Religions?

[poniesforfun 716]

I feel my irritation levels rising slightly... I must refrain from commenting on this... I know I'll start a flame war if I so much as type one word about this subject...

 

 

I feel the same way I feel the same way. Far as I'm concerned the ponies live in a higher conscious level than us modern day humans. Seeing as they use magic they would have certain connections with the supernatural.

 

I mean Twilight said she would go to hell and back like it was nothing. :S

Maybe they're into greek and norse religions.

Edited November 27, 2012 by poniesforfun

[Uutama 19]

Oh dear.... I want to get involved but I don't at the same time. I'm going to do it and I apologize if it offends anyone its not meant that way;

 

Twilight - Atheist

Pinkie - Church Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster

Applejack - Christian not sure which particular sect

Fluttershy - Wicken / Pagan

Rarity - Christian but doesn't practice.

Rainbow - Atheist or closet Christian

 

I can see this one quite clearly, except for the part about Rarity. I see Rarity more as a follower of Hinduism, but that's just me. I see there is a theme of Twilight being an atheist, due to her love of knowledge presumably. Applejack is a good loving Christian most certainly. Fluttershy would definitely be portrayed as a Wiccan. Rainbow Dash would admit to everyone that she doesn't believe in a god, but deep down inside, she loves god with all of her heart. (Daring Do anyone?) That is how I portray the Mane 6, being a Wiccan myself.

[Nah 3,181]

 

 

MFW seeing this thread.

 

No religion exists in Equestria, and I like it that way.

 

Also in b4 possible thread lock and replies and flamewars.

[OfTheLion 10]

Well I'll try to throw my .02 in here in as civil of a manner as I can manage. I see a recurring theme here, being that Twilight is often associated with atheism because she's extremely interested in the pursuit of knowledge (most notably her scientific endeavors). I'll be quite honest and say that this stereotype makes me a bit agitated. I know that this thread wasn't meant to start a debate, and I won't try to. But I'm a straight A, academically focused student currently enrolled in the most advanced classes offered at my grade level, and I'm also a strong believing Non-Denominational Christian. It's just some food for thought, so if you feel the need to argue with me, please message me rather than clutter up the thread.

 

Anyways, I won't bother categorizing the mane 6 into religions, mainly because a lot of times people's personalities don't really reveal a lot about their religious preferences. However, I do believe that Twilight learned a lot about having faith in the episode "Feeling Pinkie Keen". Now, based on her speculative view of Pinkie's behavior, I would venture to guess that Twilight could have been agnostic. Whether or not the events of the episode yielded a religious conversion is subject to speculation.

 

 

TL;DR: Atheists aren't the only smart ones, and Twilight definitely learned the value of faith in "Feeling Pinkie Keen".

Edited November 27, 2012 by OfTheLion

[Feather Gem 965]

I barely see anyone using the religion I'm in. (some)

But whatever. To be honest, I can't see any of them being in my religion either.

[Circadian 1,273]

On Religion:

 

 

"Some ponies think God is an outsized, light-skinned mare with a long flowing mane, sitting on a throne somewhere up there in the sky, busily tallying the fall of every sparrow. Others consider God to be essentially the sum total of the physical laws which describe the universe. I do not know of any compelling evidence for anthropomorphic matriarchs controlling pony destiny from some hidden celestial vantage point, but it would be madness to deny the existence of physical laws."

 

-Canter Sagan

[Mephala 2,633]

That is a terrible, terrible idea.

Religion only rips people apart in my experience. If you don't believe, you're automatically judged.

[Circadian 1,273]

TL;DR: Atheists aren't the only smart ones, and Twilight definitely learned the value of faith in "Feeling Pinkie Keen".

Except it wasn't faith because she only accepted it as true after seeing an overwhelming amount of evidence. The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe it.

Edited November 28, 2012 by Circadian

[Silverwisp the Bard 2,353]

Hmmmmm, in the episode May the Best Pet Win Rainbow Dash says "My prayers have been answered!" When Tank shows up. Is it just an expression or is she religious? Food for thought I suppose.

 

As a wise author once wrote: "It is dangerous to be an atheist in a world were the gods are fond of smiting."

 

Anyway, I'm too long on the internet to touch this one on a forum that I enjoy (already made the mistake to visit the "unpopular opinion thread )

[Yellow Diamond 7,564]

Now, now, everyone, we can still have a civil conversation about this without devolving into mudslinging from either side. Let's avoid making value judgments about specific religious or philosophical outlooks.

Anyway, I'll try my hoof at this:

Twilight Sparkle - Agnostic or "high church" Christian (e.g., Roman Catholic, Anglican, Episcopalian, Reform). I could easily envision Twilight embracing the scholasticism of St. Thomas Aquinas or the views of Thomas F. Torrance, whose theology is more "science friendly," so to speak. I think she'd be more inclined toward Agnosticism earlier in the series.

Pinkie Pie - Agnostic or non-denominational Christian. Either Pinkie wouldn't care very much for religious participation or would be of the mind that everything happens for a reason, i.e., divine providence. She marches to the beat of her own (literal) drummer, so she wouldn't be inclined toward a very highly regimented religious affiliation.

Applejack - "Low church" Christian (e.g., Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal). In keeping with her stereotype (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), AJ's Midwest/Southern roots basically put her in this camp.

Rarity - Non-practicing Christian or Jewish. If Rarity came from a Jewish family, I wouldn't be totally surprised. I don't mean to base this on the awful stereotypes of Jewish people being greedy and overly fussy about everything (although the latter one does sort of apply); the type of generosity Rarity displays is in keeping with the strong familial bonds within Judaism.

Rainbow Dash - Agnostic, Atheist, or non-practicing Christian. For all of her emphasis on self-reliance, I could see Rainbow briefly "finding" religion in the midst of a crisis. (I suspect AJ would evangelize her every now and again.) Otherwise, she wouldn't be bothered by seemingly esoteric issues.

Fluttershy - Pantheist or Panentheist, with Universalist leanings. Love of God would be reflected in love of nature; furthermore, God loves everypony too much to ever sentence them to eternal damnation. She'd adore St. Francis of Assissi.

[BronyPony 575]

I wouldn't know about the others, but Pinkie Pie would definitely be Amish, especially since her parents are assumed to be Amish.

[Starshine 16,330]

Having a literal demi-goddesses that you can see and speak to everyday kinda kills any needs of having belief to another god :/

 

If there is indeed a religion in Equestria, it would be either Discord-worshipping cult or Celestian church, with the later being the most prominent religion.

[BronyPony 575]

I feel my irritation levels rising slightly... I must refrain from commenting on this... I know I'll start a flame war if I so much as type one word about this subject...

 

 

If you didn't want to contribute anything to the discussion, why reply in the first place, out of curiousity.

 

Also, let me add onto my opinion.

 

Twilight - Agnostic becoming some religion. Though some may say she began to believe because of evidence, it was more of the fact that she now knew everything can't be explained(which is why at the end she stated that even though there is no evidence to support such claims, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist or isn't true).

RainbowDash - Undecided, and I say this because it is more of the fact that it seems she is still growing up to maturity. However, her characteristics are leaning more Christian.

Fluttershy - Christian, no questions asked.

Rarity - Christian, however a very prideful Christian. She seems to follow the stem of beliefs, but sometimes is materialistic.

AppleJack - I am going to have to say Protestant because with her stereotype, back then most people were Protestant(since during the time of the United States, Europeans that moved to America were protestant because of the high majority of Europe being mostly protestant ect. ect.).

 

Having a literal demi-goddesses that you can see and speak to everyday kinda kills any needs of having belief to another god :/

 

If there is indeed a religion in Equestria, it would be either Discord-worshipping cult or Celestian church, with the later being the most prominent religion.

 

Since when was there a demi-goddess in Equestria? If you are talking about Luna and Celestia, they aren't immortals, but alicorns with really special abilities.

 

Well I'll try to throw my .02 in here in as civil of a manner as I can manage. I see a recurring theme here, being that Twilight is often associated with atheism because she's extremely interested in the pursuit of knowledge (most notably her scientific endeavors). I'll be quite honest and say that this stereotype makes me a bit agitated. I know that this thread wasn't meant to start a debate, and I won't try to. But I'm a straight A, academically focused student currently enrolled in the most advanced classes offered at my grade level, and I'm also a strong believing Non-Denominational Christian. It's just some food for thought, so if you feel the need to argue with me, please message me rather than clutter up the thread.

 

Anyways, I won't bother categorizing the mane 6 into religions, mainly because a lot of times people's personalities don't really reveal a lot about their religious preferences. However, I do believe that Twilight learned a lot about having faith in the episode "Feeling Pinkie Keen". Now, based on her speculative view of Pinkie's behavior, I would venture to guess that Twilight could have been agnostic. Whether or not the events of the episode yielded a religious conversion is subject to speculation.

 

 

TL;DR: Atheists aren't the only smart ones, and Twilight definitely learned the value of faith in "Feeling Pinkie Keen".

 

I get the same stereotype. When I presented my hypothesis in the field of genetics, people originally thought I was Atheist because "atheists are just so smart". However, people should realize that Christians also love the fields of science because in our view discovering more about the Universe is like discovering more about God, but through a different perspective. Edited November 28, 2012 by BronyPony

[Starshine 16,330]

Since when was there a demi-goddess in Equestria? If you are talking about Luna and Celestia, they aren't immortals, but alicorns with really special abilities.

They both can move the sun and the moon respectively, banished a dark god of suffering, the elder banished the evil younger one who tried to plunge the land into eternal darkness. Not to mention they're freaking old. I believe those traits should be enough for anypony to start worship them, instead of any other gods.

[BronyPony 575]

That is a terrible, terrible idea.

Religion only rips people apart in my experience. If you don't believe, you're automatically judged.

 

Last time I checked, non-believers aren't really judged. I remember when I used to be around more believers than non-believers. I don't think there is a judgement factor more it is a expectancy factor. When religious people are more around other religious people rather than non-religious, it gets awkward. So don't automatically assume that expectancy is judgement.

 

They both can move the sun and the moon respectively, banished a dark god of suffering, the elder banished the evil younger one who tried to plunge the land into eternal darkness. Not to mention they're freaking old. I believe those traits should be enough for anypony to start worship them, instead of any other gods.

 

Last time I checked, Chrysalis overtook Celestia.

 

Also, being experts at specific talents, such as moving the sun and moon, doesn't automatically make you a god. It just makes you really good at what you do.

[Starshine 16,330]

Last time I checked, Chrysalis overtook Celestia.

Unless Chrysalis was there when Celly and Lulu took it on their hooves to lead Equestria to prosperity, I highly doubt that is relevant.

 

Also, being experts at specific talents, such as moving the sun and moon, doesn't automatically make you a god.

Imagine you're a simple-minded individual of an age before industrialization, you hardly understand how your horn works, and then some HUGE mare with both wings and horn appears out of nowhere, start moving Sun by herself and shit...

 

Even if you're not, pretty sure everyone else will start to see her as a god.

[BronyPony 575]

Unless Chrysalis was there when Celly and Lulu took it on their hooves to lead Equestria to prosperity, I highly doubt that is relevant.

 

 

 

Imagine you're a simple-minded individual of an age before industrialization, you hardly understand how your horn works, and then some HUGE mare with both wings and horn appears out of nowhere, start moving Sun by herself and shit...

 

Even if you're not, pretty sure everyone else will start to see her as a god.

 

That is like being born, seeing a guy doing a magic trick, and automatically thinking he or she is a god....

 

And I don't get how my point was irrelevant.

[Starshine 16,330]

And I don't get how my point was irrelevant.

Sorry, I guess I'm not being clear back there

 

Chrysalis was clearly absent when Celestia start working to alleviate the ponykind's life (at least from what is shown from the flashback from the Zap apple episode). Since the Lunar Banishment, until the 1000th Summer Celebration, her authority was totally unquestioned. That period of time is long enough for someone to start a church under Her name. While yes Chrysalis can actually overpower her, with Shining Armor's love, before it happened everypony in Equestria only knows the serene and heavenly Celestia, not anypony else.

 

That is like being born, seeing a guy doing a magic trick, and automatically thinking he or she is a god....

Unfortunately, that's how most of the pagan cults in this world started...

 

A man claimed to be able to control storm and thunder, actually managed to predict accurately when the storm comes and other hijinks, suddenly nearby villages start to give him offerings to get his favor. If left alone, this thing can actually evolve into its own religion

[Shanks 10,811]

I have no idea what religion any of the Mane 6 would be, Twilight is likely to be an atheist or agnostic but it is not guaranteed. With Pinkie Pie who really knows, she can be a tad unpredictable at times, Applejack could be religious but again we have a bit more to go on with Twilight than her. We have really not much to go for Rarity, she can be a tad shallow at times and care way too much about what other ponies think about her, Rainbow Dash at the very least would be a skeptic as for Fluttershy I don't know but knowing her she would keep it to herself.

[Silver Bells 78]

i was always more interested to see if ponies worshipped any gods in equestria, if they have any creation myth about who created the world or whatever. shrug.

 

and i guess i could see twilight being an atheist but that's all i have to contribute. i can't really see any of the ponies practice any kind of real-life religion.

Edited November 28, 2012 by Silver Bells

[Batbrony 15,994]

Well, I most certainly will not be touching this one with a 40 foot pole. I'm a Christian myself, but frankly I don't feel comfortable speculating about what religious beliefs would be held by technicolor ponies from a television show. However, I am proud to see that those who have responded to this thread have remained civil and intelligent in their responses; one of the biggest reasons that I love this community so much! I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit*

[BronyPony 575]

Sorry, I guess I'm not being clear back there

 

Chrysalis was clearly absent when Celestia start working to alleviate the ponykind's life (at least from what is shown from the flashback from the Zap apple episode). Since the Lunar Banishment, until the 1000th Summer Celebration, her authority was totally unquestioned. That period of time is long enough for someone to start a church under Her name. While yes Chrysalis can actually overpower her, with Shining Armor's love, before it happened everypony in Equestria only knows the serene and heavenly Celestia, not anypony else.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, that's how most of the pagan cults in this world started...

 

A man claimed to be able to control storm and thunder, actually managed to predict accurately when the storm comes and other hijinks, suddenly nearby villages start to give him offerings to get his favor. If left alone, this thing can actually evolve into its own religion

 

The first statement you make about Celestia, we will probably never agree so.

 

LOVE AND TOLERATE

 

But anyways, yes most pagan cults are formed by this unfortunately. I remember a guy who took a picture of a trash can, claimed it to be a UFO, and became the leader of some alien cult that eventually committed suicide.

 

Wow! Three pages in and nary an angry comment to be found! I'm impressed. I was expecting something to happen by now, but I guess I'll have to wait a while before I can put my extensive collection of gifs to work. XD

 

Let me just say this:

 

Until the end. That is the nice thing about the true brony community. You can talk about religion without being attacked by some low-life parasprite that hates for the heck of it.

[Tiina Brown 67]

After reading the first page, i think i'll make some points while stating my selection:

* Twilight cannot be an actual Atheist, she is the prize student of a potential or actual divinity. However, she has had a hard time admitting that things that doesn't fit her worldview may still exist.

I think she started as a follower of scientific principles, but may have become a bit of a Gnostic or Agnostic as well.

* Pinkie Pie .... Grew up as Mormon or Amish, is now Pagan .... or perhaps of "The Laughing God" ....

* Fluttershy is actually a Christian, "Blessed be the meek" and so on ...

* Rainbow Dash - Atheist, tilting slightly towards secular Christian.

* Rarity. Pinpointing her as a Jew is very much building on a stereotype on Jews as i see it ... soo no. Instead i define her as Muslim, one of their important pillars is "Charity" ......

* Applejack .... tough one this, almost any religion may fit, not because she's bland, but she is an "honest-to-god" - working pony, and those may have any religion that is big enough in the area ...

To keep a bit of a twist, and being not entirely predictable, i'd define her as a Jew.

 

These are my current thoughts, i might have decided otherwise a different day .... Except for the three first, with them i'm fairly certain

 

Twilight - Agnostic becoming some religion. Though some may say she began to believe because of evidence, it was more of the fact that she now knew everything can't be explained(which is why at the end she stated that even though there is no evidence to support such claims, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist or isn't true).

RainbowDash - Undecided, and I say this because it is more of the fact that it seems she is still growing up to maturity. However, her characteristics are leaning more Christian.

Fluttershy - Christian, no questions asked.

Rarity - Christian, however a very prideful Christian. She seems to follow the stem of beliefs, but sometimes is materialistic.

AppleJack - I am going to have to say Protestant because with her stereotype, back then most people were Protestant(since during the time of the United States, Europeans that moved to America were protestant because of the high majority of Europe being mostly protestant ect. ect.).

 

 

Since when was there a demi-goddess in Equestria? If you are talking about Luna and Celestia, they aren't immortals, but alicorns with really special abilities.

 

 

I get the same stereotype. When I presented my hypothesis in the field of genetics, people originally thought I was Atheist because "atheists are just so smart". However, people should realize that Christians also love the fields of science because in our view discovering more about the Universe is like discovering more about God, but through a different perspective.

 

Seems we share similar opinions on Twi, RD and Fluttershy ....

And on that being scientific do not need to mean being an Atheist.

 

I do disagree with you on the matters of Celestia and Luna not being divine, though.

.... And Crysalis just overtook Canterlot less than half an hour before getting flung away by "The Power of Love" ....

Edited November 28, 2012 by Tiina Brown

[BronyPony 575]

After reading the first page, i think i'll make some points while stating my selection:

* Twilight cannot be an actual Atheist, she is the prize student of a potential or actual divinity. However, she has had a hard time admitting that things that doesn't fit her worldview may still exist.

I think she started as a follower of scientific principles, but may have become a bit of a Gnostic or Agnostic as well.

* Pinkie Pie .... Grew up as Mormon or Amish, is now Pagan .... or perhaps of "The Laughing God" ....

* Fluttershy is actually a Christian, "Blessed be the meek" and so on ...

* Rainbow Dash - Atheist, tilting slightly towards secular Christian.

* Rarity. Pinpointing her as a Jew is very much building on a stereotype on Jews as i see it ... soo no. Instead i define her as Muslim, one of their important pillars is "Charity" ......

* Applejack .... tough one this, almost any religion may fit, not because she's bland, but she is an "honest-to-god" - working pony, and those may have any religion that is big enough in the area ...

To keep a bit of a twist, and being not entirely predictable, i'd define her as a Jew.

 

These are my current thoughts, i might have decided otherwise a different day .... Except for the three first, with them i'm fairly certain

 

 

Seems we share similar opinions on Twi, RD and Fluttershy ....

And on that being scientific do not need to mean being an Atheist.

 

I do disagree with you on the matters of Celestia and Luna not being divine, though.

.... And Crysalis just overtook Canterlot less than half an hour before getting flung away by "The Power of Love" ....

 

Then we can agree to disagree. It doesn't really matter.

Though I still can't see how these two princesses can be considered divine in the show. Yes, maybe powerful rulers, but divine horses just stretches it.

[Gikkleslick 41]

Ah-ha! Still no flames! I knew this thread would turn out fine. Anyways, thinking a little more, I would say Rarity would be Jewish or catholic. Applejack most likely christian, pinkie pie... No idea, and rainbow dash seems Christian but not too devout. Twilight could either be atheist or Christian, seeing what happened in "Feeling Pinkie Keen"