Religion in the DCU

[TheCorpulent1]

So Ollie worships at the church of hypocrisy, then? Oh well, he's certainly in good company with people from a number of other religions.

 

[The Question]

Being raised in the counrty where religon is very prevalent one would only asume that Superman is a devout Christian, but being that DC is one of many greedy corporations they don't say so that more people can relate to them.Which broadens there fan base and enhances there bank account.


- These are the words of Christ

~ angels singing ~

HAAA HAAAA HAAAA HAAA HAAAAAA

No, one wouldn't assume that. Superman has never been shown to be a devout christian. He has been shown to be non religious, and a humanist.

 

[Manic]

Batman is not an athiest/agnostic person despite what people may beleive. After encounters with Zauriel and the Spectre, it's definite proof that God exists in the DCU. Wonder Girl is the daughter of Zeus himself, Donna Troy was a part of New Chronos, proving that the Greek gods exist, don't forget that Poseidon and Athena are active supporters of Aquaman and Wonder Woman. Hawkman's, Hawkgirl's, Hawkwoman's, and the Golden Eagle's souls are affiliated with the Egyptian gods, more people Batman has encountered.

Batman knows that gods exist, he's had encounters with numerous people/entities affiliated with them. He just chooses not to worship them

So, in theory, Batman would be a Universalist?

 

[The Question]

Mabey. I think he beleives in a higher power, and just doesn't care.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Batman's whole schtick is self-sufficiency and preparation for any eventuality, so I doubt faith is much of a priority for him.

 

[JesusOfNazarath]

No, one wouldn't assume that. Superman has never been shown to be a devout christian. He has been shown to be non religious, and a humanist.

You didn't get what I was trying to explain.

 

[Lackey]

Batman believes in God, he's even made contingency plans to take God out in case He ever decides to go rogue and start the apocolypse.

 

[Anubis]

Heres something to think about, the "Gods" of the DCU, like Zues or Thor and they're Pantheons were created by Morphus, and became real over countless eons due to beings worshiping them. They are basically...Dreams.

 

[yenaled]

Ragman is Jewish.

At least he should be.

 

[OA blaster]

Batman believes in God, he's even made contingency plans to take God out in case He ever decides to go rogue and start the apocolypse.

now thats a plan i want to see...from a safe distance away

 

[Bat-Mantis]

No, one wouldn't assume that. Superman has never been shown to be a devout christian. He has been shown to be non religious, and a humanist.

Devout Christian, maybe. But in Superman: For All Seasons we saw that he and the Kents were members of a church, and Clark even went to the Priest/Preacher/Minister/Whatever to ask for advice. Then later he went to see the Priest in the For Tomorrow Arc. Also, in many books it's been shown that Pa Kent is pretty religious (just in inner monologues and so on, not that he's been to church in any book that I know of) while Martha Kent really isn't (doesn't mean she's agnostic, it just means she doesn't pray before every meal like Pa would).
Also, Superman says he can see souls in Lex Luthor: Man of Steel.

I think Hawkman still adheres to the ancient Egyptian relgion.

Hawkman believes in elements of almost all religions and has been shown to worship the Christian God (he even blessed a sprinkler system, which he then used to kill a bunch of vampires) as well as show reverence to Hindu and Egyptian gods (his helmet is supposed to represent Horus, and he claimed it was a religious symbol so the cops couldn't make him take it off in one issue).

Also, we've seen Batman acknowledge the existence of God a bunch of times throughout the years. Granted it's usually something like his monologue in the Broken City arc where he says God pisses on Gotham, but still. I'd say he doesn't really look to religion for inspiration, but I don't think he's entirely renounced it. I do remember (in some issue I can't remember) he's said he hasn't talked to god since his parents died, but even then he doesn't deny god exists.

As for the Atom, I don’t know if he’s Jewish or not, but I do remember the scene in IC where he prayed for Jean’s safety.

 

[CAPT. MARVEL]

Devout Christian, maybe. But in Superman: For All Seasons we saw that he and the Kents were members of a church, and Clark even went to the Priest/Preacher/Minister/Whatever to ask for advice. Then later he went to see the Priest in the For Tomorrow Arc. Also, in many books it's been shown that Pa Kent is pretty religious (just in inner monologues and so on, not that he's been to church in any book that I know of) while Martha Kent really isn't (doesn't mean she's agnostic, it just means she doesn't pray before every meal like Pa would).

Right on, I tend to see Clark as a somewhat liberal Christian. He seems to believe in God, practices Judeo-Christian ethics, but I doubt you'd see him tell a Muslim or any other religion that they were going to burn in hell.

Also, Superman says he can see souls in Lex Luthor: Man of Steel.Hawkman believes in elements of almost all religions and has been shown to worship the Christian God (he even blessed a sprinkler system, which he then used to kill a bunch of vampires) as well as show reverence to Hindu and Egyptian gods (his helmet is supposed to represent Horus, and he claimed it was a religious symbol so the cops couldn't make him take it off in one issue).

Also, we've seen Batman acknowledge the existence of God a bunch of times throughout the years. Granted it's usually something like his monologue in the Broken City arc where he says God pisses on Gotham, but still. I'd say he doesn't really look to religion for inspiration, but I don't think he's entirely renounced it. I do remember (in some issue I can't remember) he's said he hasn't talked to god since his parents died, but even then he doesn't deny god exists.

As for the Atom, I don’t know if he’s Jewish or not, but I do remember the scene in IC where he prayed for Jean’s safety.

very good observations on Batman and Hawkman as well. I was not aware of these things.

 

[OA blaster]

i can never get into reading hawkman

 

[The Red Skull]

Right on, I tend to see Clark as a somewhat liberal Christian. He seems to believe in God, practices Judeo-Christian ethics, but I doubt you'd see him tell a Muslim or any other religion that they were going to burn in hell.

Jeez... what's your idea of conservative?

Clark was probably baptised into a typical Baptist church. Location could suggest Episcopalian. Not that it matters; we never see him at any church regularly and it's not as if religion has ever meant anything to the character.

As for Connor... he was raised in a monestary, visits Buddhist book shops, etc. I think it's safe to say he subscribes to a fair few Buddhist practices. Any confusion probably stems from Kevin Smith's "Oh, Father" prayer in the Quiver arc.

That didn't make a whole lot of sense. Well, neither did Quiver.

 

[Xofenroht]

There is a difference between religion and spirituality. So just because Superman can see people's "souls" does not mean that he's Christian. Nor does the fact that he was raised by Christian parents in a predominantly Christian country.
Most Americans were raised in a predominantly Christian country, that doesn't automatically make us Chrisitian. Alot of people who don't believe in the Christian faith were raised by Christian families. Aside from that, according to Christianity, Superman doesn't exist...you know, because he's an alien and apparently Earth is the only planet with intelligent life and humans are the most dominant creatures aside from God.

So the idea of him being Christian seems a bit far fetched. I do think he believes in some sort of higher power though. Of course, he could be an atheist for all we know. Besides, just because someone uses an expression similar to "Oh my God!!!" doesn't mean they believe in God. It's a phrase many people use. Just like "What the Hell?"

 

[Bat-Mantis]

Aside from that, according to Christianity, Superman doesn't exist...you know, because he's an alien and apparently Earth is the only planet with intelligent life and humans are the most dominant creatures aside from God.

Ummm... no. *shakes head* Just... no. I'm not even going to comment on that.
But I will comment on something else. It takes a pretty big leap to presume Superman isn't a Christian based on what you presented. I mean, just saying, "well, just because you grew up in one of the most conservative states in the union, in a country that's over 82% Christian, 2% atheist, 1% agnostic with older, conservative Christian parents doesn't mean you're Christian... actually, it’s pretty far fetched that you are" is just... well... yeah. Doesn't make much sense.
I'm not saying he is Christian and I'm not saying he isn't. I'm just saying... wow, some people just want characters to be one way and they'll close their eyes and spout any amount of dumb crap to “prove” it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Superman's "soul-vision" sounds really lame. I remember wondering what the hell was going on during that Teen Titans issue.

Anyway, isn't Superman's Kryptonian name some kind of Hebrew thing? Maybe Supes is a Jew.

 

[The Red Skull]

There is a difference between religion and spirituality. So just because Superman can see people's "souls" does not mean that he's Christian. Nor does the fact that he was raised by Christian parents in a predominantly Christian country.

Quite right.

Most Americans were raised in a predominantly Christian country, that doesn't automatically make us Chrisitian. Alot of people who don't believe in the Christian faith were raised by Christian families. Aside from that, according to Christianity, Superman doesn't exist...you know, because he's an alien and apparently Earth is the only planet with intelligent life and humans are the most dominant creatures aside from God.

Um... eh? Look, let's try not to lump all Christian beliefs according to whatever fundamentalist nutjob is making the rounds. Don't generalise and then criticise others for the exact same crime. Having said that, yes, you're right. Perhaps the topic should be amended so that we discuss characters for whom religious discussion is relevant?

So the idea of him being Christian seems a bit far fetched. I do think he believes in some sort of higher power though. Of course, he could be an atheist for all we know. Besides, just because someone uses an expression similar to "Oh my God!!!" doesn't mean they believe in God. It's a phrase many people use. Just like "What the Hell?"

I don't know about far-fetched, but Clark's never been shown to be especially religious in the past, so it should be assumed that he doesn't subscribe to any particular religion (not just Christianity).

Pre-Crisis Supes definitely worshipped Rao, though.

J'onn worships Morpheus, doesn't he? The Endless are members of the Martian pantheon, if I recall.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

J'onn recognized Morpheus as the Martian dream god, yeah.

 

[BrianWilly]

I thought that the Martians had their own pantheon? J'onn has evoked H'ronmeer quite a few times.

 

[Xofenroht]

Ummm... no. *shakes head* Just... no. I'm not even going to comment on that.
But I will comment on something else. It takes a pretty big leap to presume Superman isn't a Christian based on what you presented. I mean, just saying, "well, just because you grew up in one of the most conservative states in the union, in a country that's over 82% Christian, 2% atheist, 1% agnostic with older, conservative Christian parents doesn't mean you're Christian... actually, it’s pretty far fetched that you are" is just... well... yeah. Doesn't make much sense.
I'm not saying he is Christian and I'm not saying he isn't. I'm just saying... wow, some people just want characters to be one way and they'll close their eyes and spout any amount of dumb crap to “prove” it.

I'm not spouting dumb crap. Hell, I'm not even a fan of Superman, so why do I really care whether he's Christian or not?
I'm just saying that it's highly unlikely that he's Christian BECAUSE he's an alien and last time I checked, Christian beliefs didn't support the existence of alien lifeforms. Yes it's farfetched for an alien from outerspace with knowledge of his origins and an obvious genetic difference from the people he's surrounded by and being raised by Conservative Christian parents to be "thought" to be Christian.

I'm just pointing out the facts. That being that it's not likely that an alien would ever be Christian.

Batman and Green Arrow are my favorite DC super heroes. So why haven't I said anything to try and not make them Chrisitian? Because it's very likely that they would be. Sure, I never quite pictured Batman as being Christian, but he just might be. I really don't know about Green Arrow myself, but he did go to Heaven, so if he's not Christian then he at least believes in an afterlife.

Besides one of my favorite Marvel super heroes happens to be Catholic. So I really don't think I have a problem with "opening my eyes".

 

[The Red Skull]

They do. Morpheus of the Endless just happens to be their dream god, despite being neither a god or a Martian. Same goes for most of the other Endless.

Oh, while I'm here, have we ever gotten to the bottom of the relationship between Lucifer and the First of the Fallen? FotF claims to be the first being in creation besides the DCU's Yahweh and yet can't even manage to put down a drink-sodden Liverpudlian in a dirty old mac; which leads me to believe he's just another demon with delusions of grandeur... though I'm not sure of the fact (though I'm pretty confident Ennis decided to muck up DCU cosmology for no real reason).

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It's possible that the Martians' telepathic abilities allow them to delver deeper into their dreams than humans. If that were the case, I imagine more than a few of them might've found themselves consciously walking around in the Dreaming, in which case they'd be exposed to Morpheus.

 

[CAPT. MARVEL]

I'm not spouting dumb crap. Hell, I'm not even a fan of Superman, so why do I really care whether he's Christian or not?
I'm just saying that it's highly unlikely that he's Christian BECAUSE he's an alien and last time I checked, Christian beliefs didn't support the existence of alien lifeforms. Yes it's farfetched for an alien from outerspace with knowledge of his origins and an obvious genetic difference from the people he's surrounded by and being raised by Conservative Christian parents to be "thought" to be Christian.

This is wrong, Christianity has taken no stance on alien life forms one way or the other.

 

[Bat-Mantis]

I'm just pointing out the facts. That being that it's not likely that an alien would ever be Christian.

Oh my god. This is going in my sig. It's just so unintentionally hilarious.
And your points from before are still just... wrong and don't make sense. I mean, sure. Saying he grew up in the Midwest with older Christian parents, was (apparently) raised in the church, has been known to visit a Priest for guidance, and since he's American he's 82% likely to be Christian doesn't mean he IS Christian... but claiming it's far fetched to say that he IS is just... wrong.