Academics dissect Christian games and dolls in considering 'good or ill' of religious toys

Some of the leading Christian toys and games have come under scrutiny from two academics examining the intersection of faith, play and business.

The likes of Missionary Conquest, Kingdom of Heaven and the Messengers of Faith Bible dolls are "palpable evidence of global commerce, pluralism and shifts in social engagement—signifiers of 21st century meaning-making," according to Nikki Bado-Fralick and Rebecca Sachs Norris.

The pair—associate professor and director of the religious studies program at Iowa State University and associate professor and chair of religious and theological studies at Merrimack College respectively—discuss "the mixture of consumerism with religiosity" in their Toying With God: The World of Religious Games and Dolls.

Released in February by Baylor University Press, the duo's 232-page book asks whether humans have "blended fun with spirituality for good or for ill?" Though the book includes details of Jewish and Muslim play products, most of the emphasis is on Christian materials.

The book came out as one of the Christian suppliers referenced in it—the makers of the "Left Behind" video games—announced that its second offering, Left Behind: Tribulation Forces, had been accepted by Family Christian Stores for the leading chain's computer game selection.

The move "supports our belief that Christian video games will become one of the fastest-growing sectors of the video game business in the next five years," said Troy Lyndon, CEO of maker Inspired Media Entertainment.

In their book, Bado-Fralick and Norris note criticism of the first Left Behind: Eternal Forces game for its violent content and wonder whether Bible character action toys from One2believe's Spirit Warriors and Almighty Heroes—created by G.I. Joe originator Don Levine—are "harmless and wholesome alternatives to more destructive toys or are they helping to prepare children for religiously sanctioned violence?"

Other Christian games the authors look at include Bibleland, The Richest Christian, Journeys of Paul and The Ungame. Toys from evangelical suppliers that are referenced include Resurrection Eggs, the Armor of God play sets and the Train Up a Child Bible figures, which include a Job model with realistic sores.

While tracing the historic place of dolls and figures in religion, the book observes that contemporary versions provide "an interesting intersection of religion with identities of race, gender, sex and politics."

Among the writers' criticisms are that while Journeys of Paul "supports a non-competitive atmosphere ... it contradicts the idea of community itself, since there is no cooperation or meaningful interaction between players."

They are harsher on Missionary Conquest, whose name is "more than suggestive of colonialism" and which "displays stereotyped and arrogant attitudes that are no laughing matter outside of the world of board games and in the real world of global politics." Though the game may be intended as lighthearted, they say, it "displays a frightening ethnocentrism that is quite dangerous given the political climate of the present day."

Considering the ways ritual and play contribute to learning, Bado-Fralick and Norris said that "there are strong suggestions that ritualized play with religious games and toys can indeed perform a formative role in the development of children—but quite possibly not in the manner intended."

Religious video games also came up for evaluation recently at the technology news and analysis Web site, arstechnica.com. It referenced Left Behind: Eternal Forces and other Christian games in an article looking at "when religion and games intersect—and how it often goes badly."

The report judged that "games with heavy religious content are usually fringe projects, independently created and oftentimes sporting dodgy production values." It added: "By including anything that goes even remotely beyond basic concepts or happens to be even a bit controversial, developers risk the ire of a lot of people who could easily be offended enough to boycott the title."

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