Religion
Humanoid Cylons, except for the Cavil models, follow a monotheistic religion. Religious fanaticism partially motivates their genocide of humanity, and despite their origins, the Cylons believe themselves to be spiritual beings. This monotheism seems to share some of the characteristics as the Abrahamic religions: belief that God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, that he will one day deliver divine retribution, and that he intervenes in the mundane world.
Ronald D. Moore, the creator of the show, has said that this comes when a race becomes sentient and self-aware — questioning faith and religion and about what happens after death.
Their beliefs are different from the Abrahamic religions, in that they deal with issues such as consciousness, enlightenment and reincarnation.
The different models of Cylon have slightly different ways of talking about and dealing with their god, reflecting the different aspects of humanity that each Cylon model reflects. As shown in at least one case, the Number Ones in season four, the Cylons do not all believe in god and can be agnostic or atheist. In contrast, Leoben Conoy (model Number 2) is fanatically religious, even compared to the other Cylon models.
Read more about this topic: Cylon (reimagining)
Famous quotes containing the word religion:
“This religion takes away the courage of thinking of unusual things and prohibits self-examination above all as the most egregious of sins.... It is one step away from protestantism.”
—Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle] (1783–1842)
“Religion is this. They act as in religion that is to say they neither wait nor stay away. Religion is best as it is. If they like it at all they like it all, not only more than once but often.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)