On Agnostic Spirituality & World building.
As a worldbuilder, the thing that intrigues me the most about a new world is what it is that the people believe in. The religious and spiritual aspects of a world's fantastical cultures are, to me, the most important thing, because it is only through that vector (and through the vector of language, which requires supreme skill to manifest at the table) that I can really figure out what's going on in that world. In other words, only by knowing what and why the people believe in something can I puzzle out how to challenge those characters, make them suffer, and ultimately divine their stories, be they small or big.
Also as a worldbuilder, what really intrigues me is a religion without gods. This doesn't always mean a religion without powers or forces, but instead, something wherein the worship is not tied to an Almighty Authority and instead to the philosophies needed to live "the good life," and respect for forces that we are hitherto now still ignorant too. This does not mean there is no superstition, nor does it imply a world in which all things are known. Instead, a godless religion is one wherein the mind is directed towards other methods of spiritual progression and guided on a course built more evidently from history.
This is something that Tolkien did, though in a very roundabout method. Here's Tolkien Letter 165 to serve as a kernel for discussion.
“The only criticism that annoyed me was one that it 'contained no religion' (and 'no Women', but that does not matter, and is not true anyway). It is a monotheistic world of 'natural theology'. The odd fact that there are no churches, temples, or religious rites and ceremonies, is simply part of the historical climate depicted. It will be sufficiently explained, if (as now seems likely) the Silmarillion and other legends of the First and Second Ages are published.”
While there are undeniable supernatural elements found throughout Arda, the myths that spawn from them do not encourage any sort of active worship, communion, etc, as is commonly associated (and to some, required) with religious practice. Due to the sundering of the world, wherein Numenor was destroyed and the elves separated from the Ainur, and the workings of Sauron too, who corrupted and ultimately removed the worship of Eru, the elves, men, dwarves, and hobbits of Arda stopped the traditional religious practice. They didn't invoke the names of deities (at least, not as we do), and they didn't go to a church or temple. Instead, by trying to always be good, they created a godless religion of "Goodliness" that was the light needed by men to see and survive the end of the Third Age.
So, in these "godless worlds," there can still be powers, powers that maybe in the past were even gods, but now the people thrive off spirituality instead of worship; the good inside instead of external inspiration.
This is why the thing I'm most proud of having created are the three Akaran Mysticisms for SCAVENGER. I created these mysticisms based on my own Agnostic Buddhism, much how Tolkien created Arda's belief system out of his own Catholic ideals. I then molded them to fit the world itself, let them change and mutate, and by doing so I realized how it is that scavengers think. That is, I found myself happening upon 3 "core ideas" that I tried to make apparent throughout all of SCAVENGER:
Suffering, tribulation, adversity - all these things are natural, not evil, and to conquer them is virtue.
Knowledge can be found in the natural world, even in the stars, and this knowledge is the key to surviving what is to come.
Community sharing of knowledge is the only way to ensure long-lasting survival and eventual happiness; thus, it is a virtue to share with others what you know.
From these three principles descended all Akaran cultures. A secret desire to overcome overwhelming odds, an insatiable need to understand and master the dangers of the world, and building a community that works together for the primary purpose of survival spawned fallen empires, great works of myth and art, and allowed the Akarans to rise above their hostile world to create what it is in their modern times. And, these traits together, when put in the extreme situation that is the world's current extinction event, led to the scavengers proper—Akarans (and morg and kith) who have bonded together and try their hardest to overcome the end of all things.
It also let me figure out how to make enemies for the scavengers who don't represent the opposite of these ideals but instead twist these ideals for their own purposes.
Bael Khorax, leader of Kanuma, who uses Akaran Mysticisms to grow more powerful for his own (tragic) designs.
The scren—an aberrant species that forces Akarans to face a monstrous version of their own virtues.
Sarok, who wishes to depart from these ideals and one day redesign the world in an image he thinks is right (a twisted way of him sharing his own knowledge).
While two of these (Khorax and Sarok) can be allies as well, the point stands: enemies in SCAVENGER are corruptions of the Akaran ideals that have allowed them to survive for as long as they have.
All this harkens back to what people believe in. Systems of thought, philosophy, spirituality, and so on, when created can spawn beautiful stories at the table.
~ Marquis
