“Machine Gods: Religion in Games”
A July 16, 2013 article on the utilitarian nature of how gods and miracles are treated in video game narratives.
A July 16, 2013 article on the utilitarian nature of how gods and miracles are treated in video game narratives.
William Bainbridge is a sociologist of religion, science and popular culture. He is co-director of Human-Centered Computing at the National Science Foundation and a senior fellow at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. He teaches sociology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. In 2013, he published eGods: Faith Versus Fantasy in Computer Gaming, […]
Read the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in regards to Nintendo’s lawsuit of Atari over the technology they used to avoid Nintendo’s licensing process. The Court ruled in favor of Nintendo granting them a say in what games could play on their technology. This set a precedent for years to come, the video […]
Kevin Schut is a professor of media and communication at Trinity Western University in British Columbia, Canada. He studies the intersection of religion, culture and technology, with an emphasis on video games. In 2013, Schut published Of Games and God: A Christian Exploration of Video Games.
T.M. Luhrmann is an anthropology professor at Stanford University and the author of When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God. In an April 13, 2013, New York Times op-ed essay, she describes herself as a secular observer of evangelical congregations and says “one of the most important features of these churches is that they offer […]
Aaron Kheriaty is the director of the bioethics program at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. He wrote The Catholic Guide to Depression: How the Saints, the Sacraments and Psychiatry Can Help You Break Its Grip and Find Happiness Again.
Sally Barlow is a psychology professor at Brigham Young University. She co-authored a chapter on religion and mental health from the Mormon perspective for the Handbook of Religion and Mental Health.
An essay by Dr. Rachel Wagner that argues that video games are addictive, yet they satisfy significant religious needs. In particular, they create an opening for people to think critically about life and provide hope those who feel overwhelmed by racism, sexism and authoritarianism in society’s current structure.
Barbara C. Crafton is an Episcopal priest in Metuchen, N.J., and the author of Jesus Wept: When Faith & Depression Meet. She manages an online mental health site called The Geranium Farm.