# Talk:Klerykal fiction

@Viriditas: Sorry for the late reply. [3] is fine, and thanks for c/e and comments. Regarding Dukaj - I never replied above, sorry, but what I'd say is that yes, you are right, but that's as sources say. Some folks attribute, correctly I think, some Dukaj works to this genre, which he criticized (the genre, that is). Whether he considers these works to be a part of it and what he thinks about them, particularly in this context - we do not know. I am planning to write an entry for SFE about this topic, heck, maybe I'll email him--Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 03:31, 5 January 2025 (UTC)

'Polish speculative fiction and broader religious fiction that addresses Christian themes.'
'Broader religious fiction that addresses Christian themes'? Come on, this definition would include even some devout Catholic morality tale about the childhood of Mother Theresa reflecting on the best ways to serve God or something. Clearly the idea is that it's fiction about increased Church influence on society. 62.73.72.3 (talk) 12:12, 4 February 2025 (UTC)

When I last read the article, it covered both, not just your point, hence the text. It’s possible that recent changes have altered this, hence your confusion.  I was surprised to find the topic is slightly more complex than you make it out. Viriditas (talk) 23:04, 4 February 2025 (UTC)
The article makes it clear that certain critics also classify as Klerykal fiction 'fantasy and science fiction literature which addresses Christian themes' or 'Polish fantasy and science fiction literature which addresses faith issues'. However, even these definitions require a work to be fantasy and science fiction in order to count as Klerykal fiction. In contrast, the current definition in the lede also includes broader religious fiction, which is a far wider concept and doesn't seem to be supported by the article. My example with Mother Theresa would not be considered 'fantasy and science fiction', and nothing in the article suggests that it would be considered Klerykal fiction, but it certainly would be 'broader religious fiction'.
By the way, I think that these critics, too, are redefining the term and using it inappropriately - the word 'clerical' means specifically 'related to the church', not 'related to Christianity in general', let alone 'related to religion in general'. And it is clear from the text that the overwhelming majority of works in the Klerykal genre has been anti-clerical. (I suspect that the objective of that widening is to make the genre they are writing about more 'respectable' by rescuing it from charges of atheism, leftism and liberalism and other horrible sins.) But, of course, these are reliable sources, so their take on the terminology does deserve to be mentioned in the article.--62.73.72.3 (talk) 23:36, 9 March 2025 (UTC)