The Religions of Ice and Fire:
A Study of the Religions of A Song of Ice and Fire
Despite the popularity of the HBO series Game of Thrones the series has not received well publicized criticism from religious groups. In fact the book series hasn’t received much criticism at all from the religious community. Most of the criticism has been focussed on the HBO series. As such, this section will deal mostly with the HBO series as opposed to the books. Most of the criticism found levelled against the series is from Christian sources. This may seem a little bit odd considering all the parallels that can be drawn between the religions in the series and real world religions but that’s just how it is. Of course, the religious response to the series hasn’t been wholly negative. There are some you have extolled certain aspects of the series for promoting Christian ideas.
Religious Response1,2,3,4
Religious groups have a number of concerns with the series. First is the seeming lack of moral right in the series. In this series the good character isn’t always going to win over the bad. In some cases in the series the morally right characters have been cut down abruptly and unexpectedly. In the HBO series the most recent example of this would be the Red Wedding. In this situation, a number of morally right characters, Robb Stark and company, were all brutally murdered in the quest for power. While not exactly perfect Robb Stark would have been held up in the series as one of the good guys, the claimant to the throne who is perhaps best fitting the Christian ideal. This didn’t help him in the end though. Despite his good moral foundation he was slaughtered. Critics say that examples such as this in the series are an example of how the series acts to undermine morals. A second thing that critics find wrong with the series is the copious amounts of sex that seems to take place. Both in the books and the HBO series there are large amounts of overt sexual activity between the characters. George R. R. Martin was not shy when it came to writing the books. This adds on to the argument of shaky morals in the series. The third criticism levelled against the show is in relation to the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Critics believe that this series acts to subvert the works of Tolkien. Both take place in similar fantasy world but both have very different underlying mechanics. In The Lord of The Rings series, the progression is very straight forward from beginning to end. The good characters set out on a quest to bring about the end of a dark overlord. They go through trials and tribulations but they eventually make it to the end and defeat the great evil. The only main characters to die are those that fall from grace. In this series the progression isn’t quite as clear. The potentially good guy sets out against the somewhat evil character only to be cut down by another evil character, forcing the reader or viewer to shift alliances. There is a much less clean divide between good and evil, making this a very un-Tolkien series.
The religious proponents of the series use some of the same arguments to make a different point. They say that the series is very good in promoting a vision of Christian realism as opposed to the Christian idealism of Tolkien’s work. Westeros isn’t populated with morally right people who always follow the law to a letter. They are meant to reflect actual people who have the ability to make decisions, whether the results are seen as being right or wrong. There is greed, lust, anger, and revenge in the world. In the world of Tolkien these things are punished but in the world of Martin these things often lead to rewards. In this way the world made my Martin is meant to be a closer parallel to the real world. In our world people aren’t struck down immediately for committing sins or hurting others. In fact they are often rewarded in some way. This makes the world of Martin a world that is more prevalent to contemporary Christian thinking than the ideal world of Tolkien. Christians will have to face these problems in their lives so it is no good to pretend that they don’t exist. The second argument for the series from religious critics comes from the idea of the common person being able to make a difference in the world. It isn’t just the highborn of the series that are important. Characters such as Davos Seaworth, a lowborn man, have risen to places of great importance through their good nature and strong morals.
The religious response to this series is a mixed one. Some people feel that the series is morally lax and corrupts the Christian ideals of the works of Tolkien. Others feel that the series depicts a realistic world complete with the challenges faced by religious people, and that common people can become something more in their world.
This isn't Lord of the Rings. There is no Sauron. (The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001)
Davos Seaworth, a lowborn man who made himself into a lord through hard work and loyalty. (HBO, 2013)
The morally right Robb Stark being executed by one of his trusted bannermen. (HBO, 2013)
Notes
1.Gibson, D. (2013, June 4). Can a Christian watch ‘Game of Thrones’? Retrieved from http://www.religionnews.com/2013/06/04/can-a-christian-watch-game-of-thrones/
2.Lose, D. (2013, June 6). The Gospel According to ‘Game of Thrones’. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-lose/the-gospel-according-to-game-of-thrones_b_3395995.html
3.Ryan, J. (2013, April 1). The Grim Image of Game of Thrones. Retrieved from http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/march-web-only/grim-image-of-game-of-thrones.html?start=2
4.Schmidt, G. (2013, June 3). Only the Good Die Young: The Moral Universe of Game of Thrones. Retrieved fromhttp://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/6157/only_the_good_die_young__the_morality_of_game_of_thrones/