Doctor Who and religion

First, there was the Klingons for Christ thing ("Christianity is a warrior's religion."). Now there's been a lot of recent talk of Doctor Who being some kind of a religious allegory.

I found this article awhile back:

Church hosts Doctor Who service

The church was used for filming an episode with a giant reaper creature

A church is to host a Doctor Who-themed communion service aimed at young people.

St Paul's Church in Grangetown, Cardiff, was once used as a filming location for the BBC Wales-produced series.

The "cafe-style" service for people in their teens and early 20s, will feature music and clips from the hit show.

One of the organisers Fr Dean Atkins, said as a saver of the world, Doctor Who was "almost a Messiah figure".

Two years ago, the Anglican church was used as a location for the Father's Day episode of the first series, in which a giant reaper creature attacked wedding guests at the church.

I love the series and it has such a great following that we couldn't resist doing something for young people on a Doctor Who theme Parish priest Fr Ben Andrews

Fr Atkins, youth officer with the Diocese of Llandaff, said: "In the series there are lots of references to salvation and the doctor being almost immortal.

"We are using the figure of Doctor Who as a parable of Christ."

The language used in the series also lends itself to exploring the Christian faith, he said.

He added: "Christ is a kind of cosmic figure as well if you like, somebody who does not travel through time but all eternity is found in him.

"He is a kind of encapsulation of the beginning and the end, in fact he existed before time began and he will exist when time ends."

Parish priest Fr Ben Andrews said: "I love the series and it has such a great following that we couldn't resist doing something for young people on a Doctor Who theme.

"Lots of people think that young people are the future of the church.

"This kind of event will show they are part of the church of the present and have an important part to play in its future.

"We are building on the past but always looking forward."

The service takes place on 23 September at 1830 BST.

And I yoinked this one from Charles on MySpace:

The Church is Ailing - Send for Doctor Who

He has inspired devotion from a tiny band of followers, has sacrificed himself for the good of mankind and is destined to live for ever.

Now, Doctor Who has caught the attention of church leaders, who are encouraging clergy to study the science fiction series to learn about its religious parallels.

They have been urged to use examples from the programme in their sermons in an attempt to make Christianity more relevant to teenagers.

At a conference last week, vicars watched Doctor Who clips that were said to illustrate themes of resurrection, redemption and evil.

It analysed the similarities between the Doctor and Christ, and whether daleks are capable of change.

The number of under-16s attending Church of England services fell by almost 20 per cent between 2000 and 2006, but the Church believes that improving communication can reverse that trend.

Andrew Wooding, a spokesman for the Church Army, which organised the conference, said that its intention was to give vicars new ideas for conveying their message.

"There are countless examples of Christian symbolism in Doctor Who, which we can use to get across ideas that can otherwise be difficult to explain."

"Clergy shouldn't be afraid to engage with popular culture as for many young people television plays a large role in their thinking," he said.

Although an atheist, Russell T Davies, the chief writer of the current series has previously acknowledged the benefits of religion.

"I think religion is a very primal instinct within humans, a very good one, part of our imagination," he said.

While he has talked about the humanism in his work he has never admitted to putting overtly religious messages in the story-lines.

However, with sessions including titles such as "Meaningful Monsters: Daleks through the decades", the clergy looked at several episodes that could have religious meaning.

Examples highlighted for their symbolism included the Doctor ascending with angels, Rose Tyler inspired by a vision and Daleks terrorising mankind.

The TARDIS was considered to represent a Church by being an ordinary object that points to something higher while the Doctor was likened to Christ in his willingness to sacrifice himself for others.

The Rev Andrew Myers, vicar at St Aidan's in Leeds, attended the course and said that he would use Doctor Who in future sermons.

"We saw the Doctor persuaded to save a family of Pompeians in one of the most recent episodes, surely a reference to Genesis and Abraham's bargaining with God over the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah," he said.

"There are many themes relevant to spirituality, such as the Daleks as supreme embodiments of moral evil. Even the more cynical have been convinced that this immensely successful series provides a wonderful toolkit."

The Rt Rev Tony Porter, Bishop of Sherwood, said it was vital that clergy adapt to the culture around them.

"It's a great idea as Doctor Who is hugely popular and it's critical to identify with where people are."

Barry Letts, a former producer of Doctor Who, said it was right to look at the series for religious parables: "I think it's inevitable because of Britain's cultural heritage that a long-running programme about the fight between good and evil will have some Christian themes as a backdrop."

The Church of England said: "Drawing spiritual parallels with aspects of contemporary culture is meat and drink to anyone with a vocation to make the good news of the Gospel known afresh in every generation. Doctor Who is a good example.

"When you make the right external connections, the internal effect, like the inside of the TARDIS, can be much bigger."