It’s taken over a week, but here is the list of works mentioned at the “Scifi/Fantasy Works as Religion” panel I was on at Ro-Con. We spent the bulk of the time discussing why SF/F works take the “place” of religion for some people. Then we spent several minutes discussing some works that have religious themes–either by incorporating existing religions, creating new ones, or having religion-like aspects.
The ones with asterisks (*) are among my personal favorites.
The ones indicated with ^^ symbols before them denote authors who have religious/political views that are offensive to many people, or the author has otherwise behaved abhorrently (in the case of Marion Zimmer Bradley.) So, if you’re interested in these works but don’t want to support the authors/their estates, try to borrow a copy or get these works from your public library rather than purchasing them.
Books:
*American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Terry Pratchett’s “Small Gods” series
Almost anything by Ursula LeGuin
*Earthseed books by Octavia Butler (Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents. And for the record, Parable of the Sower is my FAVE BOOK EVA.)
*A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller
*The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
Dune saga by Frank Herbert
^^ Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
*The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (and the follow-up, Children of God)
^^ Many works by C.S. Lewis
^^ Some works by Orson Scott Card
The Left Behind Series
Waiting for the Galactic Bus by Parke Goodwin
Various works by Robert Anton Wilson (especially those co-authored with by Robert Shea)
The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund Freud
TV:
Babylon 5
*Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Supernatural
Lucifer
*The Leftovers (it was mentioned that there is a movie by the same name, but I couldn’t find a reference to it online)
As you can see, this is a small list, since this was not the crux of the panel. But let’s keep the discussion going! Have any comments on what’s listed, or want to add your own suggestions? Comment below.
