(Speculative) Religious Organizations in Space

I brought this subject up in response to some comments in This Thread

Considering the subject, however, I thought the subject might profit from it's own thread.

Throughout the socio-political climate of history, religions in one form or another have had their prickly relations.
Seems everyone wants their own bit of insulated xenophobic club-members only patch of dirt.

Possible solution: colonize space.
Granted, colonizing space would be a task and effort that would take several hundreds of years, but, each religious organization, whether it's the Catholic Church, Judaism, Islam, whichever, control large sums of cash.

With effort, and time, each of these groups could have their own bit of rock to stomp around on far away from anyone bothering them, or them causing trouble with anyone else.

A quick search on google shows estimates of the Catholic church controlling a guesstimated 40billion in the bank, not counting assests tied up in realestate, investments, and other hard assests.

A quick search on net worth of Judaism brings up percentages stating that 18% of America's Billionaires are Jewish. Judaism has quite a bit of privately controlled scratch.

Others have their own reserves and pools to pull funds from.

Each group, on their own, or in cooperation with Nasa, Roscosmos, ESU, or any national/international space program could very well toss their hats/yarmulkes/turbans/whatevers into the space race with their own goals to eventually realize their very own promised lands.

This infusion of currency would further the development of technologies for the benefit of all mankind in efforts to establish a sustainable presence off this rock, plus, it'd be a step toward each prickly religious faction setting up their own little bit of paradise somewhere in the heavens so they can stop fighting over bits of dirt here on Earth.

With enough effort, everyone could have their own little corner of the moon, a few rocks in the asteroid belt, bases on moons around Jupiter + Saturn, and/or even out into the far icy reaches of the Kuiper belt/Oort Cloud.

What are your thoughts on this?
The international space exploration concern, I think would benefit from an infusion of cash, regardless of where it comes from, and programs developed, over time, could benefit everyone.
There'd be no more need for fights over scraps of land when whichever 'people' you belong to or identify with got their own little piece of heaven in the heavens.

You asked our thoughts on this, and my immediate thought was "Lexx". It was a quirky show on Showtime, then Scifi, about ten years ago. At the time of this posting, it's on Hulu. They had a religion built into the show, which affected a lot of people's actions.

reply to post by TheCounselor


I remember Lexx. I'm pretty sure I still have the whole series on my hard drive.
If anything, I was thinking more along the lines of a scenario somewhat described in one of the Riddick movies where New Mecca was a primarily Islamic planet.

I think that were Jews, Muslims, Christians, and the like to establish their own little enclaves off somewhere far away, then once secure in their secular isolation, humanity will have a better chance toward cooperation, reaching out, and developing tolerance and understanding.

Check out any number of sci/fi novels. This idea has been speculated upon for decades. . A common thread is that they all end up fighting with one another. And fighting with all the new religions too.

There is only one problem with this scenario as I see it;
Most religions thrive on converting new members to increase their 'flock', and if the differing religions are 'ghettoised' in this way, then their main source of new money will be stifled, and as someone has pointed out, inter-religious wars could break out on a planetary scale! After all, there is not exactly peace and harmony between the religions here on Earth, is there?
Plus, if all religions are scattered out in space, who will be left here minding the store?

Don't the majority of religious organizations frown down upon science & astronomy?

reply to post by DanielET

The Vatican completed a 1.8 meter telescope in Arizona about 20 years ago and has a lab in Italy. The Catholics, at any rate, are big into science and astronomy.

I'd think that, at the very least, the Jews, with thousands of years of historical persecution and discrimination would be interested in exploring the benefits of setting up a New Jerusalem self sustaining colony on the Moon.

As an individual, if I was bullied and pushed around my whole existence, I'd certainly want to carve out a place far far far away from anyone else.

Benefits to a moon base would give them strategic advantage high up on the gravity well against hostile action.

Then again, something such may be difficult for the more orthodox, not being allowed to operate technology one day a week. Of course, they could always adopt a system of Sabbath in observation where they rotate observation to other days to allow hands-on with crucial life systems.

Would Muslims need a pocket Stellarium to find Mecca on Earth if earth wasn't someplace obviously visible?

Originally posted by charles1952
reply to post by DanielET

 

The Vatican completed a 1.8 meter telescope in Arizona about 20 years ago and has a lab in Italy. The Catholics, at any rate, are big into science and astronomy.

Historically, the catholic church has been one of the most aggressive against furthering human knowledge. Yet today, it's one of the most pro-active! It's woken up to the fact that science is the future. So now it embraces it, which is a GOOD thing.

How does this belong in the Space Exploration forum?

Originally posted by BagBing

Originally posted by charles1952
reply to post by DanielET

 

The Vatican completed a 1.8 meter telescope in Arizona about 20 years ago and has a lab in Italy. The Catholics, at any rate, are big into science and astronomy.

Historically, the catholic church has been one of the most aggressive against furthering human knowledge. Yet today, it's one of the most pro-active! It's woken up to the fact that science is the future. So now it embraces it, which is a GOOD thing.

I think it'd be a great thing if one of the faiths started dumping money into efforts to developed long term habitation off planet.
It might even start a religious space race. If them Catholics are going to have a moon base, we need one too!

In the end, with enough money sink into space ventures with the help and assistance of established agencies, technologies developed in the pursuits could benefit everyone.

Originally posted by Illustronic
How does this belong in the Space Exploration forum?

It involves the exploration of space?

If it's in the wrong place, or there's dispute about where the topic should be, then, please accept my apologies as I though this was the appropriate place for the subject.

Mods, please move this if this isn't the right place.