The most dominant religion in Westeros is the Faith of the Seven, however, it is practiced very little outside of this location. The only region where it is not practiced by the majority is in the North, where they worship the Old Gods and on the Iron Island, where they worship the Drowned Gods.  Also known as “the Faith”, it originated in Essos as before the main religion of Westeros was also the Old Gods, however after the invasion of the Andal’s into Westeros began, the Faith was introduced and became the most dominant.

 

       The Faith of the Seven holds the belief that there is one God who has seven faces or aspects, these being the Father, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Warrior, Smith and the Stranger. Each one of these “aspects” represent one part of life or existence:

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• The Father: represents divine justice, and judges the souls of the dead.

• The Mother: represents mercy, peace, fertility, and childbirth. She is sometimes referred to as "the strength of women".

• The Maiden: represents purity, innocence, love, and beauty.

• The Crone: represents wisdom and foresight. She is represented carrying a lantern.

• The Warrior: represents strength and courage in battle.

• The Smith: represents creation and craftsmanship.

     The Stranger: The Stranger represents death and the unknown. It is rarely prayed to.

 

 

       A seven pointed star is the main symbol for this religion, which represents how each of the seven aspects is one facet of a unified whole. This is used to explain the complex concept of a one single God composed of Seven Persons. The star has seven points but all points are part of the same star.

 

       Temples of The Faith of the Seven are seven-sided buildings known as “Septs", having each wall dedicated to one of the seven aspects. Followers of this religion gather in the Septs for their group prayer, which frequently involves singing hymns of praise to the Seven.

 

       The Faith considers homosexuality to be a sin, lesser then that of incest or king slaying. It is quite interesting to note here that Cersi (Queen at some points) and her Brother Jamie have an incestuous relationship in which they have conceived three children together in which were fathered by the late King Robert Baratheon. As Well Jamie is known as a “King Slayer”. These two are of high authority in Westeros and are part of the Faith, yet this is how they live their lives. As well as Ser Loras Tyrell and Renly Baratheon, also of high status who have a homosexual hidden relationship.

 

       Unlike the weddings of those who worship the Old Gods, the ceremonies of the Faith are elaborate and highly ritualized. Typically, they take place inside of a Sept, where the bride is escorted down the alter by her father where the groom awaits. The groom is then told “You may now cloak the bride and bring her under your protection”.  The bride and groom then join hands in which are then tied with a ribbon by the Septon in which he states "In the sight of the Seven, I hereby seal these two souls, binding them as one, for eternity." He then instructs them to, "Look upon one another and say the words." At this point, the bride and groom turn to face each other are recite the following vow in unison: "Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger, I am his/hers and she/he is mine from this day until the end of my days."

 

       The worshippers of the Old Gods are looked down upon as they are considered “savages” because they worship multiple Gods.  Also unlike the Old Gods, the Faith has an organized clergy with a complex internal hierarchy with both men and women being priests of the seven.

 

        Martin has stated that this concept for a religion was taken from aspects of medieval Catholic Church. He borrowed this idea based on the Holy Trinity (Father-Son-Holy Ghost) and just modified it into seven instead of three. The number seven is actually considered to be sacred when it comes to not only the fictional Faith but as well in the Catholic religion (Seven deadly sins, Seven Holy Sacraments and the Seven Archangels). It is also obvious their wedding ceremony is lightly based on the Catholic wedding as well such as the father walking the bride down the aisle to give the bride away. Another similarity is how the religion is ruled, The Faith is governed by the Septons who are Pope-Like figures who also run nunneries and monasteries out of Westeros. Throughout every aspect of this fictional religion we see parts of the real world Catholic/Christian beliefs, even such small things as singing a hymn.

 

       I believe this religion is the most dominant and spoken about in the show as George R.R. Martin was raised in a Catholic home, so this was where the most knowledge was for him (This will be discussed on a further page)