Is deity-bashing the rage in SF?

(Facebook readers note: This is a cross-post from my blog at http://cxmachina.blogspot.com.)

Yes, after having a lively conversation with friends in the cross-post of this blog on my Facebook account, I'm still studying the nature of SF and its treatment of theology.

Perhaps the irreverence in SF is less a matter of faithlessness or even science/theology segregation (as if religion were water and science were oil and thus can't mix). Perhaps deities and (as in the case of Stargate and Star Trek) pseudo-deities just make better antagonists in a storyline.

I can buy that. Villains such as an evil guy in a trench coat with chemicals and atomic bombs, or evil emperors and his legions are milquetoast compared to some multidimensional being swallowing planets or subjugating whole populations in terms of drama. And it doesn't hurt to outfit the humans with offsetting technology.

I just wonder what powers the powers of characters that vanquish the "evil" deities in the SF stories. If we examine the comics we see that alien ancestry leads to fantastic powers (Superman), or incredible wealth and strength of will can do wonders (Batman).

Wonder Woman keeps things more terrestrial and theological but embracing the Greek pantheon: Princess Diana's powers are, through her apparel and ancestry, boons from the gods.

Diana is more akin to Greek heroes like Perseus, who are nothing without the support of their gods. I guess that's out of fashion, as mankind is doing now in reality what the Goa'uld and Sargon do in fiction: to dare consider themselves equal to gods.

Which does bring up the concept of where religion ends and mythology begins in SF...a topic for another time.