Creating Cult Controversies. Peripheral Religions in the Video Game Baldur’s Gate 3

Abstract

In this paper, I investigate the creation of peripheral religions, religions on the margins of society, in the video game Baldur’s Gate 3. The roleplaying game Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023) prominently features religious places, aesthetics, language, and narratives in its worldbuilding based on the classic TTRPG Dungeons & Dragons (1974). In Baldur’s Gate 3, D&D’s elaborate religious and mythological world is brought to life through a rich and interactive storyline and audiovisual design. It features a party on an adventure through temples, shrines, cults, rituals, religious quarrels, and divine blessings, while on their way through the fantasy continent of Faerûn to find a cure for a deadly infection. Religion is no mere background, but an essential part of the main quest, side quests and the design of the game. By studying the audio-visual design of the in-game peripheral religion Cult of the Absolute, I demonstrate how religions are positioned on the periphery of the religious landscape of the game. Building on theoretical considerations of religious landscape, peripheral religions, stereotypes, and religious contact situations, I explore the socio-spatial positioning explicated and implicated in the audio-visual design and narration in reference to perceptions of religion in the real world.