How Catholicism Shaped Bajorans In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 18 seconds ago

To this day, the Deep Space Nine episode “In the Hands of the Prophets” is one of the franchise’s most compelling stories because it directly addresses a topic the franchise historically left alone: religion. It’s an episode that tackles the crunchy intersection of faith and education with a tale about what will or will not be taught at school aboard the station, and it’s also the first episode to really flesh out the Bajorans’ spiritual lives. What most fans don’t realize is that while the franchise historically shied away from religion, Catholicism surprisingly inspired this Star Trek episode from start to finish.

Catholicism And The Bajorans In Star Trek

Just how did Catholicism influence this iconic Star Trek episode, though? For one thing, episode writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe ended up modeling Bajoran society largely after fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Catholicism, which is when the Pope was as much of a political figure as he was a religious one. Back then, different religious orders fought to have their own chosen candidates become Pope, which “In the Hands of the Prophets” reflects by showing the tension between Vedek Bareil and Vedek Winn, both of whom are vying for the position of Kai, the Bajorans’ spiritual leader.

In this way, Catholicism inspired the religious and cultural beliefs of the Bajorans, and they remain one of Star Trek’s most fascinating alien races because of their complex spiritual system. Of course, this revelation might make certain fans uncomfortable because the famously atheistic franchise creator Gene Roddenberry was so critical of religion and wary of including it in his episodes. Those fans might be heartened to discover that Robert Hewitt Wolfe wasn’t exactly endorsing Catholicism here…in fact, he was inspired to write “In the Hands of the Prophets” because of how annoyed he was at “people trying to impose their values on other people.”

As published in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine CompanionWolfe claimed that “this episode is about” the fact that “no one has the right to force anyone to believe the things that they believe.” This is reflected in the episode’s crunchy plot in which Vedek Winn tries to pressure Keiko O’Brien to teach Bajoran religious beliefs in her classroom, which, notably, has a number of non-Bajoran children in it. Wolfe didn’t see the storytelling influence of Catholicism as counter to the Star Trek creator’s vision…instead, he said that “one of the things that we really wanted to hammer home here” was “Gene Roddenberry’s vision of IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.”

To this end, Wolfe wrote Sisko as someone who “does everything not to impose his values on the Bajorans,” but he must contend with Vedek Winn, who “is determined to impose her values on everyone.” The writer basically hoped to thread a needle here and craft a tale that didn’t demonize religious beliefs but explained how those beliefs are not universal and cannot be imposed by others. For example, Sisko doesn’t throw his weight around and dismiss the spiritual beliefs that he doesn’t necessarily share…he simply fights to make sure Keiko’s students don’t have beliefs they don’t share get shoved down their throats.

This probably won’t surprise you, but the writer’s own experiences with Catholicism ended up influencing his Star Trek episode. “Although I was raised Catholic and educated in Catholic schools, that was a choice my parents and I made,” Wolfe said. “I did get a religious education, but I think that’s where it belongs: in a religious school.” He ended his statement with an emphatic message that could have been aimed directly at Vedek Winn: “(Religion) doesn’t belong in all schools.”

Historically, this beloved sci-fi franchise has kept religion on the other side of the galaxy from its usual brand of storytelling. However, Catholicism ended up inspiring one of the best episodes of Deep Space Nine while shaping the beliefs of Star Trek’s most fascinating aliens. Maybe it’s for the best that we never got a DS9 reboot, though, because the internet discourse simply isn’t ready for some Vedek Winn knockoff to complain that Quark’s cups say “happy holidays” instead of “Merry Peldor.”