Difference between revisions of "Religion vs Mythology"
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Presenting an educational experience that draws upon religion, mythology, or folk legends are perfectly acceptable. We'll use the term “religion” in general to include historic religions, even if they have no, or very few, adherents in today's world. | Presenting an educational experience that draws upon religion, mythology, or folk legends are perfectly acceptable. We'll use the term “religion” in general to include historic religions, even if they have no, or very few, adherents in today's world. | ||
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| + | See [[Diversity]] | ||
In any case, when creating game content, we want to be sensitive to players of varying religious beliefs. | In any case, when creating game content, we want to be sensitive to players of varying religious beliefs. | ||
Latest revision as of 13:19, 26 July 2016
There isn't a very clear distinction between “mythology” and “religion.” For example, a Christian person might regard the Roman religion as “myths,” while someone whose religion worships Jupiter and Hestia might consider the Christian Bible “myths.”
Presenting an educational experience that draws upon religion, mythology, or folk legends are perfectly acceptable. We'll use the term “religion” in general to include historic religions, even if they have no, or very few, adherents in today's world.
See Diversity
In any case, when creating game content, we want to be sensitive to players of varying religious beliefs.
- Present information about religious beliefs in a family-friendly format.
- Episodes of violence, torture, etc. should be minimized.
- eg: It's OK to mention The Crucifiction but let's not go into details about the process.
- Likewise: mass slayings, assaults, slavery, …
- Be clear about the distinction between faith and (provable) facts.
- ✓ “Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth lived in ancient Palestine during the Roman Empire.”
- Making unverifiable but faith-based claims as statements of fact is not advisable: eg, ✗ “There was a Great Flood that destroyed the world”
- In the same way:
- ✓ “Ancient Greeks believed that Aphrodite sprang up from the ocean”
- ✗ “Horses were created by Poseidon”
- These “Disclaimers” don't have to be constantly repeated, though, as long as it's not confusing to players. Remember, many players may be young children and potentially naïve.
- Consult with members of the religion in question or present accepted resources.
- Do not denigrate religious or cultural beliefs.
- Where possible, distinguish between central religious beliefs; legends, myths, or parables; and folk beliefs or sectarian dogma.
- Central beliefs of Christians might include the “red-letter” sayings attributed to Jesus and miraculous powers he demonstrated.
- Legendary beliefs of Christians might include many of the stories which are generally thought to be historically incorrect (eg, The Great Flood) but are accepted within the context of faith, or which cannot be proven to be literally true (eg, the Visit of the Magi) but cannot be proven to any historical standard.
- Folk beliefs of Christians might include things not found in The Bible, which might be prescribed by a particular Church, eg, Catholic Dogma, or not, eg, folk stories about Guardian Angels.
Do not venture into Religious Proselytizing, particularly with in-game content.