Again, I don’t want to imply Paganism=Good Christianity=Bad, or Atheism=Good, Religion=Bad. Many good things have come from Christianity, such as the abolition of slavery and the Civil Rights movement, but many atrocities have been committed in the name of Christianity, such as the conquest of the Americas. Galahad only once shows an interest in the well-being of other human beings (especially the poor and marginalized), and is only interested in God and Destiny.
First thing, I am not sure if you are the same anon from the last Galahad asks, but I am going to answer point for point
(TW RAPE and MURDER AND STUFF):
1) If you are the same anon, no one is trying to force you into liking a character. There are plenty of people who don’t like Galahad (Example: Nancy McKenzie, who doesn’t like Galahad, but still managed to write a compelling book about him, or all the MANY other arthurian authors who don’t include Galahad in their stories or who include a tiny bit of awful!Galahad).
2) Second, not all Christians are the same. The family upbringing (and much more) has much more impact on morality than the religion one follows. That’s why we have “morally good people” who can be atheist or religious.
As an atheist, I don’t really understand how bad things can happen to people who are unconcerned with altruism. There are plenty of people who are not altruistic at all and lead perfectly successful lives, even if religious. Sometimes, not being concerned with other people actually make them more successful in life (see: big companies ceo and some billionaire of the world).
3) “Galahad never does anything particularly altruistic”: first of all, you have to cite at least a text. What do you mean? In Malory? In the Lancelot-Grail? In the common imaginary of arthuriana? Second of all: compared to whom? What other characters act altruistically? Which other character from the SAME text are you bringing as a moral comparison? Merlin, maybe, who tried to molest a young girl? Arthur who tries to kill his own baby (and killed many babies in the attempt), Gawain who accidentally beheaded a woman? Elaine, who raped Lancelot?
Also, what exactly is the list of “bad” actions that Galahad performed? Comparing them to the ones I just listed.
I am pretty sure that wandering around the world alone and looking for a magic golden cup is not the WORST a person (religious or not) can do. Do you need a list of much worse things that have been done in the name of religion?
4) I am sorry to disappoint, but there’s no paganism in Malory. ALL the characters are assumed to be Christian. Arthur had the Virgin Mary on his shield at Badon, to help him. Christianism is the mythology of arthuriana.
5) Where do we see other characters showing interest in the well being of the poor and the marginalized? Do I have to remind you that no one was shocked or surprised, when Tor was made knight ONLY AFTER Arthur found out he was an actual nobleman (Pellinore raped a common poor woman. Tor wanted to be a knight. No can do! Because he is a peasant… but wait, isn’t his rape a blessing! Now he is a new found noble!). If you are looking for the modern values associated with Christianity in a text that is not written right now, you are not going to find them.
Arthurian Legends 