Still, I went through a time when I distanced myself from science fiction, thinking that it was either children’s fare that I had now outgrown or the realm of “nerds” and geeks” which I did not want to risk identifying myself with at the time.
A couple of summers ago, in 2009, I saw a couple of blockbuster movies, “Star Trek” and “Terminator Salvation,” that renewed my fascination with science fiction. I went on to catch up on science fiction that I had ignored when it first came out, such as the “Matrix” trilogy and the 2004 rebooted television series “Battlestar Galactica.” Being in academia, I also began to read scholarly science fiction criticism and related fields, and began to see how science fiction could correspond with my religious outlook.
Prominent science fiction themes that are of particular significance from a religious perspective are technology, specifically technology that challenges traditional definitions of the human being, and visions of the future.
Religions have ambiguous and complex relationships with technology. Often, religions are cautious or resistant to technology, preferring to advocate simple and natural living. One somewhat extreme example of this is the lifestyles of traditional Amish communities that even today continue to keep horse-drawn buggies as their primary means of local transportation. Yet, inevitably, practitioners of religions must keep up with technological advancement unless they are to drop out of mainstream society.
Obviously, a lot of science fiction deals with advanced technology; it may even be the original purpose and central theme of the science fiction genre. While some science fiction presumes the world of spaceships as beneficial to humanity, a lot of science fiction raises questions similar to those raised by religions regarding technology. Going back at least as far as Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” the theme of science gone awry emerges. Dr. Frankenstein embodies the “mad scientist” who tries to “play God” by re-igniting life into a humanoid patchwork of dead body parts, ending up creating the infamously uncontrollable and destructive monster. Science and technology spiral out of control in various ways in the “Terminator” franchise, “I, Robot,” “Jurassic Park,” and this summer’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” movie, to name just a few.
Beyond the impact of technology on our lifestyles and spiritual practices, technology presents ethical challenges that religions have never taken a position on simply because certain questions were never raised until the technology came into existence. This is particularly true of bioethics. The movie “Gattaca” takes place in a future when parents will be able to choose the best genetic qualities possible for their children before they are born.
On the one hand, we do not know whether such technology imagined in science fiction will actually become reality; on the other, a lot of the technology we have today exceeds the technology imagined by the most creative science fiction authors of the past. How to interact with technology of our present and quickly approaching future is a question for all of us, including those who practice a religion for guidance in life. I have found that, in contrast to the perception of science fiction as escapist fantasy literature, much of it can be used to reflect upon and discuss increasingly pertinent topics in today’s reality.
Br. Luke Devine is a monk of Saint Martin’s Abbey in Lacey. Perspective is coordinated by Interfaith Works in cooperation with The Olympian. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by Interfaith Works or The Olympian.
