Various religions have existed before and after the Great War.
Background
In the centuries following the Great War, some major pre-War religions and belief systems split into new delineations, while others continue to march along as they had for centuries prior. This is the case with Christianity and Mormonism, as various Christian and Mormon settlements and denominations exist, such as Catholicism and Protestantism. Although in the case of Mormonism which denominations did and didn’t survive is less certain. Christian organizations such as the Abbey of the Road send missionaries to preach the faith while scavenging holy sites for religious relics for restoration. The Catholics of Saint Monica's Church espouse a post-War version of the real-world story of Saint Monica, in which Monica is a ghoul. The followers of Dharma were originally from Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh backgrounds, and include the founders of Shady Sands. Pre-War religious cults survived, and even thrived, in the absence of any kind of pushback from law enforcement or competing cultural institutions. These include the Hubologists, the Cult of the Mothman, and those who attempt to commune with Ug-Qualtoth.
However, in the wake of nuclear devastation, many new cults were established with a variety of belief systems. Some were developed over time from mythologized retellings of real events, such as the "Father in the Caves," the Sorrows deity inspired by Randall Clark's interactions with the fledgling tribe upon their arrival in Zion Canyon. Many small cults revere the spirits of plants and animals,[1][2] such as the Vipers,[3] or the tribe at Brahmin Wood. The Treeminders worship a captive "god," Harold the tree-mutant, despite his protests. Not all cults were created altruistically, such as the Renewal Cult, which was created wholly by a megalomaniacal mutant rat to take over the world.
The Children of the Cathedral are another doomsday cult,[Non-game 1] who serve the Master as a façade for his plan to use the FEV to unite humanity as supposedly perfect mutants.[Non-game 2] They originally served some kind of Dark God under the guidance of Morpheus, until the Master found them. He demanded their allegiance as spies, and their leader accepted.[Non-game 1] The Children set up small hospitals at settlements across New California to proselytize and spy. The Cathedral and its "god" were destroyed in a massive nuclear detonation in 2162.[Non-game 3] Some mutants still serve the lost cause of Unity.[4] Others have found new spiritual callings, such as the wandering nightkin tribe who worship a brahmin skull they call Antler.
Ghouls have been known to form their own cults, especially those cast out from other societies. The Bright Brotherhood sought transcendence by escaping Earth on rocket ships. In the ruins of Kansas City, the ghoulified followers of Plutonius worship a nuclear warhead.
Similarly, the Church of the Children of Atom worship a deity they call Atom, and directly worship nuclear warheads. They essentially believe that each atom contains within it an entire universe, and their beliefs involve releasing those universes.[5][6] They see the Great War as a creative event, rather than a destructive one, and hold those who were called to Atom at that time to be fortunate.[7] They generally seek their own "Division," and the "Division" of the world around them, achieved by absorbing and spreading radiation, or causing nuclear detonations. They hold nuclear weapons to be holy instruments. A large and eclectic faith, they are spread out across the wasteland, and their leaders often differ slightly in their interpretation of the Church cosmology. Some groups, such as the followers of Confessor Cromwell at Megaton, are ostensibly peaceful. They have existed there uneventfully alongside the community for generations,[8] and the sheriff assesses them as "mostly harmless."[8] They even claim to practice charity. However, the assessment of "usually pretty harmless" was incorrectly applied to the followers of Confessor Alvarado,[9] who ghoulified innocents, and threatened to detonate a nuclear bomb. Still other practitioners have been known to kidnap, forcibly baptize, brainwash,[10] or even sacrifice passing outsiders.[11][12][13] They’ve also been known to poison towns' water supplies with radiation.[14] It's claimed they pass down the locations of missile sites over generations[15] and guard them in preparation for a Great Divide.[16] In 2286, they attacked several settlements across the Commonwealth in service of a prophet calling himself the Last Son of Atom.[Non-game 4] By late 2287, they were almost entirely driven out of the region.
The concept of heresy also survives in the wasteland. The Apostles of the Eternal Light are a group in the Capital Wasteland who split from the Church of the Children of Atom because they do not believe in the "Great Division."[17] They seek "Enlightenment" through ghoulification or through death by radiation poisoning. Their leader, Mother Curie III, considers herself opposed to the doctrine of "Division" described above, emphasizing the transformative power of radiation over time. She also disagrees with Cromwell over whether the detonation of the bomb at Megaton would serve Atom's will.[7][17] Her most outspoken acolyte Gerard blasphemes against her in turn: although he shares her enthusiasm for ghouls, Brother Gerard is enchanted at the prospect of detonating the "Great Symbol of Atom"[17] and resolves to pray for this outcome.[18]
On the Island, a Child named Sister Gwyneth rebelled against the Atomites by devoting herself to "Nothing,"[19][20] essentially espousing nihilism as a religion, complete with a sacred place where she sermonizes.[19] This was born from a crisis of faith which occurred when she discovered the definition of an atom from a pre-War textbook,[21] and came to view Atom as an insignificant speck in an unbearable void[19] and a false god.[20] She hopes to spread the word of Nothing to those she once lived alongside.[22][23][20]
Introduced
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Notes
- In addition to Fallout 3's Treeminders, Harold was also worshipped by the Church of Harold in the canceled Project V13.
- Megaton settlers in Fallout 3 may quote from the Bhagavad Gita, the Torah, and the Koran, foundational texts related to Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam respectively, when reacting to news of a character's death in dynamic conversations.[24]
- In Fallout: New Vegas, one of the political parties within Vault 11 was called the Divine Will Bloc.
- In Fallout 4, the All Faiths Chapel in Diamond City is a space open to prayer of any denomination or creed. According to the Winter of Atom sourcebook for Fallout: The Roleplaying Game, it was briefly occupied by the Children of Atom in 2286.[Non-game 5]
- In the Fallout 4 add-on Far Harbor, if Gwyneth is convinced to fear the wrath of the Church of Atom during her quest, The Heretic, she will flee the Island to evangelize for her new faith.[20]
- In Fallout 76, Vault 94 was designed to test the adaptability of non-violent ideological groups when presented with post-apocalyptic societies.[25] The dwellers belonged to an agrarian religious community, led by Pastor Gabriella Salavar.[26][27]
- In Fallout 76, altars to "NOTHING" can be found at a pylon near Hornwright Estate and in a room at Fort Defiance. Each site centers around graffiti reading "NOTHING is real" and features a single prominently displayed human skeleton.
- This graffiti is identical to graffiti left on the Island by Gwyneth. In both games, the texture is titled DLC03DecalAtom01.
- The graffiti also appears in a bathroom at the Slumber Mill Motel, a location in Fallout 76 introduced in the Skyline Valley update. The note public shaming is found beneath the graffiti, and contains the writings of various people mocking the "theory" and the person who added the graffiti.
- In Fallout Tactics, one of the brains within the Calculator was called the Evangelist brain.
Behind the scenes
In designing the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts, project director Joshua Sawyer wanted to explore religious themes in a post-apocalyptic context, as he felt that religion was not frequently explored in video games, or at least not in a serious fashion. He also wanted the player to make a choice between two sides that were trying (at least ostensibly) to do good. As such, the player would decide between virtues instead of vices, an intentional contrast to the moral ambiguity of the base game's factions, as well as the characters in the previous add-on, Dead Money.[Non-game 6]
References
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Non-game
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fallout Bible 0: "2152 As their influence slowly spreads throughout the wastes, the Master finds humans, doomsday cultists, and rather than dip them in the vats, he demands their obedience as spies - their leader is a man named Morpheus, and he pledges his followers to the Master. Morpheus and his cultists form the future core of the Children of the Cathedral. "
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0 Timeline repair: Second strike:
"2156 The Master sees advantages in establishing a benevolent "religion," the Children of the Cathedral, and using them as spies in settlements throughout the wastes. Missionaries from the Children of the Cathedral spread slowly across the wasteland, acting as eyes and ears for Morpheus and the Master." - ↑ Fallout Bible 0: "2162 March 3 Vault Dweller kicks the Master's ass."
- ↑ The main plot of Winter of Atom.
- ↑ Winter of Atom p.102: "The Children of Atom are taking over the All Faiths Chapel, citing that they need a place from which they can help the locals. Pastor Clements strongly opposes their occupation of the chapel. Most Lower Field residents trust the Children of Atom and support their speaking out about the resource hoarding of the Upper Stand residents. Lower Stands locals frequently agree with the Church’s critical view of the Minutemen—who they claim are nothing more than a self-serving militia looking for a foothold in the city."
- ↑ Question: "So far all NV dlcs give a very different experience than what's in the OC. Does Obsidian often use dlcs to experiment with new gameplay ideas, as a quick way to see what gamers would like and not like to see in your future games?"
Joshua Sawyer: "We do use them to experiment with themes and gameplay elements on a small scale, yes. For example, in Honest Hearts, I wanted to deal with post-apocalyptic religious characters. Religion isn't dealt with very much in video games, or it's only touched on superficially, or it is done through a proxy/fake religion as a joke. In contrast to Dead Money, where Chris created a number of nasty, vice-driven folks, I wanted Honest Hearts to feature characters primarily motivated (at least ostensibly) by a desire to do good. That is, I wanted the player to be choosing between virtues instead of choosing between vices. This is also (to a lesser extent) different from the core game, where the major factions are all various shades of scumbag and players are often thinking about which group sucks least. But fundamentally I really wanted to see if people were allergic to religious topics and characters. Even though it's obviously common in films and books, the topic of religion in games often draws a stink eye or immediate concern that someone, somewhere, will be offended. Honest Hearts had a lot of fair criticism for its relatively small scope, but I'm glad that most people either didn't care about the religious content or enjoyed it. I don't think religion needs to be an element of every story or setting, but I'm glad to know that it can be."
(Joshua Sawyer Formspring posts/2011)