Abstract
Science fiction, as a genre, has always been a place for religion, either as an inspirational source or as a part of the fictional universe. Religious themes in science fiction narratives, however, also invoke the question of the relationship, or the absence thereof, between religion and science. When the themes of religion and science are addressed in contemporary science fiction, they are regularly set in opposition, functioning in a larger discussion on the (in)comparability of religion and science in science fiction novels, games, and films. In the games The Outer Worlds and Mass Effect Andromeda, this discussion is raised positively. Involving terminology and notions related to deism, pantheism, and esoterism, both games claim that science and religion can co-exist with one another. Since digital games imbue the intra-textual readers (gamer) to take on the role as one of the characters of the game they are reading (avatar), the discussion shifts from a descriptive discourse to a normative one in which the player cannot but contribute to.
Highlights
Science fiction, as a genre, has always been a place for religion, either as an inspirational source or as a part of the fictional universe
When the themes of religion and science are addressed in contemporary science fiction, they are regularly set in opposition, functioning in a larger discussion on thecomparability of religion and science in science fiction novels, games, and films
Involving terminology and notions related to deism, pantheism, and esoterism, both games claim that science and religion can co-exist with one another
Summary
The subject of religion and digital games is a relatively new one amongst the various academic disciplines but has brought fundamental insights into the fields of religion studies, digital game studies, and theology.[5]. The game-immanent approaches concentrate on the playing of the game itself by the researcher/scholar These two approaches roughly coincide with the concepts of the text-immanent reader versus the reader in communication analysis.[6] The uniqueness of the digital game medium is the possibility, if not necessity, of the convergence of the player both as the text-immanent reader of and as a character within the story (through the player’s in-game representation and actor, the avatar). This sheds some important light on the reason why I have chosen digital games as case studies. ‘both science and religion contribute to a coherent world view elaborated in a comprehensive metaphysics’.9
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