Patrica C. Wrede's Worldbuilder Questions

Religion and Philosophy

• How do various religions, if any, view magic? Do any forbid it? Require it? Why, or why not? Do any require/forbid magicians to be priests/priestesses (as opposed to members of the congregation)?
• Are there actual gods/godlike beings? If so, do they take an active role in the religions that worship them? Do they take an active role in the lives of everyday people? Why?
• How many gods are there, and is there a hierarchy among them? Which ones are good or evil, or is this meaningless when speaking of gods?
• How do various religions view non-believers? Foreigners? Non-humans? Which support the state/king/government, and which are more interested in ordinary people?
• Is there a difference between miracles and magic? If so, how are they distinguished in everyday events?
• Is there tension, rivalry, or outright hostility between any of the actual gods? How does this affect church politics? People's everyday lives?
• Where does religion fit into this society? Is there a state church? Is freedom of religion the norm? Do people generally think of the temples/churches as parasites, or as useful parts of society?
• If there are actual, demonstrable gods, what part does faith play in their worship? Why do they want worship? What are their various rites like, and why? What offerings are considered good, better, best? Are people supposed to pick one or more gods to worship and ignore the others, or do most people pray to whoever is most likely to grant results in a specific situation (the god of harvest when bringing in the crops, the goddess of war when in battle, etc.)? How do people decide whom to worship? Which temple to be affiliated with?
• How much part do various religions and philosophies play in public and private life? Are philosophers and theologians considered academics, or do they debate in the marketplace, like Socrates? How much influence do their theories have on the way people actually behave?
• Are priests or philosophers full-time occupations, or do they need day jobs? If they are full-time, who supports them--the congregation, a wealthy patron, the temple's investment fund?
• Why are the gods interested in people? Are they like the Greek pantheon (quarrelsome, larger-than-life humans), or are they more transcendent and incomprehensible? Do the gods have limits to what they can do? To what they will do? Can the gods make mistakes?
• How do the various temples and philosophies explain the classic "problem of evil"? Do they think bad things are always a just punishment for some transgression, a character-building exercise, the result of an evil antagonist (Satan, Loki), or just something the gods can't prevent?

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