[Nate the Great]

VENDOR: Sorry, we're all out.
(There's some on the front shelf counter.)
O'BRIEN: What? What are all these?
VENDOR: These aren't for sale.

Oh boy is this unnecessary. Has Winn actually ordered the Bajorans on the station not to do business with the Federation civilians? That's a diplomatic can of worms, isn't it?

I have to return to my argument from an earlier episode. Even if an anti-Federation faction drives the Federation from the station, Bajor is not capable of running it themselves, nor are they capable of defending it against the inevitable Cardassian attack. And by "inevitable" I mean "Dukat would be here with a fleet the day after."

WINN: Let me be the one to make the first concession. I will no longer request that you teach anything about the Celestial Temple. Just don't teach anything about the wormhole at all.
KEIKO: Ignore it?
WINN: Find other ways, other things to teach the children.

Ugh. This wouldn't solve anything. If you want to get pedantic about the wormhole, there are other things that Keiko is teaching that you wouldn't approve of. I wouldn't accept any form of ceasefire that doesn't include major concessions on the part of the Bajorans. Enough to teach the Provisional Government to keep the Vedeks on shorter leashes.

JAKE: No. There was only me and four other kids left, but she still kept the school open. She changed the lesson to teach us about Galileo. Did you know that he was tried by the Inquisition for teaching that the Earth moved around the sun?
SISKO: Tried and convicted. His books were burned.
JAKE: How could anyone be so stupid?

Because the Church had tremendous political power and chose to exercise that power in order to maintain it.

JAKE: But there were no Prophets. They were just some aliens that you found in the wormhole.
SISKO: To those aliens, the future is no more difficult to see than the past. Why shouldn't they be considered Prophets?
JAKE: Are you serious?
SISKO: My point is, it's a matter of interpretation. It may not be what you believe, but that doesn't make it wrong.

The Prophets have more right to the title "god" than that alien orbiting the planet of the Edo. But here's the point: the Prophets never claimed to be the only possible source of spiritual fulfillment. It's the radicals like Winn who said that. Furthermore, there was a lot more "blasphemy" in Bajoran space during the Occupation than now, and the Prophets never got rid of the Cardassians.

BAREIL: I'm sorry, Commander. The Vedek Assembly will not see you.
SISKO: Why not?
BAREIL: Some fear you as the symbol of a Federation they view as godless. Some fear you as the Emissary who has walked with the Prophets. And some fear you because Vedek Winn told them to. We're all very good conjuring up enough fear to justify whatever we want to do.

Thank goodness not all Vedeks are like Winn. They actually know what's going on.

SISKO: In other words, being my friend now might hurt your chances.
BAREIL: The Prophets teach us patience.
SISKO: It appears they also teach you politics.

I'm not a fan of this part. Bareil is supposed to be the genuine spiritual leader and serve as a contrast to Winn.

KIRA: Three Bajoran crewmen didn't report for duty. They said they weren't feeling well.
SISKO: Do you think it's contagious, Major?

I'm not a fan of this. Had they told the truth Sisko wouldn't have held it against them. His beef is with Winn, not all Bajorans, and THEY KNOW IT.

QUARK: You were looking for me? Don't tell me. There's a Bajoran convention on the station I didn't know about? Thanks, Odo. I need to call in more dabo girls
ODO: It's not a convention. They're from an orthodox spiritual order coming to support Vedek Winn's efforts to keep the Bajoran children out of school.
QUARK: Orthodox? In that case, I'll need twice as many dabo girls. These spiritual types love those dabo girls.

This is not the place for this plot point, the story is overstuffed as it is. Furthermore, sex scandals in the clergy seem a bit too racy for Trek in the nineties.

SISKO: The Prophets had nothing to do with what happened here today. This was the work of a disturbed and violent mind who listened to your voice, not the Prophets.
WINN: Is the Emissary holding me responsible for this act of terrorism?
SISKO: The Commander of this station is.

Oh, snap! (Am I too geeky to be able to pull of an "Oh, snap!"?)

WINN: You are not simply misguided as I once thought. Now I see that you want nothing less than to destroy us.
SISKO: Destroy you?
WINN: You live without a soul, Commander. You and your Federation exist in a universe of darkness and you would drag us in there with you. But we will not go.

The Federation has never forced atheism on anyone. At best you could claim that their officers are encouraged to avoid religious talk while on duty. And that's basic religious tolerance, something that the Bajorans still have to be taught. Which is weird, because they spent forty years being abused by the Cardassians every time they tried to express their faith. You'd think a simple request to not talk about it while you're at work for a few hours would be fulfilled.

KIRA: I envied Vedek Winn because she was a true believer. I wanted my faith to be as strong as hers.

In what universe does Winn appear to be truly pious?

The Fiver

O'Brien: Want a Sugar Daddy?
Keiko: The sign says "Jumja Sticks".
O'Brien: That's odd. Whenever I pass this place with Neela, she always says "Will you buy me one Sugar Daddy?"

I can't even remember the last time I had a Sugar Daddy. And that pun is painful.

Keiko: ...and that's why religion sucks. Now let's all bow our heads and pray to Albert Einstein.

I get the hyperbole, but I don't think Einstein was the right choice in this case. If I remember right Einstein was agnostic, not atheist. Big difference.

Winn: Humph! Infidel. I don't know why you get to see the Prophets, and I don't.

It took way to long for Winn to realize that the problem was her, not the Prophets.

Winn: Let me put forth an olive branch regarding the school; instead of actually teaching the students, why don't you just let them watch Rikki-tikki-tavi over and over?
Keiko: The Jungle Book, maybe, but Rikki-tikki-tavi? No way.

I knew of Rikki-tikki-tavi from Pop Culture Osmosis, but I never knew the plot. Reading it on Wikipedia, I fail to see the plot parallel.

Neela: Chief, would you ever be attracted to a Bajoran woman?
O'Brien: Only if she were carrying my wife's child.

Ick. I was going to make a reference to his wife in the alternate reality of "Children of Time", but I was mistaken. O'Brien married a human in that episode, not a Bajoran. Which is weird, because I should know that Kira is usually the only Bajoran who set foot on the Defiant.

Sisko: Geez, you're treating me like I was Dukat or someone.
Winn: I'd rather be with him than you.

Well, that's two unpleasant mental images for the price of one.

Memory Alpha

* Robert Hewitt Wolfe has an interesting description of the episode's theme, I recommend it.

Nitpicker's Guide

* Winn claims to have used multiple Orbs, but Phil says that they only had one after the Occupation. This is a minefield that I don't care to enter.
* Phil is surprised that someone has to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher instead of a containing forcefield like on the Enterprise. Maybe the Cardassians destroyed it on the way out and O'Brien hasn't had the chance to replace it yet.