(Warning: Contains Spoilers)
The recent developments in The Game Of Thrones have put religion on a pedestal in Queen Cersei’s world — and it turns out that they have a source.
The religion that is practiced in Westeros — the continent mostly ruled by the Iron Throne of The Seven Kingdoms — is called The Faith of the Seven. To give you a quick recap — the minor character of the first Septon was torn to pieces in season two by the hungry of Westeros, and was replaced by a second High Septon, who was a corrupt hypocrite closely linked with politics — he is caught in a brothel and disposed of by Queen Cersei, who puts him in the dungeon of the Red Keep, which is her castle’s dungion (perhaps partly because he was appointed by her brother Tyrion, who has grown out of favor after killing their father and after being falsely accused of killing her son and former King of Westeros, the rather obnoxious Jeoffrey). Replacing him, via Queen Cersei’s influence, is The Sparrow, a seemingly humble man who is upset at the corruption of The Faith of the Seven, and head of The Sparrows, a group of peasants who seem to be upset with the hypocritical political puppets and luxuries perpetuated by the High Septons of The Faith of the Seven. The Sparrow is originally used by Queen Cersei to remove the threat of her son’s, the young King Tommen’s, wife Margaery, as she ensures that The Sparrow will condemn Margaery’s brother Loras for having sex with a man (which he did), and in turn condemn Margaery for lying to cover up for him (which he also did) — as a result, as of the latest episode Margaery and her brother are imprisoned, awaiting trial. At the end of the latest episode, the power Queen Cersei has given The Sparrow backfires, as Lancel, someone she committed adultery with, has become a follower of The Sparrow and revealed their adulterous affair. As a result, she, too, is thrown into jail.
In short, the history of The Faith of the Seven is one of a struggle for power. In the hands of the crown, religion does the crown’s bidding. In the hands of a “true believer” like The Sparrow, religion becomes a constant threat with highly questionable judgment.
Recently, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, George R.R. Martin revealed that The Faith of the Seven was actually modeled on a church. In his words:
The Sparrows are my version of the medieval Catholic Church, with its own fantasy twist. If you look at the history of the church in the Middle Ages, you had periods where you had very worldly and corrupt popes and bishops. People who were not spiritual, but were politicians. They were playing their own version of the game of thrones, and they were in bed with the kings and the lords. But you also had periods of religious revival or reform—the greatest of them being the Protestant Reformation, which led to the splitting of the church—where there were two or three rival popes each denouncing the other as legitimate. That’s what you’re seeing here in Westeros. The two previous High Septons we’ve seen, the first was very corrupt in his own way, and he was torn apart by the mob during the food riots [in season 2]. The one Tyrion appoints in his stead is less corrupt but is ineffectual and doesn’t make any waves. Cersei distrusts him because Tyrion appointed him. So now she has to deal with a militant and aggressive Protestant Reformation, if you will, that’s determined to resurrect a faith that was destroyed centuries ago by the Targaryens.
And none of these are awesome. One takes food from the poor. The second is a puppet of the state. The third is overzealous and aggressive in its enforcement of religious standards.
The criticism here seems on point. Indeed, The Faith of the Seven — which combines seven manifestations of one diety — seems to have aspects of the Trinity, which George R. R. Martin also found confusing. Again, from the same article, he stated:
Instead of the Trinity of the Catholic Church, you have the Seven, where there is one god with seven aspects. In Catholicism, you have three aspects—the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. I remember as a kid, I was always confused by that. ‘So there are three gods?’ No, one god, but with three aspects. I was still confused: ‘So he’s his own father and own son?’
Indeed, it is confusing. It is interesting, however, that Martin examines religion in such detail when his own attitude seems so skeptical. He provides an answer for that, as well, when asked if he is religious:
I suppose I’m a lapsed Catholic. You would consider me an atheist or agnostic. I find religion and spirituality fascinating. I would like to believe this isn’t the end and there’s something more, but I can’t convince the rational part of me that that makes any sense whatsoever.
I can’t convince the rational part of me that it makes sense, either. It seems to be wrapped up in personal fears and hopes and politics and, oftentimes, corruption. In other words…so far, The Faith of the Seven seems a perfect portrait of institutionalized religion, thus far, that seem in line with my own skepticism towards religion. It will be interesting to witness future developments.
[Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore under Creative Commons License]