do ponies have a religion

[undiscorded 120]

I've noticed in a few episodes there are wedding but I found they don't go into that aspect much in the show in my view what's your views on this topic.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,934]

This is treading fragile ground, but the ponies have weddings because weddings are not a strictly religious concept. Not only that but religion does not seem to be a canonical thing for Equestria as far as we have seen. 

[Megas 27,875]

Having weddings doesn't mean there's religion. Not only that the show's never given any sort of indication that religion exists in the show. 

[cmarston1 5,960]

I don't think so. 

Nothing in the show would make me think that the characters practice any sort of religion.

[Blique 211]

I think alicorns are somewhat like gods, in the same way that kings in our world were sometimes considered to have "divine power" through their royal blood or such. Celestia and Luna literally raise the sun and moon, which is considered godly in our world. But I don't know whether them being godly constitutes a religion or if it's just considered a normal part of life there.

 

In regards to weddings, marriage has been dated back to ancient tribes that were not particularly linked to any religion. Its purpose was to strengthen loyalty to the tribe and create a more organized society. It was only later that religions developed and people started claiming marriage as sacred and originating from their own religions (each with their own wedding ceremonies unique to their cultures and beliefs).

[PacificGreen 1,163]

Pinkie's father does mention "Providence" in Hearthbreakers. And they do seem to be a parody of Quakers/Amish.

 

And there was that funeral in Hearts and Hooves Day which featured (what looked like) a holy book. But that could be any book, really.

 

There's no real evidence that they worship a higher being than Celestia and Luna. I sorta like to think that, since there is a parallel human world, there is religion of some kind, but I generally try to avoid discussions about religion in MLP, so I don't really bring it up at all.

  On 2015-12-07 at 8:41 PM, Blique said:

I think alicorns are somewhat like gods, in the same way that kings in our world were sometimes considered to have "divine power" through their royal blood or such. Celestia and Luna literally raise the sun and moon, which is considered godly in our world. But I don't know whether them being godly constitutes a religion or if it's just considered a normal part of life there.

 

As a Christian, I sort of see them as just super-powerful ponies (with some sort of "divine power"?) who rule over the others, especially since the other ponies don't really worship them in the same way religious people in the real world worship God. So I'd consider them "gods" with a lowercase G, as opposed to an omnipotent, omniscient being who created the universe. I'd go with "a normal part of life there".

 

Just my two cents on this.

Edited December 7, 2015 by PGNatsu

[Malinter 3,064]

Its hard to say. They do have beliefs but nothing as organized as a religion per-se and certainly nothing forced.

[sweetolebob18 728]

Over 40 years ago I took an anthropology class in college. Someone (who I am too inept to look up) had a list of characteristics all human cultures have.  It started off w

Age grading (you tend to hang out w folks your own age)

Anthropomorphism (projecting human characteristics on non human things)

Athletics

Bodily Adornment & so forth.  One of them was Eschatology This is the question "What happens to us when we die?" & the branch of religion that deals with it.  IMO, this is as close to a universal trait of all sentient life as there is likely to be.

 

For obvious reasons they go light on the subject in the show.  However, PGNatsu mentioned a few examples.  I'd also mention AJ calling Fluttershy's singing "a slice of paradise" in Milli Filli (S4). They have Tartarus (Greek mythology, place where the evil dead are punished i.e. Hell).  Various ponies call on Celestia like Catholics calling on the saints.

[DANUTERCISD 204]

They probably worship celestia like we worship god, but they might not have a religion.

[Trottermare Galamane 12,005]

I believe it might be more like Buddhism and not a real religion (I know Buddhism is a religion). what I mean by this is they don't have a god but instead worship the betterment of oneself and other's, striving for harmony more then divinity (no pun intended) 

 

Buddha isn't a god just a man who achieved perfect harmony and in doing so absolute understanding of everything (abit like Celestia but on a higher scale and no magic)  

[Pinkiest Pie 405]

I would think they do not have religion. Weddings DOES NOT mean religion. It just means that society can become more civilised, in some ways. I do not think we need to discuss the topic of religion. As mainly the ponies seem to not have it.

 

I don't really think of Celestia and Luna as gods, it's probably some type of powerful magic you need to train for.. Like there is magic in Equestria, and with magic there comes greater magic and so forth. 

 

I personally believe Twilight might just be training to be able to do what Celestia and Luna can do, because she is the top student. She studies friendship. So why not study something else at one point?

[Buck Testa 5,505]

Normally this is where I would slam the concept of religion, but I'll refrain this time

 

I think there is some aspects of spirituality with some of the ponies. Fluttershy and Treehugger both seem to share in a concept of auras and an afterlife. The pies have an almost reverent relationship with this stone that decides who they marry. The concept of friendship also seems to have ties with the tree of harmony and the tenets of harmony itself, while Starlight was originally a false profit of Harmony (if you take her village for being a cult).

 

So...they have aspects of spirituality, but not a full blown religion

Edited December 10, 2015 by Buck Testa

[Daring_Do 552]

  On 2015-12-07 at 8:46 PM, PGNatsu said:

Pinkie's father does mention "Providence" in Hearthbreakers. And they do seem to be a parody of Quakers/Amish.

 

And there was that funeral in Hearts and Hooves Day which featured (what looked like) a holy book. But that could be any book, really.

 

There's no real evidence that they worship a higher being than Celestia and Luna. I sorta like to think that, since there is a parallel human world, there is religion of some kind, but I generally try to avoid discussions about religion in MLP, so I don't really bring it up at all.

 

As a Christian, I sort of see them as just super-powerful ponies (with some sort of "divine power"?) who rule over the others, especially since the other ponies don't really worship them in the same way religious people in the real world worship God. So I'd consider them "gods" with a lowercase G, as opposed to an omnipotent, omniscient being who created the universe. I'd go with "a normal part of life there".

 

Just my two cents on this.

Someone asked Faust on Twitter and she said she didn't see them as being gods, just extremely magical. Or something. Going off of memory of the quote here..

Anyway, more generally on topic... There was another thread like this a while back. Let me just quote what I said on that one:

 

 

  On 2015-09-18 at 11:10 PM, Daring_Do said:

I see them as having no religion, but in one of the Daring Do books a pony mentions having prayed to the "great guardians". This is in a part of Equestria that seems to be culturally distinct, though, so even if those guys have religion the rest might not.

 

Btw, as per Word of Faust, she doesn't see Celestia and Luna as gods, just incredibly magical. That being said, before I knew about that Word of Faust, I felt the show was kind of borderline/contradictory about the issue. There are some godlike trappings, like the Nightmare Moon shrine...

 

But there's something a fan once said that I really liked, the idea that the ponies might just use the name of their monarch in expressions because they *have no gods*. So, like, if Celestia and Luna die and Blueblood ascends to the throne, then they'd start saying "For Blueblood's sake" instead.

 

Interestingly, the Celestia chapter book (which does its part to demystify Celestia), we see that the princesses use *Starswirl's* name in those expressions instead of "Celestia".

 

Edited December 10, 2015 by Daring_Do

[chirox the pony 1,336]

I'm not even sure if they view princess Celestia as a god. I mean they don't seem to regularly worship her. I'd say they probably don't have a religion (and I'd prefer it stay that way). 

[Buttonmash1973 1,026]

The Pie family reminds me of amishes. Back in my early days I thought that the school was a church with that clock tower.

[Roughshod 720]

I doubt such an idea will ever go beyond speculation on these forums. Even if there was some sort of a religion or spiritual practice that could be suggested to exist in Equestria it's extremely unlikely it would be given forefront attention. You may have heard of the term 'Standards and Practices' which generally leans against showing controversial topics like religion. I doubt Hasbro would want to step into that landmine. Even if is only fictional religion, I'm sure many(mostly parents of young children) would try to extrapolate links to other real world faiths.In terms of public relations it just doesn't make sense given the nature of the show and the general audience.

 

But as for my opinion as to whether or not such a religion or religions exist, I don't see it as an important concept. No amount of theories or references in the show is going to detract from the main message in my view, or should. Outside of fan fiction and roleplay the concept of religion isn't required for MLP.

[Spikey-Wikey 378]

I'd say they don't have a Religion.

 

And I hope they don't have one either.

[PacificGreen 1,163]

Also of note is that AJ in one episode says "heavens forbid" (correct me if I'm wrong). Perhaps this implies some widespread belief in divine intervention?

 

Considering how controversial this can get, I think I'll stop here.

[PrymeStriker 408]

Friendship is their religion. 

Seriously, they convert f**kers to Friendship left and right on this show. 

[Astral Blade 6]

The concept of religion within the show seems to be mixed rather than being definite, since you could branch off a many amount of ways (shown within a lot of the posts on this entry). I feel as if no religion is specified for the sake of having a little bit of each concept thrown in.

 

Celestia and Luna are considered godlike and have tales as such but are alive and have backstories proven within their world to the present as far as evidence can go. You could arrange this with the beliefs of the Greeks and Romans or rule it out as royal leadership, not even acting as a religion.

 

To put it simply; I don't think they have any religion at all but the concepts given within the show can get the point across the same way. Throwing religion into the show would probably cause controversy despite anyone's means.

[FlootahBabby 265]

Well technically they're Christian since they now have an entire album dedicated to Christmas songs.

[silvadel 1,393]

 

That certainly looks like a clerical collar to me.

[Daring_Do 552]

  On 2015-12-11 at 5:45 AM, silvadel said:

 

That certainly looks like a clerical collar to me.

So Mr. Waddle is actually Reverend Waddle?

[cider float 2,539]

Since they use magic they harness the supernatural forces thus there is no need for religious institutions but more so studies on mysticism and spirituality.

[Carl Poppa 464]

Personally, I like that they don't even seem to have the word "god." I'm not religious myself, and that may be part of the reason, but the bigger part is because I am well aware that there is a vast and diverse audience watching this show, and Hasbro is aware of that too.  The ponies do have holidays, which when explained have all been because of historical events (we have those too), and while they are similar to some human holidays, they are different too, and, by not using the word "god" or referring to any specific religion, the show doesn't exclude people of differing faiths or without faiths from watching and enjoying it.  This is very important for younger viewers who more closely fit the target audience, because not only is it not making people with different beliefs feel marginalized, but the show also promotes friendship with anyone, regardless of differences, which makes for much more well-adjusted children.

 

 

  On 2015-12-10 at 8:55 PM, PGNatsu said:

Also of note is that AJ in one episode says "heavens forbid" (correct me if I'm wrong). Perhaps this implies some widespread belief in divine intervention?

Considering how controversial this can get, I think I'll stop here.

I think that's probably because things like "heaven forbid" etc. are pretty common country phrases, and so they used it for the accent rather than to imply religion.