Religious Aspects of the Contemporary Fantasy Fiction

The article discusses how the topic of religion is represented in contemporary fantasy fiction, specifically in a series such as Andrzej Sapkowski’s “The Witcher Saga”, George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire”, and Dara Kornii’s “The Opposite Side”. These literary works have been chosen for analysis for two reasons. First, the three series of choice are not only best known fantasy fiction among readers, but also the most influential literary works within the fantasy genre in their countries of origin and, in the case of Sapkowski and Martin’s works, even abroad. Second, the three authors of the fantasy series of choice represent different religious views in their personal lives; therefore, it is interesting to explore whether or not and in what way their personal beliefs have been imprinted on their works, and whether authors who come from different religious backgrounds express similar thoughts on religious matters in their literary works. The author of the article is interested in exploring the topic of religion in contemporary fantasy from four angles. The first angle is to establish how the secularization processes within Polish, American, and Ukrainian societies as well as the authors’ personal religious beliefs have affected the representation of religion in their works. The second angle is to analyze which religious images and motifs (if any) are depicted in the chosen fantasy works of fiction. The third angle is to discover how religious institutions are depicted in the chosen works of fiction. Finally, the fourth angle is to find out what role, according to the authors, religion (and more specifically, faith) should play in one’s life, and how religion may influence one’s morality. Discussing these issues in detail may provide an important outlook on how religion and religious matters are perceived by popular fiction and by modern societies.