The Walking Dead (2022)

Martin, J. (2022). Social life from scratch: Morality, religion, and society in The Walking Dead. In 

S. Donahue-Martens and B. Simonson (Eds.), Theology, Religion, and Dystopia (pp. 75 – 88). Rowman & Littlefield.

• Dystopian narratives like The Walking Dead reflect the dynamic processes relevant for navigating morally laden social interactions.

• Using the experiences of Father Gabriel as generally portrayed across seasons five through ten, I explore parallels between these dynamic processes and those articulated by Christian philosopher Johannes van der Ven.

“Van der Ven suggests the role of subjective interpretations should be accounted for when thinking about how people may experience morally laden situations and the conflicting moral interpretations that may  result….Applied to TWD, it is possible for individuals who vary in their assumptions or beliefs about the post-zombie world to interpret the same morally laden act differently.”