‘Using the Force: Star Wars and Catholicism’ An interview with Anthony Digmann

Star Wars is by far one of the biggest movie franchises of all time and has captivated the hearts of fans for many decades. It has become part of our culture and continues to grow in influence with every passing year.

 

Recently I had the chance to ask Catholic author and speaker, Anthony Digmann about the Star Wars phenomenon and how the galaxy far, far away can be used as a tool for evangelization.

 

This is the topic of his most recent book Using the Force: Star Wars and Catholicism, where he dives right into the celebrated space saga and discovers the fascinating spirituality that can be found in Star Wars and its similarities (and differences) to the Catholic faith.

 

 

Big, thought not as big as possible. I grew up on the films and have seen all of the movies in the theater on opening night of their original release date except Return of the Jedi, because I was only a few months old. I’m well versed in the Clone Wars and Rebels, but I’ve not caught up with the new Resistance series yet. I’ve also listened to over two dozen audiobooks.

 

I think it both resonates with the monomyth George Lucas was trying to emulate from his study of Joseph Campbell as well as with eternal truths we sense of humans and are explicit in our Catholic faith. Plus, it’s a lot of fun. Who wouldn’t want to have a real lightsaber? On second thought, I prefer my arms and legs intact, so I’ll pass on owning a lightsaber.

 

I was amazed that there were no Catholic books on the subject, and given my work evangelizing as an author and speaker and teaching theology to high school students, it felt light a natural fit. I had read several books looking at Star Wars through a Christian lens, and I had written a research paper for a “Religion and Media” class as an undergraduate on Star Wars from a Catholic perspective, so it was a logical move for me to continue expanding toward a book. I think Star Wars offers a lot as a tool for evangelization, and I couldn’t resist digging into that topic in the absence of a book from a uniquely Catholic perspective.

 

There are several, and of course you’ll have to see the book to encounter my full treatment of that question, which is a primary theme of the text. However, one of my favorites is how the Jedi practice the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Where else can we find hollywood heroes worth of imitation who are actually practicing these three Catholic disciplines and make it look awesome? This is one of the great ways I think Star Wars can help us rediscover and make elements of our faith appealing to our 21st century culture.

 

Of course, especially since Star Wars is not an intentionally Christian or Catholic mythology like the Chronicles of Narnia or the Lord of the Rings, respectively. Again, readers would need to see the book for a thorough answer, as it takes up one chapter of the book. One example, though, is that parts of Star Wars can flirt with the relativistic morality very common in our culture. It is important for fans, parents, and others to realize these potential pitfalls in the franchise so as to avoid falling victim to them personally and/or prevent others, especially youth, from being led astray.

 

This is difficult to say. The original trilogy has certainly hewn a place for itself as an epic mythology of our age, but I think this is because the original trilogy espouses (though imperfectly) some of the most important Christian truths, such as self-sacrificial love, that speak to our souls and testify to the truth. It seems the prequels have improved upon a couple issues a Catholic may have with the original trilogy, but they bring in a new set of problems. We find the same is true for the newest trilogy and the two anthology films (Rogue One and Solo). I am sure the franchise will continue as long as it is profitable, which is bound to be awhile. I would also predict that at some point Star Wars film productions will cease for a needed respite, as we are currently inundated by Star Wars material. Will it stand the test of time? Perhaps a very Catholic response of both/and is most suitable. Yes, it already has proven that it will, and it has yet to be seen how well it will conform to the truths of Divine Revelation, Natural Law, and human experience in the future.