10 Ways Babylon 5 & Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Are Basically The Same Show
2. Religious Undertones
Religion was a dicey topic in the early days of Star Trek, represented as something that humanity had left behind as it evolved. A few species had religious systems but it was rarely a topic that received much discussion on The Original Series or The Next Generation.
Deep Space Nine changed that.
Religion and faith is highly important to the Bajoran people. It defines them and guides them in everything they do, so much so that they revere Captain Benjamin Sisko as a religious figure in their culture. Their gods, aka the Prophets, are the aliens that live in the nearby wormhole, which the Bajorans refer to as the Celestial Temple.
The ongoing discussion of religion and faith was a departure from previous Star Trek series. It was also echoed on Babylon 5, where religion factored in heavily for many species, most importantly the Minbari. Station Commander Jeffery Sinclair was destined to take Babylon 4 back in time and become their religious leader, Valen, and that was just one of the ways their faith was important to the ongoing narrative.
The religious beliefs of the Bajorans and the Minbari were respectively the guiding forces of each series. Neither series could have survived without it.