Appreciating DS9 in a new way

[dash-vvv]

It hadn’t occurred to me until just today, on my second iteration of Deep Space Nine, just how excellent a narrative tool the Bajoran faith is. The writers were able to create a religion whose beliefs are, in canon, literally and empirically true, but the empirical truth is obscure enough that there’s still sectarian conflict, varying interpretations of scripture, and a corrupt, highly political streak in religious leaders.

What this means is that DS9 was able to directly address flaws and problems in real-world religious organisations and outspoken religious figures without drawing fire for casting doubt on the truth of the underlying beliefs. The writers separated the question “are religious beliefs true” (“yes”) from the question “are religious organizations infallible” (“emphatically no”). And they did it in a way that aligned perfectly with the Star Trek approach: here’s some weird stuff we can’t explain, let’s be open to it, let’s overcome our cultural prejudice and see if we can come to understand it.

That’s pretty cool!