Beliefs, Literature and History

This documentation discusses the beliefs, faiths, literature and history of residents in Panem. Many things included in this topic deviate from the book, so make sure to read through this thread. It covers the following topics:

The Afterlife
Panem has no true unified concept of the afterlife since religion is not allowed (IC). However, things have remained from previous cultures—most notably, heaven and hell, though not necessarily united with any specific deity. Heaven is where good people go, and hell is where the bad people go. Many people don’t believe in an afterlife at all. Your character is not bound to any belief of an afterlife. Feel free to be creative.

Religion
Religion is not allowed IC, however characters can practice as long as you are aware that it’s against the law. There are no religious organizations. There are no Bibles, Qur’ans, holy books, etc. There are no priests, holy men, or monks. However, pieces of religion have passed down over the years. There is currently a cult devoted to the gods and goddesses (Greek, specifically, but they don’t recognize them as “Greek”—this term is just used for your OoC reference). Further, some believe in a more Christian, Muslim or Jewish religion, though they are few and far between since the religious texts were some of the first to be destroyed many years ago.

If you’re going to use concepts from a pre-existing religion, do just that: use concepts. For example, your character can believe that humanity will be saved in the world’s end by a god who walked on the planet thousands of years ago. However, don’t get too specific. Remember that most of this is passed down through the generations by word of mouth in a society that has tried to destroy religion, and many things get lost over time with oral tradition.

Literature & History
Like with religion, most of this is oral tradition. Those who are in power can control history, which means altering it in text books, destroying everything that contradicts with them, and punishing those who say otherwise. This is exactly what Panem did.

However, if you would like to have your characters reference reading books of old, you may. But do it, again, vaguely. They won’t know the complete works of Shakespeare, nor will they know of the fame of this Shakespeare fellow; they will only know a sonnet that happened to be written by some Shakespeare guy.

Most of what we know today—both modern and in the past—has been lost in time.

It is not realistic for your character to have original texts unless in extreme circumstances. This includes people who have passed down a book through the generations. If the government were to find out that someone had a copy of The Tale of Two Cities published in 2015, the owner of the book would get in trouble. Some texts, however, are available in archives, but you have to have power and authority to access.

And remember: Censorship is fun! Things about wars and rebellions, anti-government statements will not be allowed in Panem.

Play with oral tradition. It’s entertaining, like a game of “telephone.”

Fairy Tales
These are easily passed on by word of mouth, so it will not be uncommon for people to know of Snow White, Cinderella, etc. There can be a mixture of the old classic tales and the more romantic versions (Disney without citing Disney). Fairy Tales may not be encouraged in the classroom, but they are common knowledge like they are today.