Superstition performs an important role in evolution. Animals cannot think logically. It is better to be wrong 99 times out of 100 if being wrong is not fatal than to be right 99 times out of 100 if that one time of being wrong results in death. Thus evolution selects for superstition. It is embedded in our culture's ancient wisdom to protect us from the unknown. It's a warning to be careful because reality can kill you without prior warning.
99 times out of 100 there may be nothing hiding under your bed at night. 1 time out of 100 it might turn out to be a psychopath with a knife. So check under your bed every night and keep that night light on. The fears of children are the wisdom of millions of years of evolution.
Much of what appears in the original D&D game comes from the stories and myths of our culture. That some who practice the religion of our culture (and thus embody our culture's ancient wisdom) should be disturbed by some elements of D&D should not be surprising.
I recently saw
Suspiria (1977) and I thought the overall vibe of the movie was pretty good. The antagonist that is revealed at the end of the movie was essentially a lich (who even used the spells
invisibility and
animate dead). As a fan of 70's horror I appreciated it.
That movie was from the same era that created D&D and I can definitely see a connection because both share the same mythological base. And of course demons and devils are the most inspired part of the MONSTER MANUAL (also from '77). Druids at that time were portrayed as mysterious Satanic figures in TV shows and movies, not the banal tree-hugging hippies which they were later turned into. Tree-hugging hippies are not likely to inspire fear, or interest, in anyone because it is not a story that resonates with the majority of our culture. Good stories are good because they contain an element of truth that resonates with many. The great horror movies, like The Exorcist (1973) and Alien (1979), were good because they vibed with our shared cultural mythology and the horrors of our collective history. Thus a good game of D&D should make the more superstitious among us nervous. The game is, after all, a journey into the unknown.
Hic sunt draconesAs far as I am aware New Zealand missed out completely from the Satanic Panic.
Certainly by the time I was playing in the 80s the biggest problem I ever had was people telling me that I should be playing some kind of sport. To be honest it seems like Religion is completely different in NZ then in the US. No anti evolution rhetoric, no humans existing together with dinosaurs.
To be fair, the "anti evolution rhetoric" is a misstatement (by ignorant people -- many people practice religion without fully understanding its traditions, both oral and written) of the belief that evolution (or any science) should not be taught to
children outside the context of a moral framework, lest people get back around to the idea of eugenics (and mass executions), which, from the standpoint of pure science, makes perfect sense. In other words, teach the science, but place a layer of theology (i.e. a moral framework) over the top of it. Evolution taught sans theology makes it clear to the nihilist that human life has no intrinsic value. We are just animals. And killing animals is acceptable. The official position is that belief in evolution is perfectly fine as long as one does not believe that the "immortal soul" is the result of "random" evolution. Atheists don't believe in the immortal soul, so in reality there is no point of conflict. The apparent conflict is the result of misinformed people jumping to conclusions, as well as malevolent ideologues trolling the uninformed.
Again here is a situation where superstition might be wisdom. After the atrocities of the 20th century, people might have good reasons to be nervous about pure science without a moral framework, so do not be too quick to judge. New ideas in science that seem promising today might be taken to a bad place by psychopaths later on. The doctors in the concentration camps were scientists.
Assume that the person you are listening to (even if it's someone you disagree with) might know something you don't (Rule #9 from
12 Rules For Life)
..When I was in Al-Taif a few weeks later I met a Imam (Islamic Priest) who had come to a dinner party hosted by some of my Saudi business partners, and I asked him why the Mutaween had trashed my Luggage, and pretty much all of my books, except for my D&D books. He wanted to see them, ...of course, and I showed him. He knew the Demon on the cover the the 1e AD&D very well, and grew wide-eyed when he saw the image. He explained to me that in ancient times, Demons had walked the earth, and they looked just like the giant Efreet on the cover of the DMG. He told me that the Mutawaheen probably would have very much liked to beat me senseless right when I had arrived, and imprisoned me, but that they were afraid that the books contained actual knowledge of how to summon such a demon, and they didn't want me to summon a demon that would torment them...
Imagine if you showed up in Germany with suitcases filled with swastikas. Demons did indeed walk the Earth. The Saudis are obviously traumatized by something horrific that happened to them in the past.