To the casual observer, similarities between fan communities and religious believers are difficult to find. Religion is traditional, institutional, and serious; whereas fandom is contemporary, individualistic, and fun. Can the robes of nuns and priests be compared to cosplay outfits of Jedi Knights and anime characters? Can travelling to fan conventions be understood as pilgrimages to the shrines of saints?
These new essays investigate fan activities connected to books, film, and online games, such as Harry Potter-themed weddings, using The Hobbit as a sacred text, and taking on heroic roles in World of Warcraft. Young Muslim women cosplayers are brought into conversation with Chaos magicians who use pop culture tropes and characters. A range of canonical texts, such as Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Sherlock--are examined in terms of the pleasure and enchantment of repeated viewing. Popular culture is revealed to be a fertile source of religious and spiritual creativity in the contemporary world.

Table of Contents


Introduction: The Study of Fandom and Religion (Carole M. Cusack and Venetia Laura Delano Robertson)

Part 1. Sacred Reading: Analyzing the Text

Harry Potter and the Sacred Text: Fiction, Reading

and ­Meaning-Making (Carole M. Cusack )15

Doctrine and Fanon: George Lindbeck, Han's Gun

and Sherlock's Gay Wedding (Rhiannon Grant)

Supernatural's Winchester Gospel: A Fantastic Midrash (Linda Howell)

"Seizing the Means of Perception": The Use of Fiction in Chaos Magic and Occultural Fandom (Greg Conley)

Part 2. Sacred Viewing: Watching the Text

Cinephany, the Affective Experience of the Fan: A Typology (Marc ­Joly-Corcoran)

Experiencing the Sacred: The Hobbit as a Holy Text (Jyrki Korpua, Maria Ruotsalainen, Minna Siikilä-Laitila, Tanja Välisalo

and Irma Hirsjärvi)

Transformative Souls and Transformed Selves: Buffy, Angel

and the Daimonic Tale (James Reynolds)

Part 3. Sacred Play: Performing the Text

Until the End of the World: Fans as Messianic Heroes

in World of Warcraft (Jovi L. Geraci)

Muslim Women Cosplayers: Intersecting Religious, Cultural

and Fan Identities (Juli L. Gittinger)

Magical Matrimony: Romance and Enchantment in Harry Potter-Themed Weddings (Venetia Laura Delano Robertson)

Afterword: Fantastic Fan Conventions and Transformational

Festivals (John W. Morehead)

About the Contributors

Index

Carole M. Cusack is a professor of religious studies at the University of Sydney, Australia. John W. Morehead is an independent scholar who specializes in new religious movements, the intersection of religion and popular culture, and interreligious conflict. He lives in Syracuse, Utah. Venetia Laura Delano Robertson is a teaching fellow at Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand. She has written about religion and fandom for the International Journal of Cultural Studies and Journal for the Academic Study of Religion.