Earthseed

Fictional religion in Octavia Butler's works
the novel by Pamela Sargent

Earthseed is a fictitious religion based on the idea that "God is Change". It is the creation of Octavia E. Butler, as revealed by her character Lauren Oya Olamina in the books: Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents (the third book of the trilogy, Parable of the Trickster, was not completed before Butler's death).

Parable of the Sower is a futuristic, dystopian, science fiction novel. In its reality, the United States has devolved into states and/or city states warring for the few remaining resources. Life is cheap, and the economy is becoming reborn as company towns. The main character in Parable of the Sower, Lauren Olamina, is the daughter of a Baptist minister who serves their walled in neighborhood. Because of her mother's addiction to a prescription drug, Olamina suffers from "hyperempathy", which causes her to share pain or perceived pain with any living human she sees. When her community is attacked, burned, and looted, seventeen year old Olamina barely escapes with her life. She travels, at great danger, into northern California in search of a haven where she and others can build the first Earthseed community. The beliefs of Earthseed are recorded in the fictional book Earthseed: The Books of the Living. Olamina writes in short, poetic passages. Portions of this text are presented at the beginning of each section, some chapters, and occasionally throughout the text. The philosophy of Earthseed also underlies the motivations of some of the characters in these novels.

While fictitious, the religion has inspired several real world movements. The Terasem Movement seeks the development of humanity through technology, and to bridge the gap between science and religion. Terasem comes from the Latin Terra ('earth') and sēmen ('seed'). Like the fictional Earthseed, Terasem Movement attempts to "shape God", but through technology.