Untitled Discussion of Religion in RPGs

by Will Frank

Okay, I'm not going to debate the issue of whether or not the "Concerned Parent" email was a real email or a joke. I'm simply going to give my take on the whole situation.

First of all, there is no evidence anywhere that RPGs cause people to become devil-worshippers, idol-worshippers, or anything else. I have found that RPGamers are relaxed, happy and good people, and one of the reasons for this may be that they relieve stress through video games.

Secondly, the RPG in and of itself is a thinking game, often filled with puzzles and interesting and complicated plots. This is very good for helping the process of creatuve thinking. Simply put, if you use your mind more, you get smarter, the same way as when you work out, your muscles become stronger. RPGs are barbells for the mind.

Thirdly, religion is a constant source of interesting names, places, and ideas. For example, many of the Espers of Final Fantasy VI have named which are drawn from Norse mythology: Fenrir the wolf, Ragnarok, the Apocolyptic battle, and Odin, chief of the gods. Another example is the Seraph Sephiroth (Seraph is a class of angel) of Final Fantasy VII.

Finally, the reason so many RPGs use systems based around gods and idols is that they are trying to invent a system A) where things associated with godly powers, that is, magic, exist, and B) to give the world a different feel. I, for one, would probably not play a RPG which takes place in an accurate representation of Earth in 1999, simply because the great quests to save the world do not exist. In order to make RPGs fun and interesting.

Oh, and one more thing, the issue the First Amendment rights. The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America states: "No State legislature or the Congress of the United States shall make any law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of all media of information; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. This general prohibition shall be subject to the following elaborations, extensions, restrictions, limitations, interpretations and conditions:" I have read these elaborations, extensions, restrictions, limitations, interpretations and conditions, and not one says that a person on a web site cannot write about RPGs. However, you have a basic human right: the freedom not to listen. If you don't like something, don't watch/read/listen to/look at it. But don't try to keep people from expressing their ideas to other people. That is in direct contradiction to the First Amendment.

Original Editorial: Concerned Parent strikes out at RPGamer