Theology and the Star Wars Universe

Theology and the Star Wars Universe is an engaging and enlightening foray into exploring the galaxy far, far away from a theological perspective. Written for an academic audience but accessible to fans of the franchise, the book will be an excellent addition to any collection.

Scholars have been arguing for years that Star Wars is more than light sabers, Wookies, Millennium Falcons, and troubling familial relationships. Star Wars is an exciting space fantasy that we can explore from multiple academic perspectives, such as philosophy and psychology. This volume adds to that conversation by asking, “what would it look like if we analyzed the Star Wars universe theologically?” In Theology and the Star Wars Universe, contributors from various theological traditions take on this task by exploring the nature of the Force, the spiritual role of the Jedi, nonviolent and liberationist readings of the Franchise, and the enduring power of hope. Written for the restless, curious academic but accessible to diehard fans, Theology and the Star Wars Universe is an exciting foray into the study of theology and popular culture.

Introduction: Theologizing Star Wars: Engaging the Galaxy Far, Far Away

Benjamin D. Espinoza

Opening Essay

1 The Word of God and the W(h)ill of the Force: Canon and Authority within the Star Wars Universe

James F. McGrath

Part II: Theologies of the Jedi

2 Use (the) Force: Jedi, Monks, and Unexpected Violence

Zachary B. Smith

3 And What More Shall I Say? Heroism in Hebrews 11 and Star Wars

Bethany Keeley-Jonker and Robert Keeley

4 Rediscovering the Sith and the Jedi: A Spiritual Analogy in Renaissance Humanism and Desert Asceticism

Nathan Garcia

5 From Padawan to Jedi: The Theological Premise for the Necessity of the Master-Apprentice Relationship in the Path of Spiritual Ascension

Abdallah Rothman

6 And Also With You: An Examination of the Demystification of the Jedi and the Clergy

Nettie Brock and Josiah Brock

Part III: Political Theologies

7 Subverting the Ancient Religion: The Gray Ecclesiology of Ahsoka Tano and Old Man Luke

Timothy Posada

8 In Defense of the Nonviolence Luke: A Confrontation between Niebuhrian Realism and Christian Nonviolence in The Last Jedi

Andrew J. Kuzma

9 Undoing the Memory Wipe: Metz, Droids, and the Victims of History

Edward Dunar

10 Mysticism and Resistance: Theology of The Last Jedi

Rostislav Kůrka

11 Bringing Balance to the Force: George Lucas’ Politico-Critical Refiguring of Salvation

John C. McDowell

Part IV: Engaging Classic Thinkers

12 The Modern Manichaeans: Binaries of Light and Dark in Contemporary Culture

Jonathan Lyonhart

13 Thomas Aquinas’ Account of Hope as a Hermeneutical Lens for Star Wars

Shaun C. Brown

14 An Archē Not Anarchic Enough: A Spirited Critique of the Force

Ryan G. Duns

15 Lifting Rocks: Camus, Sainthood, and the Anti-Heroic in The Last Jedi

Russell P. Johnson