ABSTRACT
The actual “religion” that is portrayed in speculative television is often superficially one-dimensional—religion is good and God is benevolent, or religious “cults” are creepy and manipulative, or religious rituals and texts are mysterious links to magical and ancient sources of power long forgotten by humankind. Even within some speculative dramas, religion as religion, whether presented by the show itself or identified by fans and critics, tends to follow a conservative set of rules in which religion is about retreating to the safety of unquestioned and provided answers and reductive definitions of concepts like “God,” “scripture,” and “faith”. The decentered television cultures of today have not only moved away for the television as a central object of furniture in the home—but new viewing practices, participatory fan interactions, and speculative themes all indicate new ways of understanding the boundaries around some concepts. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book.
