Theology, Religion, and Dungeons & Dragons (eBook, PDF)

Explorations of the Sacred through Fantasy Worlds
Redaktion: Donahue-Martens, Scott; Simonson, Brandon

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

On its 50th anniversary, the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) has found renewed popularity and a generally positive representation in popular culture. Reflecting on these fifty years of development and history, and looking forward to D&D's bright future, Theology, Religion, and Dungeons & Dragons: Explorations of the Sacred through Fantasy Worlds explores the intersection of D&D with the academic disciplines of Theology and Religious Studies. From Tolkien's notion of sub-creation to pedagogical ponderings on hell, readers will uncover deeply theological and religious aspects of Dungeons & Dragons in this volume. Unlike some during the so-called Satanic Panic, the authors of this volume embrace D&D as spiritually and theologically formative. Discussions on alignment and campaign settings like Dark Sun and Ravenloft foreground notions of interrelating and wellbeing, and reflections on communal conceptions of canon and spiritual formation chart paths forward by understanding historical realities. This volume responds to growing interest in the academic study of tabletop role-playing games in general and D&D in specific, and it addresses pressing issues in the academic disciplines of Theology and Religious Studies.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury eBooks US
• Seitenzahl: 1
• Erscheinungstermin: 15. Dezember 2024
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781978784109
• Artikelnr.: 75076920

Autorenporträt

Scott Donahue-Martens teaches classes ranging from Homiletics to the Hebrew Bible. Brandon Simonson is instructor of Biblical Studies at Boston University School of Theology and adjunct lecturer in the Department of Religious and Theological Studies at Merrimack College.

Inhaltsangabe

Foreword
Derek W. White
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: On Dungeons & Dragons, Fantasy, Religion, and Theology
Brandon Simonson and Scott Donahue-Martens
Part One: Perception & Performance
Chapter One: Healing Words: D&D Magic, Speech-Act Theory, and Chaplaincy
Scott Donahue-Martens
Chapter Two: Roll for Discernment: Dungeon Master as St. Ignatius'
Spiritual Director
Susan Haarman
Chapter Three: From Redemption Arcs to Making Your Own God: Redemption and
Authenticity in Critical Role and Dimension 20
Michael Buttrey and Leah DeJong
Chapter Four: Role-play, Spiritual Formation, and Theological Education
Fred E. Webster, Jr. and Thomas G. Hermans-Webster
Part Two: Heroes & History
Chapter Five: Canon in Dungeons & Dragons: Insight from Ancient Judaism
Scott Donahue-Martens and Brandon Simonson
Chapter Six: The Harrowing of Avernus: Delving into Hell from Antiquity to
Dungeons & Dragons
Andrew J. O'Connor
Chapter Seven: The Role and Function of Religious Names in the Creative
World of Dungeons & Dragons
Brandon Simonson
Chapter Eight: Tolkien's Shadow: The Sub-Creating Influence of Middle Earth
on Dungeons & Dragons
Scott Donahue-Martens
Part Three: Adventures & Alignment
Chapter Nine: Abandon All Hope and Roll for Initiative: Reading Dante into
Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
Victoria Hawco
Chapter Ten: The Gilded Gothic Cages: Corruption, Judgment, and Moral
Development in Ravenloft's Domains of Dread
Martine Gjermundsen Ræstad
Chapter Eleven: "Does Anyone Here Eat Elf?" Ecotheology in the Dark Sun
Campaign Setting
Daniel Ambord
Chapter Twelve: A Chaotic-Historical Reflection on Alignment in Dungeons &
Dragons
Nathan P. Gilmour
Epilogue
About the Editors and Contributors