Why is Earth the only planet with a reigning God?

[PurestEvil]

Earth seems to be the only planet in the whole galaxy we have seen with a proper God that acts with authority. Why did the Saiyans or the Namekians not have Gods? The Saiyans did have the Super Saiyan God, but the first one did not last long enough to be appointed as the actual God of the planet. Meanwhile, the Namekians did not have any sort of Godly being, only a mere Grand Elder.
I suppose that Earth has a God because the Earthlings are among the weakest beings in the North galaxy and thus need some sort of "protection", but wouldn't wouldn't the other planets benefit from having Gods, too? I am kind of lost here, since this may essentially be wading into headcanon territory. What are your thoughts on this subject?

[Lord Frieza]

Well saiyans don't come from Vegeta, they originated from Sadala in both universes. Universe 7's Sadala was destroyed long ago and the saiyans were more violent, both of which could explain why they dont have one. The saiyan god was killed and never replaced. As for Vegeta, or Plant, it's god was likely a Tuffle and we know what happened to them.

Even ignore Super, GT also suggest the same thing and that had been inspired possibly by Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans. So at some point in Dragon Ball's creation the idea saiyans are not from Plant must have popped up somewhere.

As for namek, again we have a world thats been ravaged by disaster and is only just beginning to properly recover. If they had a god they to may be long dead after the great disaster and were also never replaced.

Also we don't know exactly how a god should full fill their role. Was Kami's actions, as ineffective as they could be at time, something gods normally do? Are they as proactive as he tried to be or do they prefer a more hand s off approach? Do they, like the kaios, kaoshin and even the hakishin have some level of autonomy in how they do their work as long as the end result is achieved? The normal gods, as unremarkable as they are in power these days, are actually the most mysterious of the pantheon.

[Koitsukai]

The out-of-universe answer must be that DB never intended to introduce other planets and deities. I don't remember if kami was initially referred to as Earth's kami or just kami, as in THE God. The original theme was good vs evil, kami (god) vs ma (devil).

In-universe, the saiyans weren't originally from Vegeta, so they could just have invaded a random planet (I can't recall if the whole tsufuru stuff was expanded upon in the original manga or if it was Toei's input).
Namek lacks a god, yes, but instead has the dragon balls, and now we know that was a gift from a higher deity. This might have to do with the peaceful nature of the namekians, no need to have a superior being watching over them, they can already watch over themselves, and perhaps that earned them something better. Porunga (and the DBs) is a sort of god, actually much better than the kind of god Earth got.

Also, we have no idea what exactly is Kami suppose to do, could it be something related to Buu being hidden on Earth by the Kaioshin? Perhaps, Earth has a god as some sort of surveillance, without god actually knowing what he's suppose to look out. Dende and Kamiccolo had no idea about Buu, I guess the previous god had no clue either. Maybe the first god ever was appointed by Shin himself, just to have a proxy if something went wrong about Buu.

[PurestEvil]

Also, we have no idea what exactly is Kami suppose to do, could it be something related to Buu being hidden on Earth by the Kaioshin? Perhaps, Earth has a god as some sort of surveillance, without god actually knowing what he's suppose to look out. Dende and Kamiccolo had no idea about Buu, I guess the previous god had no clue either. Maybe the first god ever was appointed by Shin himself, just to have a proxy if something went wrong about Buu.

That's actually a very good point that makes a lot of sense and would have enriched the lore of the gods. Unfortunately, Toriyama wasn't interested in expanding the lore of the Earth God, and the only stuff we do get come from the Garlic Jr stuff.

[TrunksTrevelyan0064]

I always kind of saw the Eldest Namekian as the "god" of that planet, but maybe that's just because we often see them in communication with Earth's god(s) and other deities like Kaio. It's like he's on the level of "god" without officially being a god.

[TobyS]

I assumed Guru was functionally their kami,

beyond that other planets may have one off screen and they just cant do shit about Freeza/Moro and other threats, probably dying off screen themselves, there's nothing really to prove or contradict it imo.

[ZeroNeonix]

Is it canon that there were other Earth gods before Kami, or was that Toei filler? If the latter, then the title is just a Namekian thing. The elder on Namek is their version of Kami. Think about it. What do the gods of Earth and the elders of Namek have in common? They both create Dragon Balls for their planet and serve as spiritual mediator for their people. They're the same thing.

[PurestEvil]

Is it canon that there were other Earth gods before Kami, or was that Toei filler? If the latter, then the title is just a Namekian thing. The elder on Namek is their version of Kami. Think about it. What do the gods of Earth and the elders of Namek have in common? They both create Dragon Balls for their planet and serve as spiritual mediator for their people. They're the same thing.

I am pretty sure there were previous Earth gods. The OG Piccolo went up to the Heavenly temple to meet the old God, wanting to succeed him when he died. Finding out that the old God died was what motivated him to cast his evilness away and become the new God.

[ZeroNeonix]

Is it canon that there were other Earth gods before Kami, or was that Toei filler? If the latter, then the title is just a Namekian thing. The elder on Namek is their version of Kami. Think about it. What do the gods of Earth and the elders of Namek have in common? They both create Dragon Balls for their planet and serve as spiritual mediator for their people. They're the same thing.

I am pretty sure there were previous Earth gods. The OG Piccolo went up to the Heavenly temple to meet the old God, wanting to succeed him when he died. Finding out that the old God died was what motivated him to cast his evilness away and become the new God.

So it's just a coincidence that Kami and his successor Dende could create Dragon Balls? Because only elder Namekians can do that. I don't think there could have been Dragon Balls on Earth before Kami. So is Kami both god and elder? I don't know. Seems a bit weird.

[PurestEvil]

Is it canon that there were other Earth gods before Kami, or was that Toei filler? If the latter, then the title is just a Namekian thing. The elder on Namek is their version of Kami. Think about it. What do the gods of Earth and the elders of Namek have in common? They both create Dragon Balls for their planet and serve as spiritual mediator for their people. They're the same thing.

I am pretty sure there were previous Earth gods. The OG Piccolo went up to the Heavenly temple to meet the old God, wanting to succeed him when he died. Finding out that the old God died was what motivated him to cast his evilness away and become the new God.

So it's just a coincidence that Kami and his successor Dende could create Dragon Balls? Because only elder Namekians can do that. I don't think there could have been Dragon Balls on Earth before Kami. So is Kami both god and elder? I don't know. Seems a bit weird.

I am pretty sure that among the types of namekians, one type can create dragon balls.

[Anonymous Friend]

Is it canon that there were other Earth gods before Kami, or was that Toei filler? If the latter, then the title is just a Namekian thing. The elder on Namek is their version of Kami. Think about it. What do the gods of Earth and the elders of Namek have in common? They both create Dragon Balls for their planet and serve as spiritual mediator for their people. They're the same thing.

I am pretty sure there were previous Earth gods. The OG Piccolo went up to the Heavenly temple to meet the old God, wanting to succeed him when he died. Finding out that the old God died was what motivated him to cast his evilness away and become the new God.

So it's just a coincidence that Kami and his successor Dende could create Dragon Balls? Because only elder Namekians can do that. I don't think there could have been Dragon Balls on Earth before Kami. So is Kami both god and elder? I don't know. Seems a bit weird.

Dragonballs aren't a god thing, but a nemekian things. Although, I'm not sure about the super dragonballs.

Many of the planets Freeza and his group took over probably had their own gods, but could not stop the take over.And the higher ranked ones, just didn't interfere with mortal matters/Buu killed off too many of them.

[ZeroNeonix]

King Kai was definitely rooting for Goku to win. There are probably rules about him getting involved, which kinda makes me wonder what the Kais even do, but he wasn't strong enough to take on Frieza even if he wanted to. Plus, Frieza and Beerus seemed to be on good terms, and King Kai is scared to death of Beerus. Beerus seemed to think Frieza was good for the universe, bringing stability via an intergalactic empire or something.

[TobyS]

King Kai was definitely rooting for Goku to win. There are probably rules about him getting involved, which kinda makes me wonder what the Kais even do, but he wasn't strong enough to take on Frieza even if he wanted to. Plus, Frieza and Beerus seemed to be on good terms, and King Kai is scared to death of Beerus. Beerus seemed to think Frieza was good for the universe, bringing stability via an intergalactic empire or something.

Hahah Beerus thinking that at least Freeza keeps the space trains run on time and knows that intervention always just creates space ISIS. Beerus woke on foreign policy.

[Darkprince410]

Is it canon that there were other Earth gods before Kami, or was that Toei filler? If the latter, then the title is just a Namekian thing. The elder on Namek is their version of Kami. Think about it. What do the gods of Earth and the elders of Namek have in common? They both create Dragon Balls for their planet and serve as spiritual mediator for their people. They're the same thing.

According to Goku, Mr. Popo has been serving as the attendant for Kami far preceding the one we came to know in Dragon Ball (the good half of the child of Katatz).

Spoiler:

Likewise, it was him wanting to become Earth's Kami, and being rejected by the then current Kami, that the child of Katatz trained to purge himself of the evil within, resulting in the good half that became Kami, and the evil half that became Piccolo Daimao.

Earth's Kami having something to do with the Dragon Balls is something that started with the good half of the child of Katatz, and before that, Earth's Kami had no connection to Dragon Balls at all.

[FoolsGil]

Because God is dead, and Freeza killed them.

Earth and Namek are the only two planets we've seen in depth (I feel like Guru was Namek's God) so at least to me, Earth isn't the only planet with Gods, it's just we haven't been to other planets, and seen enough of them to see where the Gods on those other planets reside.