Religion and The Matrix

1. Religion and the Matrix

2. Outline
• Yogacara Buddhism
• Buddhist Themes in the Matrix
• Christian Themes in the Matrix
• Matrix and Religious Pluralism

3. Yogacara Buddhism
• Began 4th Century CE by
Asanga and Vasubandhu
• Yogacara means mind-only
• The physical universe created
by one’s mind
• Shared consciousness creates
shared experiences
• The goal is to look past the
physical world to see Nirvana

4. Yogacara
• Film is used as example
– Movie screen is emptiness
– Light source in projector is
your mind
– Film is the karmic forces
creating this world
– We all see the same movie
– Goal look past projector,
film and see movie screen

5. Buddhism and The
Matrix
• Theme of emptiness in scene with child and
spoon
• Time is cyclical, relative and illusionary in the
Matrix
• People who know the Matrix is illusion have
special powers
• Neo’s training similar to meditation practices
• Ignorance as a theme in both Buddhism and
the Matrix
• Neo and Gautama around same age when
they start questioning
• Mirrors are symbolic in both Buddhism and
the Matrix
• Neo and Morpheus are like Bodhisattvas
– Bodhisattva vow
• Machines represent evil that try to stop neo
like Mara trying to stop Buddha

6. Christianity and The
Matrix
• Neo is a Christ Figure
– Neo anagram for One
– Thomas = Doubting Thomas one of
Jesus disciples
– Anderson = Son of Man
– Neo called personal saviour
– Ship Nebuchadnezzar has Mk. 3:11
passage
– Neo’s rebirth in pod = baptism
– Neo is tempted by agents = Christ’s
temptation by Satan
– Neo suffers, dies and is resurrected
• Morpheus is like John the Baptist
• Apocalyptic theme, Neo will destroy
the Matrix

7. Religious Pluralism
and The Matrix
• The Matrix brings
together Buddhism and
Christianity
• Religious Pluralism
– Extreme Pluralism
– Fundamental Teaching
Pluralism
– Cafeteria Pluralism
– Transcendental Pluralism

8. Extreme Pluralism
• View that all religions are equally
valid and true
• Difficult to maintain when
looked at closely
• Too many inconsistencies
between religions

9. Fundamental Teaching
Pluralism
• All core teachings are
essentially the same
• Difficult to maintain as some
core teachings are hold ideas
that contradict other religious
beliefs

10. Cafeteria Pluralism
• Essentially what the Matrix
proposes
• A mixed bag of beliefs
• Difficult to make coherent
• Diminishes the ideal of truth
when selecting, picking and
choosing

11. Transcendental Pluralism
• Concept developed by John Hick in
God Has Many Names
• God understood as The Real
• The Real is perceived through
different cultural lenses (religions)
• All religions have same goal
salvation through transformation
from self-centered to real-centered
• All contact to The Real are equally
effective, but none has it correct
• The Real is beyond human
conception

12. Difficulties with
Transcendental Pluralism
• Hick’s definition of The Real is
so broad that it becomes
meaningless
• No religions can understand
The Real so why follow religion
• If nothing can connect to The
Real then why have religion –
can any connection happen?

13. Why Religious Pluralism?
• Religious pluralism is a reaction
to religious exclusivism
• Religious exclusivism claims that
only one religion is true and all
others are false
• Religious pluralism wants to
claim all religions are true
• Bassham argues no religion has
good evidence because
individual experience proves
nothing and divine revelation (or
mystical experience) doesn't
prove objective existence on
what was experienced

14. Religion and Popular Culture
• Religion is second-order
– This can be understood
through Civil Religion
where humans create
quasi-religions like
baseball
• It is a category that is
created to explain how
humans act
– There are over 50
definitions of religion and
when one solid definition
is developed it doesn't
capture all religions or it is
so broad that its
meaningless

15. Religion and Popular Culture
• Humans create discourse and practice to explain their
situation in relation to superhuman and subhuman
through creating “sacred space”
– Discourse can be explaining The Force or re-scripting
established traditions like Mary Magdalene in Christianity
– Practice can include the ritual of rave culture
– Sacred space doesn’t have to be in a Church it could be on
the Starship Enterprise for Trekkies or a sports arena for
baseball fans
• Religion is this human activity to relate to the
superhuman transcendence and sacred space inclusion
which also involves dehumanization and exclusion
– The World of Harry Potter has Wizards and Muggles where
Harry discovers that he belongs to a special group
– Sacred space is created by walking through platform 9 ¾
– Understanding this relationship is also found in the human
– cylon false dichotomy created in Battlestar Galactica
– Relation can also be understood through identifying with a
character like Buffy the Vampire Slayer a feminist Christ