Rick and Morty is a show about multidimensional travel, superstition and suburban teenagers with an aggressive hatred of society. Rick Sanchez plays the protagonist – an eccentric scientific genius with a god complex who invents devices to change reality while creating worlds dedicated to his worship.
Unity, his sidekick and an expression of his self-hatred, spends most of its time together.
Table of Contents
Rick isn’t a god
Fans have long discussed whether or not Rick should be considered a god. Although he is unquestionably the smartest being in the universe, there are two major arguments against considering him a deity: 1) Rick doesn’t exhibit many benevolent characteristics compared to traditional gods and 2) He isn’t immortal either (despite having created entire universes filled with life he can still die and even though immortal doesn’t mean life forever as Rick can die at any moment).
Even with all its issues, many fans still view Rick as god-like. Their reasoning behind their belief lies in his ability to create multiple universes – so he must be the most powerful being within each. However, it should be noted that these universes were created as part of an experiment to power a toaster; therefore they aren’t comparable with religious faith-driven universes.
Also worth keeping in mind is the presence of other godlike beings within the show, such as Cromulons. They’re disembodied cranial totems who threaten entire galaxies by demanding entertainment as punishment for imminent annihilation – not exactly godlike, but given deity status by some Mortys.
Also in the show is The One True Morty who is revered as a god by a group of Mortys. He can be learned about through The Good Morty book and believed by them as a means to reach an eternally rewarding existence in The Morty Afterlife Zone.
Rick isn’t a devil
Rick and Morty illustrates one of its central themes by showing how science can disprove people’s false beliefs. Many episodes feature characters mistakingly believing something supernatural is going on when in reality it could just be scientific in nature. Fear can cause people to jump to conclusions without understanding exactly what is occurring, leading them into making judgment calls that may or may not be correct. Rick often steps in and disproves these erroneous beliefs by showing how there is nothing supernatural happening; especially with regards to Satan. In “Something Ricked This Way Comes”, Summer works at an antique shop run by the Devil, selling cursed objects which seem beneficial but only come at an exorbitant cost. He often laughs when humans attempt to use these objects. Rick manages to remove their curses and save the Devil before his suicide attempts become fruitless.
Rick often ridicules religion, yet seems to acknowledge higher forces as real entities. While using science to try to understand them, he does acknowledge their existence. Furthermore, Rick displays morality through his actions: He does not wish to kill the Devil or other higher beings but still believes he has the right to live freely and safely.
There have been multiple episodes of The Simpsons that explore religious concepts. Many episodes use religion to critique both society and the Church; some episodes even go as far as creating their own religion like Get Schwifty in season two; however, one episode, Childrick of Morty takes it one step further by trying to kill God altogether – an unprecedented move for such an established show as most episodes take shots at religion!
Rick isn’t a satan
Though Rick often pokes fun at religion, he is not an outright atheist. Although he claims that God doesn’t exist, Rick has occasionally made references to Him throughout episodes and spoken humorously of Him; this shows that Rick and Morty doesn’t seek only to mock religious beliefs but is rather making subtle comments that show we don’t want our protagonists being mocked as atheists. This distinction highlights why their writers don’t simply wish to degrade religious practices with humor.
The series explores higher consciousness through religious-themed episodes. For example, in Get Schwifty an entire religion forms when an alien mistaken for Rick appears in the sky and begins performing rituals such as human sacrifice – suggesting that even though Rick may not believe in God himself he has potential to become one.
Rick can be considered a god in that he has the ability to create universes bursting with life. Some universes even worship him as an act of promethean kindness. Unfortunately, however, his mortal status and subsequent mortality disqualifies him from most pantheons of gods as well as lacking the essential characteristic for being considered divine: immortality.
However, Rick is like a god in that he can create entire universes from nothing. Additionally, Rick can manipulate nature’s laws – in particular gravity – which allows him to fly. Additionally, Rick can teleport with some restrictions: only nearby people can receive his teleportation; otherwise they’ll become trapped within alternate versions of themselves.
Rick isn’t a zeus
Rick has found himself engaged in many battles against powerful forces, such as the Devil. He has even been likened to other god-like figures, such as Tom Hiddleston’s Loki; yet while the devil may exist as a real entity, he should not be thought of as divine; rather he is more of an evil merchant who has made millions selling curses to individuals, which makes him similar to genies or djinn who are commonly referred to as devils in popular culture.
There is no denying the presence of God in Rick and Morty’s universe, yet that does not indicate He exists in the same sense as Satan or even himself. Indeed, religion plays no part in its depiction of life on Earth and makes no effort to maintain equilibrium between good and evil forces in nature. Still, its characters explore interesting ideas related to religion such as using Him for evil purposes as part of their storytelling strategy – although such concepts don’t prevent its writers from exploring some extremely intriguing ones such as using Him only as a tool of Satan himself!
Rick has often claimed to be god in various forms throughout the series and visited societies that worship him. Additionally, he knocked off Zeus and impregnated planet Earth; though these claims may mostly be comical in nature they do demonstrate how this show treats so-called higher powers.
Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind features a group of Mortys held captive by Evil Rick’s torture chamber who formed a cult, believing that one day The One True Morty would help set them free. These believers believe The Good Morty book contains information about this one true Morty and that in due time he or she will lead them to an eternity filled with rewards in Morty Afterlife Zone.
Rick isn’t a lord
Rick isn’t your typical god in the traditional sense of the term. Rather, his main goals typically involve getting belligerently drunk or planning an interdimensional scheme. Yet there are gods across mythologies who don’t always possess benign attributes – and Rick definitely fits that bill.
Rick and Morty beseeched Jesus to help them escape his Bible TV show prison; however, real Jesus Christ only became involved as part of an elaborate plan; Rick managed to break free and enter meta reality instead.
Rick and Morty managed to defeat Story Lord against all odds by draining his motivation. This helped save the day, though it took many attempts. Joseph Campbell came along as an ally; eventually Story Lord lost much of his power but still retained some ability to heal wounds and keep going forward.
No one would dispute Rick’s tenuous relationship to religion. While often an outspoken atheist, he’s made many references to God and His afterlife and even kidnapped a child to try to persuade them there was no higher power. In episode “A Rickle in Time”, when Rick realizes he needs his time-stabilizing collar back he prays to God to save himself but when his prayer has been answered he instantly disbelieves Him and declares he no longer believes in Him; this represents how his views religion as generally: as something deceptive.
