alright alright alright now listen. i love religion in the x files because here's the thing, it makes no sense whatsoever. on multiple levels it just does not cohere in the slightest, it's awesome.
level one: Mulder being a staunch atheist is the most bizarre thing in the entire world. straight up out of character for him. why would he be close-minded and logical about one (1) single supernatural thing. deeply weird. the only half-decent reason he gives for this extremely specific exclusion in his belief system is that religious fanatics "give bona fide paranoiacs like myself a bad name." he is straight up just a massive hater about it and i for one respect that, i love hating.
level two elephant in the room: it makes absolutely no sense that Dana Scully is Catholic. Dana Scully the scientist, the medical doctor, the skeptic who questions everything, the woman who says verbatim multiple times that she refuses to believe anything unless she's shown proof, believes without question in the word of God. it is particularly such ridiculous whiplash to go from Nisei/731 where she hammers this message in over and over, only to have Revelations straight after where she insists she believes in God and in miracles, even without proof, because "that's what faith is." it is literal nonsense. now you might think that my thesis here is that i disregard this character trait because i fundamentally disagree with its plausibility but actually, all of that being said i'm a fan of it. i think it adds a really weird and fun layer to her character, i love tortured Catholics, and i enjoy the roles being reversed to make Mulder the skeptic for once. people are contradictory and people don’t always make sense and whatever my friend walt whitman once said. the thing i'm really mad about is how much missed potential there is for a more full-on arc about her coming to terms with it and realizing it is irreconcilable and dealing with that in some way or another. like. this girl was raised in the church, you see firsthand her nuclear repression of every single emotion and desire she’s ever felt, and you're telling me that religious trauma doesn't impact everything she does??? GET REAL! but what is Dana Scully if not missed potential.
level three is the most meta but like. in the universe of the x-files, religion is REAL. is the thing. there are multiple episodes where religious and biblical "miracles" or events take place, regardless of the beliefs of either of the main characters and how ooc they are. but this of course opens up a whole other discussion about how deeply incoherent the lore and rules of this show are. all in all it's such a mess. Amazing stuff
