I was wondering, Krypton was a scientifically gifted planet, with brilliant scientist all around, and for the most scientist tend to be evolutionist rather than creationist, so why does Krypton even have a God?

Being a scientist doesn't change the fact that you have a God in your world. Krypton had Rao. How that believe system worked is unknown. Rao might have just been their own creation, or he did exist but maybe he was more of a guardian and not a creation god. WHo knows?

@maxsavage: That's pretty close minded. Some very famous scientists in our time had been firmly religiose, heck, one of the fathers of genetics, Gregor Mendel, was a Monk. Lots of scientist persue their careers due to curiosity on "finding out all of God's mysteries".

Krypton having a religion centered around a god isn't really suprising. Considering how, in the DCU, Superman himself has fought actual Kryptonian deities {Cythonna}. So it isn't far fetched to see that Krypton has a trait that is natural for society in the real world. Especially when these gods are likely to have been spotted alot.

Krypton was a scientific race and their 'God' was the sun which was called Rao because essentially we are of the sun and it provides us everything. In few modern stories though we're seeing personifications of Rao. I think Rao(and so did the Sun) even showed up in Sandman overture if i'm not mistaken, good stuff, but Sandman is filled with anthropomorphic characters.

Also,

This.

Usually Rao tends to be the sun itself that the Kryptonians worship as part of their religion. Only in the last few years of comics has Rao been given a more physical and real presence as an actual Kryptonian deity.

Also, fewer scientists today believe in God, especially not the most academic and respected scientists.

Zenn-La had gods prior to their technological advancement. Rao may just be left over from the past. Gods become part of culture.

Also, science can never explain everything. As long as questions remain unanswered, people will begin looking to a higher power.

@maxsavage:

Krypton didn't turned only to science overnight.

Before they adopted their science based society, they had like US, their own spiritual beliefs. But unlike US that we have so many religions, on Krypton there was only one. The belief in the god Rao. That was even more explored ever since the PC.

The mythology changed and evolved, but it remained nevertheless.

It went from they having their own genesis story, in which from the darkness of the primordial chaos, a single spark ignited all of creation. That Spark, being Rao. The one and absolute god. That god in turn created kryptonians.

That story eventually evolved, to Rao being the embodiment of red sun. That He was the one that specifically created all life on Krypton. At first that life was godlike in nature, but after eons of war, those godlike beings left Krypton to a unknown destination. Seeing the mistake of the gifts he bestowed to his first creations He then decided to create lifeforms that were still special but that would only gain powers once they were wise enough to leave Krypton on their own.

If I'm not mistaken, in that story that I've read - I don't know how long ago - each kryptonian lifeform had a fragment of Rao own divinity (some more than others obviously) which basically makes each kryptonian a living dorment sun while under the light of the red sun, but awakened suns under the light of different suns.

At the time, I got to say, I really enjoyed the story because it gave a mystic origin for their powers.

You mean like the New Gods. Their thing is to be the next stage of cultures, the abandonment of the supernatural to the scientific explanation.

Yeah there is a lot of gobbledygook science but it's there. Their also not the only ones. Science to gods is hardly a rare thing. Heck even Thor from marvel was originally just aliens which they've been bringing back.

We usually see Krypton from Jor-Els side that's why we mostly see the scientist side of Krypton. But Krypton isn't only a scientist world but a knowledge filled world.

Krypton had families and guilds. It is quite possible that there would be a spiritualists guild, trying to understand the vast complexities of god in a culture and answer the questions not even Kryptonian science could.

Yeah, he was "manipulated" by despair. She feed him ideas, like the destruction of Krypton and the escape of Kal-El.

World of New Krypton was one of the few series to explore the other aspects and areas of Kryptonian culture beyond merely its scientific and military societies mainly due to the focus on Jor-El and Zod respectively. As a planet of knowledge as well as science, it does follow that there would be Kryptonians who would attempt to explore a spiritual, philosophical or even supernatural path of Krypton that the Science Guild wasn't as concerned with.

i dont understand this post. why would kypton being a science based planet somehow change the fact that theres actually a god for their race

Rao used to live on Krypton IIRC. Can't deny he exists if you can go and see him any time you want.

In fact if you well remember there was a guild on New Krypton and the original Krypton, that was devoted solely to the study and interpretation of the will of Rao.

When Kal-El was faced with treason for acting against the rules of New Krypton, it was this "religious" guild that absolved him from all the charges. Sure, Zod helped by making sure the Rao guild had to get involved, but nevertheless, while the Council was ready to throw Kal "under the bus" that guild decision overruled all the others.

That showed that if anything. Despite their scientific knowledge, kryptonians still had a high regard for their faith.

Maybe because the Rao guild was the only neutral guild. That favored none of the others. All that mattered to them was the will of Rao.

Yes, there was. Specifically in the New Krypton arc. Their spiritual guild actually had the authority to overrule an unanimous decision of the Council.

Kryptonian faith was also explored during Superman adventure in Warworld, where he later met the Cleric and gained possession of the Eradicator.

The Cleric story of his visit to Krypton revealed that even with their highly advance science, some kryptonians still desired something more, that technology could offer. And like in so many pacifist religious movements, the ideas and words professed were later warped by the anti-clone believers. Which lead to the creation of the Black Zero movement and millenia after that the destruction of Krypton.

Later, during the Eradicator new evolution, after being thrown into the sun, when he tried to control Superman mind, by suppressing his humanity. When the Eradicator was ready to return, during that crucial time Superman started having visions of Krypton. Which were not visions but his psychic link to the Eradicator that was giving him glimpses of the Eradicator memories. One of them being a small group of kryptonians gathered in adoration. Like they were praying. This of course in a already highly scientifically advanced society.

Sometimes I wonder why people tend to separate science and spiritualism. After all, Our drive to discover and learn, comes from a form of personal belief, we can even call it, Faith.

@heavenlydarkdragon: I do recall that scene from World of New Krypton, the issue had a cover very similar to the original Superman movie and the imprisonment of Zod, Non and Ursa. I did find it interesting the Church of Rao got Superman pardoned for his 'crimes.' Maybe it was because they subscribed to the outdated view that religion and faith is for questions of morals and ethics that science cannot answer. In any case, your comment about the Rao Guild's neutrality is news to me, I must have forgotten that part of World of New Krypton. It does make sense though, all the other Guilds have their own agendas and biases to base their votes on. Superman had some trouble convincing them to make changes and compromises.

@lvenger:

The biggest problem with the "spiritual" guild was that they put the M in mysterious.

In the New Krypton arc, when Kal first talked to one of its members, the person (I can say he or she, because their robes made that hard to tell) didn't even answered him back. Didn't said anything. Just looked at Kal. To which Kal asked to the person that was with him, if he had said anything wrong, and his guide said that the members of the spiritual guild, only talked if they felt that it was the will of Rao to say something. Like they were supposed to be the physical means by which Rao made His word/will known.

They were by far one of the most interesting things about the New Krypton arc. One I hope the New 52 will bring back in some way.

@heavenlydarkdragon: The robes and the glowing red/orange face on all the Priests of Rao too.

How do they see out of that get up?

Also they only spoke when the will of Rao made it so? Talk about being the mouth of God.

@lvenger:

I believe it wasn't meant to be taken literally. But maybe more like our Buddhist monks. In which they train themselves to be more in tune with the spiritual in a attempt to reach a kind of enlightment.

For all we know they called it Rao while humans call it Yehovah, God, The Father, et cetera, et cetera. Same thing different name.

Yeah. Forgot to mention the masks. They were cool. I really liked the mystery vibe they gived.

@heavenlydarkdragon: Wish there was time to show the Priest of Rao's meditation, worship or other practices they might have done whilst New Krypton was still around. That series had interesting takes on Krypton's Labour guild and how they wanted more freedom and respect on New Krypton due to their superpowers under the yellow sun. If only World of New Krypton was given more time and not dragged down by the mediocre tie ins.

@lvenger:

Yeah. Even more because seemingly they were responsible for Flamebird return. Or at least while Thara Ak-Var told her story, she said the religious guild used special kryptonian sunstones to place Flamebird inside her.

@heavenlydarkdragon: I only read World of New Krypton and the Superman issues with Mon-El so that's news to me.

It took me some time but finally found the comic page that showed what I said.

Here it is.