Future-Day Saints: Abrahamic Astronomy, Anthropological Futures, and Speculative Religion

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is an intense interest in creating “speculative fiction”, including speculative fiction about outer space. This article ties this interest to a broader tradition of “speculative religion” by discussing the Mormon Transhumanist Association. An...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jon Bialecki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/11/612
Description
Summary:In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is an intense interest in creating “speculative fiction”, including speculative fiction about outer space. This article ties this interest to a broader tradition of “speculative religion” by discussing the Mormon Transhumanist Association. An interest in outer space is linked to nineteenth and twentieth-century speculation by Mormon intellectuals and Church leaders regarding “Abrahamic Astronomy”. The article suggests that there is a Mormon view of the future as informed by a fractal or recursive past that social science in general, and anthropology in particular, could use in “thinking the future”.
ISSN:2077-1444