Playing with Religion in Digital Games

Playing with Religion in Digital Games PDF Author: Heidi A. Campbell
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253012635
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Shaman, paragon, God-mode: modern video games are heavily coded with religious undertones. From the Shinto-inspired Japanese video game Okami to the internationally popular The Legend of Zelda and Halo, many video games rely on religious themes and symbols to drive the narrative and frame the storyline. Playing with Religion in Digital Games explores the increasingly complex relationship between gaming and global religious practices. For example, how does religion help organize the communities in MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft? What role has censorship played in localizing games like Actraiser in the western world? How do evangelical Christians react to violence, gore, and sexuality in some of the most popular games such as Mass Effect or Grand Theft Auto? With contributions by scholars and gamers from all over the world, this collection offers a unique perspective to the intersections of religion and the virtual world.

Playing with Religion in Digital Games

Playing with Religion in Digital Games PDF Author: Heidi A. Campbell
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253012635
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book

Book Description
Shaman, paragon, God-mode: modern video games are heavily coded with religious undertones. From the Shinto-inspired Japanese video game Okami to the internationally popular The Legend of Zelda and Halo, many video games rely on religious themes and symbols to drive the narrative and frame the storyline. Playing with Religion in Digital Games explores the increasingly complex relationship between gaming and global religious practices. For example, how does religion help organize the communities in MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft? What role has censorship played in localizing games like Actraiser in the western world? How do evangelical Christians react to violence, gore, and sexuality in some of the most popular games such as Mass Effect or Grand Theft Auto? With contributions by scholars and gamers from all over the world, this collection offers a unique perspective to the intersections of religion and the virtual world.

Religions in Play

Religions in Play PDF Author: Philippe Bornet
Publisher: Theologischer Verlag Zürich
ISBN: 3290220109
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
Often dismissed as "not serious", the notion of play has nevertheless been at the centre of classical theories of religion and ritual (Huizinga, Caillois, Turner, Staal, etc.). What can be retained of those theories for the contemporary study of religions? Can a study of "play" or "game" bring new perspectives for the study of religions? The book deals with the history of games and their relation to religions, the links between divination and games, the relations between sport and ritual, the pedagogical functions of games in religious education, and the interaction between games, media and religions. Richly illustrated, the book contributes to the study of religions, to ritual, game and media studies, and addresses an academic as well as a general public. Philippe Bornet, Dr. Phil., born in 1977, is Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the Faculty of Lettres of the University of Lausanne, with focus on the history of interrelations between India and Europe. Maya Burger is Professor of Indian Studies and History of Religions at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lausanne, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations.

Playing with God

Playing with God PDF Author: William J Baker
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674020448
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Like no other nation on earth, Americans eagerly blend their religion and sports. This book traces this dynamic relationship from the Puritan condemnation of games as sinful in the seventeenth century to the near deification of athletic contests in our own day.

Sacred Play

Sacred Play PDF Author: Selva J. Raj
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438429819
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Explores the significance of levity and humor in South Asian religious traditions.

Play, Pain and Religion

Play, Pain and Religion PDF Author: Alison Robertson
Publisher: Equinox Publishing (UK)
ISBN: 9781800500297
Category : Bondage (Sexual behavior)
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Play, Pain and Religion is the first consideration of the practices associated with BDSM (bondage, domination, sadism and masochism) in the context of religious studies scholarship. The focus is an exploration of BDSM experience as it emerges from the complex interactions of kink activities and relationship. Experiences categorised by BDSM practitioners as 'religious' and 'spiritual' are commonly described in the same terms, and given the same value, as descriptions of experiences which are not so categorised. Play, Pain and Religion examines practitioner accounts of BDSM experience alongside those practitioners' personal identification with these terms. This book argues that the significance of a given experience is not located solely within any intrinsic quality ascribed to it but in subsequent constructions around the nature and meaning of the event. It examines some such constructions, moving away from absolute definitions of religion or religions to consider the religious as an active process of meaning-, world- and story-making. By using this 'religioning' framework, this book examines ways in which BDSM can potentially be used in such processes. Play, Pain and Religion is a valuable resource for scholars of religion and of kink, for people interested in the complexities of ascribing meaning and value to human behaviour, and for kinksters interested in their own kink and why it is they do what they do.

The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere

The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere PDF Author: Judith Butler
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 023152725X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere represents a rare opportunity to experience a diverse group of preeminent philosophers confronting one pervasive contemporary concern: what role does or should religion play in our public lives? Reflecting on her recent work concerning state violence in Israel-Palestine, Judith Butler explores the potential of religious perspectives for renewing cultural and political criticism, while Jürgen Habermas, best known for his seminal conception of the public sphere, thinks through the ambiguous legacy of the concept of "the political" in contemporary theory. Charles Taylor argues for a radical redefinition of secularism, and Cornel West defends civil disobedience and emancipatory theology. Eduardo Mendieta and Jonathan VanAntwerpen detail the immense contribution of these philosophers to contemporary social and political theory, and an afterword by Craig Calhoun places these attempts to reconceive the significance of both religion and the secular in the context of contemporary national and international politics.

Religion at Play

Religion at Play PDF Author: Andre Droogers
Publisher: Lutterworth Press
ISBN: 071884386X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Is a powerful position a guarantee that a religion will continue? Does God take sides in religious power struggles? Can God survive religious exclusivity and diversity? Is God migrating from out there to in here? Is religion sustainable in the long run? In seeking answers to these questions, this book explores the possibilities afforded by playful religion. Religion has playful origins, but this aspect is forgotten as soon as institutional power becomes self-serving insteadof subservient. Power changes the very essence of religion. Virtually all religions are distorted versions of a playful original. Institutionalization is religion's curse, not its blessing. Apparent success hides the failure of religion to be faithful to its original intent. This book helps find the way back from bordering to inclusivity and openness.

Godly Play

Godly Play PDF Author: Jerome Berryman
Publisher: Augsburg Books
ISBN: 9780806627854
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
Meaningful, lasting learning comes from childlike curiosity and play. The approach of this book is to make relgious instruction fun, spontaneous and deeply spiritual. Godly Play is a practical yet innovative approach to religious education--becoming childlike in order to teach children.

The Games People Play

The Games People Play PDF Author: Robert Ellis
Publisher: Lutterworth Press
ISBN: 071884324X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
In 'The Games People Play', Robert Ellis constructs a theology around the global cultural phenomenon of modern sport, paying particular attention to its British and American manifestations. Using historical narrative and social analysis to enter thedebate on sport as religion, Ellis shows that modern sport may be said to have taken on some of the functions previously vested in organized religion. Through biblical and theological reflection, he presents a practical theology of sport's appeal and value, with special attention to the theological concept of transcendence. Throughout, he draws on original empirical work with sports participants and spectators.'The Games People Play' addresses issues often considered problematic in theological discussions of sport such as gender, race, consumerism, and the role of the modern media, as well as problems associated with excessive competition and performance-enhancing substances.

Games Christians Play

Games Christians Play PDF Author: Judi Culbertson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description