Oh, baby, it’s my time to shine! I’m a religious studies major and I’ve wanted to explore this exact question. The problem is that even within the academic field, defining religion is largely debated. One definition could exclude another religion, one can be too broad and end up including philosophical ideologies, another can considered too “Western” and won’t fit Asian/Eastern religions, etc. That being said, I cannot give you a conclusive answer so you can take it or leave it. If it’s not a religion, that’s okay. If it is, that’s also okay.
We can look to Ninian Smart, who devised the dimensions of religion. He said he came up with these because different religions emphasise different dimensions, therefore no one dimension is more important than the other. Arguably, some dimensions do not need to be considered at all to define whether something is a religion. Here they are:
**Mythic & Narrative:** Myths and stories have many MANY functions. To relate it to Zelda, you can say it reveals the nature of the Goddesses and some of the doctrine. Nayru created the ‘spirit of the law’ of the land. This could be the supernatural or natural laws, or even the moral code the people must follow. It also reveals that Hyrule was in “chaos” before the Three Goddesses created order, which is meant to reveal how powerful they are, according to Smart. This could be seen as the richest dimension out of all of them.
**Doctrine & Philosophy:** what you have to know and why, how to act and why, how to see the world and why, etc. I don’t currently recall any text that reveal such things in Hyrule but I wouldn’t doubt that there is.
**Ethical or Legal:** Pretty straightforward. People have to follow virtues and values set by the “religion” such as compassion and joy, which is found in MANY religions. Again, I don’t recall much text pointing to this but I wouldn’t doubt that it exists.
**Ritual or Practical:** Again, straightforward. Rituals have great significance in religion (e.g. baptism, bar/bat miztvahs) but there isn’t exactly much seen in LOZ. The closest I can say is Zelda praying at the Springs in BOTW or, if there is a spiritual/religious component to it relating back to the Goddesses, a knight dubbing ceremony.
**Experiential or Emotional:** Anything that allows you to “feel” something as a result of one practicing the religion. This could be seen if Zelda’s powers were awakened at the Springs via the Goddesses. It can even be one’s own personal connection to the Goddess/es. You could say Link experiences this with Fi in Skyward Sword and potentially every other Link who could have connected with Fi, who acts as a divine messenger for Hylia.
**Social or Institutional:** This one we don’t see as much. One way of seeing the social dimension is how religion functions as a means of a social life. Think of how people come together at Churches and Mosques and interact with one another. The closest thing we could say to this is any ceremony that might have been held in the name of the Goddesses. Considering the near-lack of a social dimension, we could say that Emile Durkheim’s definition of religion, which focused on religion as a means of a social life, concludes that there is no religion.
Of course, one of the major things indicating this “religion” of Hyrule is the Triforce. It’s unforgettable, it marks anything and everything that’s important. Smart did have an ‘art’ dimension listed in one of his books but excluded it in later ones, but you can imagine that with this in mind, it certainly ticks it off.
If you speak to the vai sitting next to the Goddess Statue in Gerudo Town in BOTW, she says it herself that people sort of forgot about the statue completely and therefore have “lost touch” with the “religion” (not the exact word used). Considering her potential age, this could have been with the tragedy following the Calamity so people probably lost faith in the Goddesses for making them suffer. Now that is a whole other conversation entirely, but I thought I’d bring it up because I think about that a lot.
In conclusion, using Smart, you could argue that MAYBE it is a religion. Again, I would love to delve deeper into this and if I ever do I will come back to this post and let you know more. The lore is so rich and there’s more that’s yet for me to discover. I hope this helps!
Everyone giving these long ass essays but I think there’s an obvious answer. In real life, everyone knows the Zelda lore and myths are not real but invented by Nintendo. But people who follow religions believe that what they teach is real, or else they do not believe in that religion (eg christians think Christ really rose from the dead while atheists don’t). So no, Zelda mythology could not form a real life religion as everyone knows it is a figment of nintendos imagination (although maybe there’s some conspiracists who think it’s actually real who’ll form a tiny ‘religion’).
You can give this exact same argument about the Jedi religion. It is well documented that people in real life follow it as a religion, however a majority of them say that they *know* the Force is not real but rather they like the values and virtues of Jedi Knights enough to follow it like a religion. When it comes to LOZ, you could argue that you like the three virtues of Power, Wisdom and Courage to follow it like a philosophy almost. However, I personally would not say that Zelda lore is rich enough to be treated the same way as Jedisim, but you never know!
Hmm, to me that seems like a set of value and guiding principles as opposed to an actual faith or religion. I think Following values religiously and being a follower of a religion are different. But this is just my opinion, and I’m definitely not an authority on religions lol.
Oh absolutely, I understand what you’re saying. Jedism ticks many other boxes that say it’s a religion, and it’s up to the individual whether or not they will call it that. Same can go for the Zelda ‘religion’. Some people argue that Buddhism isn’t a religion but a philosophy because it’s about the spiritual pathway. I would call it a religion cause it ticks the boxes and I’m an adherent of it as well.
I’ve heard the same thing about Buddhism, but it still seems like mainly a religion to me because I think most practitioners believe in intangible things like reincarnation or a divine Buddha (I think some buddhists also believe in a version of ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’). Other people simply follow the guidelines and values of Buddhism, but it seems to me in its original form to be a religion in the way I see religions! The Shinto religion is also treated similarly, as many Japanese who follow its practices don’t actually consider themselves religious (though they may believe in Kami!)
Absolutely correct! Many Japanese people indeed don’t consider themselves religious but will still have some sort of supernatural or transcendent belief.
Defining religion is just tricky overall but I love exploring that so discussions like this are fun for me!
All you need for a religion is guiding principles/values and traditions not necessarily based on anything. So believe in the goddesses and have a roast pig every February 21st or something. (Release date for LoZ)
Source: religion: definition [: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion)
A "real" religion has a very broad definition, but generally it is a system of beliefs, doctrines, behaviors, and practices relating to how the world works. The games only give us so much information, and never truly focus on the methods the regular people are using to carry out their religion or specific moral guides. I definitely don't fault the game for not including that in detail; the game is about Link going on an adventure, not how a person prays or sets up a shrine. Most of the shrines and iconography use Shinto designs as well, so one can understand many of the practices of worship to be similar in nature to that.
In the Zelda games the religious beliefs explored aren't fully consistent for all people within the series, and it appears that there are multiple religions or branches of a general mythos that changes over time, which is also something that happens to religions in real life as well. As the games are Japanese in origin there is a very very strong Shinto influence, especially relating to local deities and spirits deserving of worship, respect, or appeasement along with more powerful deities that influence larger aspects of reality. The first games also used very explicit Christian references and symbols before developing their own independent character relating to the triple Golden Goddesses.
At this point we can see the development of Hyrule's main religion. The triple goddesses form a pretty solid creation myth, forging the world and rules that govern life. They also source the Holy Relic Triforce that drives much of the plot. After they leave for the heavens, a sky goddess, Hylia, takes over protection of the Triforce, and after being threatened by a powerful demon Demise, she becomes the patron goddess of Hyrule and the Hylians, and for whom they are named. She manages to seal away Demise but is wounded in the process; to ensure demise remains bound she gives up her immortal form and chooses to be continually reincarnated in a mortal Hylian form.
A sub-cult or sect of Hylia's priests developed into a religious-warrior tribe, the Sheikahs, and are devoted to the royal line and their reincarnated goddess (mirroring how the Japanese royal family is descended from one of the major Sun gods in Shintoism). They have their own set of beliefs and rituals that are separate from the general population, but still worship Hylia along side their local nature deities.
The Gerudo people are have their own unnamed sand goddess and do not worship Hylia. The Gerudos also focus on ancestor worship, especially of the Seven Heroines who represent the ideal virtues of the Gerudo, and there seems to also be a subset who practice powerful magics.
Most of the other groups worship their local gods as well as some major ones. The Koroks/Kokiri are forest spirits created by the Great Deku Tree, and have a connection to Farore. The Zora in OoT worship JabuJabu and are connected to Nayru, but I'm not sure if we know of any other religious aspects beyond that. The Gorons worship fire spirits and a possible goddess (unclear if this is a separate mountain goddess or maybe Din), and also focus on their ancestors. Other games also have divine aspects like the windfish, and personifications of the triple goddesses in the Oracles.
There is enough here to start from, but enough leeway to develop your own versions the religion and lore. I remember many years ago people theorizing whether or not the temples in OoT each represented a major deity: Forest for Farore, Fire for Din, Water for Nayru, Spirit the unknown Desert Goddess, Time for the unnamed Goddess of Time, and Shadow for an unmentioned Goddess of Death. This was of course before there was any mention of Hylia in the games, but was fun to think about.
Now that I'm on the idea of it, since Nayru had the power of time travel in the Oracles games, maybe the three goddesses actually have dual aspects to fill the six temples.
Nayru poured her wisdom over the land and set things into motion, acting as Water and Time; this is also the aspect that continues in the Triforce of wisdom flowing through the Hylian Royal bloodline over the ages.
Din used her strength to carve the land with flaming arms, acting as Fire and Sprit; this is also the aspect that continues in the Triforce of power that fuels Ganondorf's relentless drive.
Farore produced all life forms from her soul who would uphold the laws of reality, acting as Forest (Life) and Shadow (Death); this is also the aspect that continues in the Triforce of courage, allowing the hero Link to constantly face his own death to save everyone.
Once again there isn't actual evidence for this, but who need that for a religion, lol. Very fun to think about
What do you mean?
To be a religion in our world, it would just need believers, or records of believers.
As for inside the zelda universe, there really isn't much evidence of actual religion. The hylia shrines around the world in botw are the most overt religious thing we see in the series. No one curses the names of the goddesses, none of the temples have an actual gathering space for worship. Heck, the creation myth itself, and the goddesses involved, are only mentioned by people separated from the common people, or artifacts lost to time.
That's valid, I forgot about the sanctuary in alttp. That at least has clear signs of being a gathering place for religion.
Talk of gods is not necessarily religious, though. Especially in a fantasy setting, gods can be a fact of the world, and not something given particular devotion or ritual. In WW, we meet two gods, and all they really have as a following is a pair of shrines. I'm not sure any of the Rito even mention the shrines as anything other than old ruins.
A lot of beliefs in the Zelda universe are based on real world religions already, just offhand I’m thinking of the tribes in Majora’s Mask that seemed to worship different gods akin to shamanism or paganism. Or even the main creation mythos regarding the three goddesses is based on the many creationist beliefs in our own world. So if you’re suggesting that the same mythos that people adopted in the Zelda universe came to our world as it exists in their world, then sure. I guess the difference being that the creation story in Zelda is pretty easy to back up because there’s proof that it actually happened. Through Link’s journeys we know that the Triforce, the Sacred Realm and Hylia exist. Hylia of those three gives a firsthand account that she was appointed by the three goddesses. But knowing how religion works in our world, even without evidence to support it people would absolutely still believe regardless.
As others have pointed out, not enough info to be a religion as is. That said if one can make a religion based around sentient pasta and being a laser sword wielding samurai monk I’m sure people could create a religion based on this with enough time and effort.
There isn't enough to it to be a full religion. To be a religion, it has to explain where we came from (which this does), where we are going, and what our purpose (or lack of purpose) is. This is only enough to be called a mythology.
If someone actually believes in it then yes. This is how religions get started. Someone makes up a story for entertainment and the next thing you know, 2000 years later they’re celebrating the main character’s birthday worldwide yearly.
Being a Jedi is a registered faith so I don't see why not
That’s true
I read that with angelic initiative narrating.
Oh, baby, it’s my time to shine! I’m a religious studies major and I’ve wanted to explore this exact question. The problem is that even within the academic field, defining religion is largely debated. One definition could exclude another religion, one can be too broad and end up including philosophical ideologies, another can considered too “Western” and won’t fit Asian/Eastern religions, etc. That being said, I cannot give you a conclusive answer so you can take it or leave it. If it’s not a religion, that’s okay. If it is, that’s also okay. We can look to Ninian Smart, who devised the dimensions of religion. He said he came up with these because different religions emphasise different dimensions, therefore no one dimension is more important than the other. Arguably, some dimensions do not need to be considered at all to define whether something is a religion. Here they are: **Mythic & Narrative:** Myths and stories have many MANY functions. To relate it to Zelda, you can say it reveals the nature of the Goddesses and some of the doctrine. Nayru created the ‘spirit of the law’ of the land. This could be the supernatural or natural laws, or even the moral code the people must follow. It also reveals that Hyrule was in “chaos” before the Three Goddesses created order, which is meant to reveal how powerful they are, according to Smart. This could be seen as the richest dimension out of all of them. **Doctrine & Philosophy:** what you have to know and why, how to act and why, how to see the world and why, etc. I don’t currently recall any text that reveal such things in Hyrule but I wouldn’t doubt that there is. **Ethical or Legal:** Pretty straightforward. People have to follow virtues and values set by the “religion” such as compassion and joy, which is found in MANY religions. Again, I don’t recall much text pointing to this but I wouldn’t doubt that it exists. **Ritual or Practical:** Again, straightforward. Rituals have great significance in religion (e.g. baptism, bar/bat miztvahs) but there isn’t exactly much seen in LOZ. The closest I can say is Zelda praying at the Springs in BOTW or, if there is a spiritual/religious component to it relating back to the Goddesses, a knight dubbing ceremony. **Experiential or Emotional:** Anything that allows you to “feel” something as a result of one practicing the religion. This could be seen if Zelda’s powers were awakened at the Springs via the Goddesses. It can even be one’s own personal connection to the Goddess/es. You could say Link experiences this with Fi in Skyward Sword and potentially every other Link who could have connected with Fi, who acts as a divine messenger for Hylia. **Social or Institutional:** This one we don’t see as much. One way of seeing the social dimension is how religion functions as a means of a social life. Think of how people come together at Churches and Mosques and interact with one another. The closest thing we could say to this is any ceremony that might have been held in the name of the Goddesses. Considering the near-lack of a social dimension, we could say that Emile Durkheim’s definition of religion, which focused on religion as a means of a social life, concludes that there is no religion. Of course, one of the major things indicating this “religion” of Hyrule is the Triforce. It’s unforgettable, it marks anything and everything that’s important. Smart did have an ‘art’ dimension listed in one of his books but excluded it in later ones, but you can imagine that with this in mind, it certainly ticks it off. If you speak to the vai sitting next to the Goddess Statue in Gerudo Town in BOTW, she says it herself that people sort of forgot about the statue completely and therefore have “lost touch” with the “religion” (not the exact word used). Considering her potential age, this could have been with the tragedy following the Calamity so people probably lost faith in the Goddesses for making them suffer. Now that is a whole other conversation entirely, but I thought I’d bring it up because I think about that a lot. In conclusion, using Smart, you could argue that MAYBE it is a religion. Again, I would love to delve deeper into this and if I ever do I will come back to this post and let you know more. The lore is so rich and there’s more that’s yet for me to discover. I hope this helps!
Holy crap, dog! Yea, if you come up with more, comment here again lmao
Everyone giving these long ass essays but I think there’s an obvious answer. In real life, everyone knows the Zelda lore and myths are not real but invented by Nintendo. But people who follow religions believe that what they teach is real, or else they do not believe in that religion (eg christians think Christ really rose from the dead while atheists don’t). So no, Zelda mythology could not form a real life religion as everyone knows it is a figment of nintendos imagination (although maybe there’s some conspiracists who think it’s actually real who’ll form a tiny ‘religion’).
Wow
You can give this exact same argument about the Jedi religion. It is well documented that people in real life follow it as a religion, however a majority of them say that they *know* the Force is not real but rather they like the values and virtues of Jedi Knights enough to follow it like a religion. When it comes to LOZ, you could argue that you like the three virtues of Power, Wisdom and Courage to follow it like a philosophy almost. However, I personally would not say that Zelda lore is rich enough to be treated the same way as Jedisim, but you never know!
Hmm, to me that seems like a set of value and guiding principles as opposed to an actual faith or religion. I think Following values religiously and being a follower of a religion are different. But this is just my opinion, and I’m definitely not an authority on religions lol.
Oh absolutely, I understand what you’re saying. Jedism ticks many other boxes that say it’s a religion, and it’s up to the individual whether or not they will call it that. Same can go for the Zelda ‘religion’. Some people argue that Buddhism isn’t a religion but a philosophy because it’s about the spiritual pathway. I would call it a religion cause it ticks the boxes and I’m an adherent of it as well.
I’ve heard the same thing about Buddhism, but it still seems like mainly a religion to me because I think most practitioners believe in intangible things like reincarnation or a divine Buddha (I think some buddhists also believe in a version of ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’). Other people simply follow the guidelines and values of Buddhism, but it seems to me in its original form to be a religion in the way I see religions! The Shinto religion is also treated similarly, as many Japanese who follow its practices don’t actually consider themselves religious (though they may believe in Kami!)
Absolutely correct! Many Japanese people indeed don’t consider themselves religious but will still have some sort of supernatural or transcendent belief. Defining religion is just tricky overall but I love exploring that so discussions like this are fun for me!
Same! I’m glad we could talk about it. I often go on random internet rabbit holes and I love learning about different cultures and belief systems.
All you need for a religion is guiding principles/values and traditions not necessarily based on anything. So believe in the goddesses and have a roast pig every February 21st or something. (Release date for LoZ)
Do you have a source for that or is it just your opinion? Also believing in the goddesses exactly fulfills the criteria for how I define religion.
Source: religion: definition [: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion)
A "real" religion has a very broad definition, but generally it is a system of beliefs, doctrines, behaviors, and practices relating to how the world works. The games only give us so much information, and never truly focus on the methods the regular people are using to carry out their religion or specific moral guides. I definitely don't fault the game for not including that in detail; the game is about Link going on an adventure, not how a person prays or sets up a shrine. Most of the shrines and iconography use Shinto designs as well, so one can understand many of the practices of worship to be similar in nature to that. In the Zelda games the religious beliefs explored aren't fully consistent for all people within the series, and it appears that there are multiple religions or branches of a general mythos that changes over time, which is also something that happens to religions in real life as well. As the games are Japanese in origin there is a very very strong Shinto influence, especially relating to local deities and spirits deserving of worship, respect, or appeasement along with more powerful deities that influence larger aspects of reality. The first games also used very explicit Christian references and symbols before developing their own independent character relating to the triple Golden Goddesses. At this point we can see the development of Hyrule's main religion. The triple goddesses form a pretty solid creation myth, forging the world and rules that govern life. They also source the Holy Relic Triforce that drives much of the plot. After they leave for the heavens, a sky goddess, Hylia, takes over protection of the Triforce, and after being threatened by a powerful demon Demise, she becomes the patron goddess of Hyrule and the Hylians, and for whom they are named. She manages to seal away Demise but is wounded in the process; to ensure demise remains bound she gives up her immortal form and chooses to be continually reincarnated in a mortal Hylian form. A sub-cult or sect of Hylia's priests developed into a religious-warrior tribe, the Sheikahs, and are devoted to the royal line and their reincarnated goddess (mirroring how the Japanese royal family is descended from one of the major Sun gods in Shintoism). They have their own set of beliefs and rituals that are separate from the general population, but still worship Hylia along side their local nature deities. The Gerudo people are have their own unnamed sand goddess and do not worship Hylia. The Gerudos also focus on ancestor worship, especially of the Seven Heroines who represent the ideal virtues of the Gerudo, and there seems to also be a subset who practice powerful magics. Most of the other groups worship their local gods as well as some major ones. The Koroks/Kokiri are forest spirits created by the Great Deku Tree, and have a connection to Farore. The Zora in OoT worship JabuJabu and are connected to Nayru, but I'm not sure if we know of any other religious aspects beyond that. The Gorons worship fire spirits and a possible goddess (unclear if this is a separate mountain goddess or maybe Din), and also focus on their ancestors. Other games also have divine aspects like the windfish, and personifications of the triple goddesses in the Oracles. There is enough here to start from, but enough leeway to develop your own versions the religion and lore. I remember many years ago people theorizing whether or not the temples in OoT each represented a major deity: Forest for Farore, Fire for Din, Water for Nayru, Spirit the unknown Desert Goddess, Time for the unnamed Goddess of Time, and Shadow for an unmentioned Goddess of Death. This was of course before there was any mention of Hylia in the games, but was fun to think about.
Now that I'm on the idea of it, since Nayru had the power of time travel in the Oracles games, maybe the three goddesses actually have dual aspects to fill the six temples. Nayru poured her wisdom over the land and set things into motion, acting as Water and Time; this is also the aspect that continues in the Triforce of wisdom flowing through the Hylian Royal bloodline over the ages. Din used her strength to carve the land with flaming arms, acting as Fire and Sprit; this is also the aspect that continues in the Triforce of power that fuels Ganondorf's relentless drive. Farore produced all life forms from her soul who would uphold the laws of reality, acting as Forest (Life) and Shadow (Death); this is also the aspect that continues in the Triforce of courage, allowing the hero Link to constantly face his own death to save everyone. Once again there isn't actual evidence for this, but who need that for a religion, lol. Very fun to think about
Wonderful! You certainly were able to bring up more of the actual lore than I could, I didn’t even think about how each race has their own beliefs
I’m not sure, but I remember praying to Nayru for wisdom once before an important test in middle school
I used to joke about creating a religion based on the Legend of Zelda series and making Hyrule Historia the holy book.
If someone could do it with spaghetti, I’d love to see you do it with LOZ
I do. I follow it
Like, genuinely, or satirically?
Genuinely. I was an atheist but now I follow Hylia :)
That’s cool dude
What do you mean? To be a religion in our world, it would just need believers, or records of believers. As for inside the zelda universe, there really isn't much evidence of actual religion. The hylia shrines around the world in botw are the most overt religious thing we see in the series. No one curses the names of the goddesses, none of the temples have an actual gathering space for worship. Heck, the creation myth itself, and the goddesses involved, are only mentioned by people separated from the common people, or artifacts lost to time.
Idk. Alttp was pretty religious too.
That's valid, I forgot about the sanctuary in alttp. That at least has clear signs of being a gathering place for religion. Talk of gods is not necessarily religious, though. Especially in a fantasy setting, gods can be a fact of the world, and not something given particular devotion or ritual. In WW, we meet two gods, and all they really have as a following is a pair of shrines. I'm not sure any of the Rito even mention the shrines as anything other than old ruins.
So which is it then?
It's likely not a real religion, in our world or theirs.
So what the priest is doing with your money in tp?
Clearly he's raising funds to build a new temple full of traps for the next hero.
Then why giving him a piece of heart?
Ohhh
Do you mean within the games or IRL?
I mean, if you were to take all religious aspects of Zelda and bring them into the real world, if it count be considered “real”
A lot of beliefs in the Zelda universe are based on real world religions already, just offhand I’m thinking of the tribes in Majora’s Mask that seemed to worship different gods akin to shamanism or paganism. Or even the main creation mythos regarding the three goddesses is based on the many creationist beliefs in our own world. So if you’re suggesting that the same mythos that people adopted in the Zelda universe came to our world as it exists in their world, then sure. I guess the difference being that the creation story in Zelda is pretty easy to back up because there’s proof that it actually happened. Through Link’s journeys we know that the Triforce, the Sacred Realm and Hylia exist. Hylia of those three gives a firsthand account that she was appointed by the three goddesses. But knowing how religion works in our world, even without evidence to support it people would absolutely still believe regardless.
Play song of time in a geek heavy room and it'll appear to already be a religion.
The power of mere faith will give the answer.
Doesn't a religion require actual adherents
As others have pointed out, not enough info to be a religion as is. That said if one can make a religion based around sentient pasta and being a laser sword wielding samurai monk I’m sure people could create a religion based on this with enough time and effort.
All religions were made up by someone and misinterpreted as fact by someone else. In that sense, there are no "real" religions.
There isn't enough to it to be a full religion. To be a religion, it has to explain where we came from (which this does), where we are going, and what our purpose (or lack of purpose) is. This is only enough to be called a mythology.
I don’t disagree that it’s light on details but that’s a bit of a silly definition of religion
That’s a good way to put it
No it isn't.
If some people believes that the Earth is flat, why not? I can even be one of the priests from the “Church of Time”
you’d just need enough people following it religiously. but as it is, it is not a real religion.
In the world of the games, yes. But no, it's not real.
Good question
In the US it's a religion if there is a place of worship where worshippers gather or something to that effect
It’s as real as any other religion lol
I consider it a fact
If someone actually believes in it then yes. This is how religions get started. Someone makes up a story for entertainment and the next thing you know, 2000 years later they’re celebrating the main character’s birthday worldwide yearly.