Conclusion:Pop Theology

This chapter concludes that there is a disjunction between the production and consumption of religion in videogames. On the one hand, the production of games leads to a commodification and “sameness” of religion in videogames, hollowing out the meaning of religious practice and belief. On the other hand, the consumption of games leads to meaningful public debate and individual (ir)religious experience, reasserting inter-religious conversation in the post-secular. This conclusion argues that religious signs are first turned into “simulacra” by game developers, and then played with and negotiated by players, resulting in a “pop theology.” That is, an exchange of belief for play as the epistemological strategy for relating to religion in post-secular, mediatized societies. Videogames thus offer a ludic epistemology of religions as worldviews to be tried on, compared and discarded, rather than as sources for belief or disbelief in ultimate truths.