: Re: Sympathetic portrayal of devout, rule-abiding characters I'm having trouble portraying religious, devout characters as protagonists or viewpoint characters. When I try, I get the sense that the reader

@Ann1701686

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I don't know what specific issues you ran into; nevertheless, general advice I can give you is: imagine you're writing a person with foreign customs.
You have to state the beliefs (implicitly or explicitly, but they have to be noticeable), and possibly their reason or origin.

Portraying the characters as feeling uncomfortable around situations that run against their beliefs helps stating them.
Having someone get curious as to the character's behavior will give it a chance to state their reasons, and their attitude while talking or rejecting the activities that go against whatever they believe in will give them depth.

A quick example:

Nelaf was led to the tent used as dining room. So far her travel was faring well, even though it was too early to say so. She was glad she'd been taken in by this fine caravan.
She felt an odd smell, too much like charred flesh. Her stomach revolted as she tried to detect the source. Whoever had sustained such a harsh burn had to receive healing urgently.
"Wait!", her escort called, but the urge to stop the suffering was to great. She ran into the kitchen, following the smell, and what she saw made her burst to tears: rows upon rows of animals were being roasted.
"How could you?", she screamed. She was surrounded by monsters. Who could kill a brother and eat it? Nature provided food... why would anyone commit such cruelty? It was inhuman.
The wanton massacre committed by these men made them unholy: who could kill their mother and live with it? The laughter and talk from the dining hall only made everything worse. She had to get away from these people.

It is very hasty, but the basic theme is there: you can portray it as heavily as needed. And work on it, because it might sound exaggerated until you polish it.

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