Hugo Award Best Novel Winner
A Case of Conscience
by James Blish
Summary
A Jesuit priest and biologist joins a mission to the planet Lithia, where he encounters a peaceful and rational alien species that has achieved moral harmony without any concept of God. The discovery throws his faith into crisis and forces him to weigh whether such a world could be a theological trap. Blish blends hard science fiction with serious religious and philosophical questions about sin, grace, and reason.
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Historical Context & Significance
It was one of the first major science fiction novels to engage deeply with theology, and it forms part of Blish's thematic After Such Knowledge sequence.