Category Archives: religion

Artificial intelligence and religion

August 16th, 2015 | Posted in artificial intelligence, religion, robotics

There has been a good bit of discussion lately on artificial intelligence in connection with religiosity. The Daily Mail has a piece titled “Will artificial intelligence be religious? Researchers say robots could someday be converted to a faith.” This includes positive and negative aspects. On the latter, the piece states If artificially intelligent robots could […]

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Interview with Jess Peacock on “Such a Dark Thing: Theology of the Vampire Narrative in Popular Culture”

February 26th, 2015 | Posted in religion, theology, Titles of Interest, vampire

Recently Jess Peacock got in touch with me to let me know about his new book, Such a Dark Thing: Theology of the Vampire Narrative in Popular Culture (Resource Publications, 2015). It is a good read, and for those interested in exploring various theological aspects of the vampire, this book is worthwhile, bringing together an […]

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Religion and Transhumanism: The Unknown Future of Human Enhancement

February 13th, 2015 | Posted in religion, Titles of Interest, Transhumanism

  Religion and Transhumanism The Unknown Future of Human Enhancement by Calvin Mercer and Tracy J. Trothen, Editors November 2014 Praeger This book comprises essays that explore transhumanism and the issues that surround it, addressing numerous fascinating questions posed by scholars of religion from various traditions. How will “immortality” or extreme longevity change our religious […]

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Titles of Interest – Religion in Science Fiction: The Evolution of an Idea and the Extinction of a Genre

November 19th, 2014 | Posted in religion, science fiction, Titles of Interest

Religion in Science Fiction: The Evolution of an Idea and the Extinction of a Genre by Steven Hrotic (Bloomsbury Academic, 2014) Religion in Science Fiction investigates the history of the representations of religion in science fiction literature. Space travel, futuristic societies, and non-human cultures are traditional themes in science fiction. Speculating on the societal impacts […]

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Titles of Interest – Holy Sci-Fi! Where Science Fiction and Religion Intersect

November 19th, 2014 | Posted in religion, science fiction, Titles of Interest

Holy Sci-Fi! Where Science Fiction and Religion Intersect by Paul J. Nahin (Springer, 2014) Can a computer have a soul? Are religion and science mutually exclusive? Is there really such a thing as free will? If you could time travel to visit Jesus, would you (and should you)? For hundreds of years, philosophers, scientists, and science fiction writers […]

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Titles of Interest – Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds

September 24th, 2014 | Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, fantasy, fantasy role playing games, games, religion, Titles of Interest

Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds (University of California Press, 2015), by Joseph P. Laycock. The 1980s saw the peak of a moral panic over fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. Before you read the rest of this article, you might want to […]

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Fandom and Religion Conference at University of Leicester

August 5th, 2014 | Posted in conference, fan cultures, geek cultures, religion

Fandom and Religion: An international, inter-disciplinary conference University of Leicester (UK) · 28th – 30th July 2015 A conference exploring interactions between religion and popular culture. How does fandom work? Has fandom replaced or become a form of religion? This event will provide opportunity for participants to explore these and other questions about popular culture […]

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Contagious Vampires and Impotent Religion in “The Strain”

August 2nd, 2014 | Posted in Christianity, Guillermo del Toro, religion, vampire

I finally had a chance to watch the first three episodes of The Strain after recording them. I am a big fan of Guillermo del Toro, including the material he produces. The television series is, of course, based on the 2009 novel by del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It incorporates  some of the vampire conceptions […]

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Titles of Interest – Virtually Sacred: Myth and Meaning in World of Warcraft and Second Life

July 13th, 2014 | Posted in fantasy, games, religion, Second Life, Titles of Interest, video games, World of Warcraft

Virtually Sacred: Myth and Meaning in World of Warcraft and Second Life by Robert M. Geraci (Oxford University Press, 2014). Millions of users have taken up residence in virtual worlds, and in those worlds they find opportunities to revisit and rewrite their religious lives. Robert M. Geraci argues that virtual worlds and video games have […]

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Toronto Jewish Film Festival and Jewish Horror

May 1st, 2014 | Posted in horror, Jewish monsters, Judaism, monsters, religion

Carl Rosenberg, a reader of this blog, made me aware of an interesting facet of the 22nd Toronto Jewish Film Festival. It features a section on horror titled “The Search for a Jewish Horror Film: Golems, Dybbuks and Other Movie Monsters.” This is described as follows and features the following films: With a series of […]

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