They did state that (Dax did it anyway)... but I"m not sure the opinion of one old Klingon constitutes 'establishing' something.. especially since it was clear later in the ep that he was planning on suicide by mindless attack and didn't want Dax to die.

I have mixed feelings about the way DS9 has portrayed religion. On the one hand, I'm glad that it's being acknowledged and discussed in a somewhat thoughtful manner. Religion is a significant part of the human experience, and too many shows ignore it altogether, except to present one-dimensional fundamentalist-type characters as antagonists or comic relief. And characters like Sisko and Picard, while being ostensibly secular, have always maintained a solemn respect for the sincere spiritual beliefs of others.

On the other hand, I find it hard to believe (to the point of being unrealistic) that there would be no religious humans in the 24th century. Religious belief has always been around and, IMO, always will be in some shape or form. If including religious aliens was the writers' way of including the topic of religion into the show, that's fine, but then why not include Starfleet or human characters of various faiths, especially given modern Trek's direction of being more inclusive and presenting a diverse cross section of cultures and people? Even the Vulcans, who are driven by logic, are more "spiritual" than the humans, with their long history of ritual and ceremony.

In Enterprise Phlox mentions going to a catholic mass while visiting Earth, so specific organized religions survived until at least the 22nd century, but it clearly gets far far less common.  Trek has always had a heavy secular humanist slant, and it's 1 of the things I've always loved about it.

The Wire s2 e22

Garak and Bashir talk about Cardassian literature.. I love it... they're going to lunch, but Garak is sick, and instead of letting Bashir check him out, he begs off and leaves.

Garak then pops over to Quark for something.. Quark claims it's a sizing scanner for the tailor shop.

The next day, Garak turns up in Quark's and drinks himself into a stupor. Bashir tries to trick him to the infirmary, but he passes out before it works. Bashir ends up finding a weird implant in his brain.

Thanks to Odo's spying, they find out the Garak was looking for the schematics for something.. (probably the thing in his head).. apparently it's classified, so the Cardassian Quark knows flips out and doesn't help.

Meanwhile, Garak is back in his quarters, trying to drug himself to death. He admits that the implant was designed to prevent torture, and it's not working. Apparently, he's been using it constantly, and wore it out.

They argue, and Garak tells Bashir why he was exiled.. he killed a bunch of (the wrong) Cardassian civilians during the war trying to prevent Bajorans from ecscaping. Bashir talks him into shutting off the implant, and monitors him by drying him out.

He wakes up and his very grumpy. He tells his story a different way this time.. saying he really got banished because he let a few Bajoran children go. They fight. And Garak goes into shock.

He wakes up again, with Bashir at a loss to do, and we get another Garak story.. this time he said he tried to frame a friend for something, but his friend beat him to it.

Bashir goes to Cardassia and does to see the leader of the Obsidian Order to get the info he needs to save Garak.. and he co-operates, because he would rather Garak live in exile and suffer instead of dying. Bashir, of course, saves the day with the info, and Garak moves on and acts as if nothing happened.

Notes -

Garak's stuff about duty to the stay and whatnot doesn't really fit with my image of them... seems more Soviet than anything.. and if I was going to liken the Cardassians to any historical culture, it would be more like Fascist Japan than Communist Russia. OTOH, having a KGB like spy organization DOES fit, so maybe it's not so bad. Then there's the fact that he's some sort of rebel/refugee from his people.

I like how Bashir admits he likes Garak to Dax.. but it does imply that he's trying to get info from him for some reason, which doesn't make a lot of sense for a doctor. Maybe he was out on a super spy mission the last few episodes.

I love that Odo monitors Quark.. it just re-inforces their love-hate relationship that he doesn't arrest him more often.

Not sure if I don't believe Garak because I want him to be a good guy, or because Cardassians telling stories are so often just stories, but I don't believe him. I don't know if I believe the good story either, though. The spymaster claims the last one is a story, too... but he had lots of reason to lie.

While I understand the dramatic reasons for Bashir to stay at Garaks side while he's out, but not very logical, since, you know, they have spiffy monitoring equipment.

I swear the alien that can into the restaurant at the end of the episode was a Narn for Babylon 5.

Fun character episode.. but I can't help but feel like it was filler after the Marquis stuff.

Not meaning to sound like one of those message board people who insist on correcting spelling when they don't have any other valid argument to add, but in this case there is an actual difference that one letter makes. 

In Star Trek, it's Maquis (no "r").  They are named for French resistance fighters in WW2.

Marquis (with "r") is a French title of nobility, as in Marquis de Lafayette or Marquis de Sade.

The Garak episodes are always interesting.  The actor that plays him does a great job, and I like how the writers string you along revealing a little more about him bit by bit, but also making you question what you know.  I just hope that this isn't all setup with no real payoff.

I really want to start watching these again. There's so much I want to do and so little time...

Seriously.  I was thinking the same thing (thanks to this thread) the other day, when I realized I haven't even opened my TNG season 1 Blu-Rays yet (or 2-7 for that matter!)