The Twilight saga has become one of the most successful fiction series ever written, with more than one hundred million copies in print and several blockbuster films. Despite the tremendous commercial success Twilight has generated, few readers have analyzed its theological teachings or the messages Stephenie Meyer might be sending to women and teenage girls. This book offers both a feminist critique of Twilight and a theological review of the stories’ ideas about salvation, heaven and hell, power, reconciliation, resurrection, and organized religion.
Elaine Heath writes in an accessible voice, calling attention to both the “good news” of Twilight’s theology and the “bad news” of its gender stereotypes and depictions of violence against women.
The book includes questions for youth and adult groups or for classroom discussions.
Elaine A. Heath is Associate Professor of Evangelism at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. She is the author of We Were the Least of These: Reading the Bible with Survivors of Sexual Abuse and The Mystic Way of Evangelism: A Contemplative Vision for Christian Outreach. An active participant in Emergent Village and the emerging church conversation, she is the cofounder of New Day, a new monastic community in Dallas, Texas. She is an ordained Methodist minister.