<div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 8:39 AM, Adam Thornton <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:adam@io.com">adam@io.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><div> <br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Something I'd *really* like to see someone play with is: why is such a large proportion of religion-oriented SF Catholic? </blockquote><div><br>One reason is that Catholicism is the Big Dog of Christianity. There is no Protestant sect that comes near Catholicism in terms of total membership; thus, if you want to present a generic Christian, a Catholic is the logical choice.<br>
<br>In addition, there is a huge and interesting dynamic between Catholicism, specifically, and science. Catholicism is the most "rationalistic" of the Christian religions, with its theology heavily based on the Aristoteleanism of St Thomas Aquinas. Yet Catholicism is -- or was, until fundamentalism reared its head and began resenting biology and geology -- the sect which has the most significant history of conflict with science and rationalism (can you say Galileo? I knew you could). <br>
<br>Plus, as Jerry observed below, there is all the nifty colorful baggage that comes with Catholicism - though if that's what you're looking for, Eastern Orthodoxy is even better.<br><br><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
If it reflects the background of the authors, then why are Catholics overrepresented in SF authorship (and, concomitantly, why are there relatively few Jewish SF stories) ? I mean, just off the top of my head:<br></blockquote>
<div><br>Relatively few Jewish SF stories? Heavens, man, what about Asimov's "Robot" stories? Those are all basically Talmudic disputation.<br><br>There are two excellent anthologies of Jewish SF edited by Jack Dann in the '70s, "Wandering Stars" and "More Wandering Stars." <br>
<br> <br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Where's, for example, the Lutheran SF? (If I were being snarky I'd ask and answer where the Baptist SF was.) Or even specifically *Protestant* Christian SF?<br>
</blockquote><div><br>I can't think of any Lutheran SF offhand, but there's an excellent Quaker SF novel called "Pennterra" by Judith Moffatt.<br> <br></div><font color="#888888"></font></div><br>-- <br>
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes<br>