The one that makes me crazy lately is the person of religious faith who is utterly devoid of reason. It seems that anyone with faith is also: unable to think logically, completely irrational, stubborn, and generally out of touch with reality. I'm pretty sure people in real life are more complex than that. I would love to see a religious literary character also display traits like wisdom, compassion, vulnerability or really any positive personality trait.
This is so true, Emilie. As a non-religious person, this isn't something that I had noticed myself but since you have pointed it out I see exactly what you mean! I almost never see a character of religious faith being portrayed as a complex and multifaceted character unless it is so they can question their faith and then "grow out of it" by the end, or unless the story as a whole has a strong focus on religion or a religious community.
Because I read a lot of SF/F, I see a lot of:
1. Religion doesn't exist anymore at all because future; and
2. Oh look at the naïve indigenous alien race and their cute beliefs; or, conversely,
3. Gods are real and they walk among us and we have tangible proof of them.
Interesting counterpoints to this trend might be The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (about a Jesuit mission to a newly discovered inhabited planet) or The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon. Life of Pi by Yann Martel might also be a good one. I just scrolled through the 600 titles I have archived in Goodreads and those three are the *only* ones I came up with.
The one that makes me crazy lately is the person of religious faith who is utterly devoid of reason. It seems that anyone with faith is also: unable to think logically, completely irrational, stubborn, and generally out of touch with reality. I'm pretty sure people in real life are more complex than that. I would love to see a religious literary character also display traits like wisdom, compassion, vulnerability or really any positive personality trait.
This is so true, Emilie. As a non-religious person, this isn't something that I had noticed myself but since you have pointed it out I see exactly what you mean! I almost never see a character of religious faith being portrayed as a complex and multifaceted character unless it is so they can question their faith and then "grow out of it" by the end, or unless the story as a whole has a strong focus on religion or a religious community.
Because I read a lot of SF/F, I see a lot of:
1. Religion doesn't exist anymore at all because future; and
2. Oh look at the naïve indigenous alien race and their cute beliefs; or, conversely,
3. Gods are real and they walk among us and we have tangible proof of them.
Interesting counterpoints to this trend might be The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (about a Jesuit mission to a newly discovered inhabited planet) or The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon. Life of Pi by Yann Martel might also be a good one. I just scrolled through the 600 titles I have archived in Goodreads and those three are the *only* ones I came up with.
Thanks for sharing this insight!