Religious Science Fiction in Battlestar Galactica and Caprica

Why did it seem strange when Battlestar Galactica ended its narrative on a religious note instead of providing a scientific explanation? And what does this have to do with gender? This book explores the connection between the triumph of religion and the dominance of femininity in Battlestar Galactica and its prequel series Caprica. Both series breached science fiction’s convention of representing the “irrationality” of femininity and religion. Analyzing the connections (and disconnections) between women and men, and theology and technology, the author argues that the “Battlestarverse” depicts women as zones of contact between the seemingly contradictory spheres of science and religion by simultaneously employing and breaking gender stereotypes.

Jutta Wimmler is a historian and scholar of religion at the European-University Viadrina in Frankfurt, Germany. Her research on religion and popular culture has been published in the Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture.

Jutta Wimmler

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 224
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6253-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2265-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments   ix
Introduction   1
1. Religious Science Fiction   9
2. Saviors: Women Bring Salvation   34
3. With God’s Voice: Angels and Prophets   56
4. The Religious Machine   78
5. “Fallen” Women: Razors and Delusions   101
6. Men Without God(s)   123
7. Violence and Crisis: Religious Men   145
8. The Ambiguity of Dr. Baltar   167
Conclusion   185
Episode Guide   191
Chapter Notes   195
Bibliography   199
Index   211