Gods in Star Wars...

[Kurgan]

In that same line of thinking, I think "the force" seems to closely mirror Lucas' own belief.. a kind of universalistic spiritual "thing" which is probably close to a pantheistic, or monistic universe (primarily from Eastern religious thought), with touches of ideal Judeo-Christian ethics.

This is in contrast to Roddenberry's moulding of Star Trek from a primarily secular (or mystical) humanism centered universe.

[Biddybot]

Reference Jar Jar mentioning gods, did anyone else find it odd that when the Gungans retreated to their 'sacred place' that all the old carved heads shown appeared to have pretty human-looking features? Makes you wonder, sacred to whom? The Naboo? Did Gungans once worship them? Evolve from something like a Naboo? Just one of those 'huh?' moments. I'm still not sure what to make of it.

Daffy Duck would have been a good ancient Gungan god...

[Kurgan]

Yes, very interesting indeed!

Then again, let's think of it another way:

the ancient Egyptians worshipped a pantheon of gods, many of whom had the bodies of humans, but the heads of various animals.

If we only saw the heads, perhaps their "bodies" were gungan, and the heads were of "animals" (they DO have a low opinion of the Naboo humans when we first encounter them)?

Now perhaps this is different because the Gungans are quite humanoid, but anything is possible. ; )

I forgot to mention the Jem'Hadar religion: they worship the "founders" (shape-shifters), as do the Vorta. Of course they are both fanatical slave races, with the Jem'Hadar being a race of genetically engineered drug addicts.

[Kurgan]

To add to that, we saw human burials in AOTC, whereas cremation seems to be more of a Jedi custom, though Clieg Lar's statements imply a sort of agnostic belief "wherever you are... I hope you've found peace."

[Kurgan]

And again... various characters make statements about luck, fate, destiny, etc, which is usually considered "superstitious" but actually are fairly religious concepts, when you think about it.