Dystopia, from the Greek dus and topos "bad place," is a revelatory genre and concept that has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity at the start of the twenty-first century. This book addresses approaches to the study of dystopia from the academic fields of theology and religious studies. Following a co-written chapter where Scott Donahue-Martens and Brandon Simonson argue that dystopia can be understood as demythologized apocalyptic, ten unique contributions each engage a work of popular culture, such as a book, movie, or television show. Topics across chapters range from the critical function of dystopia, social location and identity, violence, apocalypse and the end of everything, sacrifice, catharsis, and dystopian existentialism. This volume responds to the need for theological and religious reflection on dystopia in a world increasingly threatened by climate change, pandemics, and global war.

Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination is an edited collection at the intersection of theology, religion, and philosophy and fantasy literature and table-top games. The volume begins with an invocation of the “old magic” of pre-modern theology and follows with analyses of classical Christian fantasy. The second section articulates a “post-Christian” turn in fantasy since the late twentieth century, arguing how fantasy can serve to re-enchant the imagination in ways that moves beyond traditional Christianity. The last section on fantasy at play explores how religion is at play in Dungeons and Dragons and in Magic: the Gathering.