The Dialectics of Secularization in the Warhammer 40,000 Universe

Warhammer 40,000 (W40K) represents one of the most influential science fiction franchises in contemporary popular culture. This article examines how W40K’s narrative trajectory—from enforced atheism to theocracy—challenges both the secularization thesis and interpretations of the franchise as anti-religious. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from Berger, Fromm, Jung, and Eliade, it argues that W40K presents religion as an ineradicable aspect of human existence rather than as a dystopian element. The analysis demonstrates how the franchise’s treatment of religion, including its use of Catholic aesthetics and symbolism, reflects a serious engagement with fundamental questions about human religious needs and the limitations of purely secular worldviews.