Founding a Religion (part III)

 The holidays are a beautiful time for food and family.  One of the highlights for me is getting to spend time talking with my brothers.  Conversation, for us, covers a broad range of topics.  We share, discuss and elaborate ideas.  Happily, this year we spent some time talking ancient faiths and how we view them today.

When the modern reader looks back on religions, we tend to view them as being birthed all at once, as if they came into being complete.  In truth, many of the religious traditions of the world are composites of various belief systems all gathered together under one umbrella.  Decostructing the evolution of belief systems and how they adapt to changes in the real world is a fascinating study.  However, when creating your own world, your creation myth could very well be the truth (or a veiled version of it).  The mythology your population believes in may be right.  Hell, somebody in ours might be right.
    Every religion has a creation story.  It answers the basic questions that we still struggle with.  It tells us how we came to be as well as (often) what our creator wants from us.  When the focus of creation, the gods have a design for their worshipers.  In some cases (Greek mythology), humans were not the intention of those in charge.  Humans then have to find their way into the favor of the gods.  This basic relationship will influence all other aspects of your religion.
    Interaction with the gods will be defined in part by their nature.  Extra-terrestrial beings may not be available for their petitioners to reach, or they may use high level science which seems like magic to the population.  Extremely powerful or long lived creatures (like dragons) may be revered as gods.  Ethereal creatures (spirits, ghosts, etc) could also be the objects of worship.  Gods often seem to have the ability to change forms as serves their purpose at the time.
    Morality for humanity, who is trying to get to heaven, is not the same as morality for those that created heaven.  Traditionally, the gods act according to their whims (including the Old Testament god).  These gods may seem cruel, sadistic and capricious to those of us below, but they are not human.  Zeus liked to go around impregnating Greek maidens.  Thor liked to pick fights with giants.  Gods have their own reasons and their own priorities.  What they ask of their followers may be tests of faith or part of a scheme to tweak the nose of one of their enemies.  What is good for the gods is not always what is good for you.
    "God works in mysterious ways," is a favorite saying for many ministers.  It suggests a larger plan and asks for faith from the believer.  Miracles make it easy to believe (an interesting, somewhat modern, meditation on this is the movie "Oh, God!").  Believing in something without evidence (faith) is the most difficult aspect of religion.  People want to believe that there is a force directing and shaping all things.  They will do everything in their power to convince themselves that this power exists.  If your gods start to produce tangible and observable miracles, the word will spread.
    When shaping a religion (and the power of gods in general) in your world, defining the relationship between creator and created is paramount and often defined in the creation story.  Once you know what the gods want from their worshipers, you can have a better understanding of their relationship.  The gods motives will guide how much and how often they interact with their followers.  What the gods want will define the methods of worship.