Star Trek and Faith, Volume 1, Mark S. Hansard, foreword by Michael W. Austin. Wipf & Stock (ISBN: 9798385235193) 2025.

Summary: How various iterations of Star Trek explored religious and philosophical ideas vis-à-vis a Christian worldview.

I am something of a Star Trek Fan. Not a diehard like another member of my family. I was in my early teens when The Original Series was first on the air. It was the most unusual thing on television, and it dared to explore interesting ideas like the encounters of civilizations and interracial relationships, including the famous kiss. The series reflected the humanism of Gene Roddenberry, yet religion was never off the table. Sometimes it was viewed as benighted beliefs humans would grow out of. And sometimes…

We spent Saturdays in our early years as a family watching the Next Generation. It was pizza night and we gathered around our little black and white TV to watch the latest episodes. Once again, the ideas behind the episodes were often thought provoking. Ideas ranging from the sentience of AI to mandated euthanasia. After this series and the early movies, we grew more sporadic in our following of subsequent series, which, according to that family member mentioned earlier, continues to this day. It’s a franchise that has been going for six decades.

Mark S. Hansard is a collegiate minister with an MA in Philosophy and a huge Trek fan. I can’t help but believe that some of the discussions in this book arose from viewings with some of the students and faculty with whom he works. He draws on episodes in The Original Series, The Next Generation, Discovery, and several of the films to explore the humanistic worldview of the series and its references to religion and Christian themes. And as a Christian, he interacts with those themes. Most helpfully, he identifies some of the logical fallacies and caricatures of faith perpetuated by the series. At the same time he explores with candor the challenges the series poses for Christians.

He begins with introducing us to Gene Roddenberry and the high tech, humanist perspective of Roddenberry. Yet he notes how Roddenberry, perhaps to please his audiences, put Christian themes into Trek. After the first section, Hansard uses a different episode in each chapter to explore a number of tough questions. For example, using “The Brightest Star” episode from Discovery, he explores questions like “Is Christianity manipulative?”. “Is God a cosmic policeman?”, and “is it wrong to doubt your faith?” Then subsequent chapters explore questions like Christianity and superstition, the character of God, free will, and pacifism.

I especially enjoyed some of the later chapters, particularly the two in Section IV. Specifically, Hansard explores messianic themes in “The Empath,” who must decide whether she will sacrifice herself to heal others. Likewise, we consider the death and resurrection of Spock in the second and third movies and the plausibility of belief in Jesus’ resurrection.

Each chapter after the introductory ones follows a format. Firstly, Hansard offers a brief plot summary, followed by a worldview analysis of the episode. He will then explore philosophical issues. For example, considering the Discovery episode, “The New Eden” he discusses the rationality of omnism, the interaction of faith and reason, then considers another part of the episode, the violation of the Prime Directive. Then some chapters include more Christian material ranging from Augustine’s theory of just war (“Bread and Circuses”). to a discussion of ideas of heaven in the Star Trek Generations movie and the biblical idea of heaven.

This is a great book for the Christian who loves the Star Trek universe and wants to think Christianly about the questions various series and movies raise. I can see it as highly useful for Christians with friends who don’t share their beliefs but love Star Trek. Hansard models an approach that can be taken with other episodes. However I wondered how someone who does not share Hansard’s beliefs would receive the book. While Hansard is explicit about what he is trying to do, some might be surprised by how much Christian discussion Hansard introduces. I’d suggest a read of the table of contents to decide if this is the book one wants to read.

The great strength of this book is Hansard’s philosophical background. He mirrors that apostle of reason and logic, Mr. Spock, using these at times to challenge fallacies Roddenberry’s outlook, including such things as how easily his characters violate the Prime Directive. He helps us think critically about Star Trek. Equally, he sets forth a reasonable faith able to meet the advances in science and technology. I look forward to Volume 2!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.