Star Trek's View of Religion
The perspective of Star Trek over time with regard to religion
Long ago, in the mid 1960's, Gene Roddenberry pitched his original idea for Star Trek, which was to have been the science fiction equivalent to the then popular western. Gene's short summary was the now famous "Wagon Train to the stars" comment, that suggested the rough outline for the series. Every episode the crew of the starship Enterprise would visit a new world, have a new adventure, and a moral of some sort would be learned by the viewers as part of the exercise.
However, though not explained to the studio executives at the time, Roddenberry also hoped to use Star Trek as a vehicle to explore other themes that a television show set in a contemporary or even a Western setting might have trouble addressing. Among these themes were race relations, gender issues, war, sex, philosophy and even religion.
Over time, Star Trek explored each of the themes thoroughly, and religion was no exception. From the beginning, with the first Star Trek pilot "The Cage" themes of paradise and perdition were explored, somewhat tangentially, as Captain Pike underwent telepathic probes by the Talosians. The Talosians commented, as images of Hell were summoned, that these were from a fable that Captain Pike had learned in childhood.
This early visit gives an insight to the philosophy that would characterize the Classic Star Trek series with regard to religion. In effect, most religions depicted in Star Trek were discovered, upon scrutiny to be mythological. On a series of planets, false gods and prophets were dispatched by Captain Kirk, and the inhabitants of these worlds free to seek their own destiny. The god Vaal from "The Apple" is one such example, or even Laandru from "The Return of the Archons." These dieties were at the end of the program revealed to be computers who used religious devotion and ritual to maintain control of their populations. The further theme was that the programming has run amok, and the original intent of the creators of these computers was no longer valid. Thus, after some consideration, Kirk would have the computer blown up.
On occasion, the crew of the Enterprise would even partake in the devotional life of these communities. Dr. McCoy entered the covenant with the Yonadans in "The World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" and Captain Kirk, after suffering amnesia, joined the tribe of aborginal believers in "The Paradise Syndrome," although in each case as a consequence of love and marriage. At the end of each episode, however, they both regained their perspective, rejected the false gods and in these cases fixed the computers that were involved.
One exception to this model is the episode "Bread and Circuses" where at the end of the story, Uhura reveals that the alternative Roman Empire depicted in the tale has a population of Christians, which suggests that in the parallel development of this world, Jesus Christ was a historical figure. Christianity is explained to be a positive force for planet 892-IV, and the Enterprise crew sets off to their next adventure.
On the whole, however, the view of Star Trek about religion is at the very least skeptical. This continues into the animated series where we encounter more false gods such as Kulkukhan in "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" and event Satan in "The Magicks of Megas-Tu." As we enter the era of the movies with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, mysticism begins to infuse things a bit more, and there is room for some contemplation of transcendence, but interestingly it is the robot intelligence V'ger that prompts the journey, albeit accompanied by Decker and Ilia.
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