Part 3: The Dynamics of Religion and Politics in A Song of Ice & Fire

The High Sparrow presenting a brainwashed King Tommen and a submissive Queen Margaery to the common folk

ASOIAF is, at it’s core, an epic fantasy on par with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. As such, the universe Martin has created is extremely rich with backstory, lore, and history. As discussed in part one, ASOIAF is arguably most notable for its exhaustive realization of countless cultures, countries, and religions throughout Westeros, Essos, and the rest of the Known World. As a result, the often mutually exclusive ideologies and beliefs presented by these cultures and religions play an integral role in the series’ plot.

While it is clearly best described as epic fantasy, I’ve always liked to describe ASOIAF as a political drama, not unlike House of Cards or The West Wing. Martin tells real, human stories such as power struggles and family matters based in a fantastical world. With regards to the main plot, mythical creatures and magic often take a back seat to conflicts regarding warfare, claim to the throne, and honour between houses. It can be argued that this combination of genres is a huge reason for the series’ crossover success. Furthermore, the unique amalgamation of genres allows for a very rare insight and analysis regarding the functions of religion in a society. Never has there been a fictional political drama with such a rich history surrounding the different ideologies that have indoctrinated the main characters surrounding the political struggles.

Given this unique opportunity presented by the series, for my research I’d like to examine the relationship between politics and religion in the show as it relates to the real world. For the presentation of this analysis I will assume that the readers are familiar with the main religions of ASOIAF. If not, they should refer to Part 1 of this blog.

A brief overview of the Wars of the Roses and how they inspired ASOIAF

It is no secret to fans of ASOIAF that the series is somewhat rooted in reality. The primary focus of the first chunk of the novels, and as a result, the first four seasons of the show is the War of Five Kings. While there are many different parties and factors at play during this conflict, it can ultimately be summarized as a war between House Stark and House Lannister. Martin has gone on record numerous times (to the point where it is common knowledge amongst fans of the series) saying that the events of this war are directly inspired by the Wars of the Roses, a real-life series of English wars during the 15^th century. The Wars of the Roses were fought mainly between House York and House Lancaster. The parallels between these wars are that explicit. It follows that the War of Five Kings is an extremely realistic power struggle that is almost entirely focused on political strategy rather than epic fantasy elements, and the most interesting player influenced by religion during this war is Stannis Baratheon, the brother of the late King Robert.

A graphic that overviews the events, locations and participants of the War of Five Kings

Stannis, who is loosely paralleled in the Wars of the Roses by Richard III, holds the strongest legitimate claim to the throne of the five kings present in the war (Joffrey Baratheon, Renly Baratheon, Robb Stark, Balon Greyjoy and himself) as he is the oldest brother of the late King Robert and since Joffrey is shown to be the illegitimate son of Queen Cersei and Jaime Lannister. However, Stannis’ claim is undermined by religious fanaticism and the followers of R’Hllor who support him. Namely, Melisandre, a red priestess from Asshai, claims that R’Hllor has told her that Stannis is Azor Ahai, the prophesized prince who was promised. As a result, the otherwise honourable and stoic Stannis resorts to forms of worship and magic that are frowned upon in Westeros to strengthen his forces and solidify his position. He allows Melisandre to use his blood to give birth to a shadow that assassinates his brother Renly, much to the dismay of his legitimate bannerman. Furthermore, he continues in his heretic ways when he uses leeches to extract blood from Gendry, Robert’s bastard son, and when he burns his own daughter Shireen at the stake with the goal of further utilizing R’Hllor’s supernatural influence.

Stannis Baratheon and the Red Priestess Melisandre during their parley with Renly Baratheon and Catelyn Stark 

In the show, Stannis is ultimately executed by Brienne, but he is currently alive in the books. In turn, for this project I will assume that he will eventually be slain in the books, and as such I will refer to his plot as it is depicted in the show. When he is executed by Brienne, it is as punishment for his involvement in Renly’s death, orchestrated by the blood magic of Melisandre and R’Hllor. In a way, Stannis’ religious fanaticism ultimately causes his death. However, the influence of religion plays a much stronger role on Stannis’ story from a much earlier stage.

As mentioned previously, Stannis holds the strongest legitimate claim to the throne since Joffrey is shown to be a Lannister bastard, not a Baratheon. Unfortunately for Stannis, he is a somber, uncharismatic man who is not liked by many. Furthermore, when Robert initially claims the throne during his rebellion, he awards the Baratheon family castle and regional lordship at Storm’s End to their well-liked younger brother Renly and gives Stannis lordship of the island of Dragonstone. This insults Stannis and he cuts ties with Robert and Renly. The combination of his familial feud and generally uncharismatic personality results in most Baratheon bannermen siding with Renly, despite him being lower in the line of succession upon Robert’s death. It is discussed many times in the series, however, that should Stannis and Renly settle their feud, Renly’s supporters would follow Stannis and he would rule with Renly as his chief adviser as a compromise. Uniting the Baratheon forces would certainly have strengthened the Baratheon position to reclaim the throne from Lannister rule, however Stannis’ staunch fanaticism and obsession with prophecy is the factor that ultimately prevents this from happening. When Catelyn Stark travels to the Stormlands to attempt an alliance with House Baratheon, she oversees a meeting between Stannis and Renly. It is clear during this meeting that both parties want the same thing, however they are unable to reach an agreement due to Renly’s rejection of Stannis’ newfound faith in R’Hllor. Ultimately, Stannis’ faith both severely limits his political gains and results in his eventual demise. It can be said that, had Stannis yielded even slightly on his extreme beliefs, he would have had more success in his quest for power. As an audience, we can interpret Stannis’ story as counsel against putting too much faith in religion. Stannis’ unrelenting faith caused the eventual extinction of House Baratheon, and the loss of his claim to the throne. Had he found a respectable balance between his faith in R’Hllor and the will of his house and bannermen, it could be argued that he would have found greater success during his campaign. Stannis’ unhealthy devotion to R’Hllor is juxtaposed later in the story, when Melisandre admits that she was wrong about Stannis being Azor Ahai and reclaims that Jon Snow is the true prophesized hero. Upon hearing this, Jon refuses to succumb to Melisandre’s charm and banishes her for her role in Shireen Baratheon’s death. While those around him, and perhaps Jon himself, believe in Melisandre’s prophecy, Jon does not convert to the faith in R’Hllor as a result as Stannis did before him. Following his banishment of Melisandre, Jon is appointed King of the North, a title which Stannis had no true chance at obtaining given his position during season five. In ignoring religious fanaticism, despite similar circumstances to Stannis, Jon is able to obtain and hold power without even looking for it, while Stannis’ unrelenting faith ultimately brings him to his demise.

Brother Lancel (formerly Lancel Lannister) and the High Sparrow, two leading figures of the Faith Militant

While the faith of R’Hllor is based, in part, on Zoroastrianism, it is not directly comparable to any major religions of the present era, although Stannis’ faith in R’Hllor serves as an important commentary on fanaticism in politics. To examine Martin’s point of view on the role of more dominant modern religions in politics, specifically Christianity, we will examine the show’s subplot regarding the Faith Militant, the military order of the Faith of the Seven. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Martin states that the Faith Militant are directly inspired by medieval Catholicism, and that notorious characters such as the High Sparrow and post-conversion Lancel Lannister are based on corrupt bishops and popes throughout history. Martin also describes these bishops and popes as “playing their own version of the game of thrones”, as their goal is to establish power while effectively using religion as a means of doing so. In the same way that the Baratheons rely on strength, the Lannisters rely on wealth and Petyr Baelish relies on knowledge, it is shown that the Faith Militant rely on the many impositions of faith to attempt to obtain and hold power in Westeros.

After the current High Septon of the Faith Militant is sacked by Cersei Lannister while acting as queen regent during Tommen’s reign, a new Septon, known only as the High Sparrow, is appointed. This appointment was implemented by Cersei as she mistrusted the previous High Septon, who was appointed by her nemesis Tyrion while serving as Joffrey’s hand. This appointment was also made with the agreement that the High Sparrow assist Cersei in defaming House Tyrell, who opposed her regarding influence over King Tommen. The High Sparrow, upon his appointment, begins a complete reformation of the Faith Militant. Martin compares this reformation to the historical Protestant Reformation, as it divided the church and, in turn, the community. The newly reformed Faith Militant is extremely active in King’s Landing, denouncing all those who oppose their beliefs. As such, the High Sparrow uses this new form of order to incarcerate both Loras Tyrell (on counts of homosexuality) and his sister Queen Margaery (on counts of false testimony to protect Loras).  With Margaery at mercy to the Faith Militant, she uses her influence over the young, oblivious Tommen to unwillingly impose a partnership between the crown and the Faith. At this point, Cersei’s plan to oust the Tyrells to obtain sole-influence over Tommen has backfired completely and the Faith Militant stand as the most influential party in the Seven Kingdoms with Tommen acting blindly as their puppet. To further preserve their power, the High Sparrow outlaws trial by combat, as he is aware that Ser Gregor Clegane would likely spoil any trial against potential foes.

The Faith Militant approached by King Tommen and the kingsguard

While it is clear to the audience of the show that the Faith Militant is, in fact, a nefarious organization hell-bent on power-lust, it is of utmost important to the Faith Militant that this side of their organization not be shown to the public. As such, the people of King’s Landing are usually presented with a friendly, reasonably wholesome portrayal of the Sparrows. The High Sparrow is often shown interacting with the common-folk, building rapport and improving the Faith Militant’s image. In fact, it is often argued that the false-altruism of the Faith Militant in the novels can be compared to the public image of leaders found in early forms of communism. However, since the show offers a more complete version of the Faith Militant’s story we will be focusing on this version of their story. It follows that they disguise their actions as divine will, and as such, obtain a reasonable amount of support amongst the general population. This deception is entirely due to the fact that without the public’s support, the Faith Militant are virtually powerless. The Sparrows play to the fact that the public has faith in the Seven to mask their true motives and to justify any wrong-doings they commit to achieve their goal. Clearly, Martin’s comparison of the Faith Militant to the Catholic church implies that he believes that this sort of manipulation of public desire and appearance occurs in the real world as well.

An obvious modern comparison to this type of systematic abuse guised in religion is the coverup of the child sexual assault scandal in Boston, as depicted in the Academy Award winning film Spotlight (2015). Without going into a full plot-summary, the film demonstrates the uncovering of a notorious scandal wherein a large number of sexual assault charges towards priests in the Catholic church were settled under-the-table to avoid serious charges against the perpetrators and defamation of the church. Notably, there is a scene (shown below) where a representative of the church, aware of the information held by the media, urges Michael Keaton’s character to withhold publishing the information because the “people need the church more than ever right now”, as if the public’s need for religious order outweighs the extremely serious allegations against members of the church. In general, it is difficult to hold religious groups accountable for illegal actions because of what they claim to stand for, and how they are viewed by a large portion of the population. This is apparent both through the actions of the Faith Militant and through the example shown in Spotlight. It follows that Martin successfully shows this to be an issue that arises when a major religious group holds political power. We can in turn conclude that, based on the situations presented in ASOIAF, it is often not advisable to relate religion to politics.

The aforementioned scene from Spotlight (2015)

However, while Martin clearly paints a negative picture of the interaction between religion and politics in his stories, this does not mean that he paints an overall negative picture of religion. In fact, we see religion consistently and positively influence many characters over the course of the story. As such, the importance of religion to various characters in the story and what this implies about Martin’s views on religious influence on a person’s character and life will be discussed in Part 4.