Welcome
The world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was first realized in a rather under-developed film of that name, released in 1992. The creator, Joss Whedon, later transformed his idea of a female Vampire Slayer into a television series for the WB Network that began on March 10, 1997. The show ran there for five years and two more years at the CW. The final episode was broadcast on May 20, 2003.
During this remarkable run, Buffy developed a cult following that included scholars and educators (including the creator of this site). This site has a two-fold mission: 1) to present, in brief, the way that scholars of religion examine their chosen subject matter (through various topics and categories), and 2) explore how the study of religion can elucidate aspects of the show. We do not explore the presence of religion so much as the way that religious themes and ideas can be found there. We use the tools of the academic study of religion to explore these topics as found throughout the show's seven seasons.
How To Use This Site
This site explores the ways in which religion is represented in and shapes the narrative of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We examine important topics at the intersection of the Slayer and religion, such as sacrifice, death, redemption, ritual, and community.
Each page (see Topics menu) explores one topic and one episode of the show. Images are used to point to specific scenes from the show. Links to publicly available videos are included (without endorsement).
This site is based on a course, so there are pages for each topic, which correspond to a week of work in the course. The topics are arranged following the seven seasons of the show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, using episodes in chronological order from the show to illustrate and discuss the topic. You can choose topics at random, but the best way to proceed is to start with the first topic (World-building) and work your way through to the end (Being human).
About The Author
I started watching Buffy when it was still being broadcast in the early 2000s. We heard about this crazy show in the common room during graduate school for medieval studies. The show intrigued us as budding scholars (and as people), and was the topic of conversation over many lunches. While I missed the first few seasons, but caught up as quickly as I could. Ever since the show ended, I have been trying to work it into my teaching (in the study of religion) wherever possible.
It was only in the winter of 2025, the eve of retirement, that I finally created a course based entirely on Buffy in our religious studies department. I have transformed the results of that course into this site.
Contact: religionandtheslayer[at]gmail.com