Roddenberry was raised a Southern Baptist ; however , as an adult , he rejected religion , and considered himself a humanist . He began questioning religion around the age of 14 , and came to the conclusion that it was " nonsense " . As a child , he served in the choir at his local church , but often substituted lyrics as he sang hymns . Early in his writing career , he received an award from the American Baptist Convention for " skillfully writing Christian truth and the application of Christian principles into commercial , dramatic TV scripts " . For several years , he corresponded with John M. Gunn of the National Council of Churches regarding the application of Christian teachings in television series . However , Gunn stopped replying after Roddenberry wrote in a letter : " But you must understand that I am a complete pagan , and consume enormous amounts of bread , having found the Word more spice than nourishment , so I am interested in a statement couched in dollars and cents of what this means to the Roddenberry treasury . " Roddenberry said of Christianity , " How can I take seriously a God-image that requires that I prostrate myself every seven days and praise it ? That sounds to me like a very insecure personality . " At one point , he worked a similar opinion , which was to have been stated by a Vulcan , into the plot for '' Star Trek : The God Thing '' . Before his death , Roddenberry became close friends with philosopher Charles Musès , who said that Roddenberry 's views were " a far cry from atheism " . Roddenberry explained his position thus : " It 's not true that I do n't believe in God . I believe in a kind of God . It 's just not other people 's God . I reject religion . I accept the notion of God . " He had an ongoing interest in other people 's experiences with religion , and called Catholicism " a very beautiful religion . An art form . " However , he said that he dismissed all organized religions , saying that for the most part , they acted like a " substitute brain ... and a very malfunctioning one " . Roddenberry was also critical of how the public looked at certain religions , noting that when the King David Hotel bombing took place in 1946 , the American public accepted it as the action of freedom fighters , whereas a car bombing by a Muslim in Beirut is condemned as a terrorist act . While he agreed that both parties were wrong in their use of violence , he said that the actions of both were undertaken because of their strong religious beliefs
King David Hotel bombing
King David Hotel bombing
Gene Roddenberry