Measured Imagination and Conscious Play: A Comparative Theology of Video Games in Digital Culture
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15575/kt.v7i2.53735Keywords:
Comparative theology, conscious play, digital religion, religious imagination, video gamesAbstract
Purpose: This article aims to develop a theological analytical framework for reading video games as meaningful digital cultural practices without reducing theology to doctrinal abstraction or dissolving it into uncritical cultural acceptance. It responds to the growing significance of video games in shaping moral imagination, identity, and existential reflection in contemporary digital life. Methodology: This study employs a comparative literature review design with a dialogical-conceptual analysis approach. The analysis focuses on Martin Nguyen’s concept of religious imagination and Frank G. Bosman’s formulation of video games as locus theologicus. Data were collected through close reading, conceptual annotation, and thematic mapping of the two primary texts, supported by relevant literature in digital religion, cultural theology, and game studies. Findings: The study finds that Nguyen and Bosman share a view of theology as a lived and situated practice, yet differ in their sources of normativity. Nguyen emphasizes measured imagination grounded in revelation and ethical orientation, while Bosman highlights conscious play as a reflective engagement with existential experiences in games. Research Implications: The article contributes to religion and media studies by offering a framework for analyzing video games as spaces of moral, existential, and theological reflection. Originality: The originality of this study lies in its cross-tradition dialogue between contemporary Islamic theology and Christian cultural theology, resulting in an integrated framework of measured imagination and conscious play for the theological analysis of video games.
References
Ahmed, S. (2016). What is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400873586
Asad, T. (2003). Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity. Stanford University Press.
Bosman, F. G. (2016). The Word Has Become Game: Researching Religion in Digital Games. Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet, 11, 28–45. https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.rel.2016.0.23626
Bosman, F. G. (2019). Gaming and the Divine: A New Systematic Theology of Video Games (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429507892-1
Braun, B., Kornhuber, J., & Lenz, B. (2016). Gaming and Religion: The Impact of Spirituality and Denomination. Journal of Religion and Health, 55(4), 1464–1471. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0152-0
Brutus, S., Aguinis, H., & Wassmer, U. (2013). Self-Reported Limitations and Future Directions in Scholarly Reports: Analysis and Recommendations. Journal of Management, 39(1), 48–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312455245
Bryan. (2025). Average Gaming Session Length by Age Group. IconEra. https://icon-era.com/statistics/average-gaming-session-length-by-age-group/
Campbell, H. A. (2012a). Introduction: The Rise of the Study of Digital Religion. In H. A. Campbell (Ed.), Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice In New Media Worlds (1st ed., p. 31). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203084861
Campbell, H. A. (2012b). Understanding the Relationship between Religion Online and Offline in a Networked Society. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 80(1), 64–93. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfr074
Campbell, H. A., Wagner, R., Luft, S., Gregory, R., Grieve, G. P., & Zeiler, X. (2016). Gaming Religionworlds: Why Religious Studies Should Pay Attention to Religion in Gaming. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 84(3), 641–664. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfv091
Cengiz, Ö. F., & Ataman, K. (2025). “Religious” and “Gamer”: Negotiating the Legitimacy of Video Games in a Muslim Context. Games and Culture, 20(4), 403–418. https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120231204146
Cheetham, D. (2011). Comparative Theology. In The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization (p. 1). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470670606.wbecc0331
Cheong, P. H., & Campbell, H. A. (2022). Digital religion futures: Propositions and complexities in the now and not yet. In The Oxford Handbook of Digital Religion (pp. 630–638). https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197549803.013.39
Clark, O. (2014). Games as A Service (1st editio). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315849102
Clooney, F. X., & von Stosch, K. (2017). How to do comparative theology. In F. X. Clooney & K. von Stosch (Eds.), How to Do Comparative Theology. Fordham University Press.
Couldry, N., & Mejias, U. A. (2019). The Costs of Connection: How Data is Colonizing Human Life and Appropriating it for Capitalism. In N. Couldry & U. A. Mejias (Eds.), The Costs of Connection. Stanford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503609754
Cristofaro, M. (2025). A framework for Understanding heuristic shifts and adaptation. Mind & Society, 24(2), 413–435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11299-025-00340-1
de Wildt, L., & Aupers, S. (2019). Playing the Other: Role-playing religion in videogames. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 22(5–6), 867–884. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549418790454
de Wildt, L., & Aupers, S. (2020). Pop theology: forum discussions on religion in videogames. Information, Communication & Society, 23(10), 1444–1462. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2019.1577476
Detweiler, C. (2010). Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God (C. Detweiler (ed.); 1st editio). Westminster John Knox Press.
Gadamer, H.-G. (2013). Truth and Method (J. Weinsheimer & D. G. Marshall (trans.)). Bloomsbury Academic.
Hidayatullah, R. (2024). Otoritas Keagamaan Digital: Pembentukan Otoritas Islam Baru di Ruang Digital. Ushuluna: Jurnal Ilmu Ushuluddin, 10(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.15408/ushuluna.v10i2.42831
Hjarvard, S. (2016). Mediatization and the changing authority of religion. Media, Culture & Society, 38(1), 8–17.
Hwang, E. (2024). Comparative Theology as a Postcolonial Hermeneutics: A Global Historical Approach to the Encounter between Augustinian Christianity and Tiantai Buddhism. Buddhist-Christian Studies, 44(1), 105–122. https://doi.org/10.1353/bcs.2024.a940769
Juul, J. (2011). Half-Real: Video Games Between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. MIT Press.
Karlsen, F. (2015). The Dark Side of Game Play. In T. E. Mortensen, J. Linderoth, & A. M. Brown (Eds.), The Dark Side of Game Play (1st Editio). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315738680
Lehtonen, M. J., Vesa, M., & Harviainen, J. T. (2022). Games-as-a-Disservice: Emergent value co-destruction in platform business models. Journal of Business Research, 141, 564–574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.11.055
Litchfield, A., Baloch, F., & Cusack, B. (2011). Arguments for the adoption of a heuristic approach to IS research. International Conference on Information Systems 2011, ICIS 2011, 3, 1969–1977.
Lynch, G. (2004). Understanding Theology and Popular Culture. Oxford: Blackwell.
Maram, S. S., Pfau, J., Kasar, M. R., & Seif El-Nasr, M. (2024). A Topic Modeling Approach Towards Understanding the Discourse between Religion and Videogames on Reddit. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 8(CHI PLAY), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.1145/3677054
Markey, P. M., & Ferguson, C. J. (2017). Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong (1st ed.). BenBella Books, Inc.
Mike. (2025). Faith-Based Video Games. Gaming and God. https://gamingandgod.com/christian-video-games/
Miller, K., & Taddeo, M. (2020). The Ethics of Information Technologies. In K. W. Miller & M. Taddeo (Eds.), The Ethics of Information Technologies (1st editio). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003075011
Morreale, D., & Rosa, A. (2024). Roblox and the Pervasiveness of Play: What Game-Making Communities Can Teach Us About Participatory Practices in Affinity Spaces. International Journal of Communication, 18, 4281–4299.
Newzoo. (2025). Global Games Market Report 2025: Updated November 2025. https://newzoo.com/resources/trend-reports/newzoo-global-games-market-report-2025
Nguyen, M. (2018). Modern Muslim Theology (M. Nguyen (ed.)). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. https://doi.org/10.5040/9798881829148
Nugroho, T. B. (2024). When Games Meet Worship: A Study Of The Impact of Urban Youths’ Mobile Legends Gaming Habits on Worship Times. Proceeding of The International Seminar (Enhancing Creative Knowledge in the Modern Era), 6, 516–526.
Okun, S., & Nimrod, G. (2017). Online ultra-orthodox religious communities as a third space: A netnographic study. International Journal of Communication, 11, 2825–2841.
Ortiz-Núñez, R., & Santa-Álvarez, J. S. (2026). Interdisciplinary Theoretical Model for Research Evaluation in the Social Sciences Based on the Categories of Subject, Society and Culture. Social Sciences, 15(5), 335. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15050335
PwC. (2025). Global Entertainment and Media industry Revenues to Hit US$3.5 Trillion by 2029, Driven by Advertising, Live Events, and Video Games. PwC Global Entertainment & Media Outlook. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2025/pwc-global-entertainment-media-outlook.html
Rahman, F. (1982). Islam and Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. The University of Chicago Press.
Rautalahti, H. (2018). Disenchanting Faith—Religion and Authority in the Dishonored Universe. Religions, 9(5), 146. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9050146
Roblox Lore Database. (2025). Religion on Roblox. Miraheze. https://robloxloredatabase.miraheze.org/wiki/Religion_on_Roblox
Ross, P. T., & Bibler Zaidi, N. L. (2019). Limited by our limitations. Perspectives on Medical Education, 8(4), 261–264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-019-00530-x
Schaap, J., & Aupers, S. (2017). ‘Gods in World of Warcraft exist’: Religious reflexivity and the quest for meaning in online computer games. New Media & Society, 19(11), 1744–1760. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816642421
Schmidt-Leukel, P., & Nehring, A. (2016). Interreligious Comparisons in Religious Studies and Theology : Comparison Revisited. In Interreligious Comparisons in Religious Studies and Theology: Comparison Revisited. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781474285162
Sherma, R. D. (2022). Methodological Considerations for Interreligious Theological Engagement: New Directions in Comparative-Dialogical Theology. In Sustainable Development Goals Series: Vol. Part F2690 (pp. 11–23). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79301-2_2
Sicart, M. (2009). The Ethics of Computer Games. The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262012652.001.0001
Sivasubramanian, D. M. (2022). A Postfoundationalist Comparative Christology: Parity, Particularity, and Universality in Indian Interreligious Dialogues. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Sokolova, T. D., & Tukhvatulina, L. A. (2022). Methodological Reductionism and the Idea of Progress in the Social Sciences and Humanities: An Internalist Perspective. Voprosy Filosofii, 2022(11), 76–86. https://doi.org/10.21146/0042-8744-2022-11-76-86
Tanner, K. (1997). Theories of Culture: A New Agenda for Theology. Fortress Press.
Thomas, J., Kuhail, M. A., & AlBeyahi, F. (2024). The Metaverse, Religious Practice and Wellbeing: A Narrative Review. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 27(1), 57–63. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2023.000
Tillich, P. (1958). Dynamics of Faith. Harper & Brothers.
Tracy, D. (1981). The Analogical Imagination: Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism. Horizons, 8(2), 329–339. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0360966900018983
van Dijck, J., Poell, T., & de Waal, M. (2018). The Platform Society: Public Values in a Connective World. Oxford University PressNew York. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190889760.001.0001
Widerberg, D., & Zia, M. (2025). Moral Panic over Games is about Trauma, Not Games. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5685803
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Muhibudin Wijaya Laksana, Bambang Qomaruzzaman, Ahmad Gibson Albustomi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
