Legal Niches

On Games and Religion

By pete_gallagher

As any reader of this website knows full well, videogames and religion tend to mix like oil and water.

Every few weeks, it seems, a story pops up about a religious group expressing dismay or anger over  a videogame. The latest such tale revolved around a Maine Christian group calling for a Modern Warfare 2 ban.

The constant collision of these topics caused a Bitmob contributor to pen a column asking whether or not games and religion are mortal enemies.

Mike Gingras writes from the viewpoint of a religious gamer, noting that players are constantly breaking the Ten Commandments in-game, but he takes a broadminded approach to it all:

My argument is that games, like any art, are a means of authorial expression and participant reaction. In a game, a person can safely dabble in behavior or thoughts that they may not necessarily agree with.

He continues:

As a gamer and a religious person, I believe that virtual worlds with unfixed consequences are a safe way to learn about your own beliefs and values. I remain unconvinced that playing a video game where you can wrestle with your own personal sense of right and wrong is a bad thing.

Gingras ends with the question, 'So, which is it? Is gaming a hobby that people of all faiths can enjoy? Or is it something that the faithful should stay away from?'

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on January 07, 2010 (boomark / email).