The one thing Voyager makes clear is that death and people's beliefs about it are incredibly important. Harry is careful to not completely shatter the Vhinori's faith in the next emanation, despite his own beliefs. Janeway allows B'elanna to revisit the Barge of the Dead, because it matters to B'elanna. Also, when Neelix doubts his afterlife, he doubts the worth of his life.

Seven faces death when some of her cybernetic implants begin to fail and the Doctor has found no way to repair the problem. Her understanding of death within the collective gave her comfort. As part of the collective, once she died, all of her experiences would be retained by every other borg drone as part of the collective mind. Now, however, as merely human, her memories will be lost. Her only understanding of death no longer fits in her life, and that terrifies her.

The holographic Doctor also faces death in the form of his holographic family. In order to better understand his patients and their relationships, he creates a family in the holodeck. It's too perfect, however, and Lt. Torres adds some randomized subroutines to make it a little more realistic. As a result the Doctor's young daughter experiences a sports injury that is untreatable. The Doctor chooses not to face the pain. A conversation with Lt. Paris, about how pain brings people together and is part of being human, convinces him to finish the program, and truly experience the death of a loved one. His experience illustrates the important role death plays for the living beyond concerns over an afterlife. Death causes the living to appreciate what's important and strengthens their relationships as well.

One of the most interesting discussions of death comes in the episode "Death Wish" which focuses on the Q Continuum. The Continuum is made up of immortal, all-powerful beings. The most prominently featured Q is known as "Q." He has a history pestering Picard and the crew of the Enterprise, and he forges a similar relationship with Janeway and Voyager. A new dimension is added in ÒDeath Wish,Ó however, when Janeway is introduced to Quinn, a philosopher in the Continuum who feels he has nothing else to add and nothing else to accomplish in life and wishes to commit suicide. Q decides Janeway should make the final call. After a visit to the Continuum and hearing the testimony of various individuals, Janeway decides itÕs only fair to let the being end his millenia-long life.

In a later episode Janeway sees the consequences of this decision as the Continuum is thrown into disarray due to the disruption caused by QuinnÕs death. Interestingly enough, Q brings an end to these troubles by creating life, for the first time in the Continuum.

Voyager seems to suggest that immortality can be just as bad as so many view mortality. What's most important is having meaning in life. If that meaning is provided by science and exploration, that's great. If that meaning is provided by beliefs in a higher power or an afterlife, that's also great. What's not great is living without hope or meaning. Beliefs about death often preclude that.

• Seven of Nine, a borg drone, who while still very much held captive by hive mind mentality, comes to feel remorse and guilt over the many lives she helped destroy and seeks to rectify her dishonored state.
• Tom Paris came aboard still under probation at a federation penal colony for causing the deaths of three people and lying about it. He was also a self-professed ladies man who had lost the respect of just about everyone he had ever known who finds acceptance and peace.
• B'elanna Torres lived much of her life in fear and distrust brought on by irreconciled family problems and she comes to accept herself and make ammends with her parents.
• The Doctor, who at first activation, is viewed as nothing more than a complex piece of software, earns the crew's respect and admiration.
• Even Chakotay, whose personal issues are rarely discussed throughout the evolution of the series, began his time on Voyager as an essential terrorist and ended it as a respected member of Starfleet.

• the man responsible for the death of much of Talax, including Neelix' friends and family
• the Benkaran prisoner that is found to be mentally damaged rather than a murderer
• Lieutenant Barclay--the stuttering, socially awkward, self-esteem challenged engineer who finds confidence and acceptance by finding a way to communicate with the ship
• Crewman Suder, who murders a man but through mediation and understanding comes to deal with his anger and overcomes it enough to save the ship from takeover by an alien race

By the time Voyager begins, Tuvok had learned the value to suppressing his emotions and Chakotay had gotten a forehead tattoo to honor his father ("Tattoo") and had picked up some ancient traditions such as talking to a spirit guide ("The Cloud"). Throughout the course of the series Tom Paris comes to respect and endorse some aspects of Starfleet, and appreciate the family it provides him (however his distaste for the prime directive extends through the length of the series ("Time and Again," "Thirty Days")). When it comes to B'elanna, she learns to find comfort and peace with her Klingon half which includes the philosophies and beliefs she found so "hateful" as a child ("Faces," "Day of Honor," "Barge of the Dead," "Lineage," "Prophecy").

Voyager doesn't just depict religion as a facet of many people's lives, but as something to consider, think about, and grapple with. It also suggests that often religious beliefs win out in the end and often prove comforting and worthwhile to people, providing something science and rationality can or may not.

Due to the more anti-religious nature of the earlier Trek series, it would be difficult to see this theme develop as much as it does in Voyager, but it's interesting nonetheless. There's a certain curiousity and respect the various characters have for religion, and just because they don't hold particular beliefs themselves, does not mean that those who have or may find worth in particular belief systems should be too quick to ignore them.

Earlier it was argued that Janeway's devotion to science could be deemed religious, as could Tom's father's love of Starfleet. Every person on the crew, religious or not, puts something first in their life; something that is most important to them, and may, at some point, prove itself more important than Starfleet principles.

• Tuvok puts logic above anything in "Prime Factors." Voyager encounterd a possible way home, however, Janeway was morally unsure of whether they could take it. Tuvok went behind her back to get the technology and attempt it himself. It was only logical, he believed, to do what Janeway wanted to do but morally could not. Tuvok had no such moral restrictions, so he did it himself.
• Tom serves his own sense of morality in "30 Days" and in the process disobeys the captain, breaks the prime directive, and gets himself demoted to ensign.
• The Doctor arguably breaks the prime directive by messing around with a hospital ship's medical system and poisons a man after he was taken hostage ("Critical Care") because he cares more about life than rules.
• In "Barge of the Dead" B'elanna wishes to recreate a near-death experience in an attempt to save her mother from Klingon hell, an undertaking very few are excited for her to take.
• Chakotay puts an away team in danger in an attempt to save an anthropoligical find ("One Small Step"), led by the love of science and discovery that initially led him away from his father and his people ("Tattoo").

There are likely other examples, but in each case a character put their life, their job, and other people's trust on the line in an attempt to follow what they, personally, believe is right.

In some cases, the choice is validated. B'elanna saved her mother, and the Doctor made inroads in putting a stop to some very bad medical practices. Tuvok, on the other hand, was firmly reprimanded, and Chakotay's failure and the trouble he caused were enough to suggest he may have been a little overzealous.

The case of Tom is a little more problematic. Yes, he fails in accomplishing his goal, and yes he is demoted for a year and a half, but he takes it all gracefully. He also writes a letter to his dad explaining why he has once again found himself in prison. This time, he explains, he had reasons, and his motives were honorable. In the end, he appears as a martyr as much as a rebel. In the end it seems that the reasons behind the extreme actions, and whether or not the actions can be validated are what matters most.

Beliefs can be taken too far or misused. At the same time, rules can be broken, so long as the person breaking them is willing to face the consequences.

Tuvok could have used logic to justify not taking action. After all, it's logical to follow the captain's orders. The Doctor could not have rested knowing he did nothing about the injustices happening aboard the hospital ship. B'elanna would have always wondered about her mother's place in the afterlife. And Tom would have berated himself for not taking action when he had the chance. As is, he can face himself in the mirror knowing he stood up for something, and that may be worth more than a higher rank.

In "Distant Origin" the ship is observed by a dinosaur like race named the Voth. One of the members of the species, Gegen, upon researching humans, believes that Voth and Human originally evolved from the same species. Janeway and the Doctor, after doing some DNA research, determine that the Voth scientist Gegen is correct in his theory. The two species are, in fact, related.

The problem arises when Gegen goes on trial in front of the Ministry of Elders. He presents his findings but they say his Òdistant origin theoryÓ contradicts their entire history and doctrine. They ask Gegen to refute his findings. He refuses and Chakotay supports him with evidence Voyager has discovered. In the end, however, Gegen and the entire ship of Voyager is threatened with imprisonment if Gegen does not rescind his theory, so he does.

It's difficult to watch the episode without drawing parallels between the Voth disagreement and discussions that appear in the US. The most obvious parallel may be to Galileo and the Catholic Church, as he was asked, like Gegen, to recant on his theory to appease the church. But there's also a more contemporary parallel to the current debate between evolution and intelligent design. No oneÕs trying to kill people regarding their beliefs, but there are many Evangelicals who scoff at the idea of evolution and are annoyed it is the only thing being taught their children in science classes. And there are, of course, scientists like Gegen, constantly uncovering new information that doesnÕt always easily fit into a Fundamentalist view of the history of the world. Considering this viewpoint, Voyager obviously comes down on the side of the scientists, offering a rather interesting critique of the ongoing faith vs. science debate.

Another episode that offers a critique of conservative ideology is "Blood Fever."

This episode deals with Pon Farr, a condition experienced by grown Vulcans every seven years in which they experience the intense desire to mate. The most advisable solution cure for the imbalance is for the afflicted to Vulcan to fulfill their desires, however, if that's not possible it may also be alleviated through a fight for a mate or, potentially through intense meditation.

The thing is, while Pon Farr happens to every Vulcan every seven years it is never discussed. Thus, when Vorik undergoes his first Pon Farr while aboard Voyager, not only does he not have with him the woman to whom he was engaged to marry, he also has no understanding of what exactly will happen to him during this uncomfortable moment. Due to his ignorance he unintentionally begins a mental mating bond with B'elanna. She breaks the bond immediately, but not until she contracts the condition.

The bulk of the episode focuses on B'elanna's struggle with the condition while trapped in a cave with Tom Paris with whom there was an increasing sexual tension. However, a scene between Tuvok and the Doctor and another scene between Tuvok and Vorik bring up interesting points about the negative affects of being too conservative when discussing sex. A point the Doctor drives home when he says, "I fail to see the logic in perpetuating ignorance about a basic biological function."

That's not to say the episode is promoting sleeping around or anything of the sort. In fact the way sex is actually depicted is rather conservative. Despite Tom's affections for B'elanna, he refuses to "help her" because he doesn't want to break her trust and ruin any chances of an actual relationship. And in the end, neither B'elanna or Vorik cure themselves in the traditional manner. Rather, the resolution is a hand-to-hand fight. It's an interesting episode that may have had no broader intentions. Nonetheless, it provides a somewhat convincing argument for intelligent, responsible and open discussions of sex.