Religious faith in videogames

[MrPopo]

It's interesting that you feel that moral conflict. In my case Judaism, for better or for worse, never comes up in video games (maybe Left Behind). Yes, the Darcsens in Valkyria Chronicles are the analogs of the Jews for that universe but there is no mention of religion; it focuses on Jews as an ethnic group.

All of the games you have mentioned are Japanese games. You have to remember that they view Christianity from a different cultural lense. To them Christianity is a foreign invader with a rigid hierarchy, which contrasts sharply with the already established Buddhism and Shintoism. It is very easy to see how they would focus on the faults in Christianity.

Personally I wouldn't worry about it too much. The devs generally aren't setting out to try and bring down Christianity; they are merely trying to provide entertainment to their primary audience (Japan) and tend to use things they can identify with. But even if you find it difficult to get over this kind of thing you can still enjoy some entries in SMT. The Persona series (at least 3 & 4) don't have any religious references other than the fact that all the Persona are taken from religions around the world.

[Dylan]

Lisalover, I understand what you mean. Personally though I never really let these things bother me, because as you say: they're fictitious. It's a similar idea as to why you don't feel guilty about killing a virtual human: it's not actually happening. This is why when our religion is cast in a negative light, it doesn't really phase me because I can see through it, not to mention that people do that all the time anyway. Now, I've always found overtly insulting other's beliefs to be in bad taste, religious or non, but I've never seen this too prevalently in a game.

[lisalover1]

Thank you. You've all been very helpful, and made some very good points; I think I should take into account the fact that a game creator's beliefs and ideas have a significant impact on how they portray other people's beliefs and ideas. I must also remember that these things can't affect me unless I let them.

[J T]

Lisalover, you raise an interesting question. I can't speak from a Christian perspective, as I am not one. I do get offended from time to time though by things that run counter to my own beliefs. South Park is one of my favorite TV shows, but every so often it crosses the line with me and pisses me off. I still watch the show though because it's funny overall. I don't feel like I'm betraying my beliefs because my beliefs remain the same. I think it is good to come into contact with views that are contrary to my own. I learn something about how others see me and I learn how to better defend my own beliefs. Sometimes I'll even decide I was wrong and change my stance. I guess that last part is what is scary for a more religious person though. So much of religious belief hinges on the idea of believing in something purely out of faith, and not necessarily out of evidence.

[J T]

IIn my case Judaism, for better or for worse, never comes up in video games (maybe Left Behind).

I haven't played it yet, largely because I don't know much about Judaism, but Fatale supposedly deals heavily with Jewish issues.

I think the closest I've come to playing a Jewish game is killing mecha-Hitler in Wolfenstein.

[Dylan]

So much of religious belief hinges on the idea of believing in something purely out of faith, and not necessarily out of evidence.

To be fair, evidence is somewhat sparse no matter how you view things.

[Reverend]

To someone to whom religion is no more real than a video game, of course there would be no conflict. Such a person would find your question ridiculous, but that person probably also finds a lot of your religious beliefs to be ridiculous.

This is me.

The whole reason people started calling me Reverend is because I'm an Atheist and find religion hilarious. I don't want to start a religious debate hear at any point in the foreseeable future, so let's just leave it be.



As far as the actual predicament, I say to play the games without fear of any repercussions. Have a similar mentality to when playing GTA (if you do). You wouldn't really commit all those crimes, but doing it in the game doesn't make you a criminal.

[the7k]

Every Breath of Fire game that I've played deals with religion. Of course, the primary religion has a strong Christian vibe, and of course, the God (Goddess, actually) of that church is one of the primary antagonists.

What is interesting and unique, however, is that it is only the Goddess and other supernatural elements of the religion that are presented as evil. Priests and other human members of the church are actually presented in a favorable light, and are only trying to make the world a better place. They're just being misled by a trickster god.

Demon's Souls also has a religious element. It's not as clearly defined, because it's not shoved in your face like so many games. You see the injustices of the church (Calling Saint Astraea a Demon, just because she questioned Umbasa due to his lack of presence in Valley of Defilement). The church also seems to be unfriendly with the sages and witches, on account of them using the power of Demons... however, the sages claim that Umbasa himself is a Demon too, with the members of the church being blind followers.

The truth, however - you don't really know. Umbasa never actually shows up. All you have to go on are stories from one side or the other. Nothing actually clears this up for you and makes the answers obvious - and I'd honestly say, that's the best way to approach religion in a game, because the answers aren't obvious.

[BoringSupreez]

I'm a Christian, so I really have some serious moral conflicts when playing games that have religion [especially Christianity] placed in a noticeably negative light. For example, I just was trying out Bayonetta, and I really, REALLY didn't feel comfortable playing it. What should I do if a game contradicts, and maybe even insults my beliefs? Worse, what if the game is actually very well-made, and otherwise enjoyable to play? Now, I don't want to be one of those people who makes a big fuss about a game just because of its' content, but this has been bothering me for a very long time, and I honestly don't know how to deal with it. Should I just not play the games, and possibly miss out on a good game, or should I just always regard it as total fiction? Or, is rationalization of the obvious just as bad as playing it at all? I want to play the SMT series, I want to play Grandia 2, and I want to play Bayonetta. But, I don't feel like it's right for me to do so. I want some other people's input on this; what should I do? Do I know they're bad games, and I'm just looking for an excuse, or am I just over-thinking a work of fiction?

As a Christian, I will play games and watch shows and movies that have some criticism of Christianity it it, as long as it doesn't cross a certain line. For example, I'll watch Monty Python's Flying Circus, or Monty Python and the Holy Grail, or play Metal Gear Solid (it has some minor, indirect criticism of religion here and there, mostly in MGS2), or Deus Ex. And I'll read books like For Whom the Bell Tolls (some of the dialog in the book is critical of Christians) But if it gets to the point were it's making me feel so uncomfortable that I'm felling guilty and not enjoying what I'm doing anymore, I won't watch or play it. (Examples: Family Guy, Futurama, South Park, Ace Ventura, Bayonetta, Grand Theft Auto, the Fallout series.)

To reply to the original thought line of this topic, the games I've played that talked about religious faith the most are ones I'm suprised no one's mentioned yet: Deus Ex, and even more, its sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War. Metal Gear Solid 2 also talks about philosophy's (sorry, don't know how to spell philosophy plurally) and life in a rather generic way, particularly towards the end.

[MrPopo]

To reply to the original thought line of this topic, the games I've played that talked about religious faith the most are ones I'm suprised no one's mentioned yet: Deus Ex, and even more, its sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War.

It was really Invisible War that picked up the religious commentary. Deus Ex mostly focused on government and secret societies, and the general price of progress. It takes a cynical view of religion as a method to control the masses, but it's a minor point in the game's philosophy. But Invisible War definately hits religion harder. That game just doesn't come to mind much because I haven't played it since I first beat it after release. Damn you Xbox and your rape of what was supposed to be an amazing sequel!