i'm writing a fiction book about an assassin. plz humor me by answering an "off the wall" question.

Question

are most (hired) assassins religious ppl in their private lives?

Answer 1

I truly have no idea, and would agree with the previous two responders that I wouldn't think so. However, people throughout history have been able to "justify" killing to themselves, and that's all you really need. Iif you need this to be the case for your book, or you think it would add an interesting dimension to the character, I think it could be done in one of three ways. One would be that there is a constant source of conflict for the assassin, where s/he struggles to reconcile these two very different concepts, one would be the standard mafia conceit (not that your assassin has to be mafia, but they are often portrayed as being very Catholic), and the third would be to place the killing within a religious context (ie The Da Vinci Code and the albino assassin guy, I forget his name) where the assassin feels s/he is doing God's work. Perhaps you can think of other scenarios, but the main point is that I think you could make it work if you needed it to be that way, as long as you're careful in making sure it's fully justified (to the character, not necessarily the reader).

Edit: haha, when I wrote this, there were only two responders :)

Answer 2

Because you used the term "off-the-wall", I have
to wonder if you're planning to give your novel at
least a bit of humorous slant.
I, personally, would not want to read a novel that
did not have an element of humor to it.
Even my all-time favorite crime drama TV series,
the original "Law & Order", was not without an
element of humor, (subtle though it was.)
If I were you, I would consider making the reader
think that your assasin wasn't a religious person,
but arrange it so that it could be revealed towards
the end that he had a very religious background.
As for what sort of religion that should be, it would
depend on where the story was set.
(For example, if your setting is New York City--
or anywhere else on the East Coast--Muslim or
Islamic would work well.)

Good luck!

Answer 3

Assassins can't be obvious about their professions. A good plot would probably entail this character to have an unassuming side to contrast his dark side (the way Silas professes his religious devotion in The Da Vinci Code). Good luck with the book.

Answer 4

I suppose some of them could be. It would depend on their purpose behind becoming a paid assassin. If they were a religious zealot and felt they were doing "God's" work, they would be very religious. And some of them would be very ordinary people in their private lives and could be faithful to their religion & able to separate the two aspects of their personality and justify both. You have a lot of latitude to work with here in character development.

Answer 5

Not sure I agree with all those "I doubt it" answers. Let's take American patriots employed the orgs. like the CIA. These people in many cases believe that whatever they do is for the good of the country. They are dedicated to the US (whether we agree with their activities or not.) I do believe this kind of fanaticism (that's what I'd call it) is typical of career CIA spies and that they could easily be religious while doing a job that entails killing threats to the country.

Answer 6

I would think not as you would have to have no conscience of the taking of someone elses life or you wouldn't be able to live with yourself, I'd say they would be ruthless and have no feeling or empathy for anything or anyone, after all it is a sin in the ten comandments, so no, and I don't think that many of them would even have private lives, otherwise, they would think about how they would feel if somebody killed their loved one, so I don't think they'd let anybody close enough to them in case they were used against them, sure, they probably have lovers but I just can't see them being John Smith down the road with the picket fence and loving wife and kids, hope that helps, Goodluck with the book, I love good murder mysteries!

Answer 7

Perhaps not, but I think it would be extremely cool if you could weave a strong faith or religion into an assassin's acts and personality. That'd be unique and interesting if you could pull it off right.

If your assassin were hired to do a job that made him/her question their morals and beliefs, or perhaps if they had to struggle to reconcile the kill with their faith....you'd be onto something pretty dang interesting.

Give it a go!

Answer 8

It depends on the kind of assassin. The original assassins, the hashashin, were early Muslim fanatics, and religious fanatics of various stripes still are willing to kill in the name of whatever God they choose to believe in. However, I believe the sort of assassin-for-pay you often see in fiction is typically of a more atheistic bent.

However, do whatever is best for your story. The human mind is capable of creating justifications for all sorts of behavior. Just give your assassin suitable motivations to believe the disparity between whatever beliefs he has and his profession are justified, and you will be fine.

Answer 9

Doubt it.
They aren't in the yellow pages you know.
Most are employed by gangsters.
The private citizen employing a hitman is largely a myth.
Imagine it yourself. You'd have to go through several individuals, and each time, the danger of blackmail would increase.

Answer 10

sit down and watch Pulp Fiction