guess most are two jaded to see the wonders in real life :)

[Adamastor]

Myself, being an atheist, cannot conceive any sort of religious affiliation; even in a possible "westerosi" incarnation. That being said, I would say that most characters never seem to be particularly religious, even the septons on occasion, so I agree with the general idea that place of birth tends to provide you with a faith for the remainder of your life.

They also don't seem to rather entertain the idea of Atheism within the books, at least not in our modern way of understanding, because everyone seems fixed in a Greek-fashion interpretation of religion: the Gods may not care a lot about us, as long as you provide them with offerings and such. That being said, I'll give you my notion on religion:

- The Old Gods are mostly portrayed in as ancient incomprehensible beings, of unknown power, and possibly even uninterested in the idea of human lives most of the time, but with a lot of Pagan, Celt and Norse mythologies and faiths vibe to it;

- The Drowned God, just flat out being cruel, with all sorts of demands and rites in an early-Judaism/Christianity, old Testament God sort of way, leven going so far as a baptism-type ritual as the one Theon goes through, with the anointment making you an official "believer". So there's definitely that Abrahamic feel to it, and some Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism thrown in there, considering the whole dualistic Drowned/Storm God thing;

- R'hllor shares many common traits with the religion of the Iron Islands, with the sea theme being replaced by fire and such, with the dualist understanding of Gods, etc.. I'd say it's just a bit more elaborate;

- The Seven, obviously Roman Catholicism, with some twists, reminding me of the way european cultures used to blend their faiths with Christianity in its early forms, with the idea of being one god, but with a polytheist feeling to it all, with the many faces of God.

Above all, I would keep my beliefs to myself. However, I most definitely dig the mythology of R'hllor. Very old school. :bowdown:

[Castel]

The only religions I would ever consider worshiping are the religion of the Old Gods and the Red God.

The OId Gods are nice because they have few rules and no organized bureaucracy or clergy.

The Red God however, works. I think that I'd lean towards him simply because I've seen him in action.

[Lothar Imbel]

Atheist IRL, but as Rh'llor seems to be the only god that actually does something I'd probably worship him, because there actually seems to be some evidence that he can actually do something. The OId Gods too, as well I suppose.

[Fearsome Fred]

Wow. Once again, the imbalance is overwhelming - perhaps even more overwhelming than in the similar thread from the general section:

19 self-identified atheists.

3 agnostics

2 christians (not counting myself)

1 pagan

1 mormon

Perhaps the thread title attracts atheists. Perhaps, at a future time, I will try another such poll with a more neutral title.

[Lady Tippy Wolfsbane]

I am not an atheist, but I do not agree with organized religion. I would definitely worship the old gods. :D

[Winter's Lion]

IRL i am an athiest. In the books I would probably worship the Seven. I feel that my gold hair and green eyes firmly place me in House Lannister, so I would pray to their gods.

[Jon Mark Selmy]

Atheist here to. And I don't really feel like it's feasible to directly transport any real person into Westeros... so I guess it would depend on where I've been born.

But if it's to choose one of the fictional religions... I guess the Old Gods seem less opressive.