Presented to you through Paradigm Publishing Services
University of California Press
Book
Licensed
Unlicensed
Requires Authentication
Dangerous Games
What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2015
About this book
The 1980s saw the peak of a moral panic over fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. A coalition of moral entrepreneurs that included representatives from the Christian Right, the field of psychology, and law enforcement claimed that these games were not only psychologically dangerous but an occult religion masquerading as a game. Dangerous Games explores both the history and the sociological significance of this panic.
Fantasy role-playing games do share several functions in common with religion. However, religion—as a socially constructed world of shared meaning—can also be compared to a fantasy role-playing game. In fact, the claims of the moral entrepreneurs, in which they presented themselves as heroes battling a dark conspiracy, often resembled the very games of imagination they condemned as evil. By attacking the imagination, they preserved the taken-for-granted status of their own socially constructed reality. Interpreted in this way, the panic over fantasy-role playing games yields new insights about how humans play and together construct and maintain meaningful worlds.
Laycock’s clear and accessible writing ensures that Dangerous Games will be required reading for those with an interest in religion, popular culture, and social behavior, both in the classroom and beyond.
Fantasy role-playing games do share several functions in common with religion. However, religion—as a socially constructed world of shared meaning—can also be compared to a fantasy role-playing game. In fact, the claims of the moral entrepreneurs, in which they presented themselves as heroes battling a dark conspiracy, often resembled the very games of imagination they condemned as evil. By attacking the imagination, they preserved the taken-for-granted status of their own socially constructed reality. Interpreted in this way, the panic over fantasy-role playing games yields new insights about how humans play and together construct and maintain meaningful worlds.
Laycock’s clear and accessible writing ensures that Dangerous Games will be required reading for those with an interest in religion, popular culture, and social behavior, both in the classroom and beyond.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Joseph P. Laycock
Joseph P. Laycock is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Texas State University. His previous books include Vampires Today: The Truth About Modern Vampirism and The Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle for Catholicism. He is also a blogger for Religion Dispatches.
Topics
-
Download PDFPublicly Available
Frontmatter
i -
Download PDFPublicly Available
Contents
vii -
Download PDFPublicly Available
Preface. “You Worship Gods from Books!”
ix -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Introduction. Fantasy and Reality
1 - Part I. The History of the Panic
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
1. The Birth of Fantasy Role-Playing Games
31 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
2. Dungeons & Dragons as Religious Phenomenon
51 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
3. Pathways into Madness: 1979–1982
76 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
4. Satanic Panic: 1982–1991
101 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
5. A World of Darkness: 1991–2001
137 - Part II. Interpreting the Panic
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
6. How Role-Playing Games Create Meaning
179 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
7. How the Imagination Became Dangerous
210 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
8. Rival Fantasies
241 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Conclusion. Walking between Worlds
279 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Notes
291 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Bibliography
333 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Index
345
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
April 15, 2019
eBook ISBN:
9780520960565
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
368
eBook ISBN:
9780520960565
Keywords for this book
rpgs; role playing games; fantasy games; christian right; psychology; alter egos; supernatural; mental health; law enforcement; imagination; play theory; history; religious studies; role playing; christianity; conspiracy theory; morality; social behavior; media; fan studies; social theory; sociology; gaming; occult; religion; dungeons and dragons; constructed world; fantasy; roleplaying; popular culture; nonfiction; game theory
