Talk:Calormene religion

Seeing as we voted to delete Narnian Christianity, perhaps we should delete its equally conjectural Calormene equivalent. Wolfdog: Narnia Wiki administrator 02:10, 25 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I'd say I'd disagree. While the Narnian centring of Aslan is never explicitly Christian, and we have no evidence of any formal religion like that at all, the Calormene religion is referenced quite clearly. However, though the Calormene religion could be called Paganism, as Pagan is generally anything non-Christian, then it is not really a suitable term here (Narnia having no Christianity to compare against). Hence, I would recommend the keeping of this article, but having it renamed as 'Calormene Religion', 'Calormene Polytheism' or something equivalent. Poggin 10:40, 25 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree with Wolfdog, it should go. All this information could go under Calormenes and/or Tash.  Some of it is purely speculative, anyway, and shouldn't be there at all. Rain Thalo 14:01, 25 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I'd dispute that - what is speculative? What is mentioned in the trivia is true - this is a widespread opinion. As well as this, there are other gods that the Calormenes believe in (eg Zardeenah) that are important to their religion, and could not go under Tash. I would say, if we are looking to expand the wiki, this is a perfectly valid article to keep alongside one about the Calormenes as a people, and it is certainly an article that can be expanded upon. Poggin 23:11, 25 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I wasn't talking about the trivia, though it does call itself speculation, but whatever. Still, that could go on the Calormenes page.  I was mainly thinking of the turban line.  That could be mentioned under Calormenes in genral, you cannot argue that it is unnecessary speculation (okay, I suppose you could argue it, if you wanted to).  Yes, we know they were pagan, but I only know of the name of one god, Tash.  If you can show me a place where Lewis named any of the other gods, I'll shut up and you can keep it, though I recommend that you do change the name to Calormene Religion or something a bit more general.  Rain Thalo 02:22, 26 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Zardeenah was one other god mentioned, by Aravis when she tells her story in The Horse and His Boy. Poggin 21:20, 27 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Okay then, I guess it's all good now. Rain Thalo 15:44, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Calormene Paganism?
Calormene Paganism is misleading, as it implies pagan and neopagan belief structures, which is clearly not what the Calormene religion is structured upon.

There is also a problem with the definition, as pagan means "a person holding beliefs other than those of the main world religions." In the context of Narnia (the world, not the country), the Calormene religion is not pagan. There are parts of Narnian history where the worship of Tash et al was THE main world religion.

If there was only a god and a goddess mentioned throughout the ENTIRE series, then it's highly likely that the Calormene religion just had a single god and his consort, which would also throw out polytheism in favour of bi- or di-theism (bitheism implies harmony, ditheism implies rivalry or conflict).

--Puppetstrings 23:12, 1 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Actually, the term 'pagan' is (or was) only ever used in contrast to Christianity or Judaism, rather than referring to general non-mainstream religion. However, this still means that it is redundant in terms of Narnia. Hasn't the title for the article been changed though? Anyhow I am pretty sure that even is only two Gods are specifically mentioned, more are implied. I'm trying to look for evidence now - of course the two major sources to check being The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle. Poggin 10:19, 2 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Ok, already, Arsheesh has referred to 'Gods', and Shasta speculates that he might be the son of a God - a much more like though if it is taken for granted that there are many gods. A certain 'Azaroth' is also mentioned by Aravis, alongside Tash and Zardeenah. Poggin 10:45, 2 July 2009 (UTC)