In this clip from Futurama, a group of reptilian priests are bowing down to their god in front of what seems to be a hieroglyphics wall. Behind the priests are the human masses that have come to this area on the ship shown in the beginning. The priests are, ironically, explicitly saying the exact same arguments that critics of religion are saying to this present day, e.g. lack of responsibility and inability to think for oneself.
I do not consider myself to be religious, but I do find that sometimes the points that critics of religion seem to hold true in some cases or people. There seems to be two types of religious people: the “blind” fanatics, and the more light-hearted, “enlightened” followers. The “blind” fanatics, like the priests in this Futurama clip, do not exactly give religion a good reputation; they shove religious information and evidence in arguments, proclaiming them to be absolutely right, while any other different opinions or ideas are immediately deemed as “wrong” in their minds. Therefore, these fanatics are usually the people that critics target, like the Westboro Baptist Church. However, the other group is not so blind as critics make them out to be; they are usually more humble when preaching religious information and respect everyone’s ideas, even if it conflicts with their own beliefs. At times, we, as humans, regardless of religious affiliation, can probably learn a thing or two about morality or maybe even about the history of different cultures through religion. Religion only comes across as a problem if it gets shoved down people’s throats; other than that, most people wouldn’t mind it.
The storyboard writers of Futurama probably did not want to bash religion intentionally with this clip, and obviously, because it is a comedy show, they did poke fun at religion a bit to make their audience laugh. Their purpose, other than for comedic reasons, would probably be to actually show why religion gets mocked and laughed at; it’s because of people like the priests in the clip who can’t think for themselves and are always reliant on religion to show them the way and believe that everything will go well for them if they simply pray to their god to give them wealth, prosperity, and other riches. Futurama may also be showing why religion is declining too, besides the reasons stated. With new information in the future and new technology, we, as humans, have the ability to explain more supernatural phenomena in the world and do not have to resort to religion to explain say, the birth of the universe. Here in the clip, the audience can clearly see how “outdated” the people appear to be; they are still relying on hieroglyphics when there are holograms and digital/computer generated images in the future that Futurama portrays, the masses of people look poor and in bad conditions with no clothes, and they are using a ship to travel when there are spaceships available. These factors, along with the message the clip seems to carry, make the audience think about if religion in the future is going to become obsolete and outdated because of technology, new influx of information, and the changing connotation of religion as critics bash it for ignorance.
Even though Futurama depicts religion as a weak force one thousand years later from our own time, religion is becoming more of a weaker force as well in today’s society. Unlike hundreds of years ago in the past, today’s society is more secular; we do not have religious classes in our public education, and with new information constantly growing, more natural phenomena are constantly being explained with each passing day. Religion in the past was also a political power as well; today, it has weakened to the point of being ousted from politics and becoming just another aspect or organization of society. Nowadays, religion seems to be more of a guide to living, rather than an absolute path; people are using it as a way to live content lives for themselves and make the people around them happy as well.
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