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==Comments on Religion==

==Comments on Religion==

Star Trek: The Next Generation has one major example of anti-religion bias. 3rd season episode entitled "Who Watches the Watchers," where it is implied that an alien culture discarding religious beliefs is a positive development. Religious parents may wish to be wary if their children watch "Who Watches the Watchers,". In the episode "Tapestry", Captain Picard dies and goes to the "afterlife" he makes a comment "The Universe is not so badly run." This suggests that perhaps the Captain believed there was a deity but he had never been exposed to a formal religion. However the majority of episodes remain agnostic on religion.

Star Trek: The Next Generation has one major example of anti-religion bias. 3rd season episode entitled "Who Watches the Watchers," where it is implied that an alien culture discarding religious beliefs is a positive development. Religious parents may wish to be wary if their children watch "Who Watches the Watchers,". In the episode "Tapestry", Captain Picard dies and goes to the "afterlife" where he meets his erstwhile adversary "Q" who implies that he is God.  Picard refuses to believe this, and makes a comment that "The Universe is not so badly run." This suggests that perhaps the Captain believed there was a deity but he had never been exposed to a formal religion. However the majority of episodes remain agnostic on religion.

Star Trek: Deep Space 9 was heavily influenced by religion. The one of the major religions was; The Bajoran profets (sometimes called Wormhole Aliens), who existed in the celestial temple (normally called the Wormhole). Their purpose was to protect the Bajorans, and fight the evil spirits called Pah-wraiths. In the dominion the founders (shape-shifters) were believed to be (and treated as) gods (in the episode "The Ship" and many others). For klingons there was Sto-vo-kor (what they called heaven). Klingons coming to Sto-vo-kor meant that they had fought as honorable warriors in their life (as is seen in "Image in the Sand" and many others). The Ferangi had a religion in The Great River (as shown in "Faith, Treachery and The Great River"), which was similar to "[[The invisible hand]]" a phrase coined by [[Adam Smith]].

Star Trek: Deep Space 9 was heavily influenced by religion. An overarching theme of the series was the relation of the main character, Captain Benjamin Sisko, to the Bajoran religion in his role as the emissary to the Bajoran prophets.  The prophets were beings who lived in a stable wormhole (a unique phenomenon in the Star Trek universe referred to by the Bajorans as the Celestial Temple) that perceived all of time as a single event with no concept of past, present, or future. Despite their immense dissimilarity to other races in the galaxy, the Prophets took unusual interest in Bajor, sending 'orbs' which were used as tools of prophecy by the Bajoran clergy, and in Sisko who it is revealed exists solely to fulfill a predetermined historical path in an Armageddon-like showdown as the avatar of the prophets against the 'Pah Wraiths' (aliens like the Prophets who were expelled from the Celestial Temple).

 

Other religions include that of the Dominion in which the Founders (shape shifting aliens sometimes called changelings) are treated as living gods by the races under their control.  The Klingon religion suggests that the first Klingons realized they had no need for their gods, and killed them, although they still hold to an afterlife where the honorable dead join with the deified Kahless and the dishonorable dead are forced to spend eternity on the Barge of the Dead with the Demon like figure Fecklarr. The Ferengi had a religion of sorts based on the concept of The Great River (as shown in "Faith, Treachery and The Great River"), which was similar to "[[The invisible hand]]" a phrase coined by [[Adam Smith]].  Ferengi also hold that if they achieve enough profit during their lives, they will meet the Blessed Exchequer who will grant them access to the Divine Treasury, whereas an unsuccessful Ferengi may find himself left in the Vault of Eternal Destitution.

== The Prime Directive ==

== The Prime Directive ==