Cylon Religion

This article discusses the religion of the Cylons of the Re-imagined Series.

In the Original Series, the Cylons there have no documented religion.

For summary information on the Colonial faiths as seen in the Original Series, see Religion in the Twelve Colonies (TOS).

Part of the series on The Cylons (Re-imagined Series)

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Cylons follow a monotheistic religion of their own devising, distinct from the polytheistic religion of their human creators (Miniseries).

The Cylon God

The Cylons have referred to their deity as "God" in many episodes of the Re-imagined Series. Some of these references include:

1. A copy of Number Six engaged in an affair with Gaius Baltar who was killed on the day of the Cylon attack
2. Sharon Agathon, a Cylon that later allies itself with the Colonials
3. Two copies of Leoben Conoy, found on Ragnar Anchorage and the Gemenon Traveler
4. A vision of a Number Six, seen and heard only by Gaius Baltar, who claims to be an "Angel of God"
5. A Number Three copy that, contrary to Cylon protocols, intentionally seeks the missing five Humanoid Cylon models (The Eye of Jupiter)

The Cylons believe that God created mankind. Humanity, to the Cylons, is a flawed creation, one that is sinful and has essentially thrown away the gift of the soul and of God's love. The Cylons believe that God directed humanity to create the Cylons as a more perfect entity. From there, the Cylons believe they were to take the place of the flawed humans in the cosmos and become, essentially, the next generation of humankind.

The Cylons, seeing themselves as mankind's children, believed that children can't become really, truly adults until their parents are dead. So, in that philosophy, the Cylons kill their parents in order to evolve and mature ("Torn" Podcast, Act 2).

Attitude toward other faiths

The Cylons' concept of God is similar to, but not necessarily identical to those of the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, in which they believe in a singular deity and reject the worship of multiple deities.

Cylons view the Colonial worship of the Lords of Kobol as blasphemous (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I). The Cylons believe that they know the scriptures of the human religion better than humanity does, but do not believe the Sacred Scrolls to be literally true (Home, Part I). They acknowledge the historicity of the Lords of Kobol without accepting their divinity.

Beliefs

The Cylons apparently worship a metaphysical being, a being that wishes for all to believe in it and love it, human and Cylon alike. The Cylon religion includes concepts of "sin". For example, the virtual Number Six warns Baltar that suicide was a mortal sin when he jokingly suggests killing himself (Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down). A tortured Number Six copy named Gina does not initially kill herself to escape horrific torture because she believes that suicide is a sin (Resurrection Ship, Part II).

The Cylons maintain that one of God's commandments is to procreate ("be fruitful"), but the humanoid Cylons are incapable of procreating with each other. The Cylons apparently strictly define "procreation" as biological reproduction, and not creation of copies of existing Cylon models using asexual, industrial or laboratory techniques. As a result, the Cylons began attempts to create a Cylon-human Hybrid (deemed more feasible than their previous attempts at procreation amongst their own kind). To this end they developed "farms" on the occupied Twelve Colonies to create a hybrid, but these attempts continued without success.

Most Cylons espouse monotheistic views, but often with subtle differences in interpretation. For instance, Leoben Conoy's "We are all God" philosophy is reflective of Gnosticism.

The first successful Cylon-human Hybrid, Hera Agathon, the daughter of the traitorous Sharon Agathon and Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon, is literally considered to be a "miracle from God" by the Cylons (Final Cut).

Analysis

The concept that the religious beliefs of the Cylons are similar to the real-life Abrahamic religions of planet Earth in the re-imagined series of Battlestar Galactica is a plot twist which executive producer Ron Moore developed and has said he thought it was an intriguing switch: normally, the "Good Guys" in a TV show are monotheists, and the "bad guys" are polytheists. However, in the Re-imagined Series, the "good" humans follow a polytheistic religion that worships a parallel of the Greek gods, while the "bad" Cylons worship a monotheistic God, similar to real-life Abrahamic religions.

The Cylon God and the Lords of Kobol have an "overlapping" existence that is confusing to both Colonial and Cylon sides. Both sides appear to be guided to conflict (and, in rare instances, cooperation) through events that appear pre-destined. The story arc of finding the Arrow of Apollo involves the hunt for the Tomb of Athena by the Colonials. According to the Sacred Scrolls, the humans will be aided by a "minor demon." The cooperative Sharon Valerii copy assists the group in finding the tomb.

In another instance, the oracle Dodona Selloi tells Number Three that the Lords of Kobol, specifically Zeus, are sad for her. The oracle then relays a message from the Cylon God to Three of the existence of Hera Agathon and the imminent failure of the occupation of New Caprica (Exodus, Part I).

The convergeance of the Cylon and Colonial religion occurs yet again at the algae planet, where possession of the Eye of Jupiter is fought over by the two sides. While the Colonials believe the Temple of Five on the planet was built by the Thirteenth Tribe to represent five priests who worshipped "the one whose name cannot be spoken", one Cylon (Number Three) and Gaius Baltar believe that the significance of the Temple has something to do with the five missing Humanoid Cylons. Lieutenant Felix Gaeta discovers that the algae planet's sun will soon go nova; both he and Admiral Adama do not believe that the curious coincidences of Colonial and Cylon involvement with the Eye, at that particular place and time, as merely coincidental (The Eye of Jupiter).

Sayings and Prayers

• Leoben Conoy: (at a dinner table with Kara Thrace) "Heavenly father, we thank you for the bounty of this table…" (Occupation)
• Sharon Agathon: "When God's anger awakens, even the mighty shall fall…" (Torn)
• A group of sickened Cylons performing the Prayer to the Cloud of Unknowing: "Heavenly father [. . .] grant us the strength...the wisdom [. . .] and above all...a measure of acceptance..." (A Measure of Salvation)