I've recently been hooked on the sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica, a new take on an old television show. The premise is that humans created a race of machines, Cylons and the Cylons rebeled destroyed almost all of human civilization and what is left of humanity is running from the Cylons trying to find the mythical planet earth.

An interesting feature of the show is that it has 2 competing theological systems built in. The humans believe in a pantheon of gods (basically the greek gods with a few very minor changes) whereas, the Cylons have a monotheistic system. More interesting still is that the entire show has roots in the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. Ellen Leventry writes about it in her article, Born-Again ‘Battlestar.’

Unbeknownst to most viewers, “Battlestar Galactica” has been steeped in religion since its very inception. First pitched by uber-producer Glen A. Larson as a series of Bible stories set in space called “Adam’s Ark,” the reworked “Battlestar Galactica” was also influenced by another religious book: the Book of Mormon. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Larson borrowed plot points from his faith's sacred texts.

"'Battlestar Galactica' and the Book of Mormon both start from the premise that civilization is either about to be destroyed or has just been destroyed and that there’s this remnant, this ragtag fleet that is preserved,” explains Jana Reiss, author of “What Would Buffy Do?” “The story of the Book of Mormon is set in the time frame of the destruction of Jerusalem. The prophet Lehi has a vision of the destruction of Jerusalem and was able to get his family out in time.”

There are many other similarities between the show and the Latter-day Saint scripture. While not purely a Mormon concept, the idea of the “Lost Tribes of Israel”--that ten tribes of Israel were "lost" to history after they were exiled--plays an important role in both the religion and in the show. “The idea of there being these other civilizations that have the gospel is a main tenet in Mormonism,” notes Reiss. “There is this idea, in the show, that Earth will be this colony that they don’t have a record of but they believe it exists.”

There is considerable discussion of the role and agency of the god(s) as well as character destiny as well as the classic sci-fi exploration of what it means to be human/alive. This combined with cool special effects, space battles, and good writing make the show a blast to watch. Thank you to Arni for the article link.