Children should talk about Superman as a way of learning about Jesus, while Spiderman might help them understand Moses or Muhammad, according to an academic at Sheffield Hallam University.
Helen Cook uses clips from films like Star Wars and Minority Report in her work with trainee religious education teachers in the belief that they can lead to discussions of abstract questions like free will and predestination.
Ms Cook, course leader for the university's RE postgraduate certificate in education, said: "We teach a generation for whom religious symbol, myth and story are sometimes meaningless.
"Around 40% of teenagers visit the cinema once a month. It's hardly surprising that their assessments of what's heroic and evil, possible and impossible, are partly based on the world experienced through TV and film."
Writing in the latest edition of RE Today, she says: "In a time when religious observance is declining and young people are not necessarily being brought up within the faith traditions of their ancestors, we teach a generation for whom religious symbol, myth and story are sometimes meaningless.
"Reading religious texts is not necessarily going to unlock religious insights for these students. Helping them to engage with meaning in the lives of these figures isn't easy."
Ms Cook, who bases her approach on experience in secondary schools, notes the parallels between Superman and Jesus. Both arrived on earth in usual circumstances, were sent by their fathers to live among humans, moved from relative obscurity to prominence in adulthood, helped the humans they lived among, and struggled to stand up for truth against injustice and evil.
But she says there are important differences too and she stressed: "I'm not suggesting Jesus was Superman or Muhammad can be seen as Spiderman - it's a way of helping children engage with things beyond the realm of their experience."
Spiderman was told by his Uncle Ben "With great power comes great responsibility" and the burden of responsibility and duty is paralleled in the life stories of religious heroes, says Ms Cook in her article.
Moses had doubts about his fitness after being called by God at the burning bush and the Prophet Mohammed spent his life coping with the burdens of responsibility, as well as facing rejection and opposition, she notes.
Evil can be discussed through films, too. Darth Vader, for instance, may be a symbol of everything bad, but he is a complex character whose story "prompts reflection on free will, predestination and the battle between good and evil".
Ms Cook says she uses Spiderman to discuss utilitarianism - at one point in the film he can save Mary Jane or a cable car full of children. What should he do? The children always opt for the cable car - the classic utilitarian argument, she says.
She defends her methods against suggestions they may cause offence to some people, saying teachers know their schools and would not offend parents with anything that would be considered blasphemous.
RE Today: http://www.retoday.org.uk
