By John MacDonald On episode 36 of the Religion Prof Podcast, Dr. James McGrath and Matthew Brake shared their interpretations of Nietzsche’s overman in relation to the Batman mythos in popular culture. McGrath raises the point that it is young Bruce Wayne’s response to his family tragedy that raises him from the level of the…
Puss-in-Boots: An Allegorical Reading
By Daniel Bookman It is no secret that many tales that we read and enjoyed as children were oftentimes allegorical in nature. Who doesn’t know of Aesops fables or the Brothers Grimm and their many tales of morality? Likewise, there is a strong literary tradition of tales serving as Biblical allegories. Perhaps the most famous…
Morality and Power in Spider-Man: No Way Home
By George Tsakiridis WARNING: SPOILERS (but come on, it’s been 2 months!) “Three is a magic number.” The catchy tune by De La Soul that plays during the animated credits of Spider-Man: No Way Home rings in the ears of all attendees and represents the best-worst kept secret of the past year – there are…
Call for Papers: Theology, Religion, and the Witcher
Title: Theology, Religion, and The WitcherEditor: Yael Cameron, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand Andrzej Sapkowski is author of the Polish fantasy novels and short stories following protagonist Geralt of Rivia, better known as The Witcher. Since the early days of publication The Witcher has had a remarkable reception. The Witcher and its lore came…
Grant Morrison, Superheroes, and The Post-Traumatic Christian
By Matthew Brake I was talking the other day to a friend, and the topic of our spiritual journeys came up. This person told me about the burnout and discouragement they felt, not only being involved in different churches, but in the whole “Jesus thing” in general. I then relayed my own story: involvement in…
Cobra Kai and the Fluidity of Religion
By David Armstrong There are certain ideas that, once you have them, it is excessively difficult to un-have them. Here are two. The first is that religions–treated as self-sufficient, insulated systems of belief, behavior, and belonging that are discrete from other such systems and that can be identified through zoning in on some sort of…
Call for Papers: Theology, Religion, and Dune
Title: Theology, Religion, and Dune Editor: Christopher A. Porter, Trinity College, University of Divinity A mention of Frank Herbert’s Dune conjures up visions of warring houses, giant spice worms, mysterious Fremen, and the crucial ‘spice’ melange. But within Herbert’s broad world building enterprise, his universe unashamedly embeds religious themes and theological frameworks in the narrative….
Jimmy Eat World’s 555 and the Lament Tradition of Prayer
By Thomas M. Fuerst As a white United Methodist pastor living in the American South, I have grieved for two years as Covid-19 has run through my city, my region, my nation, and our world. Fortunately, I pastor a congregation that largely takes masks and vaccines seriously, but I lament that I live in an…
A Last Blood Benediction: Anne Rice, Type O Negative, and Religious Imagery in Vampire Lore
By Lillah Lawson Many have explored the relationship between vampires and Christianity – scratch the surface of any well-written piece of vampire fiction, from Dracula to The Vampire Chronicles, from Salem’s Lotto Twilight, and you’ll find no shortage of vampiric characters bemoaning the fact that they are damned by God, drinking blood as an act…
2021: Top Five Posts
When I did this post last year, I stated that it had been a tumultuous year (a bit of an understatement). 2021 brought it’s own share of ups and downs and the world continues to struggle with the Covid-19 pandemic, the rise of authoritarianism, and the pervasiveness of conspiracy theories. I hope everyone is finding…
Call for Papers: Anime, Religion, and Theology
Call for Papers: Anime, Religion, and Theology Proposal Due Date: February 15th, 2022 First Submission Date for Contributors: August 15th, 2022 Editors: Roberto J. De La Noval and David Armstrong Today it is impossible to overlook the presence of Japanese animation, ‘anime’ for short, in the Western entertainment ecosystem. Since the 1990s, when many landmark…
Extended Call for Papers: Theology, Religion, and Wes Craven
Call for Proposals Title: Theology and Wes Craven Editor: David K. Goodin, McGill University Wesley Earl Craven (1939-2015), popularly known as simply Wes Craven, redefined the horror genre with such landmark and notorious films as The Hills Have Eyes (1977), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), The People…
Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture Series Sale!
Hello Friends! From now through 01/08/2022, Lexington books is offering a 35% off sale on all in-stock titles (forthcoming titles not included). You can find out more specifics about the sale by clicking here. You can use the discount by going to the book series website and using code 21JOYSALE when you checkout. You can…
Why Theology and Spider-Man?
By George Tsakiridis As I begin writing this I am listening to the song “Stressed Out” by Twenty-One Pilots. It states “Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days, when our momma sang us to sleep, but now we’re stressed out.” In the newest book in the Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture…
Beastars, the Addictions of the Flesh, and Cruciform Asceticism
By David Armstrong Caveat Lector: Spoilers follow for Netflix’s Beastars. Beastars is objectively a little ridiculous. The first season follows Legoshi, a wolf living in a society of anthropoid animals tenuously held together across the division between herbivores and carnivores, the latter of whom struggle and periodically refuse to contain their violent and flesh-eating instincts….
Faith in the Balance: Religious Trauma and Hope in The Vigil
By Danny Anderson Horror films are shapeshifters by nature. They emerge into the world at a given time and place and contort themselves to embody the anxieties, fears, and hopes of their moment. For those interested in religion, horror has been, justifiably so, a primary cinematic genre to explore. No other kind of film takes…
I Have the Power! “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” and the Soul’s Becoming
By David Armstrong He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985) looms large in the 1980s nerd culture fusing science fiction, fantasy, and, let’s face it, psychedelic trips. The original show followed He-Man, the superpowered Prince Adam, and his comrades Teela, Man-At-Arms, Orko, Battle-Cat, and Roboto as they sought to prevent the evil wizard Skeletor…
Religion in the Crossfire of Right-Wing Culture Wars: A Christian’s Reflection on Belief and Social Utility
By Cole DeSantis We recently finished the summer. In American society, the summer, particularly the month of July, is the time in which Americans celebrate the birth of their nation. It is during this time that inhabitants of the United States contemplate, with particular intensity, the values that their nation, society and culture stand for….
Extended Call for Papers: Religion in Spider-Man Comics
Call For Papers: Religion in Spider-Man Comics – A Textual Look at our Favorite Web-Slinger Volume Editor: George Tsakiridis, PhD Abstract and CV Due: October 24, 2021 Initial Final Paper Due: March 1, 2022 There are few comic book heroes that rise to the level of Spider-Man. He is the foundation for most of the…
Call for Papers: Theology and Wes Craven
Call for Proposals Title: Theology and Wes Craven Editor: David K. Goodin, McGill University Wesley Earl Craven (1939-2015), popularly known as simply Wes Craven, redefined the horror genre with such landmark and notorious films as The Hills Have Eyes (1977), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), The People…
Intellectual Humility in the Face of the Unidentified: What Theology Can Learn From Ufology’s Renaissance
By David Armstrong We are living in something of a ufological renaissance at the moment. It is not the only such cultural resurgence and newfound respectability of a previously suppressed subculture: now more than at any other time in American history, interest in aliens, the paranormal, the occult, the psychedelic, and animistic, panpsychist, or idealist…
2nd Extension CFP: Theology and Margaret Atwood
Since the recent success of the TV series The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood—who has always enjoyed an enthusiastic “fan base” and coterie of admiring readers—has gained a renewed prominence and her work has entered into a kind of renaissance as readers (re)discover her extensive catalogue of writings, including novels, essays, short stories, poetry, and other edited…
Analyzing Religion in Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X: Epilogue
At long last, David Canham‘s epilogue for his ongoing blog series for Sequart on Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X. Here is an excerpt: “One also cannot deny how well-crafted the House of X / Powers of X series is. The questionable morality of the X-Men’s new status quo does not make the storytelling any less compelling. Hickman…
WandaVision, Reality, and the Filter Bubbles that Control Our Minds
By Hannah Grubbs Imagine you’re sitting at the dinner table with your old white grandma and her and your parents are going on and on about how Antifa was behind the insurrection and that Trump won the election. You, a well-informed person, interject to say, “Well, the Antifa part is unsure and Trump actually lost…
Die Before You Die: The Mystery of Christ in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight
By David Armstrong Caveat Lector: Spoilers follow for David Lowery’s The Green Knight. David Lowery’s The Green Knight (2021) is simply incredible. In a lifetime of ill-conceived, failed, and outright botched Camelot films, it is refreshing to know that someone, somewhere, actually has some knowledge of Arthuriana, particularly the mystifying, apocalyptic, even psychedelic strangeness that surrounds the…
Analyzing Religion in Jonathan Hickman’s Powers of X #6
I’m happy to present the second to last entry in David Canham‘s ongoing blog series for Sequart on religion in Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X. Next week, I will be posting a link to his epilogue for the blog series. Here is an excerpt: “In returning to the theme of prophecy, Hickman brings…
Call for Papers: Theology and the Blues
Theology and the Blues Edited by Justin McLendon While all music genres incorporate religious imagery, the blues has its origin in the soil of the church. In its infancy, the blues was considered the “Devil’s Music,” often dismissed as undermining the church’s gospel songbook. The initial resistance, however, could not suppress the organic development of…
Analyzing Religion in Jonathan Hickman’s House of X #6
Once again, I am happy to present another post from our friends over at Sequart from David Canham‘s ongoing blog series analyzing religion in Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X. Here is an excerpt: “But, Krakoa is supposed to be a mutant paradise, a perfect society as first introduced in Chapter 1: House of X #1….
Analyzing Religion in Jonathan Hickman’s Powers of X #5
We are coming close to the end of David Canham‘s analysis of Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X series over at Sequart. Here is an excerpt: “One theory of religion postulates that such belief systems arise out of questions that remain (as of yet) beyond our ability to answer. Wondering, ‘Where did everything ultimately…
The Mitchells vs. Technophobia: Balancing a Theological Approach to Technology
By Jake Doberenz There are plenty of examples of entertainment media deconstructing its own existence and warning about the dangers of technology. Shows like Black Mirror asks us to question how media and technology control and affect our lives. Movies from iRobot to Age of Ultron to Ex Machina depict the danger of artificially intelligent…
Analyzing Religion in Jonathan Hickman’s House of X #5
I’m happy to present another installment from our friend David Canham‘s series for Sequart on religion in Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X story. Here is an excerpt: “Although only the ninth of twelve chapters, House of X #5 brings the entire House of X / Powers of X series to its thematic and symbolic climax. How fitting then, that…
Popular Culture’s Hidden Depths: René Girard, Theology, and Pop Culture
By Ryan G. Duns It seems fitting that a post intended to explain the importance and relevance of René Girard, Theology, and Pop Culture take, as its point of departure, some aspect of popular culture. Let me begin, then, with a snippet from the 1996 hit “Wannabe” performed by the Spice Girls: Yo, I’ll tell you…
Extended Call for Papers: Theology and the Riordanverse
Editors: Nathan E. Fleeson and Carolyn M. Jones Medine 2020 marked the 15thAnniversary of the publication of the first book in the Percy Jackson series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, as well as what Rick Riordan claims will be the last in the series, The Trials of Apollo: The Tower of Nero. In those…
Extended Call for Papers: Theology and LOST
Due Date for Abstracts: September 17, 2021 Few commercial television series in recent memory had such a lasting impact on its viewers as did the TV series “Lost” which aired 2004-2010, and although the series is now over a decade old, it is still available on streaming services and its themes are still relevant, perhaps…
Extended Call for Papers: Theology and Margaret Atwood
Since the recent success of the TV series The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood—who has always enjoyed an enthusiastic “fan base” and coterie of admiring readers—has gained a renewed prominence and her work has entered into a kind of renaissance as readers (re)discover her extensive catalogue of writings, including novels, essays, short stories, poetry, and other edited…
Call for Papers: Religion in Spider-Man Comics
Call For Papers: Religion in Spider-Man Comics – A Textual Look at our Favorite Web-Slinger Volume Editor: George Tsakiridis, PhD Abstract and CV Due: October 1, 2021 Initial Final Paper Due: March 1, 2022 There are few comic book heroes that rise to the level of Spider-Man. He is the foundation for most of the…
Reflections on Theology and the Marvel Universe
By Gregory Stevenson In 2019 I had the privilege of working with an exceptional group of scholars as editor for Theology and the Marvel Universe. With the paperback edition now available (and thus at a thankfully cheaper price), this provides a good opportunity to reflect on why I think projects like this are important. Comic book…
What Have We Learned About Prince’s Theology Lately?
By Jonathan H. Harwell, co-editor, Theology and Prince (now released in paperback) Theology and Prince, the inaugural volume of the rapidly growing Theology and Pop Culture series from Lexington Books/Fortress Academic (see the review at Reading Religion here), has now been published in paperback at a lower list price of $39.99. I am honored to be a co-editor of this…
Analyzing Religion in Jonathan Hickman’s Powers of X #4
Once again, I’m happy to call attention to David Canham’s series of articles over at Sequart about Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X series. In this entry, David looks at the compromises Charles Xavier, Magneto, and others make for the sake of the greater good. Here is an excerpt: “Many works of creative writing,…
Black Widow, Feminism, and Redemption
By Corey Patterson ***Editor’s Note: Corey originally wrote this piece in 2020 before the pandemic and before the Black Widow movie was delayed. If I was a better editor, I would’ve made sure to release this BEFORE Black Widow hit theaters. The original release date has been changed to the actual one. ~MB The long-waited…
Call for Papers: Theology and Vampires
Theology and Vampires From the ‘vampire craze’ of the eighteenth century, and up to contemporary takes on the genre, vampire narratives have been inextricably bound up with theological questions. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula and its many adaptations, the vampire is repelled by the crucifix and the consecrated Host. Two puncture wounds on the victim’s neck in…
For All Time, Always: Of Gods, Demiurges, Tricksters, and Creaturely Freedom
David Armstrong Caveat Lector:Spoilers follow below for Marvel’s Loki. As a show, Loki represents how far the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come on several metrics. One of them is surely the freedom with which the MCU can now approach its comic-book source material: when Iron Man first came out in 2009, probably no one expected to eventually see…
Analyzing Religion in Jonathan Hickman’s House of X #4
Hello Everyone! Once again, I want to draw attention to David Canham’s blog series over at Sequart about Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X series. Canham does an excellent job in this piece of examining the use of martyrdom themes in House of X #4. Here is an excerpt: “Nightcrawler then transports himself and…
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: An Interview with Paul Levitz
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Paul Levitz, former writer, editor, publisher, and president of DC Comics, about his most recent graphic novel for Dark Horse Comics entitled Unfinished Business, the story about a rabbi, a priest, and a minister who walk into bar. The catch is that they’re all dead and…
M.O.D.O.K. and the Vice of Ambition: If the Mundane Be Thy Doom!
By David Armstrong Caveat Lector: Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.is rated TV-MA, and more importantly, spoilers follow for it below. Plenty of other people have written on what makes the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing—M.O.D.O.K., for short—among the most ridiculous products of Marvel’s long publishing history, and therefore what is just so comedically perfect about the first (but hopefully…
Book Review: Theology and the Marvel Universe
The good folks over at the American Academy of Religion’s Reading Religion book review site have posted a very nice review of the Theology and the Marvel Universe book from the Theology and Pop Culture series! The review, written by A.G. Holdier, highlights the book’s depth and breadth of content, which may seem daunting to…
Call for Papers: Theology and the Avett Brothers
Editor: Dr. Alex Sosler Folk music has a long history of theological and redemptive themes, and the Avett Brothers receive and advance this rich heritage. The individuals of the Avett Brothers provide a broad spectrum of theological and spiritual concerns, and the concoction of religious influences leads to a unique theological viewpoint. Through their music,…
Jesus and Captain Ri
By Dr. Michael Chung Years of abuse against women in the name of conservative theological beliefs are shaking complementarianism. Prominent citizens like President Jimmy Carter and author/speaker Beth Moore have vocally announced their exodus from the Southern Baptist Convention, a denomination that highly espouses patriarchal/complementarian values and beliefs. Houston Chronicle journalist Robert Downen, in a…
Call for Papers: Theology and Margaret Atwood
Since the recent success of the TV series The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood—who has always enjoyed an enthusiastic “fan base” and coterie of admiring readers—has gained a renewed prominence and her work has entered into a kind of renaissance as readers (re)discover her extensive catalogue of writings, including novels, essays, short stories, poetry, and other edited…
Call for Papers: Theology and LOST
Due Date for Abstracts: August 1, 2021 Few commercial television series in recent memory had such a lasting impact on its viewers as did the TV series “Lost” which aired 2004-2010, and although the series is now over a decade old, it is still available on streaming services and its themes are still relevant, perhaps…
Pop Culture and Theology 