Star Trek and Sacred Ground: Explorations of Star Trek, Religion, and American Culture [Hardcover]

Jennifer E. Porter (Editor), Darcee L. McLaren (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999

Drawing on a number of methodologies and disciplinary perspectives, this book boldly goes where none has gone before by focusing on the interplay between Star Trek, religion, and American culture as revealed in the four different Trek television series, and the major motion pictures as well. Explored from a Trek perspective are the portrayal and treatment of religion; the religious and mythic elements; the ritual aspects of the fan following; and the relationship between religion and other issues of contemporary concern.

Divided into three sections, this detailed study of religion, myth, and ritual in the Star Trek context extends the boundaries of the traditional categories of religious studies, and explores the process of the (re)creation of culture. The first section explores the ways in which religion has primarily been understood in the Star Trek franchise in relationship to science, technology, scientism, and 'secular humanism.' What do Star Trek and its creator Gene Roddenberry have to say about religion, and what does this reveal about changing American perceptions about the role, value, and place of religion in everyday life? Section Two examines the mythic power and appeal of Star Trek, and highlights the mythic and symbolic parallels between the series' story lines and themes taken from both western religious tradition and the scientific and technological components of contemporary North American Society. In the final section, contributors discuss the mythic and ritual aspects of !

Star Trek fandom. How have Star Trek fans found meaning and value in the television programs, and how do they express that meaning in their lives?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the 13 essays in this book, religious studies professors in Canada, Britain and the United States discuss the role of religion in Star Trek. The first section of the book examines each of the successive television series, the second treats large themes (such as biblical imagery and death) and the third looks at the attitudes of fans. As the essays show, Star Trek has been torn between rejecting religion and affirming a quasi-religious faith in discovery and tolerance. This religiosity was present from the beginningAas in Spock's Vulcan creed of "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations"Abut the later Star Trek series have more freely explored religious themes. The editors congratulate Star Trek: Voyager, the latest series, for "recovering sacred ground" through New Age spirituality. Unfortunately, while providing a nuanced reading of Star Trek's evolution, the authors pay too little attention to its larger context. The final section on "Trekkies" is valuable, but most of the essays concentrate on the motivations and behavior of the show's characters, ignoring the corporate television producers and the viewers who together broughtAand continue to bringAthese characters to life. The book seems written more for Star Trek fans than for students of religion or American culture. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Jennifer E. Porter is Assistant Professor of Religion and Modern Culture at Memorial University, and Darcee L. McLaren is former Adjunct Professor at McMaster University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791443337
• ISBN-13: 978-0791443330
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,243,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buy it, but read it back to front., April 22, 2000

By 

Douglas M. Keenan (Indiana USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Star Trek and Sacred Ground: Explorations of Star Trek, Religion and American Culture (Paperback)

This book is an ambitious collection of theme-sorted essays, all relating various aspects of Star Trek to those of religious life. Most of the essays are considered and well researched, and the occasional good idea does creep in. Tagged throughout with Christian outlook, this rarely oppresses a reader not sharing that view, though the book might level better by adding input from other great faiths (many ayaat from the Qur'an make pertinent connections to Trek for example).

One problem I've found infecting similar attempts is a detectable bias of the author. Taken as a whole the work does not suffer this, although a few exceptions do greet the reader like a coffee table on the shins. (The title of my review reveals several such bruises; the original series is maligned repeatedly, with misquoted, selective evidence, as anti-theistic.) And this book does suffer from a plenitude of sloppy editorial errors, including a bibliographical howler - it *must* be a joke, right? - in misspelling Phil Farrand's name.

All in all though, this book remains an impressive achievement and a credit to the contributors. This one's worth the time and the purchase for the true Trekker.