This thesis examines the influence of Christian and Buddhist ethics on British science-fiction TV series Doctor Who, by looking at how the series’ depiction of immortality as an ethical issue reflects the views of Christianity and Buddhism. The study was conducted as qualitative, using as primary data a selection of episodes from which observations were made, with reference to theoretical background based on literature on topics such as Christian and Buddhist ethics as well as the overall ethics of immortality, among others. The theoretical background provided an overview of the respective defining characteristics of Christian and Buddhist ethics, and the principles on which the two base their ethics, highlighting that despite their idiosyncrasies, the two have a great deal in common in terms of ethics. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the influence of religion in ethical argumentation in popular culture, and to bring to attention the capacity of works of science fiction to serve as thought experiments, as suggested by Turner & Upson (2010), through which to explore ethical issues. The study revealed that Doctor Who consistently portrays immortality as ethically problematic, and that the pursuit of eternal life is viewed as morally reprehensible. In all of the episodes examined, the ultimate message was that eternal life should not be pursued, whether the characters involved were good or evil, and in most cases the characters returned to mortal by the end of the story. While the overall attitude towards immortality remained the same throughout, the emphasis of the reasoning varied from story to story; the portrayal of immortality as a transgression of law, for example, is reminiscent of Christianity, while depicting eternal life as eternal suffering is evocative of Buddhist teaching. In its attitude towards immortality, then, Doctor Who adheres to the teachings of both Christianity and Buddhism to a considerable degree; while neither religion is explicitly referred to, the terms in which immortality is systematically rejected are highly reminiscent of both. The results of the study support the initial hypothesis that religion influences popular culture and society in general, even if the influence goes unnoticed by the audience or is accidental on the part of the makers. In the case of Doctor Who, Christianity and Buddhism seem to have a profound role in how the series approaches immortality, and ideas central to the two faiths are presented on a regular basis, even when no reference is made to either religion. Therefore, knowing about religions and understanding them is required in order to fully appreciate the contents and message of cultural products, even an essentially non-religious popular television series such as Doctor Who. Based on the findings of this study, the influence of religion on the discussion of ethical issues in popular culture is a topic that merits more research, with virtually limitless possibilities regarding the selection of primary data and ethical issue(s) to be examined.
Tämän tutkimus tarkastelee kristillisen ja buddhalaisen etiikan vaikutusta brittiläisen science fiction -sarja Doctor Who:n tapaan esittää kuolemattomuus eettisenä kysymyksenä. Tutkimuksen aineistona toimi valikoima sarjan jaksoja, joiden pohjalta tehtiin kvalitatiivisia havaintoja kristillisen ja buddhalaisen etiikan vaikutuksesta. Taustana toiminut teoreettinen viitekehys koostui muun muassa kristillistä ja buddhalaista etiikkaa sekä kuolemattomuuteen liittyviä eettisiä kysymyksiä käsittelevästä kirjallisuudesta. Viitekehyksen pohjalta muodostui yleiskatsaus kristillisen ja buddhalaisen etiikan leimallisiin piirteisiin sekä uskontojen eettisten kantojen taustatekijöihin. Kristinuskolle ja buddhalaisuudelle ominaisten erityispiirteiden lisäksi nousi selvästi esiin, että näiden uskontojen eettisissä opetuksissa on myös paljon yhteneväisyyksiä. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli tutkia uskonnon vaikutusta populaari
