Religion as a Tool of Control
Religion as a Tool of Control in Gilead
"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" (Marx 260). This statement implies that religion is a powerful concept that encourages people to accept their conditions instead of revolting against their plight. Indeed in the wrong hands, it can be perverted to justify countless atrocities and so be used as a tool of oppression. In her novel, The Handmaid 's Tale, Margaret Atwood portrays a dystopian society, a fictional republic called Gilead, whose rulers use the power of religion to validate their terrifying personal agenda. She satirizes the political system that uses faith to validate its mandate, and justify its more questionable laws. Clearly the use of religion for political purposes is one of the central themes of the novel; Atwood takes a set of fundamentalist religious beliefs followed by certain fringe elements in contemporary society and takes them to their logical end to highlight their true despotic nature. In Gilead, politics and religion go hand in hand. The Sons of Jacob use religion and psychological tactics to control the masses and bend them to their will. Consequently the republic makes extensive use of religious terminologies for example domestic servants are called "Marthas" referring to a domestic character in the bible, the soldiers are called "Angels" while the local police are the "Guardians of the Faith". The ruling government officials are called the "Commanders of the Faithful". Even the names of shopping stores have biblical references like All Flesh, Milk and Honey, Loaves and Fishes. The purpose of this extensive use of biblical language is to deceive the people of Gilead into believing that their rulers enact the will of God Himself. Moreover the government only adopts certain aspects of Christianity while it shuns those that it finds inconvenient. For example Aunt
"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" (Marx 260). This statement implies that religion is a powerful concept that encourages people to accept their conditions instead of revolting against their plight. Indeed in the wrong hands, it can be perverted to justify countless atrocities and so be used as a tool of oppression. In her novel, The Handmaid 's Tale, Margaret Atwood portrays a dystopian society, a fictional republic called Gilead, whose rulers use the power of religion to validate their terrifying personal agenda. She satirizes the political system that uses faith to validate its mandate, and justify its more questionable laws. Clearly the use of religion for political purposes is one of the central themes of the novel; Atwood takes a set of fundamentalist religious beliefs followed by certain fringe elements in contemporary society and takes them to their logical end to highlight their true despotic nature. In Gilead, politics and religion go hand in hand. The Sons of Jacob use religion and psychological tactics to control the masses and bend them to their will. Consequently the republic makes extensive use of religious terminologies for example domestic servants are called "Marthas" referring to a domestic character in the bible, the soldiers are called "Angels" while the local police are the "Guardians of the Faith". The ruling government officials are called the "Commanders of the Faithful". Even the names of shopping stores have biblical references like All Flesh, Milk and Honey, Loaves and Fishes. The purpose of this extensive use of biblical language is to deceive the people of Gilead into believing that their rulers enact the will of God Himself. Moreover the government only adopts certain aspects of Christianity while it shuns those that it finds inconvenient. For example Aunt
Cited: Marx, Karl. "Critique of Hegel 's Philosophy of Right" Atwood, Margaret. "The Handmaid 's Tale" Toronto: Seal Books, 1986.