Buffy the Vampire Slayer borrows symbols and ideas from a number of religious sources in order to expand its own, essentially agnostic, perspective. However, Christianity holds a unique position as the dominant, informing religious ideological system against which, and through which, the series defines its own mythic structure. Joss Whedon, although an outspoken atheist, has several times commented on his personal fascination with the Christian mythos and the ways in which this bleeds into his writing. This is not to say that Buffy is a Christian show. Rather the basic presupposition of the argument in this paper is that the series reconfigures the symbols and ideas of Christian faith for use in a religiously pluralistic society.

In particular, this paper examines the reconstruction of the physical symbols of the Christian tradition. The primary focus is the Christian cross, although other examples include the presentation of churches and Christmas in the series. Additionally, the writers’ use and reconstruction of the cross is contrasted with their use of physical, Pagan symbols, in order to emphasize the unique position Christian archetypes and ideas hold within the mythos of the series.