Back then, D&D was the subject of a massive smear campaign claiming that the game promoted suicide and satanism. A Christian student who learned that Laycock played D&D chided him for “worshiping gods from books,” a charge he found puzzling.
“Most Christians know about their god primarily through a book, through the Bible,” Laycock says in Episode 185 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “So there was a really strange reversal there, where I found a lot of the claims-makers were actually engaging in the very sort of behavior they were accusing D&D players of doing.”
I know several practicing Catholics, including quite a few priests, who are avid role-playing gamers. I used to play, before I became Catholic, but my stopping had nothing to do with my conversion and more to do with a lack of time and interested friends. My kids play fantasy RPGs all the time. I’ve never seen the problem.
