The Sacred in Fantastic Fandom: Essays on the Intersection of Religion and Pop Culture (McFarland, 2019). This is another work of mine that was recently completed.  I am especially thankful for my co-editors who came on at my invitation to help finish the volume once an urgent personal issue upended my writing and editing schedule. They helped me get this volume over the finish line and I’m grateful.

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.

Introduction: The Study of Fandom and Religion (Carole M. Cusack and Venetia Laura Delano Robertson) 1

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) 33

Supernatural’s Winchester Gospel: A Fantastic Midrash (Linda Howell) 49

“Seizing the Means of Perception”: The Use of Fiction in Chaos Magic and Occultural Fandom (Greg Conley) 66

Part 2. Sacred Viewing: Watching the Text

Cinephany, the Affective Experience of the Fan: A Typology (Marc ­Joly-Corcoran) 86

Experiencing the Sacred: The Hobbit as a Holy Text (Jyrki Korpua, Maria Ruotsalainen, Minna Siikilä-Laitila, Tanja Välisalo
and Irma Hirsjärvi) 102

Transformative Souls and Transformed Selves: Buffy, Angel
and the Daimonic Tale (James Reynolds) 119

Part 3. Sacred Play: Performing the Text

Until the End of the World: Fans as Messianic Heroes
in World of Warcraft (Jovi L. Geraci) 138

Muslim Women Cosplayers: Intersecting Religious, Cultural
and Fan Identities (Juli L. Gittinger) 154

Magical Matrimony: Romance and Enchantment in Harry Potter–Themed Weddings (Venetia Laura Delano Robertson) 169

Afterword: Fantastic Fan Conventions and Transformational
Festivals (John W. Morehead) 187