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I did not know a better place to put this. Please let me know if I could move this to another area. I do also humbly request that all input be respectful and serious. I love a good joke but I would prefer to have a mature discussion. The topic at hand I want to address boils down to the question: for those persons of faith, how do you balance your beliefs with your roleplay?

For me writing has always been my creative outlet, and I find relief in the escapism that roleplay provides. I am also in the midst of self-discovery within my faith, of which I am typically non-practicing. I know that if I were to be a better man of faith, my religion would have a lot to say about certain kinds of roleplay, and I would struggle between learning to practice, and being a writer. So how do you do it? Where do you draw the line? Are there some things you will write, but not others or do you believe that what you write and what you do in real life are completely separate and cannot be compared? As a point of reference I am not looking at one religion specifically, not even my own but I am curious about all walks/all people of faith.

Obviously this is a very personal issue with no clear answer. My own beliefs have lead me to the philosophy that the most important thing is making choices which enable us to be better people.

If the scenes you write are cathartic, or teach you more about the depth of human nature, then that can in turn be a tool to help you be a more resourceful and compassionate person in the real world. I assume the scenes you compose are written with the full agreement of your partners, so no one is being manipulated or harmed in their making.

There are things that I enjoy (certain kinds of music, particularly) that, unfortunately, drag me into a downward emotional spiral. The lower I get, the worse I become to the world around me. As such, I avoid those kinds of stimuli now in favour of more positive outlets.

So I guess the question I would ask you is: do you feel that roleplay helps you better yourself?

I certainly favor it as a form of escapism as I said, and it has been a great tool for me when I have been in need of an uplifting. Particularly after a hard day it can be a relief to get away from the real world by writing my way into another one! So I would say, does it better me? I do not know if it makes me a better person, but I do know that it has made my days better. Especially when I know that the person or people I write with may also be uplifted by the things we write about.

Sometimes making a better day can be enough to make a better us.

I'm pretty far from a person of faith. I'd probably class myself as a nihilist if anything, but an overlap I find with a lot of major religions is the concept of spreading happiness. It's hard to argue with an action that brings enjoyment to both oneself and others.

Let's see... If you really believe something, you'll act it out. If you believe truly that a chair will hold you, you'll sit in it.

If you're a Christian (dunno if you are, but it seems a pretty mainstream example, and one that I know the mechanics of somewhat well), you believe the bible is divinely true, and you obey it. I don't think what you write would be an exception to that.

Draw the line with your conscience, for now. You only know what you know; you cannot account for what you do not know. If you are unsure of something and fear offending your conscience, research it, but if nothing clear presents itself, don't risk it. Keeping a clean conscience should definitely be a priority over enjoying oneself.

As for how I view it, well, I view all writing and literature as a way to send a message. What unites a story and the characters is the meaning for them, whether it be "I really like these characters because..." or "I want to express that in certain circumstances certain people need comfort." So, I make an effort to avoid glorifying things I consider wrong, while in the same motion try to show a bad example, so that it can be recognized, engaged, and intellectually rejected. That's sort of the hope, but also something I'm passionate about; I like delving into morals and false justifications often.

Most of the time those RPs die off x) so I never get to reach the resolution, and the poor character is left never really coming to a moral awakening... But whatevs. I think the intention matters first, then the action, then the result of the action.

I have thought long on it over the night and decided it would perhaps shed some more light on my state of mind and where the question stems from if you knew if I was thinking, in specific. I get nervous to share these thoughts online given the harsh light that can be cast on my beliefs. I hope things can remain civil. Never-the-less. The question I ask myself often is if roleplay could be considered haram. I have long defended my writing choices with the idea that it has been cathartic for me and become such an integral part of who I am that if I were to stop I almost believe I would not know who I really was without it. Then again, does it better me, is it pleasing to Allah? And then can I really convince myself it is pleasing/lawful/halal? I do not roleplay certain things (dark themes for example or scenes that may border on the explicit in any sense) for the sake of pleasure, but typically because it is integral to the nature or the story/progression of my character(s). Would roleplay be mushbooh then? I cannot even decide that for myself. So I ask you, RP Repository members.

Hello, Jay Talks! I'm glad you began this topic. It is a very interesting one. Rather than addressing your first post, though, I'll skip right to the second and your issue in particular.

Definitions are always a great place to begin, so I'll do that to make sure we're on the same page. I understand that haram refers to those things which are not approved of in Islam on account of being considered displeasing to Allah (i.e. they are sin, offenses against natural law). I also understand that things which are categorized as haram are limited to a specific few areas: consumption, marital/family affairs, business, worship and adornment.

Roleplay does not fall into any of those categories. In fact, roleplay is, in and of itself, a purely neutral action.

Here's another definition to help:

Roleplay is a creative writing exercise between two or more people wherein each participant contributes to the unfolding of a particular scene or story by writing out the interactions between characters (and, optionally, supplementing those interactions with setting and background information.)

In other words, roleplay is like writing, having a chat, or sketching. It is just a thing that is pretty morally ambiguous until you start talking about some particular properties of a certain instance of the thing: method and content. In other words, roleplay, as a concept, as an activity, is perfectly acceptable by (I hope) all moral standards. I like to think of it as an evolution of the pretend games that children play.

However, like any hobby, there are good and bad ways to roleplay. You have already identified the matter of content, which is absolutely the right place to start in terms of ascertaining your moral limitations. I would like to pause here to make a quick distinction between types of questionable content: roleplay is, of course, fictional. I do not think that there is any inherent evil in writing about distasteful concepts such as murder or abuse if the story demands it. I do know that writing about these things can be morally damaging if they are indulged in without a proper understanding of what these things are and why they are evil, but they are, in and of themselves, fictions. When you write about a murder, nobody actually gets murdered. When you write a horrific scene for a cannibal character, no cannibalism is actually occurring. You may make reference to all sorts of unpleasant things and, of course, they will never happen in real life.

However, there are a couple of exceptions here: writing blasphemy in fiction is an actual blasphemy, and writing sexually explicit content will often result in, er, feelings for the participants, which are very real. In these instances, the fiction stops being pure fiction and begins to work in the real world in ways that are morally questionable. One is also better off avoiding content that inspires anger, bitterness, or any other kind of emotional or mental state that leaves one prone to undesirable behavior.

Almost as important as content is method. How long do you spend roleplaying? Do you neglect other duties in favor of roleplaying? You have said that you feel that, if you were to remove roleplaying from your life, you would be unsure of who you were any longer; it sounds to me like you have developed a dependency upon this hobby, and that is mentally and spiritually unhealthy, and probably the source of your moral predicament. I don't know if it wholly counts as a sin, but it is not a good thing, either. Escapism in general is dangerous if relied upon for too long. It is always better to find solutions to your problems than to try to run away from them. This is an objective, metaphysical truth that your conscience may be prickling over.

I will tell you now, even as a stranger, that you are much, much more than your writing skills. This is a natural property of being a person. I would encourage you to lower the mask of your character(s) for a little while and turn your eyes upon yourself. I think it is necessary for you to take a break from roleplaying and spend a while uncovering the most valuable character of all--you.

TL;DR Roleplaying is a great hobby, but like all hobbies, it requires limits to ensure that it doesn't take over your life or dictate your moral behavior. Keep that in mind and take a break if you need to.

Thank-you very much for your response! That was a refreshing read, and I found myself nodding along. Although it is true that haram is most commonly used regarding food/drinks, it has also been used in other areas, for example a lot of people I know personally consider music haram, or only haram when musical instruments are used or the music is not recitations! This is an example but of course I have been hesitant to ask about writing specifically with others (nobody likes to have their personal faiths called into question I don't think), although it has been freeing to be able to do it here.

You have certainly given me much to think about and I believe you may be right. I will spend the day thinking about this, and make prayer on it.

It's a pleasure to help when I can. Good luck!